I'm stuck between which Linux I should install. Its currently a 3 way tie between Linux Mint 17.2 xfce or cinnamon, Zorin 9 Core, and Chalet Os. My pc specs are an I5 at 3.0ghz with 6gb ram. I'm not sure about graphics card but its goo enough to run skyrim and oblivion no problem fron windows 8.1. I really want a windows like expience which I get with all 3. Most importantly a file manger most like windows explorer would be ideal. I just love linux mints lightweightness and features. I like Zorins look and ubuntu base for easy apps/support. I also like Chalets customibility(idk if that's a word) snf ubuntu base. I only will run chrome,firefox,virtualbox(Chrome Os,Windows 98, Mac Mountain Lion, and android x86 as guests but never more than 3 at once),Vlc, and emulated gaming(snes,gba,n64). I'm going to install whatever linux onto a 32gb flashdrive partioned into 2 partions the one for linux is about 26 gb and than a 3gb which will contain a puppy linux live cd(or usb in this case). I want to know if that's even possible(I belive it is.) So,what linux should I choose and than if recomend what's a good windows like file manager?
Which linux is the best?
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bazzarooney
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spankmon
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I recommend Mint 17.2 xfce as the best starting point. It's easy to turn off compositing so there won't be any screen tearing in videos or games. Thunar file manager (standard in xfce) is my favorite... but not really the same as windows explorer. If your video card is AMD/ATI then the stock open-source drivers should work well for your purposes. If you have NVidia graphics then you should probably use the proprietary drivers.
Yea I know but I'm not overally familiar with linux commandline and packages. Also I have a terrible dsl connecrion so downloading is a pain. Id rather get something pre packaged becaude it would take forever to build and its not my personal pc hencing the flashdrive
spankmon
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I spend most of my time on mint and have no complaints. I have several steam games that work fine and also use chrome to watch netflix videos with no problem. Videos on my hard drive play perfectly (as long as compositing is off). I've tried many different distros/desktops in the past eight years, and always go back to xfce as my main environment. The only desktop that I will use with compositing on is KDE (compositing can be auto-disabled during full-screen usage). Although they look nice, Gnome 3 and cinnamon cause video problems that I'd rather not deal with, but it's been a year since I last tried either. Windows 10 seems good, but I don't really spend much time on it. Hasn't caused any problems for the two weeks I've had it running.
that's good and reasuring for me. I may just choose mint after all. Besides it was my first linux I ever tried. I'm not sure though is 17.2 Ubuntu or Debian based? I think ubuntu but not sure. I want to know so I can predownload some software. I wont be streaming videos or using steam though because of my internet. Maybe Ill put win 10 on this drive too. I hate using flashdrives but its my only choice.
spankmon
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Mint's father is Ubuntu, grandfather is Debian. Pretty much I treat Mint just like any Ubu-based distro. My take on Win10 is... if you're happy with Win 8, keep using it until your curiosity overpowers your reservations. They both should run well on your hardware.. the video card is the only question mark, in my opinion.
spankmon
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There are two Mint computers in my family that run on stock Intel graphics. Working well for movies and lower level games. Most of the newest generation Linux distros that I've tried work nicely... Mint just happens to be the quickest to install and set up for me. But if some other distro keeps calling your name, don't be afraid to give it a try. Good luck.
spankmon
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I've never installed any distro on a flash drive (I assume you mean a mini card, like the ones in smart phones?). If you're instead talking about a thumb drive... that's what I use to install them to the hard drive, but the live environment isn't the same as installing. I would guess that you might not have the full enjoyment compared to a hard drive install. In that case you might be more satisfied with something really quick and light like puppy, extix, lubuntu or antiX.
I mean a thumb drive I have used a mini card but there too expensive for this use. I. I know you can boot a live desktop off them and install but I mean boot off a cd or second usb and and install onto the correct flashdrive partion. I have read that it is possible in ubuntu by changing sda to sdb but not sure in mint. Ill give it a shot though. I do like puppy alot that'd why I'm making a live usb of it in the second partion! It works great on my grandmothers laptop(100x faster and usuable than bloated down vista) and is a great distro to try on diffrrnt computers.
Yes I'm aware of that. The one I have had for over a year is still fine.Its not my computer so flashdrives are my only option.I only use it for 2 hourse Monday through Friday until school starts than it will be an hour a day Monday through Friday if I'm lucky usually less.Is there a brand of flashdrive you recommend for the longest life my current one is a sandisk I just bought a cheapie lexar 32gb and are afraid that wont last long.
what is compsiting? How do I trun it off? So I installed mint onto an 13gb partion(its too small I have to fix it) and booted. The live cd worked no porblem. However it was so slow and unusuable when booted from the flashdrive. Everythngbwould freeze up and crash while firefox would causenightmares. All I was tryingbto do was change settings and I couldn't do it. The settings page would load id be able to select what I wanted changed than that windo would take forever to appear than freeze than finzlly work but when exiting freeze up again. I tried to change the theme and they never chnaged because it was running so slow. I did this for about a halfhour before I gave up. Will compositing fix this or is it the flashdrive? Maybe its mint? I will try it again today but if I get the same issues I'm done.
There is no "best Linux distribution," because the question and answer is inherently of subjective nature. Personally, I love to use LFS with i3-wm (or Ubuntu with i3-wm when I'm lazy), but that's me -- then again, I'm a "terminal whore," meaning I use the command line prompt a lot. Also, minus Puppy, you need to bear in mind that all of the 3 other distributions you cited (Mint, Zorin, and Chalet) are Debian-based, so the differences are essentially aesthetic and mostly trivial or superficial within the periphery of user-space operations (there are a few kernel-space differences, but they aren't noticeable to the average lay user). All of the distributions can be lightweight if you choose to install manually, so that shouldn't be a problem. The real question you're asking is about the window manager, and each of the distributions can run Gnome, KDE, Cinnamon, XFCE, or whichever flavor you fancy. All of them are customizable, so if you want a Windows-like experience, you need direct yourself to <http://gnome-look.org>, <http://kde-look.org>, or some other customize-savvy website, whichever one is appropriate.
It depends on how it's used. If you're talking about using it regularly, not needing to run it on various computers (i.e., no mobility issues), updating the software by convention means, and booting with it (as a host), then, the answer is a definite no. For regular use and experimentation, I suggest using a VM. In this case, there's no real reason to not use a VM to experiment. A flash drive installation makes sense for using "light" specialized live-distributions, like, GParted.
Its would be used alot 5 days a week for about an hoyr some days 2 hours. Since its not my pc I have to boot off something and a live cd isn't a good idea for saving changes. I only would run chrome firefox and virtualbox off it. Also a few file explorer windows that's all really.
Ah. Okay, I see where you're going with this now. In this case, I would stay away from a dinky flash drive because you're going to be running a VM. If you were only running web browsers, this wouldn't be much of a problem. It's also perfectly fine to use a live-distribution cd/dvd with a USB drive to save things across sessions. The real question is what the host has available and what kind of hardware you have available. Your best bet is to use an eSATA or USB 3 setup for optimal performance, as VMs can be taxing (CPU-wise and read/write IO operations).
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