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Phillip McCleod

(1,837 posts)
Wed May 1, 2013, 11:12 PM May 2013

In the last two days I installed operating systems on 3 computers..

..one downgrade from Win8 to Win7 on a brand new Dell Inspiron i15. One upgrade from Vista to Win7 on a Dell i3 tower, Ispiron 220 i think. And one upgrade from XP to Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 32-bit on a decrepit Pentium M Toshiba Satellite.

Here's how it went for each, *not* including OS updates.

Dell Inspiron i15 laptop.. took a while. Had to set to Legacy BIOS for one instead of UEFI, and then 45 min later, Win7 was installed and running. Then began the Driver Dance. Since it wasn't the only job in the shop, it took more than a day to get the drivers right. I blame the fact that it's new hardware and I was doing a downgrade. Total time: ~3-5 hrs for an expert. On-Edit: for a competent user.. *not possible*.

Dell Inspiron 220 tower.. took a while, but less than the i15. Drivers loaded perfectly from a Dell OEM Windows 7 DVD.. no *dance* at all! Love it. Total time: 45 min. to an hour. On-edit: for competent not expert user.. 3-5 hrs.

Toshiba Satellite piece of shit laptop with the loose screen and dysfunctional DVD-ROM.. figuring out that the DVD drive was bad and figuring out how to boot from an external one took almost as long as installing Linux Mint Debian. Total time: 20 minutes. Tops. On-edit: for competent computer user with research.. probably days.

The hangup with Linux installs is always Gparted.. 'how to partition the hard drive'. Users aren't used to being given that power, and it's *scary*. Once you figure that out.. 20 minutes. tops.

..

BTW, that Toshiba runs the same version of Firefox as Windows 7, and almost as fast.

Chew on that cud if you dare.

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In the last two days I installed operating systems on 3 computers.. (Original Post) Phillip McCleod May 2013 OP
It has been my experience with installing XP, for it to take hours. The next day for the mop-up and RC May 2013 #1
oh hell yeh. XP is a pain. Phillip McCleod May 2013 #2
There's no such thing as a "Power User" with Windows. Microsoft always has you on a leash. hunter May 2013 #3
 

RC

(25,592 posts)
1. It has been my experience with installing XP, for it to take hours. The next day for the mop-up and
Thu May 2, 2013, 10:33 AM
May 2013
installing the needed programs (Firefox/OpenOffice) to make the computer useful.

For various Linux flavors 15 to 30 minutes for a working O/S. The needed programs are mostly already there.
For Linux Mint, all it took to set up the wireless was a couple of mouse clicks and the wireless router password.
The list of neighborhood WiFi was longer with Linux, than the same computer with Windows running on it.
 

Phillip McCleod

(1,837 posts)
2. oh hell yeh. XP is a pain.
Reply to RC (Reply #1)
Thu May 2, 2013, 10:49 AM
May 2013

the driver dance is the worst. every single major driver has to be tracked down individually and loaded. trying to get xp working on that old toshiba would've been an ongoing nightmare.

and like you said, you have to install all the basics individually.. refusing the 'ask toolbar' and 'mcafee' half a dozen times.. saying 'no' to the 'plus' or 'pro' version.. no i don't want to 'participate in being spammed with viruses'.. and then, open up msconfig and turn off all the startup crap that got loaded.. 'no' i don't want apple to update 40x a day. 'no' i don't want msn, yahoo, skype messengers to pop up when the computer starts. 'no' i don't want java to start..

where the hell did i put the license for 'office'? shit. where the hell did i put the *disk*?!

i have every installer i might want for any basic windows system all stuffed onto a 16G thumb drive, now. still, like you said, if i were to add that onto each of the windows installs, which to be fair i should since Linux Mint has them already, then yeh.. *days* for each compared to about 20 minutes.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
3. There's no such thing as a "Power User" with Windows. Microsoft always has you on a leash.
Thu May 2, 2013, 12:08 PM
May 2013

Same with Apple.

I won't work with Microsoft, Apple, or any other proprietary products unless someone is paying me.

My own machines run Debian. If I'm building a machine for myself I don't even bother with Windows; I repartition the entire drive for Linux.

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