Distro Reviews

tomscharbach

riffer I just think the Windows site was unusually slow ...

That's entirely possible. Today is "Patch Tuesday", when hundreds of millions of Windows 10/11 computers are downloading the 2022-04 Cumulative updates at the same time, so it is possible that the server you were connected to was struggling just when you needed it to be at the top of its game. That's not supposed to happen, but the real world is the real world.

WetGeek

tomscharbach After that's all done, try to install again.

That sounds like good advice, but all that was done before the Aquamarine installer was run. No legacy, UEFI only, no secure boot, etc. The only thing I didn't do was set everything to factory settings first.

At any rate, we only use this little laptop for traveling; it's convenient for carrying in and out of motels. And we haven't been doing much of that for a while now. I'm going to revisit it when I'm not so tired of installing and configuring stuff.

brent

WetGeek been home and been kicking around this for an hour. it's pretty...I like it...it's Solus in a paralell universe, Budgie and all...nothing new here really..but really dislike this disorganized software center--it looks like a movie marquee in Times Square. Fedora-Flatpak is their repo best I can see. If I never heard of Solus I think I would like this more...right now I'm just banging my knees on the furniture. On my Beautiful Ventoy Love USB there is a LXDE Porteus that will change places with UltraM if I don't discover this distro's individuality soon....

tomscharbach

WetGeek The only thing I didn't do was set everything to factory settings first.

The only purpose to resetting UEFI/BIOS to default settings is to clean UEFI/BIOS and get a fresh start so to speak. On my test computer, where I install/uninstall OS's with relative frequency, I lose track of what I've set/reset in UEFI/BIOS over time to accommodate the particular requirements of the different OS's, so I make it a practice to reset to default and rebuild my settings from scratch once a year. I'd probably be better off following "best practices" and documenting UEFI/BIOS changes in detail so that I would know exactly what I've changed from default at any given time, and why I made the changes, but I don't. As one of my uncles used to say when he caught me off reading a book someplace instead of working on the farm, I'm "as lazy as a dog in August".

WetGeek

brent

I was curious how you're testing the OSs in the .ISO files you download. Do you install them on your hardware, or run the "Live" versions on the USB?

joluveba

WhiteWolf Anyone here tried to play with Void Linux? I must say it's amazing fast and runit and services management is a pleasure. Looks like it's getting more popular.

I didn't, but I would like to try Void Linux some day, heard good things about it. To the Budgie lovers, I saw it has Budgie 10.6 in its repository. KDE Plasma 5.24.3. A little behind Solus, but not bad.

WetGeek

tomscharbach The only purpose to resetting UEFI/BIOS to default settings is to clean UEFI/BIOS and get a fresh start so to speak.

I understand. In your case, I think it makes a lot of sense.

Brucehankins

tomscharbach The only purpose to resetting UEFI/BIOS to default settings is to clean UEFI/BIOS and get a fresh start so to speak.

Could you accomplish the same thing with something like efibootmgr?

tomscharbach

Brucehankins Could you accomplish the same thing with something like efibootmgr?

I would assume so, but I've never used a UEFI/BIOS software overlay or seen the need to so do. I'm also wary of allowing third-party software to alter UEFI/BIOS.

Dell UEFI/BIOS menus for modern Optiplex and Latitude computers are designed for use by IT professionals who need to have control over every aspect of UEFI/BIOS, and feature detailed, logically structured GUI menus with clear descriptions of each setting and related setting interactions, along with full system error/alert logs.

I'm always surprised when other users tell me, in response to a suggestion I make, that "My BIOS doesn't allow me to change that setting ..." Dumbing down UEFI/BIOS might reduce IT-10-T errors, but comes at a cost.

I would like to see Dell UEFI/BIOS keep a persistent log of every change made to UEFI/BIOS over time, from first boot until the present, but I can't have everything.

I'll take a look at efibootmgr to see what it does, and doesn't do. If it doesn't allow me to change basic settings like processor sleep states or USB power states or manage speed shift, I'll probably be better off sticking with UEFI/BIOS settings.

