Windows 10 Clean Install

[Gellyneck]

I have never in my memory had to download a driver for Linux...

The only drivers I can remember downloading for Mint 16, 17 and 18 was for an older NVidia graphics card that still covers my basic needs.

 

[Jim]

By a Mac John, you know it makes sense

 

[Gellyneck]

Not as good or professional as Adobe though.

Very happy with the ones I use. The only problem I've had is finding a place to hoard the cash I've saved!

 

[Gromett]

https://delightlylinux.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/the-samsung-950-pro-256g-and-linux-does-it-work/

I know it works Linux is ahead of the curve generally on drivers and support. Get the latest kernel and all but the latest bleeding edge hardware works out of the box without any need for drivers.

What I have found out is that windows takes exactly the same time to load whether using the M.2 SSD or the Sata 3 6GB/s Samsung Evo 850, 2.1 seconds. So I cloned back onto the 850 from the 960 as my boot disk and now use the faster speeds offered by the M.2 NVMe format for games and applications. Also the 2 hybrid 6TB drives I have fitted for data storage are set up in Raid 1 and are as fast as the samsung evo 850. Raid 1 is a system of running two hard discs that mirror each other so that you have 2 hard copies of all your data should one HD fail.

I don't trust Raid 1. I have had raid arrays fail in my data centre both Raid 1 and Raid 5 and have lost data. That is why I am moving to BTRFS...

This guy explains it pretty well.

 

[Gromett]

PS: part 2 is here;

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[hilldweller]

You'll never get any work done.

That is why I never thought of budging from windows whilst working. Utilities that come with industrial kit, say a shaft encoder, came with windows software. Most of the office software I rote had to run on windows. The compilers I used, windows.

But I'm not working any more, I have options now.

 

[Camping Gaza]

Very happy with the ones I use.

Ever had a problem turning up to an office with everyone on Macs and you are the only one on a windows box? Trying to share documents, work, software?

I have and its not amusing for a freelancer!

So you turn up at an Ad agency and they want changes immediately and you are using free alternative software and they give you a lovely print ad they need changes to there and then, and you fire up Gimp.... You are gonna look like one!

 

[DBK]

That's all amazing - and I can honestly say that I didn't understand 99% of it. My desk top is still on XP, and is happily still working well. I just bought a new W10 laptop for travelling, and hate having to learn W10! Glad I didn't go through W7 & W8 on the way here. There's only so much I can cope with to update myself...

You can make W10 look a bit more like what you are used to. When you click the start button it will open up a sort of window full of tiles. I think they are meant for touch screens but I found them irritating. So I removed them all, by right clicking. You then end up with the same window but with nothing in it but you can click and drag and resize it down to nothing.
The other thing I do is put all my usual programs ("apps" in W10 ) on the task bar. To do this find the app you want, such as say Word, through the start button. You have an option to "pin to start menu" but instead if you click and drag the app to the task bar it will paste a link or shortcut there. So on my PC where I have moved the task bar to the right hand side of the screen all my popular programs such as Lightroom and Photoshop can be seen all together.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Very happy with the ones I use. The only problem I've had is finding a place to hoard the cash I've saved!

I'm sure you are.

I'm assuming though that you don't use your software professionally or rely on it to make your living?

For those of us that do Adobe products are the only option. There is nothing else available that comes even remotely close in terms of power, functionality or anything else you care to mention.

They are also the industry standard. Try sending someone in the industry a file created in one of the "home user" free packages and then see what happens. You'll never be taken seriously again. Also many standard file types don't cross over between different software packages very well. PDF files for example are the bane of my life. Customers who think they know what they're doing create them using all sorts of random software and send them to me allegedly print ready. Probably 50% of the time they are unusable in Illustrator and I have to start again. Almost all of the rest will need work. The only ones that ever don't are ones that were originally created using an Adobe product.

That's also the reason why Macs are our industry standard. The Adobe suite is designed for Mac and simply does not work to it's full potential on any other platform.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Ever had a problem turning up to an office with everyone on Macs and you are the only one on a windows box? Trying to share documents, work, software?

I have and its not amusing for a freelancer!

So you turn up at an Ad agency and they want changes immediately and you are using free alternative software and they give you a lovely print ad they need changes to there and then, and you fire up Gimp.... You are gonna look like one!

