you linux folks are the best, I really think that the linux community is the finest esgment of society...after all, smarter? well obviously you gotta figure out how to load and use, right? So my hat is off to you good people...Thanks, truth be known, I am gonna wait til I can get a KVM and set up this really old compaq computer that is sitting in back rm, unused of course, and load it with ONLY linux and use it for a internet computer..might work best with a MINT CINNAMON????? will give details at some future date after winning lotto for cost of KVM, cables, and dvd/cd burner....but when you consider,,$50 for all and a new pc outta the deal, a firewall or whatever between interet viruses and all that stuff, and getting onto the internet quickly,,,that is a good barganin anyday...thanks for all your posts...(wont give up on my install attempts, btu I gotta give myself something to dream of now, to shoot for)

it is starting to look like the cd install is my only option at this time, I downloaded late, late, late last night a thing called WINiso or something like that,,,dont recall, some guys website. still cannot figure how to get it to unlock, unzip, whatever when pc restarts off from the usb flash drive. One I did download is called...lemme see, ISO to USB, looks pretty nice, but it reformats the USB flash drive and may cook it for further use. WIFE WOULD KILL ME if i permanently lost her info on it, have already copied to folder on desktop, but who knows? when we got married, not before, she told me "A sleeping man never hears a swinging baseball bat" I believe her, would'nt you? I got to thinking, and I have a total of 4 older pcs, most I think are around the 32 bit, 12gb hard drive, 64mb ram, who knows what Mhz they are, lets just say 10 yrs old about. I think those would be great to use for 'learning how to load on etc' use the KVM etc. Use the slax or whatever, puppy maybe,,,dont think they have the horsepower required for the MINT CINNAMON...certainly too old for ubuntu derivs like Pinguy...but I gotta start someplace. i will have to google the pc's cd drives to see if they are fast enough for uploading iso onto the pc, and go from there....thanks folks for being so patient, understanding and helpful...means alot..I mean it!

quote of the day...sicko aint I ?
A FAMISHED MAN SHOULD NEVER EAT PRUNES.....( or mix prune juice with bourbon,,tastes great, but as you can imagine...has dire effects, yeah, I actually did it, in college days.....alas...what a tool I was)

You definitely need another dive of some sort to back up and keep safe any needed data to use the USB for boot you need to wipe it.

I like the idea Firefox54 had Ubuntu is easy but should back up files or at least put them all on the USB stick if you can fit what you need then give it a whirl, so to speak? Snowpine's was good too.

WINiso should just be a clickable .exe installer but for unzipping archive formats try IZArc or 7zip...

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sorry for being so long winded, I forgot to mention a distro that I think looks mighty good for my pcs...but not sure...OPINIONS???? PEPPERMINT OS...vs ????? seems simple enough, like the Mint Cinnamon too...I do like the BOHDI as well, but it seems that it is not supported any longer???? Am I wrong on this? Seems like there are so very very very many versions of linux for the older pcs out there,many have fallen out of favor and no longer have support. I may just have to take
my time to choose the right one for each of my older pcs. Will keep my DELL c521 for loading Pinguy or sim distro. but after learning how to with other pcs and trying out the ones I load on it, will have much better idea of what is going on. First off, let me see if I understand LINUX OS basics, maybe that is where to start? OK....for internet usage which is my main goal here, it comes with google chrome or sim right? comes loaded with all the stuff needed for pc usage, dont have to add more stuff to it. No need to worry about adware, spyware, viruses am I right on these? no need for anti virus software either.
AND it is faster than mine is now loading pgs on win xp internet browsing...am I correct on all these pts? If so....then i am headed in right direction.


quote......A famished man should never eat prunes!

Sorry to say that older pcs with 12gb hard drive and 64mb ram are not useful for modern Linux.

USB flash drives are very, very cheap (less than $10) so please buy a new one for your Linux adventures and don't touch the one with your wife's files!!

Another really bad idea is downloading "something... from some guy's website." All distros have official instructions on their homepages, and that is what you should be following.

For example if you want to install Ubuntu (**not** my favorite distro, and I don't think it will run well on your old hardware... just using it as an example!) first you read the hardware requirements to make your hardware is capable: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...emRequirements

Then you read the official documentation which covers how-to-copy Ubuntu to a USB (hint: it doesn't involve downloading random software from some guy's website ): http://www.ubuntu.com/download/deskt...ick-on-windows

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actually, after researching linux distros alot, I found that my old dell c521 does have the horsepower for many of the newer distros...1.87ghz, ok there, 1.5gb ram, ok there too, got the hard drive space so again, good to go there as well. I like the PINGUY system, has alot of the stuff I want, seems to me, MAYBE I AM WRONG...PLEASE ENLIGHTEN OH WISE ONES IN THE WAYS OF LINUX....OMMMMMM MANNI PODDDNE OMMMMM...( not making fun here, just being obnoxiously humorous....??) iF THIS is the case,,,,and it would run Ubuntu 12.04, and pinguy is sim to it, deriv of it? and has the stuff I need out of the box,,,,then maybe, just maybe it will do the trick...I can always unload and do the ubuntu 12.04 instead, right?

