The Linux Thread

[Doublezero]

 

[Doublezero]

On 9/14/2025 at 10:24 AM, Doublezero said:

Saving this here.

 

LOL. I posted this thinking I would hate the Garuda Linux default theme, but it turns out that I actually like it.

[Doublezero]

 

[ritualclarity]

On 9/24/2025 at 7:28 PM, Doublezero said:

 

I feel that Ventoy is better than rufus or other bootable tool to install Linux. Ventoy can be installed on a larger drive and then just drag and drop the iso into the drive and have it boot and install. I like this as those that start Linux often time want to experiment and use different Linux distros. Having them on Ventoy would allow you to have multiple versions available at a moment's notice. 

https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html

I would suggest that you have two drives (so that you can back up your installation/setup) in case it has any issues. 

I have dozens of Linux distros, Windows from 98 through 11, and even Apple!  Oh I forgot I have Servers as well (Truenas) and bootable tools (partition manager programs)  Will load more  

[ritualclarity]

Proof that LInux can have issues. 

I lost my bluetooth devices. Checking the monitor service it was off. Strange, I didn't turn it off.  Trying it, it showed that it didn't have a device. (or driver) but it worked. 

I updated it (major update) and I guess it lost it. Dam. Had to use an IR mouse (always keep a wired or wireless keyboard mouse handy  regardless of what OS etc you use. )  Anyway. I rebooted it and nothing. I left it for a bit and did my work and poop on my computer for a bit then sat down popped up the terminal (super key+ T) and sudo apt update. Saw that there were some more updates. (didn't see any driver updates but a firmware one) then did the sudo apt upgrade. A couple of minutes later it was done.Rebooted the computer loged on and the bluetooth was auto recognized. All my bluetooth items working without any reconnection etc. 

By this time the amount of time I have used this computer I would have been nagged hundreds of times and had at least 5 problems that required my attention not to mention hours of updates to do with the risk that something will be fugged up when it does. Not to mention how much spying Microsloth would have done in the meantime. 

 

One other thing if you are using mint, and possibly Unbuntu you would have flatpacks and or snaps. I believe they don't update with the command above. Smart in a way because they are only apps. They don't need to generally be updated as often or as much as the main system (which is suppose to be updated to help provide you security)  At least with me regardless of the command to update I still use the app manager to update my flatpacks. (there is a command for that as well but I haven't memorized it yet. ) 

[ritualclarity]

On 9/26/2025 at 2:50 PM, Doublezero said:

 

It's good that they are doing solid linux testing. Also I agree Bazzite is the best for testing. It is likely the first OS that many moving from Windows (and game) will use.  It is also much more easier to get a standard version. It has version control so if there is an issue it is much more easier to revert it than a standard traditional linux system.  They just need to let everybody know the version they tested on. Hell they should test with the last 2 or 3 versions of Bazzite IMO. 

Those that are like Wendell, or more proficient in Linux already know what to buy in hardware and like he stated can dig depper into the system and get what they want to use. Use the newest just released kernel etc. I for one, if I was having a linux gaming system (which is awesome) would use Bazzite myself. Just easier to maintain so that I can focus on gaming. However, I play mostly Windows games and would need a Windows gaming PC of some level continuing on for the future. I like to mod the game which would also add a level of complexity and I woudn't know if it was my stupid ass doing something wrong or the OS / GAme that is fucked up. Just easier. If I had a gaming system for Linux, I'd install the game there as well and play it (primary gameing system  and if had a problem use my Windoze system to play that game. It would make it so I would have to use Windoze less and less. 

(Sorry for typos. I am typing on this laptop's keyboard which 1. isn't the same as I am used to and 2. doesn't give as much feedback.

[Doublezero]

On 9/28/2025 at 9:31 AM, ritualclarity said:

Proof that LInux can have issues. 

I'd rather have Linux problems than Windows problems. 

[ritualclarity]

6 hours ago, Doublezero said:

I'd rather have Linux problems than Windows problems. 

Way smaller problems (generally) than windoze

 

[Doublezero]

 

[Doublezero]

 

[Doublezero]

I'm giving up on the virtual machine for now. I can easily set one up, but GPU passthrough is too complicated for my monkybrain to understand.

