As I mentioned in an earlier post, I went ahead and tried to do an installation of PC-BSD. It did not work on my Gigabyte Brix little box.
The first method I tried was from a USB flash drive, this install failed because the Brix could not find a bootable boot sector on the USB flash drive. The program that I used for making the USB flash is very reliable, so I am very sure that there was a boot sector established.
The second method that I tried was from a CD/DVD disc, this started out good, but it came to a sudden stop when it tried to deal with something that had do with ...xorg. Not sure what xorg deals with, but if its the video, then I guess PC-BSD does not like the Intel video that is used in the Brix.
I also went ahead and looked into UNIX, no free stuff there. The SCO group, I guess, hold the rights, and they sell it as UNIXWARE, which retails for $599, for the cheapest version. Since this thread is about "free", not going that route any time soon.
Don't even think about it. SCO is famous for it's demands for billions of dollars from IBM claiming some IP rights over Linux. They have not developed software in decades only law suits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCO_Group
Hard disks are all doomed to failure someday. I just don't want it to be the first day out.
I got a big dose of negativity about the SSD on the EEEpc 701/4G many years ago, so I am trying to catch up with what actual progress has been made.
Using fstrim on a newly formatted SSD disk is rather absurd. There is nothing to trim until to add and delete a lot of files. And the S.M.A.R.T feature seems to not be initially installed in CubianX, so there is more for me to do.
====================
While I am looking at creating a file server, I don't really need one.
It is just the fact that it is so attractive -- the Cubieboard with SSD is using about 30 watts that makes it very attractive for a 24/7 file server with the ability to provide music from an IR remote as a second duty.
I also like the idea that I have a file server that is not wired to the outside world and protected by a firewall. This file server will only be accessed by wifi and wifi security will replace the need for a firewall.
Forgot most of this thread, so not sure what distros you've tried or if you have a fav.
If not, just go to distrowatch and d/l 2-3 of the top distros and write it too flash drive.
I've successfully used the app from pendrivelinux to prep and install Linux to several different flash drives, and had them boot successfully on the RPi 2, Lenovo laptop, and homebuilt x6 system without problem.
Might want to try checking BIOS to see if efi is on or legacy. My Lenovo has an option to use both/either, which is nice.
Several years back I had a U3(?) type of flash drive, and it didn't allow me to boot off of it, however I think they are pretty rare nowadays.
Either try another thumb drive, or take the one you prepped and see another system will boot from it or does it also give an error.
Also just formatted a thumbdrive to FAT32, d/l'ed a Porteus image (270 MB), and used the Pendrive app to prep it, and it worked fine.
I just went to the distrowatch site, amazing, a top 100 listed on the right hand side. I am using xubuntu, and it shows up as number 30, as determined by distribution numbers. Heck, I thought there was only about ten or twelve Linux distros all total.
I tried both Mint and xubuntu, I feel that xubuntu is a better distro than Mint, IMO. They both have the, view the complete network problem, but I think I have a fake work around, I have DropBox installed and I created a Share folder with smb.conf, so that seems to be working for the moment.
Since my xubuntu box is going to be handling programming development, I noticed that the SimpleIDE RC1 for Linux works way better than the version that is offered for the Raspberry Pi. This system is on my Gateway Tower, which sits on the floor underneath the table, I just might have to see how my Gigabyte Brix would work for the intended purpose, and gain some empty floor space.
So, all in all, Linux is not a "Just works OS" replacement for any Windows xx OS, IMO, which is shared by a lot of other OS users.
So, all in all, Linux is not a "Just works OS" replacement for any Windows xx OS, IMO, which is shared by a lot of other OS users.
Wait a minute: Your requirement, as specified in the opening post was for an OS that "Just Works". No mention of "replacement for any Windows"
Obviously Linux/BSD etc are not drop in replacements for Windows. They are not supposed to be. What would be the point? We already have Windows, nobody wants another one.
I could say, with as much validity, that 'So, all in all, Windows is not a "Just works OS" replacement for any Linux xx OS, IMO, which is shared by a lot of other OS users'
Except of course it would not just be an opinion, it would be a hard fact. Windows does not drop in and work on my Raspberry Pi, other ARM boards or MIPs routers and so on. It does not work there at all. Linux does
What I'm starting to not understand is that if Windows is what you crave why not just use Windows?
Anyway, good to hear you got things working. Not sure what's up with your SAMBA thing. I have not used SAMBA for a decade or more.
Not going to argue about this any further, did my research and I presented the findings. People can make up their own minds as to which way they want to go with this. I think that the general public, that is viewing this thread, would probably like to see less preaching and more substance.
In my neighborhood, there are basically two reasons for using Linux.
1. Windows' out of the box cost is expensive.
2. Windows 10 is highly invasive and does not respect the user's privacy.
Windows 7 allows for a few more years of cushion, but eventually it will have to go. The good thing about it is that the dollar cost can be reduced to zero with very little effort and without resorting to an illegal hack. It's probably less difficult to do this than it is to fix a single typical Linux problem.
I tried PC-BSD 10 on my I3, 8GB laptop with a new 240GB SSD on it. It installed easily, there were a few video issues. that I sorted through. It did seem to take longer to install than other *nix distributions.
Once up and running, it sure was pretty - the KDE desktop (I think) was well laid out and colorful and mostly intuitive.
It had a lot of support for NAS and I think down deep it really wanted to have a NAS to talk to . Probably from the close relationship to FreeNAS (also BSD based).