I did find a great EHOW PAGE on how to use my usb to upload the distros with a iso to usb converter....will find REPUTABLE ONE....but will deinitely buy new one today, and leave wifes ALONE...

here is the ehow pg link,,,it actually makes sense and looks do able for an old fart like me, well, hopefully?
http://www.ehow.com/how_5942169_conv...table-usb.html

There is Lubuntu if you can combine the ram of the 4 older?

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I would be cautious about using such tutorials instead of the official instructions.

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Wow, there are so many things about computers I dont know, it could fill the library of congress. OK it appears that something I already had loaded onto my computer 7zip or something like that not only does other kinds of UNZIPPING...but ISO files to the usb flash drives as well. I actually tried it, and it would have worked, except that the flash drive I have, (WIFES) is only a 2 or 4 gb, dont know size, but it basically had to stop process because there was not enough rm. SO, if any of the guests visiting my ramblings and probs trying to upload linux have it already then you are good to go, and can do it better than I have done...but here is the link to the 7zip, works pretty well for the iso files by the way...no fooling around, it just gets in there and works on it...hope it helps. Feel like such a dumb bunny....

http://7zip.tv/download-7zip/lp/7zip..._7Zip_US_Broad

You can use Unetbootin to put iso's on a usb stick. You just have to tell it not to restart the computer at the end.

Well yet another 12 hrs of my life WASTED....Bought a new 8gb flash drive for $8, loaded it, then unzipped reformatted it with the iso to usb program....DONT USE IT....cooked the usb flash....took it back for exchange...try again...ok, this time, downloaded pinguy 12 again....waited the 2 hrs for it, wrote down all the how to install stuff of the website....restarted pc after unzipping with 7zip which claims to do the iso to usb stuff.....wait, wait wait..F12.....tried everything several times...no load, every blasted time...nothing...no fancy linux install screens....Every linux system distro whatever has these nice, cute lil how to load instruction pgs....well, nothing happens like that on my piece of crap dell pc...nothing even close...no dice. NOTHING HAPPENS AT ALL....NOTHING...DID I SAY NOTHING HAPPENS??????? OK, NOW I HAVE VENTED.....I am going to give up even trying with the usb load thing...it wont work no matter how hard I try, tried it with winzip, unebootin, 7zip, others too, maybe 4 of em best guess....all I do is waste my time and yours reading this. Linux might work fine uploading on your computer, but on my pc...it apparently hates mine big time. SO....I will buy me a cd/dvd burner, drive whatever....load onto it and try yet again....I give up...this is too hard for me to figure out.....disgusted in st. joseph mo...

Do you have a link to the page that recommended to use 7zip to write a Linux .iso to USB? I've never heard of this technique.

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It can unpack and pack an .iso but can't burn one and copying files or .iso to a disk is different than specifically burning an image from .iso to disk something for example Nero can do from its utilities although I suggest: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolso...urnisofile.htm

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WELL, HOORAY,,,,,,,,FINALLY GOT IT DONE,,,,GOT MINT 13 LOADED USING UNETBOOTIN app online,,,took me doing it yet again another couple of times...but here I am on mint linux, 13..MINT MAYA.....so...thanks to all you good folks, I did NOT GIVE UP as previously I mentioned i was doing. had to try it a couple more times...and lo and behold it got taken care of. Partioned off the hard drive to go alongside win xp, and it works great. Still got a few bugs to work out, cannot figure it all out at present, but that will take time. I wish they had a 'how to' app or whatever it is called to show you thru all that is going on here, but I will keep looking it over. They have a really nice walk thru when it is still downloading/installing....i wish that was accessible during your every day. IT was so nice, had to brag about it to the wife unit. she will look it over later on...tomorrow??? anyway, thanks so much to each and every one of you, thanks for putting up with my griping and all. I am sorry for that, really. I got it loaded HOORAY!

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forgoty to mention something else for all those folks reading this as guests...this mint13 is so very much faster on the old pc I am using than my winxp version for internet exploring....you will see when you do it...trust me, it is at least 5 times faster, and best of all, no infections to worry about, no anti virus to slow stuff down....i love this mint 13,,,,check into it...really folks....

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