Brucehankins

tomscharbach efibootmgr is more for managing your efi boot entries. It allows you activate or deactivate, change order, add or remove entries. Doesn't allow you to manage or change BIOS options. But I was thinking of your comment on starting with a clean slate as managing or removing old or stuck efi entries, not starting fresh on BIOS settings as well.
For me, BIOS settings are typically a one and done kind of deal. I set it up how I want/need it, then don't mess with it again unless there's a problem. Swapping boot order of multiple partitions or drives, cleaning out old entries, or verifying data is something I do frequently.

tomscharbach

Brucehankins For me, BIOS settings are typically a one and done kind of deal. I set it up how I want/need it, then don't mess with it again unless there's a problem. Swapping boot order of multiple partitions or drives, cleaning out old entries, or verifying data is something I do frequently.

Yup. UEFI/BIOS settings on my production computers are stable. I set the Optiplex desktops one way, the Latitude laptops another and don't change things until I decide to do a bottom-up rebuild.

My test computers (one Optliplex, one Latitude) are entirely different animals. I fiddle with them all the time (SecureBoot on/off, SATA RAID/ACHI, this, that and the other) depending on what I'm running and what I want to do. I reset UEFI/BIOS annually because I no longer have any idea by then what I might have changed.

The reason I suggested resetting to default to @WetGeek for his ASUS Travelmate is that he seems to be constantly changing that machine, and reported what might have been a UEFI/BIOS issue.

Thanks for the suggestion, and thanks for the explanation.

joluveba

riffer In the meantime I am forced to install Windows to do my tax return. I think my old T420 will have to suffer the dishonour 🙁

Sorry if I'm asking a silly question, but, can't you do it on Linux?

I've been doing it on Linux for years, but you know, every country has different requirements, maybe you need some software not available on Linux.

riffer

joluveba

Unfortunately, My options are Windows, Android/IOS or browser. Not even sure about browser as that might just be for simple returns. No big deal. Install went better than I suspected it would.

WetGeek

My next adventure: Archman Linux

WetGeek

WetGeek Archman Linux

I'm posting this from there now. The Archman distro is, of vourse, based on Arch Linux. Its Budgi 10.5 (so far) implementation is quite good. The only owie I've found so far is a right-click on the background that displays the usual "Budgie Desktop Settings" and "System Settings," but clicking on "System Settings" does nothing. That's not really a showstopper, though, because system settings is available from the start menu.

Budgie settings look very normal. There are different themes than most of us are used to, of course, but I don't have any problem with them.

codewizard1975

@WetGeek I did try out the Ultramarine Linux. While it was nice and worked great for some things, it still lacked a lot of the basics that most distros set up during installation.

brent

WetGeek ultramarine budgie I worked thru in its live usb mode. I wasn't patient enough to see it as anything more than a variant of Solus Budgie.
Porteus: bare metal install. Love it.
Mageia 8: bare metal install. Love it but can't solve the internet connection problem yet.
I will say one nice thing about Windows: you can make a bare metal install disappear in a single keystroke so you can start again.
NEXT:
Euro Linux
Gecko
Haiku
Puppy
Slack

TRIED AND MOVED ON:
Venom
NuTyx
Void
Rosa
PsychOS
FreeBSD (@elfprince : FreeBSD revealed my true Low IQ. That distro is a widow-maker🙂).
MX Linux

Apparently WetGeek , this thread will never die🙂.
Digi it.

Brucehankins

brent you should throw Peppermint and NixOS on your list.

jppelt

brent Haiku is so much fun and different. Although I think in some ways harder to figure out than FreeBsd...although I quickly gave up and was able to work with GhostBSD. Neither lasted more than a day. BSD reminds me of late 90s/early 00s Linux...a lot of work to get minor things working (e.g. printers). Have you tried Bohdi? I did when Josh started talking about changing Budgie to enlightened tool kit. It has a real unique feel.

Brucehankins I liked Peppermint in the early days when they were trying to be 100% cloud...less interesting as yet another Debian fork.

riffer

brent Porteus sounds interesting. I'm putting it on my list.

brent

jppelt Heard that about Haiku. It's not a priority. And BSD is an acquired taste, for sure. you say it reminds you of 90/00s. Reminds me of DOS as well. I respect the determination and advanced aptitude it takes to run systems like this. I need a GUI a little more!
Brucehankins I hear a lot about Nix. SO many distros not enough time to audition a true #2. Look forward to the gecko test run. Aren't all Mints the same?

WetGeek

brent And BSD is an acquired taste,

Indeed. A taste I failed to acquire.

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