I'd imagine turning up with a Windows machine and firing up Gimp would be a good way to ensure you were never asked to do any work for that customer again

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[Lorryman100]

I currently have Linux mint 18.1 operating on my test rig and do like certain aspects about the way the system works but not enough to move away from the main stream windows. Personally never had any issues with Raid in all the years I have used it but I suppose that could be down to my OCD in monitoring my systems as they are a hobby. I also like windows 10 and use the pro edition which once tweaked runs my gaming and deep learning rigs without issues. Then again I have OCD with operating systems and I am willing to invest time in researching and trial and error in getting the best out of whatever operating system I use. Thankfully one glove does not fit all.

 

[Camping Gaza]

@NicNick, I have seen that happen...

 

[Deleted member 29692]

@NicNick, I have seen that happen...

I've had to tell people I won't accept artwork from them any more unless they get someone to do it properly.

It never goes down well

The worst one was someone who is a mate and used to get me to make banners, usually about 8' x 4' to advertise events at his pub. The only problem was that he insisted on creating the artwork himself.

In Word.

At A4.

He just didn't understand what the problem was so I don't do any work for him any more

 

[Gromett]

I currently have Linux mint 18.1 operating on my test rig and do like certain aspects about the way the system works but not enough to move away from the main stream windows. Personally never had any issues with Raid in all the years I have used it but I suppose that could be down to my OCD in monitoring my systems as they are a hobby. I also like windows 10 and use the pro edition which once tweaked runs my gaming and deep learning rigs without issues. Then again I have OCD with operating systems and I am willing to invest time in researching and trial and error in getting the best out of whatever operating system I use. Thankfully one glove does not fit all.

Which flavour of Linux Mint. I was on XFCE and recently moved to Cinnamon. Still have XFCE on my laptop though.

On the RAID side. When you have 2 x 40U of rack servers filled to the gizzards with hard drives that are hammered 24/7 you tend to see more failures
Off the top of my head I would say I saw 20+ hard drive failures a year and 2-3 Raid 1 failures per year.

The biggest issue for us was when a hard drive didn't fail but had corruption. Say for instance you have disk 0 and disk 1. Disk 1 has a corruption (bit rot). Because the raid controller doesn't checksum ever file or compare all files to the copy on each read you might not notice especially on files such as databases where the corruption may be in a field you don't access that often. Then you have a disk 0 failure. You put a fresh drive in bay 0 and it starts rebuilding the array. The dodgy data gets copied across to the new disk 0. You still don't notice this because you haven't hit that part of the database yet. Some months later you do access that part and get all sorts of errors and it is then that you notice that the data is corrupt. You go to your backups which you keep weekly (with daily incrementals). But each backup you look at has the same corruptions....

On BTRFS, the system keeps a checksum of each file even on a single drive system. It also runs regular sweeps to check each file. You are notified immediately there is an issue. If you are on Raid one it will do a checksum on both copies of the file and restore the good one over the bad one using COW. (Copy on Write).
There is a lot more to it than this, however you get the idea.

I will be putting all my media on BTRFS with checksum but not raid. There is simply too much data to have 3 lots of hard drives for each file. I will use a feature of Linux called iNotify which notifies a script that there has been a change to the file system. When I plug the backup drive in, it will copy all the changed files across to the backup hard drive which will also use BTRFS. I will then run a checksum test on all files on the backup and copy across any that have suffered bit rot in either direction.

I have been bitten so many times by RAID arrays even expensive PERC hardware controllers that I won't even consider Raid for my home systems. I just rely on good quality backups with MD5 checksumming for each file so I can monitor for bitrot.

 

[Gromett]

PS: I am not suggesting any one moves over to Linux. It is a tool nothing more nothing less. Graphics artists should stick with Apple. Hard Core gamers should stick with windows. For me Linux suits my work load and work flow and in an awful lot of cases is superior to Windows. I don't like Apple due to the lock down and 'helpful' stuff it does. I passionately dislike windows so much so that I refuse any work that involves it. Only twice in the last 2 years have I worked on Windows servers and both times it was under protest and charged at double the rate. Both clients trust me and didn't want to find a windows server admin. Both kept pestering me even though I told them it was like trying to get a gynaecologist to do brain surgery. . they both insisted so they got someone (me) who was slower and more expensive... Just got another one asking me to do a windows job and I have quadrupled my rate for it. I really hope he doesn't come back and agree to that

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[Gromett]

Next to this PC is a Raspberry Pi, I keep tinkering with Linux. Even the old V2 is good enough for FUN. V3 is probably all FUNsters need in a PC and for £30.

