I’ve heard a lot of good things about Linux, so when I needed to install it on an old computer I was keen to look at the various distributions and try them out. The usual method for this is to download an ISO image and burn it onto a CD, but there are so many versions of Linux around that I thought I’d save on CDs and install them on a USB pen drive. With some versions you can do that directly, but others need a third-party program.
That was where things went wrong.
The first version I decided to try was Linux Mint. All went well until I tried to reboot my computer to go back into Windows; all I could get was Linux Mint. I reinstalled Windows; Linux Mint appeared on my monitor. All roads led back to bloody Linux Mint! I can’t even bear to look at a packet of Polo mints now!
In the end I went out and bought some blank CDs, which is what I should have done in the first place. Meanwhile, I’m now running Ubuntu Linux on both machines, and I’m actually beginning to enjoy exploring it. I’m even able to run a few of my Windows programs, using software called Wine.
I hope nobody is put off by my experience. So long as you stick to the CD route it’s completely safe. If only I’d known that before.
Thanks! The loss of almost all my data and the use of most of my Windows software is getting a little less painful now!
I have enjoyed a couple of linux distro’s, but have not been able to get one to boot from a pendrive AND save configuration changes.
In fact, the only one I was able to get to work booting from USB was called easypeasy, and it was designed (I think) for netbooks.
Good luck with your explorations, DaveD
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