Request for simplified instructions for downloading and installing .tar.gz applications - Ventoy

[Bret Busby]

On 13/8/22 00:32, Liam Proven wrote:
> On Fri, 12 Aug 2022 at 17:22, Bret Busby <bret at busby.net> wrote:
> 
>> An example, is my wife's current computer that has MS Windows 10 or 11
>> on it - she has been considering installing Linux Mint on it, but, a
>> recent article in The Register (to which I have referred her, which
>> article, she is yet to read), tells how 22.04.1 (specifically, from my
>> understanding, the point release), has enhanced abilities for dealing
>> with MS Windows stuff, including, with the NTFS file format.
> 
> That was probably one of my stories, then.
> 

It was, yes.

:)

> The newly-released Mint 21 also has the same kernel, version 5.15,
> with native NTFS read-write built in, for what it's worth.
> 

Aha. That, then, defeats my argument for her looking at, and, installing 
Ubuntu 20.04.1 .

> Older versions can do it too, just more slowly!
> 
> 
>> Also, I have a laptop that I was given, that does not have an OS
>> installed on it, (and,  I was told, the battery in it is dead), and,
>> when we get a battery system that will provide UPS for the house, for
>> which, I am waiting for the installation (it is scheduled, but, weather
>> dependent), I am wanting to find what OS's I can install on it (and,
>> that I can use). The grid electricity supply here, is a bit erratic, so
>> it is best to have a UPS for computers that do not have incorporate
>> usable battery to stop system failures when the electricity grid fails,
>> which happens frequently.
> 
> OK. Well, you can install on it from USB key, and if there is a power
> outage during the installation. You'll just have to start over again.
> 

It is not during the installation, about which I have been concerned; it 
is during the computer being switched on.

> If it has a conventional spinning hard disk, it won't do any harm.
> 

My understanding is that, when a spinning HDD is powered down, it needs 
to be left off, for at least a minute, or so, before powering on again, 
to avoid physical damage.

Sometimes, the grid electricity supply disappears for a second, or, a 
few seconds, at a time - long enough for computers to lose power and 
think that the power supply has been terminated. Then it comes back on 
again, before time has passed sufficiently to have dealt with the loss 
of power.

Some years ago, it destroyed the thermostat in a fridge, costing 
hundreds of dollars (AUD) to repair the fridge (apart from the loss of 
food that resulted, when the fridge started partially cooking the food - 
it was a cyclic defrost or frost free fridge/freezer, and the heating 
element was consequently running continuously, and  took the temperature 
in the fridge and freezer, above 30 degrees centigrade). The response 
from the electricity supplier, was "Tough luck - we have immunity from 
responsibility for any harm that we do" (state government monopoly).

And, the last time that I left the house for a holiday, the grid supply 
had a failure that destroyed two fridge freezers and all the food in 
them, and caused somewhere around $10,000 to $20,000  (AUD) damage, as 
assessed by the insurance assessor, requiring repairs to the house, in 
addition to the fridge/freezers needing to be replaced, and the loss of 
all of the food in them. Sometimes, when the power comes back on, it 
trips the Residual Current Device (RCD) (back then, we might have had a 
an Earth Leakage Circuit  Breaker, that was replaced by the RCD). I 
haven't left the house unattended for more than a few hours at a time, 
since then.

> If it has an SSD there is a tiny tiny chance of damage if the power
> goes in the middle of a disk write. Modern SSDs have protection
> against this, of variable quality and efficacy, but it's why I only
> use SSDs in laptops myself, never desktops.
> 


-- 
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
(UTC+0800)
..............