This is a cracking good idea. If you are curious about Linux but don't want to install it on your main computer or laptop. Get one of the V3 Pi's. You can play to your hearts content with it and without risk of breaking anything. Just bear in mind that the Pi even the V3 has less processing power and graphics than most mid and high end phones these days. Remember that it will run a magnitude fast on a real computer....

 

[Viennese]

That's all amazing - and I can honestly say that I didn't understand 99% of it. My desk top is still on XP, and is happily still working well. I just bought a new W10 laptop for travelling, and hate having to learn W10! Glad I didn't go through W7 & W8 on the way here. There's only so much I can cope with to update myself...

You can make W10 look a bit more like what you are used to. When you click the start button it will open up a sort of window full of tiles. I think they are meant for touch screens but I found them irritating. So I removed them all, by right clicking. You then end up with the same window but with nothing in it but you can click and drag and resize it down to nothing.
The other thing I do is put all my usual programs ("apps" in W10 ) on the task bar. To do this find the app you want, such as say Word, through the start button. You have an option to "pin to start menu" but instead if you click and drag the app to the task bar it will paste a link or shortcut there. So on my PC where I have moved the task bar to the right hand side of the screen all my popular programs such as Lightroom and Photoshop can be seen all together.

Thanks John. The most serious thing for me is that I don't have Outlook Express on my W10 laptop, and I don't like Outlook. I have years of messages on my old machine which I don't want to abandon, but don't see a way of transferring to the laptop. Is it possible?

 

[DBK]

That's all amazing - and I can honestly say that I didn't understand 99% of it. My desk top is still on XP, and is happily still working well. I just bought a new W10 laptop for travelling, and hate having to learn W10! Glad I didn't go through W7 & W8 on the way here. There's only so much I can cope with to update myself...

Thanks John. The most serious thing for me is that I don't have Outlook Express on my W10 laptop, and I don't like Outlook. I have years of messages on my old machine which I don't want to abandon, but don't see a way of transferring to the laptop. Is it possible?

A quick Google suggests this might be an alternative: https://www.oeclassic.com/
But I have no experience of it or whether it is safe. It might be worth starting a new thread and ask for suggestions.
It should be possible to copy across all your messages, from memory they will be in a .pst file I think - but I do know from personal experience it isn't always easy or straightforward.
You might want to consider finding a local computer repair shop and asking them how much it would cost.

 

[Camping Gaza]

The only problem was that he insisted on creating the artwork himself.

In Word.

Everyone who has a computer thinks (and all in the goodness of their hearts) its easy doing graphics... just like iPhone/Androd users who try to make professional photographs or make video, or worse record a band.

Try explaining rasterized images vs vector graphics, or colour subsampling when working with video... Mp3 vs Wave in audio. Codecs,... It's not easy and when they do it. you have throw it all away and start again!

 

[Gromett]

Everyone who has a computer thinks (and all in the goodness of their hearts) its easy doing graphics

Not me. I am crap at it and hate it. I also don't do javascript and struggle with css. currently trying to find a freelancer to do some js, jquery and css stuff for me.
When someone says they are good with computers I immediately know they are not. Computers are like the medical profession. You can be good in some areas, exceptionally good in areas that you specialise in. But like the medical profession the GP's know when to call the specialist in. Anyone who says they are good with computers makes me immediately sceptical of their abilities to do anything well.

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[Camping Gaza]

Computers are like the medical profession. You can be good in some areas, exceptionally good in areas that you specialise in.

Absolutely! I hate doing websites and have given up, even my own. You design it all looking lovely, post it up, look at it and then it looks like its been done by Picasso!

Audio Video and Graphics. That's as far as I go

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Everyone who has a computer thinks (and all in the goodness of their hearts) its easy doing graphics... just like iPhone/Androd users who try to make professional photographs or make video, or worse record a band.

Try explaining rasterized images vs vector graphics, or colour subsampling when working with video... Mp3 vs Wave in audio. Codecs,... It's not easy and when they do it. you have throw it all away and start again!

Yep, although Garage Band does have it's uses as long as you understand its limitations.

Video work isn't my thing so don't have a clue about that beyond the absolute basics.

