[lubuntu-users] using lubuntu

[E James]

On 05/11/16 10:25, Nripinder Singh wrote:
> i have downloaded lubuntu. how do i start using it on my xp machine. i prefer to use it side-by-side with xp so that I can get used to it. Nripinder Aulakh
> 
> 

Perhaps I can offer some assistance.

I have been using Windows since Windows 3.0 and Windows XP since 2003. I am still using Windows XP Pro SP2. I have also been using Linux since about 2006 (Dapper Drake). Sometime between 2006 and 2009, I made it my standard practice to install Linux as a second OS on my Windows PCs, so I have some experience of dual booting. I have no currently operating exclusively Windows PCs. I have some exclusively Linux computers. The laptop I am using right now used to run Windows about 98% of the time but, for the last few months, it now runs Linux about 98% of the time. The reason for the change is that I finally worked out how to search for files in Linux in a way which is almost as good as the the file search which is part of Windows Explorer. There are some things that Linux does better than Windows and there are some things that Windows XP still does better than Linux or Windows 7,8,10. I wouldn't call myself a Windows expert and I am even less of an expert with Linux.

This is my current list of computers; not counting a NAS box and various Android devices.

"","PC CLASS","MODEL","32BIT/64BIT","RAM","SCREEN","CPU","OS1","OS2","APPROX AGE"
"PC1","Netbook","Acer Aspire one D257","32BIT","1GB","1024x600","Atom N570","Lubuntu 14.04.3 (32BIT)","Windows 7 Starter",2012
"PC2","Netbook","Acer Aspire one D257","32BIT","1GB","1024x600","Atom N570","Lubuntu 14.04.3 (32BIT)","Windows 7 Starter",2012
"PC3","Laptop","Toshiba Sat. Pro L300","64BIT","4GB","1280x800","Pentium T3400","Lubuntu 16.04.1 (64BIT)","Windows XP Pro SP2",2009
"PC4","DeskTop","Shuttle","32BIT","512MB","1024x768","Athlon XP 2000+","Lubuntu 14.04.4 (32BIT)","Windows XP Pro SP2",2003
"PC5","DeskTop","----","32BIT","1GB","1024x768","Sempron 140","Windows XP Pro SP2","Lubuntu",2005
"PC6","Nettop","Shuttle DS47","64BIT","4GB","1366x768","Celeron 847","Lubuntu 13.10 (64BIT)",,2014
"PC7","Nettop","G2Digital Nano C16L","64BIT","4GB","1360x768","Celeron J1900","Lubuntu 14.04.3 (64BIT)",,2015
"PC8","Nettop","Asus EeeBox B202","32BIT","1GB","1366x768","Atom N270","Lubuntu 15.10 (32BIT)",,
"PC9","Netbook","Asus EeePC X101CH","32BIT","1GB","1024x600","Atom N2600","Lubuntu 13.10 (32BIT)","Windows 7 Starter",2012
"PC10",,"Raspberry Pi 3",,"880MB","1366x768",,"Debian 8 (Raspbian)",,2016
"PC11",,"Raspberry Pi 3",,"880MB","1366x768",,"Debian 8 (Raspbian)",,2016

It's in csv format so that you can see the rows and columns correctly if you import it into a spreadsheet or database.

Step 1. Use the downloaded Lubuntu to create a bootable DVD or USB stick. Have you done that yet? More details if needed.
Step 2. Boot the PC from the DVD or USB stick to see how well it works (or not).

Assuming you're happy with steps 1 and 2 - 

Step 3. Partitioning the hard drive. I always partition the drive as a separate procedure before I start the OS installation. This can be done using gparted which is on the DVD or USB stick.

There is a partitioning strategy which applies equally to Windows and Linux but it seems to be relatively unpopular among Windows users. The idea is to have at least 2 partitions. The first partition, the "C" drive, is for installed software - OS and applications. The second is for data. This simplifies backup procedures. A backup of the "C" drive is usually an "image" of the entire partition which works best without gigabytes of user data and it doesn't need to be done frequently if it's only software and settings.  My Windows XP "C" drive is typically 15GB to 25GB and my Linux "root" partition is typically 10GB to 15GB. I don't use a large "home" partition with Linux because I want to share data with Windows. On this laptop the drive is currently 1TB and has 6 partitions - 

1. 25GB fat32 - Windows C drive
2. 12GB ext4 - Linux / (root)
3. 14GB ext4 - Linux /home
4. 5GB - Linux swap
5. 370GB ntfs - data
6. 500GB ntfs - data

Step 4. OS installation. In the installation setup there is a choice of partitioning options. I always take the bottom one - "Something else" which allows me to specify how the previously prepared partitions are to be used.

I need to stop here for now because I've run out of time. Please ask questions and I (or someone else) will try to provide helpful answers.