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08-12-2012, 02:49 AM
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#1
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LQ Newbie
Registered: Aug 2012
Posts: 4
Rep: 
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My desktop has has no current operating system
My desktop pc had its OS wiped and is currently blank. Can I install a linux distro from a thumb drive? And if so, any recomendations on the distro, i'm kind of leaning towards slackware
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08-12-2012, 04:18 AM
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#2
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LQ 5k Club
Registered: Jan 2006
Location: Oldham, Lancs, England
Distribution: Slackware64 15; SlackwareARM-current (aarch64); Debian 12
Posts: 8,311
Rep: 
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Yes, use unetbootin to install from USB. As far as recommending distros goes, everybody is going to recommend their personal favourite - which might not suit you. So I suggest trying a few, and making your own mind up which is best for you.
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
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1 members found this post helpful.
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08-12-2012, 04:27 AM
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#3
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LQ Addict
Registered: Nov 2008
Location: Paris, France
Distribution: Slint64-15.0
Posts: 11,418
Rep: 
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Hello, welcome to LQ.
Yes many distributions can be installed from a thumb drive nowadays.
As a Slackware user, I can't but recommend you to install Slackware.
Installing Slackware using a bootable USB stick
Before you begin the installation, have at hand the Slackware Linux CD-ROM Installation HOWTO as the installation process is the same with a thumb drive.
More information is available @ slackware.com.
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1 members found this post helpful.
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08-12-2012, 04:44 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Registered: Jan 2005
Location: Roodepoort, South Africa
Distribution: Ubuntu 12.04, Antix19.3
Posts: 3,797
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Maybe some specs will help us to help you.
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1 members found this post helpful.
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08-12-2012, 10:53 AM
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#5
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LQ Veteran
Registered: Jul 2006
Location: London
Distribution: PCLinuxOS, Salix
Posts: 6,268
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Distros vary in how they handle USB sticks.
1. They may have a hybred image, which can be placed on either DVD or USB. I'm doubt that Windows comes with a suitable tool by default, but they are available.
2. You may need to get and use unetbootin, as mentioned by Brian.
3. Salix (live version) has Windows software on the disk, so you can create a USB installer without downloading anything but the disk image.
Slackware is good in that the software is well tested and stable, but it's very 'hands-on': it lacks the installation and housekeeping tools that other distros have. Using it is a bit 1990s. Salix takes Slackware and adds the user-friendliness.
But I'm not going to say "I like Salix, so it must be good", and I wouldn't recommend CentOS either. If you've never used Linux, Fuduntu, Mepis, and Mint are probably the best starting points.
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2 members found this post helpful.
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08-12-2012, 11:57 AM
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#6
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Moderator
Registered: Mar 2008
Posts: 22,361
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A wiped computer has to either have some means to boot. Be it cd, floppy, flash card, usb or pxe. Some bootable media is generally the easy way to load an OS. The second way is to remove hard drive and then load it remotely and return it.
As to choice, that question always seem to generate a lot of answers. Might post specs of your system for a better guess. I like Opensuse right now for a newish system. I load it directly on a usb flash and run it from flash drives so I can use it anywhere. I used to use www.pendrivelinux.com tools and ideas but almost all distro's on www.distrowatch.com can be installed to a cheap 8G flash drive.
Last edited by jefro; 08-12-2012 at 05:41 PM.
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1 members found this post helpful.
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08-12-2012, 12:41 PM
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#7
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Member
Registered: Jun 2012
Location: USA
Distribution: Ubuntu
Posts: 424
Rep:
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If you are a new user, Slackware is not the best choice. You'd be better off with Mint or Fedora...both of which can install from USB very easily.
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1 members found this post helpful.
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08-12-2012, 03:07 PM
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#8
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Member
Registered: Jul 2004
Distribution: slackware
Posts: 225
Rep:
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The wquestion is how much hands-on do you want to be with your linux? Do you want it to work immediately out of the box allowing you to browse web and play movies and add software effortlessly? Then you might be good with *buntu or Mint. If you want to make your fingers weyt and don't mind the frustration of learning curve and want to become linux expert then distros like Slack and Gentoo and even Arch will teach you the inner workings of linux - you have to set everything up yourself.
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1 members found this post helpful.
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08-12-2012, 05:08 PM
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#9
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LQ Newbie
Registered: Aug 2012
Posts: 4
Original Poster
Rep: 
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Thanks for your replies, I checked my BIOS and it doesnt have an option for usb, but it does for cd. So I'm going to borrow a computer from a friend and load the distro onto a cd that way and load it to my pc. My desktop is very old, circa 2002. and as far as distros go i want to be very hands on and learn the complete workings of linux.
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08-12-2012, 05:43 PM
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#10
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Moderator
Registered: Mar 2008
Posts: 22,361
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The amount of ram is important to us.
How new is the machine? It may not have a choice to say usb but it still might have that ability.
What kind of processor?
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1 members found this post helpful.
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08-12-2012, 05:44 PM
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#11
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LQ Newbie
Registered: Aug 2012
Posts: 4
Original Poster
Rep: 
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512 ram and pentium 1ghz processor
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08-12-2012, 06:10 PM
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#12
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LQ Addict
Registered: Nov 2008
Location: Paris, France
Distribution: Slint64-15.0
Posts: 11,418
Rep: 
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That's enough to run Slackware.
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08-12-2012, 09:54 PM
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#13
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Member
Registered: Jun 2012
Location: USA
Distribution: Ubuntu
Posts: 424
Rep:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by schultz1988
512 ram and pentium 1ghz processor
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I'd suggest a lighter distro like the Fedora Xfce spin, or Xubuntu, or Mint LXDE version.
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08-12-2012, 10:11 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Registered: May 2004
Location: In the DC 'burbs
Distribution: Arch, Scientific Linux, Debian, Ubuntu
Posts: 4,290
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I'd also suggest upgrading to a full 1 GB of RAM if possible. Even with a light DE, 512 MB might be a bit light.
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08-13-2012, 12:29 AM
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#15
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LQ Newbie
Registered: Aug 2012
Posts: 4
Original Poster
Rep: 
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Is there a way I can change the BIOS to boot from a usb? Or do I need to use a dvd?
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