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Rollback RX vs GRUB

Yep, turns out that the whole thing, which started trivially about a year ago, was pure education. It was tough accepting the fact that after all that learning, I had no real use for it and have since ditched it all.

Maybe someday a pretty widow will ask me if I can tweak her grub...
 
Okay, sorry, I felt naked without my Linux so I gave it a 50GB partition. Another question, of course:

I want to change the Grub list order so it defaults to Windows. I see there are Linux apps for this, but I'd rather do it in Windows... does such a thing exist?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[edit] Never mind. I gave up on that being possible, being that Windows doesn't even know what's hiding in an ext4 partition. So I had to learn something else, and it worked too:

Grub Customizer

Now, if I want to ignore Linux like I usually do, I can just ignore the Grub list and it'll boot Windows all by itself.

It does seem that Linux Mint could be pretty amazing, if I knew a damn thing about it.
 
jefboyardee said:
Never mind. I gave up on that being possible, being that Windows doesn't even know what's hiding in an ext4 partition. So I had to learn something else, and it worked too:

Grub Customizer

Now, if I want to ignore Linux like I usually do, I can just ignore the Grub list and it'll boot Windows all by itself.
Click to expand...

I use that same utility and have mine set up to default highlight and load Windows also. It's not my preference as I almost always boot to a linux distro but that way if I'm not home and the wife/kids needs to use the PC (invariably Windows), they can do a simple reboot and not have to deal with the bootloader options.
 
iowabowtech said:
I use that same utility and have mine set up to default highlight and load Windows also. It's not my preference as I almost always boot to a linux distro but that way if I'm not home and the wife/kids needs to use the PC (invariably Windows), they can do a simple reboot and not have to deal with the bootloader options.
Click to expand...

But, But, but....think of the teaching opportunity! The time to influence the next generation is NOW!!! ;)
 
Okay, if I want to feel like a moderator, I boot into Linux. If I want to feel like a kid (or a wife), I just ignore Grub and boot into Windows.
 
I didn't take that the way you thought I must have, I was just goofing. I appreciate all the advice I get here at AF. And both of my systems are set up the same, although one is just trying to.
 
Sorry if I'm talking to myself, but you're listening. I'm drowning in Linux now. Thinking that (a) this dual booting can't go on forever, I have to choose a favorite and ditch the other, and (b) it's too soon to decide, but a Linux PC is certainly cheaper than a Windows one, like this 3.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400/4 GB RAM/1 TB HD/Custom FAST Desktop Computer. That idea hasn't taken over the commercial world yet, but it's all the rage on eBay.
 
jefboyardee said:
This is what I was trying to think...

Is the Linux desktop becoming extinct?

After a decade of looking for the "year of the Linux desktop", many Linux columnists have given up. Some say it isn't coming, while others claim that Linux has simply failed on the desktop.
Click to expand...

Linux will be happening on the desktop, laptop and tablet. But it won't be Ubuntu or Fedora, etc. It will be Android, and it's already started. Microsoft has problems.
 
jefboyardee said:
a Linux PC is certainly cheaper than a Windows one, like this
1
3.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400/4 GB RAM/1 TB HD/Custom FAST Desktop Computer. That idea hasn't taken over the commercial world yet, but it's all the rage on eBay.
Click to expand...

That E8400 chip is nice - they were the toast of the last generation. You can overclock it to 4 GHz easily. :)

Yeah the price of the computer is very low when you discount the disproportionately priced Microsoft OS that comes on low budget PCs. Windows would be, what, 80% the cost of that machine?
 
Linux is dead... Linux is just getting ready... I'm finding a zillion articles on each side. And just after I removed my triple boot (installed Zorin too, just to see if I could), I remembered that I ordered that book. Then, armed with a bookful of knowledge, I'll probably dual boot again. I'm adrift in an ocean of bad marketing.

Market Share
Windows 90.72%
Mac 7.68%
Linux 1.60%
 
No need to tell Grub to load Windows. Learn Grub (it's really pretty trivial - I don't mean to learh how it works, just learn how to set up the configuration), and let it boot Windows if you haven't chosen anything in, say, 15 seconds.

(I seem to recall -this is before your time, we had dinosaur running the generators - some guy deciding to see how many distros of Linux he could install on one drive, all selectable at boot time. I don't think he quite reached 256, but he came close and probably gave up from sheer exhaustion.)

Given a pair of 3TB drives, you could probably install every single distro - and your Windows voodoo machine.

BTW, you don't need a stick to boot Linux - there's an Android app that lets you boot anything you have an iso for.
 
I've since removed the multiple distro partitions, reinstalled Mint and used Grub Customizer to clean up the displayed boot choices. Now it just says 'Windows 7' and 'Linux Mint,' with the default being Windows. That's fine, I can ignore Mint that way. Along with voodoo Rollback, both live side by side on my hard drive. My ancient USB1 boot works but is painfully slow.

Why there are so many distros is not only a mystery to me, it keeps the computing public from ever taking Linux seriously. So I'm going with the (current) leader and hope all the others go away.
 
jefboyardee said:
Why there are so many distros is not only a mystery to me, it keeps the computing public from ever taking Linux seriously. So I'm going with the (current) leader and hope all the others go away.
Click to expand...