Instead, I'm going to resurrect my old ASRock 970 PC and install Windows 7 on it. Basically, I'm only going to run two programs on it.

Interestingly, when I took a look at the CPU to see what it was, I noticed some bent pins. That's probably why it was randomly shutting down on me.

The good thing about old hardware is that you can get better parts cheaply. I'm basically doing a mini upgrade with parts that would have been out of my price range over a decade ago.

[ritualclarity]

With windoze 10 going away, I thought I'd post something for those that need a little bit of Windoze but not everything and thinking about Linux for their daily driver. The goal should be to move everything over except exclusively windoze programs that are required (for work or such) you will find that there are many programs that can do the work you want to do. You will have too likely to change your work flow, but many times it actually ends up being better once you give it a chance. Not all the time. Keep in mind that Linux software is build for a task or job for FREE. Anytime you have people throwing large amounts of money for a specific job, it will be developed for that job well. Not to say Linux is horrible, but that it won't fit if you say need Divinci Resolve flow or special formats etc. For that, you can often just virtualize the program. At worse, you can dual boot or have a dedicated work computer for this work and "Share" the drive you are sending this information on. 

I have my monitor setup where it has a button on the corner under the monitor. A click and I can change to a different input. So I can have two computers with one monitor without the often expensive KVM switch  

On 10/8/2025 at 8:41 PM, Doublezero said:

I'm giving up on the virtual machine for now. I can easily set one up, but GPU passthrough is too complicated for my monkybrain to understand.

Instead, I'm going to resurrect my old ASRock 970 PC and install Windows 7 on it. Basically, I'm only going to run two programs on it.

Interestingly, when I took a look at the CPU to see what it was, I noticed some bent pins. That's probably why it was randomly shutting down on me.

The good thing about old hardware is that you can get better parts cheaply. I'm basically doing a mini upgrade with parts that would have been out of my price range over a decade ago.

You can also try Bazzite if you aren't going to play online games.  This however would possibly need a newer computer but not too new. Linux new (last 5 to 10 years lol) 

https://bazzite.gg/

Lots of excellent reviews on Bazzite. It is a new system but really backed by many companies trying to develop stand alone hand held computer for gaming. They are tired of the Windoze bullshit as well!   Can you blame them?  So it is really well developed and strongly worked on. Great for Linux overall. 

 

It is inmmutable which means the OS can't be borked by you. You can't easily do a command that can screw things up. It also saves things as an Image. Which means the OS can be restored to a previous version easily with a command. A simple command. Your programs you added are seperate and isolated as well as your data so all is reasonably safe. Well safer than windoze .. and as well as Linux to put it bluntly. Because you can't really mess it up. Feel free to look up Immutable OS as well as reviews for Bazzite. 

I can't use Bazzite because the computers i have are  (Linux old) works well for basic computing but not for anything intensive as video editing (beyond simple clip editing no transistors etc) but specifically gaming. Well 3d gaming that is. I have one good machine for gaming but that is deditated to Windows 11. But why do you ask I have that if Bazzite is so good? 

[ritualclarity]

On 10/8/2025 at 8:41 PM, Doublezero said:

I'm giving up on the virtual machine for now. I can easily set one up, but GPU passthrough is too complicated for my monkybrain to understand.

Instead, I'm going to resurrect my old ASRock 970 PC and install Windows 7 on it. Basically, I'm only going to run two programs on it.

Interestingly, when I took a look at the CPU to see what it was, I noticed some bent pins. That's probably why it was randomly shutting down on me.

The good thing about old hardware is that you can get better parts cheaply. I'm basically doing a mini upgrade with parts that would have been out of my price range over a decade ago.

Which virtual machine program are you using. Some aren't set up well to do this.  If you are having a problme with one try another. Also don't forget Looking Glass. I hear that is the next step so that you don't need a dedicated monitor. It outputs (with a very small delay) to the monitor like a program so far as I have been able to understand. 

 

I don't have a set up to be able to experiment. However, it should be very much like you adding a USB, sound or other device to the system. 

