How to move from Win 10 to Linux Mint and a Win 10 VM?

[topt]

Have dual booted old Win 7 plus Linux Mint before on a couple of older laptops. For reasons not important now have an Asus Win 10 AMD laptop with 16GB Ram and 500GB SSD but integral graphics. The laptop originally came with Win 10 Home and I added a Pro key. 

 

Sometime in the near future I will probably want to move to Linux but will want to use Excel and probably Word 2007 and still haven't found a suitable replacement for Windows media Player......the layout/library specifically. Before I used Wine for Excel which was ok. No I don't want to use Libre Office......

 

So my question is what is the easiest, or most sensible way to move - I have zero experience with VMs..... 

 

Should I go dual boot and then delete Windows and add the VM or is there a better way?

[ozimoron]

Question is why not libre office?

 

I would not use dual boot but use a VM instead. Virtual box. Easy to create

 

VLC is a good substitute for win media player

 

Edited February 25 by ozimoron

[GammaGlobulin]

Best way is to go to this link https://www.opensuse.org/

 

Add OPENSUSE

 

Choose Dual Boot.

 

Or, backup all your data.

Then, format your entire SSD using one of the Linux file types of your choice, and set up partitions according to your needs.

 

Install OPENSUSE Leap.

 

Then, if you have a good enough CPU, and since you have enough RAM,  add Virtual Box, and install any copy of Windows 7, 10, or whatever, on your VirtualBox.

 

Then, use Win Office in the Virtual Box.

 

OPENSUSE is very user friendly.

 

Choose YaST as GUI

 

 

Edited February 25 by GammaGlobulin

[topt]

11 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Question is why not libre office?

Normal reasons and not relevant.

11 hours ago, ozimoron said:

VLC is a good substitute for win media player

I use on Android and windows but not for its library functions so I do not see it as a good substitute

11 hours ago, ozimoron said:

I would not use dual boot but use a VM instead. Virtual box. Easy to create

That is what I will probably do but I am looking at the best/easiest way to get there........

Any specific practicalities that are not obvious as I have not tried to use a VM before.

[Lemsta69]

11 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

OPENSUSE is very user friendly.

 

Can it display CPU temperature (all 4 cores) in the system tray without needing an advanced degree in computer science?

 

Oh, and can I run NordVPN with an app instead of having to fart-ass around in the terminal?

 

I'm thinking about taking a break from Windows again but I keep running into the same old Linux problems that I always have. Simple stuff is simple but when you want the really good stuff like Core Temp then you're S.O.L.

[GammaGlobulin]

14 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

Can it display CPU temperature (all 4 cores) in the system tray without needing an advanced degree in computer science?

 

Oh, and can I run NordVPN with an app instead of having to fart-ass around in the terminal?

 

I'm thinking about taking a break from Windows again but I keep running into the same old Linux problems that I always have. Simple stuff is simple but when you want the really good stuff like Core Temp then you're S.O.L.

 

Yes.

But, you will need to add the libraries, check dependencies, etc.

 

Linux can do anything you want it to do, but you just need to customize it, easily, so that it provide the functionality.

 

Even in 2013, everyone knew this:

 

https://forums.opensuse.org/t/software-tools-for-monitor-cpu-temperature/91225/5

 

I have been using OPENSUSE (or Suse) since....about.... the year 2000.

 

I would still be using it now, except that I must run Windows for teaching purposes, and because I no longer wish to be constantly vigilant to avoid stuff like ransomware.

 

I love using LEAP from OpenSuse.

It's just that I must use what my students use.

 

I also do not wish to run Windows  on VirtualBox, because it becomes a bit too laggy, and because the graphics, on VB, when I was using it 8 years ago, were not what I wished for.

 

VB is OK for testing software, but not for running an OS 24/7 that you use throughout the day.

 

Just my humble opinion, which, I must say, most people on TV think is not worth much, and they may be correct.

 

 

Edited February 26 by GammaGlobulin

[Lemsta69]

4 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Linux can do anything you want it to do, but you just need to customize it, easily, so that it provide the functionality.

 

Well I spent at least three hours yesterday trying to find an easy, simple solution to the CPU temperature issue and came up short. So no, it's not anywhere near as easy as you make it out to be.

 

Anyhoo, good luck to the OP. I hope VBox is as easy to use on Linux Mint as it is on Wondoze 😉

[GammaGlobulin]

7 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

Well I spent at least three hours yesterday trying to find an easy, simple solution to the CPU temperature issue and came up short. So no, it's not anywhere near as easy as you make it out to be.

 

Anyhoo, good luck to the OP. I hope VBox is as easy to use on Linux Mint as it is on Wondoze 😉

 

It's  EASY.

But, you need to install the sensors package, and you need to ensure that sensors is working.

 

I have used this to monitor CPU core temps, on all cores, for decades.

 

It works!

 

 

[topt]

9 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

Well I spent at least three hours yesterday trying to find an easy, simple solution to the CPU temperature issue and came up short. So no, it's not anywhere near as easy as you make it out to be.