Don't know how it is in other countries, but from what I've seen lately many may of heard of and seen just one distro...Ubuntu. That's what seems to be promoted by manufacturers, along with Canonical and the government. And it's marketed as Ubuntu OS, no mention of Linux or Tux etc. Like when Android is marketed, the word Linux is very seldom used.
 
As the article I linked says, Linux Mint is "Ubuntu done right," and it's currently a runaway favorite at DistroWatch, for whatever that's worth. I've tried both of those and several others, but always go back to Mint, also for whatever that's worth... a very subjective market.
 
Distroitus, originally posted at DistroWatch:

I'm just a tinkerer that got tired of Windows and went exploring, to Linux of course, that being the only place a PC user can explore. I spent quite a while learning how to burn ISO DVDs, edit my MBR, install distros alongside and on flash, and keep my W7HP intact.

I've tried about ten distros and have come to a conclusion. As quirky as Windows is, the distro developers are so busy trying to outdo each other that they're missing the point: to make Linux so easy to use that no one in their right mind would actually spend money on the next version of Windows.

I always have about ten little helper programs when I run Windows, just to make the experience meet my needs. I can't find any of them on any distro, and if I can, I have to enter a bunch of terminal code to make them work, usually every time I boot. I and millions more hate entering code. That's exactly why each version of Windows leaned harder on improving GUI interaction and pushing DOS aside. So...

Pick one distro and ditch the others. Assign the developers of the ditched distros to find out what Windows does and learn how to make it better and easier. Put your heads together and create an operating system that makes Windows look as silly it is. It doesn't even have to be free.

I understand that Linux is already used for many business situations because it's much stronger at its core. So make it friendly, and I and those millions will come running. Meanwhile, I'll just tinker with it now and then...
 
jefboyardee said:
Distroitus, originally posted at DistroWatch:

I'm just a tinkerer that got tired of Windows and went exploring, to Linux of course, that being the only place a PC user can explore. I spent quite a while learning how to burn ISO DVDs, edit my MBR, install distros alongside and on flash, and keep my W7HP intact.

I've tried about ten distros and have come to a conclusion. As quirky as Windows is, the distro developers are so busy trying to outdo each other that they're missing the point: to make Linux so easy to use that no one in their right mind would actually spend money on the next version of Windows.
Click to expand...

TBH most non-techy regular PC users don't go out and spend money on Windows, it comes with the computers they buy. However Microsoft made it very easy to upgrade from 8.0 to 8.1 by making it free and is in the store that comes with 8.0. Much of the time if Windows stops working correctly it's often a restore partition or restore DVD, that just wipes the hard drive and restores the PC to factory defaults.


jefboyardee said:
I always have about ten little helper programs when I run Windows, just to make the experience meet my needs. I can't find any of them on any distro, and if I can, I have to enter a bunch of terminal code to make them work, usually every time I boot. I and millions more hate entering code. That's exactly why each version of Windows leaned harder on improving GUI interaction and pushing DOS aside. So...

Pick one distro and ditch the others. Assign the developers of the ditched distros to find out what Windows does and learn how to make it better and easier. Put your heads together and create an operating system that makes Windows look as silly it is. It doesn't even have to be free.

I understand that Linux is already used for many business situations because it's much stronger at its core. So make it friendly, and I and those millions will come running. Meanwhile, I'll just tinker with it now and then...
Click to expand...

I don't think that most regular PC users would even be looking at techy sites like Distrowatch. However if Linux is offered on low-cost laptops and all-in-ones in supermarkets, say Ubuntu, which is already happening in China, along with Android laptops, all-in-ones, smart TVs, etc. They don't even say "Linux" or "distro" and Tux is nowhere to be seen. The focus is very clearly on the Ubuntu OS brand and ready to be used, nothing else to be installed. This is a marketing initiative backed by both Canonical(Mark Shuttleworth) and the Chinese government. Think it's really to try and get away from dependence on a foreign company and the fact there's so much malware and viruses around, basically because Windows is usually pirated here and has one of the most useless AVs, Qihoo 360. Which is on nearly all PCs.

Linux netbooks were sold in supermarkets before, a few years ago, but often it was really crappy, labotomised and buggy versions, like Linpus. :rolleyes: ...which were not a good experience.

Trying out different distros is something often done myself over the years. But I've settled on just one that works as I want, Linux Mint KDE, and don't use Windows at all now for various reasons. Sure a lot of people like Ubuntu or Fedora, but they're not my favourites.
 
But I've settled on just one that works as I want, Linux Mint KDE, and don't use Windows at all now for various reasons.
Click to expand...

I have Mint Cinnamon installed as a dog in the backyard that I can go out and kick every now and then. I actually spend empty times trying to make it look and act like my Windows install, then I say what the hell am I doing and go back to Mr. Bill. At this point I can't imagine using Mint solely.
 
I really said bye bye to Mr. Gates early last year, mainly because of my location and so don't wish to take any unnecessary risks or make things difficult for myself. Full details are in one of the Win 8 threads. BTW I also use a Mac. :D

Cinnamon is a fork of Gnome. If you want Mint to look and work more like Windows, KDE is a better choice for that IMO. I don't use Cinnamon, but I tried it out though.
 
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