 

Don't forget to turn immou in the BIOS

 

[Doublezero]

1 hour ago, ritualclarity said:

Which virtual machine program are you using. Some aren't set up well to do this.  If you are having a problme with one try another. Also don't forget Looking Glass. I hear that is the next step so that you don't need a dedicated monitor. It outputs (with a very small delay) to the monitor like a program so far as I have been able to understand. 

 

I don't have a set up to be able to experiment. However, it should be very much like you adding a USB, sound or other device to the system. 

 

Don't forget to turn immou in the BIOS

 

I tried multiple virtual machines. The one that supported GPU passthrough was QEMU, but I couldn't quite figure it out. I found another one that supported GPU passthrough, but I was too burnt out to give it a try.

[ritualclarity]

40 minutes ago, Doublezero said:

I tried multiple virtual machines. The one that supported GPU passthrough was QEMU, but I couldn't quite figure it out. I found another one that supported GPU passthrough, but I was too burnt out to give it a try.

Yep it can be a bit challenging.  I haven't been able to try myself so can't help much there.   (due to not having a setup for it to even try. Not going to mess up my dedicated windows gaming machine   to try) 

[Doublezero]

Quick tip: if you need to use the Steam console with Bottles, add steam.exe  (if it's not there already) to your program shortcuts. Click the vertical ellipses on the right to show the options menu, then click 'Change launch options'. There is a field called 'Command Arguments'; enter -console and save. The next time you launch Steam with your Bottle, the console will appear in your Steam menu.

Now that I have figured this out, I can downgrade Fallout 4. 

[ritualclarity]

8 hours ago, Doublezero said:

Quick tip: if you need to use the Steam console with Bottles, add steam.exe  (if it's now there already) to your program shortcuts. Click the vertical ellipses on the right to show the options menu, then click 'Change launch options'. There is a field called 'Command Arguments'; enter -console and save. The next time you launch Steam with your Bottle, the console will appear in your Steam menu.

Now that I have figured this out, I can downgrade Fallout 4. 

I tried bottles some time ago but kept on having issues running a program. Any program. It just didn't click

 

[Doublezero]

On 10/14/2025 at 6:16 PM, ritualclarity said:

I tried bottles some time ago but kept on having issues running a program. Any program. It just didn't click

 

Edit: Did you install Bottles using Flatpak? From what I understand, programs can only run inside the bottle's folders.

[ritualclarity]

11 hours ago, Doublezero said:

Edit: Did you install Bottles using Flatpak? From what I understand, programs can only run inside the bottle's folders.

It was installed using flatpacks. That is the only way that I know it comes in. 

[Doublezero]

Ah, Rufus. The liferaft I used to escape Windows.

 

[ritualclarity]

Try Ventoy @Doublezero

I suggest it as you likely have mutiple OS's that you are using between various computers. This allows the ISO to be installed into a partition and selected when you boot the USB. 

Rufus is aweseme but it can only work one OS at a time. Meaning you need mutiple USB drives to have all your OS's. 

I used Ventoy and created two larger USB drives and have a copy of the OS's on both. If something happens to one I have a spare without the need to download the OS again. I can also have older OS's ready. 

Since it is still an ISO I can transfer it to a drive and make it a VM.  (I assume I can just access the drive partition and do it directly but haven't done it yet.  Having some problems with VM (on my windoze machine) and my Linux machines aren't really strong enough to do much on a virutal machine. 

 

[ritualclarity]

Some information since Windows 10 has been discontinued. 

I suggest Linux Mint first if you want to get into Linux. I suggest Silverblue or one of the options they offer (Red Hat ) for unmutable OS.  Reason for the Silverblue is you can't mess up the OS as you learn. However, not good for someone that want's to learn Linux as you have to jump through hoops to do work that Linux people take for granted. 

[ritualclarity]

OH, nice. MIght have to do this myself. One of my machines (currently with 11 laptop) has an ability to run a second drive. I can also do that if / when I get comfortable with my gaming machine. 

I did that a long time ago. (remove the drive) However, didn't have a boot option. I had to use the bios to do it. A pain in the but. It worked however didn't mess things up. 

[ritualclarity]

 

for those that might want to start to learn without an added computer to test on.