 

Anyhoo, good luck to the OP. I hope VBox is as easy to use on Linux Mint as it is on Wondoze 😉

I know what you mean and there is a high probability that I won't make the move until the beginning of next year.  Win 10  end of support is towards the end of next year. 

I think I will try a VB first to get an idea of how it works. 

[BigStar]

19 hours ago, topt said:

Sometime in the near future I will probably want to move to Linux but will want to use Excel and probably Word 2007

 

https://github.com/pmorch/PlayOnLinux-MSOffice2007

https://linux.how2shout.com/how-to-install-microsoft-office-2007-on-ubuntu-20-04-lts/

 

VB if you insist:

 

 

19 hours ago, topt said:

still haven't found a suitable replacement for Windows media Player......the layout/library specifically.

 

You have a point. VLC will do library, but it's a little crude, comparatively. How about Kodi?

 

https://linuxhint.com/install-kodi-linux-mint/

 

 

 

 

[BigStar]

6 hours ago, Lemsta69 said:

when you want the really good stuff like Core Temp then you're S.O.L.

 

Linux users might argue the opposite. If Linux don't have it, you don't need it. 🙂

[topt]

4 hours ago, BigStar said:

How about Kodi?

Thanks, yes I use Kodi already. Still not really what I am looking for.

I looked through a whole load of Linux music player/library options about 4/5 years ago but couldn't settle on anything.

 

I will probably start looking again.

[BigStar]

29 minutes ago, topt said:

Thanks, yes I use Kodi already. Still not really what I am looking for.

I looked through a whole load of Linux music player/library options about 4/5 years ago but couldn't settle on anything.

 

I will probably start looking again.

 

Kodi has different UIs that can make a big difference. Maybe you know that.

 

Did you look at the latest Winamp? Takes library seriously. Seems a bit unintuitive to me, but guess it'd be fine once you're used to it. Available as a snap, no need to fool around.

 

https://snapcraft.io/winamp

 

 

[Lemsta69]

13 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

It's  EASY.

But, you need to install the sensors package, and you need to ensure that sensors is working.

 

I have used this to monitor CPU core temps, on all cores, for decades.

 

It works!

 

 

 

No, it doesn't. Anyway this is off-topic and I don't want to get bent? babe? banned for bickering.

[freeworld]

Alternative could be considered.

 

Create a new partition on the harddisk (40GB for eg) and install linux mint onto that. Be careful to install the bootloader on the new partition then it will not interfere with the win 10 bootloader.

 

Linux grub menu at boot will default boot to linux mint and will also show the win10 OS which can be selected to boot into that when required.

 

 

Edited February 27 by freeworld

[BigStar]

On 2/25/2024 at 9:55 PM, topt said:

Should I go dual boot and then delete Windows and add the VM or is there a better way?

 

Dual boot has its favorable aspects but is optimal when each OS has its own drive. Most of the frustrations arise from using it with partitions on one drive, though it's perfectly possible.

 

Since you have Windows already, maybe run Mint in a VM first and make sure you'd like to switch to it. The danger there is being too lazy to fire up your VM and use it. Further, apps typically run slower in a VM, giving a false impression, and you have to fool around with configuration, data sharing, etc.

 

If you have an external SSD (for speed), you could install Mint on the SSD and dual boot it via boot order in Bios. That way you'd have a serious installation you could configure and clone later.

 

Or you could create a bootable Mint on a USB stick with persistence, as demonstrated here:

 

 

Use the fastest stick you have. It'll be slow but usable. Don't update Mint, but install apps for testing. Not suitable for long-term use.

 

But if you know, just let Mint reformat your entire disk (after you've backed up your data, of course, and browser profiles) during installation and commit to it.

 

 

 

[topt]

16 hours ago, BigStar said:

Did you look at the latest Winamp?

To be honest I can't remember but will do. Thanks for the tip.

 

9 minutes ago, BigStar said:

But if you know, just let Mint reformat your entire disk (after you've backed up your data, of course, and browser profiles) during installation and commit to it.

This is probably the way I will go eventually 555.

 

Just a clarification on storage please. My memory says Linux can read from Windows but not vice versa. Presumably I can just dump current windows saved docs/pictures etc into the new Linux formatted disc or is it not that simple?

 

Browser was no issue when I used before but didn't really get round to creating a file structure for my files.

[BigStar]

24 minutes ago, topt said:

Just a clarification on storage please. My memory says Linux can read from Windows but not vice versa. Presumably I can just dump current windows saved docs/pictures etc into the new Linux formatted disc or is it not that simple?

 

Modern Linux reads/writes Windows NTFS, so, yes, you can just copy over your data into the appropriate folders in Linux.

 

Thereafter there may well be annoying ownership/permissions issues to deal with (as there would be if you copied them over to a different user on Windows, or to a different Windows installation), but after they're dealt with, all's good. Suggest you join the Linux Mint forums. Lots of expert help there, very active, nice people (whatta contrast eh).

 

https://forums.linuxmint.com/

 

True, Windows doesn't like Linux formats. A common format that Linux, Windows, Android, i0S, and MacOS can use--that can handle large files--is exFAT, It's one of the standard options for reformatting anything (for data) on Windows. Useful sometimes when transferring files from Linux to other OS.