 

[TheCaller]

It should be possible to copy across all your messages, from memory they will be in a .pst file I think - but I do know from personal experience it isn't always easy or straightforward.

A .pst file sounds more like Outlook than Outlook Express. However, I ditched OE many many years ago & later versions might have moved more towards the Outlook file structure.

The main problem with early versions of OE was that it scattered its files everywhere. It was almost impossible to make a proper backup. You could find the main message files ok, but any attempt to restore them usually failed because some of the index or other information was always held somewhere completely different. I understand that later versions were much better organised.

It was shame it was structured so badly, because otherwise it was quite a good, simple email client for personal use. After ditching OE, I did use Outlook for a while, but moved to Mozilla Thunderbird in 2004 & have stuck with that ever since.

@Viennese If it's any help, Thunderbird has an Import facility to import messages from Outlook Express.

 

[Gromett]

A .pst file sounds more like Outlook than Outlook Express. However, I ditched OE many many years ago & later versions might have moved more towards the Outlook file structure.

The main problem with early versions of OE was that it scattered its files everywhere. It was almost impossible to make a proper backup. You could find the main message files ok, but any attempt to restore them usually failed because some of the index or other information was always held somewhere completely different. I understand that later versions were much better organised.

It was shame it was structured so badly, because otherwise it was quite a good, simple email client for personal use. After ditching OE, I did use Outlook for a while, but moved to Mozilla Thunderbird in 2004 & have stuck with that ever since.

@Viennese If it's any help, Thunderbird has an Import facility to import messages from Outlook Express.

I second Thunderbird. I have just reinstalled my OS from scratch on a new drive. I simply copied the .thunderbird folder from the old drive to the new one, started thunderbird and all was working exactly as on the old install.

 

[Gromett]

I timed the new install of OS, all applications and copy of all data across. Took 35 Minutes. Zero drivers needed and no hunting for disks or software install files. I love Linux.

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[chaser]

Sorry after the first page , I just lost the will to live, I have had numerous windows computers and laptops , from windows 95 up to vista, then won an iPad in a raffle and after a couple of days getting round it ,I have never touched windows again and never found any need.

 

[Gromett]

Sorry after the first page , I just lost the will to live, I have had numerous windows computers and laptops , from windows 95 up to vista, then won an iPad in a raffle and after a couple of days getting round it ,I have never touched windows again and never found any need.

Tablets are fine for consuming content, reading forums, email, watching videos and viewing photo's. But they are absolutely no good for serious business use or content creators. I could not do proper video editing on a tablet, store my 8TB of video, run my programming environment, do my spreadsheets, do my accounts, manage remote servers, audio editing, photo editing and much much more.

I have a tablet, a laptop(s) and a main computer. The main computer gets the most use and it just wouldn't be possible to replace this with a tablet.

 

[chaser]

Tablets are fine for consuming content, reading forums, email, watching videos and viewing photo's. But they are absolutely no good for serious business use or content creators. I could not do proper video editing on a tablet, store my 8TB of video, run my programming environment, do my spreadsheets, do my accounts, manage remote servers, audio editing, photo editing and much much more.

I have a tablet, a laptop(s) and a main computer. The main computer gets the most use and it just wouldn't be possible to replace this with a tablet.

Not disputing that for one minute, I couldn't do what I used to do on pcs on this iPad but for someone retired and just surfing , emails and photos and stuff a windows 10 pc is way ,way over the top.
As I mentioned in another thread I have got a windows 10 phone got as an upgrade, nightmare! In a draw after a month , I did try to persevere with it but just had to go back to android.

 

[Gromett]

Not disputing that for one minute, I couldn't do what I used to do on pcs on this iPad but for someone retired and just surfing , emails and photos and stuff a windows 10 pc is way ,way over the top.

This thread is probably not for you then

 

[hilldweller]

Get one of the V3 Pi's....... Remember that it will run a magnitude fast on a real computer....

Gobsmacked !

I've dabbled with a B V2 for years, works OK but slow.

V3 arrived yesterday. Grabbed NOOB. Stuck it in and a while later it asked for the WiFi password.

It's on a different planet to the V2. It's just like using a decent windows computer in terms of the user interface. Runs YouTube full screen no problem. Displays photos as well as Irfanview.

Just amazing and Made In UK.

I did not expect this !!

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