Once I got things configured a bit, I started playing. My first impression was it was sluggish compared to Linux distributions I had ton the same laptop and PC-BSD even had a fresh new SSD underneath it. The package manager and other tools worked well but they seemed slow to start and overall, the system just wasn't as responsive as Linux.
At that point, since I am mostly running Debian and Redhat based Linux systems elsewhere in the house, I didn't want to invest time in a 3rd flavor of *nix since it didn't really offer me anything beyond the others. If I was starting off fresh, maybe but with Debian and RedHat being #1 and #2 (or #2 and #1), PC-BSD (IMHO) would always be coming from behind as far as support for other software.
If I was setting up a firewall or when I set up a NAS, BSD might get that job but for now, I'll just be using it in its cloaked form on my Mac.
After this test, I installed a fresh copy of Fedora 23 on the laptop since I had the SSD in there. It's been good so far. Once you've been through the Fedora install, it poses now problems or surprises. It works and plays well with the SSD - the laptop is back to feeling snappy (for an old I3). I haven't tried Windows network access yet - it sees it but I have no Windows systems up and running normally on the network.
At least I tried PC-BSD now and have a feel for it in the grand scheme of things.
Yeah, just don't commit. I do that too. Just don't have time to seriously invest in tweaking storage, unless it's for some target application that would benefit from it. People generally pay me for that.
I don't pay myself, so I load and go. If it goes, great! I'm happy, until I am not, and if I've got copies, no worries.
...Windows does not drop in and work on my Raspberry Pi, other ARM boards ...
actually it does. There is Windows 10 for the RasPi. And actually even for free.
Mike
Mike, it's not anything the average person would recognize as "Windows", just a kernel to support IoT in a .net envirnoment. No GUI, no IE, not much for a user to interface with.
Yeah, it's not Win 10 for the Pi in any way. It's also not free. It requires you buy a Windows OS first in order to be able to develop anything for it.
I have been having problems on and off with my i7 laptop until it finally and utterly failed. There are two 750G drives in there, the original Win7 drive which I rarely boot into but keep my photos on there, and the other all purpose drive with 3 different Linux distros all sharing the same home directory.
Anyway, the thing is I have been able to pop that second Linux drive into about any computer at all and it starts up without any fanfare or complaining, it "just works". So this also means my overblown WINXP virtualbox image "just works" also Now I have lined up a beefier i7 SFF desktop with that little linux drive in and I am typing this within the first minute of first-time boot. Try that with Windows - ding-dong, ding-dong, driver not found - ding-dong.......
Fast reinstallation and repair of an OS is certainly one of the main reasons I prefer Linux over other OSes -- especially propriatary OSes.
Having to either Ghost image entire hard drives is slow. Having to reinstall and reregister all your licensed software is slow. With Linux, a separate /home partion for your data and installation preferences can remain untouched while you reinstall the rest of a system.
And of course, you can take a hard disk to any other compatible platform that you desire. Having a licensed OS that is tied to one and only one platform means the same move in Windows might have MS demanding a new license fee.
+++++++++
Yes one saves money, but the real point is that I just waste much less time dealing with the OS in Linux. Boots faster, doesn't require defragmentation (which you shouldn't use with a SSD anyway), doesn't require security scans, speeds up the backup process because you only backup your data in the /home partion -- not the whole hard disk.
There are other pluses as well, but those are more about the use experience and less about the time and money factors.
Comments
The first method I tried was from a USB flash drive, this install failed because the Brix could not find a bootable boot sector on the USB flash drive. The program that I used for making the USB flash is very reliable, so I am very sure that there was a boot sector established.
The second method that I tried was from a CD/DVD disc, this started out good, but it came to a sudden stop when it tried to deal with something that had do with ...xorg. Not sure what xorg deals with, but if its the video, then I guess PC-BSD does not like the Intel video that is used in the Brix.
I also went ahead and looked into UNIX, no free stuff there. The SCO group, I guess, hold the rights, and they sell it as UNIXWARE, which retails for $599, for the cheapest version. Since this thread is about "free", not going that route any time soon.
Still looking...
Ray
Don't even think about it. SCO is famous for it's demands for billions of dollars from IBM claiming some IP rights over Linux. They have not developed software in decades only law suits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCO_Group
OMG, you prompted me to google, SCO is still alive and still dragging on that case:
http://www.sltrib.com/news/2303519-155/its-alive-sco-group-suit-revived
The SCO Group does not even own Unix anymore according to that article:
Unix was sold to another company as part of SCO's bankruptcy.
What a bunch of sharks.
I got a big dose of negativity about the SSD on the EEEpc 701/4G many years ago, so I am trying to catch up with what actual progress has been made.
Using fstrim on a newly formatted SSD disk is rather absurd. There is nothing to trim until to add and delete a lot of files. And the S.M.A.R.T feature seems to not be initially installed in CubianX, so there is more for me to do.
====================
While I am looking at creating a file server, I don't really need one.
It is just the fact that it is so attractive -- the Cubieboard with SSD is using about 30 watts that makes it very attractive for a 24/7 file server with the ability to provide music from an IR remote as a second duty.
I also like the idea that I have a file server that is not wired to the outside world and protected by a firewall. This file server will only be accessed by wifi and wifi security will replace the need for a firewall.
Forgot most of this thread, so not sure what distros you've tried or if you have a fav.
If not, just go to distrowatch and d/l 2-3 of the top distros and write it too flash drive.
I've successfully used the app from pendrivelinux to prep and install Linux to several different flash drives, and had them boot successfully on the RPi 2, Lenovo laptop, and homebuilt x6 system without problem.
Might want to try checking BIOS to see if efi is on or legacy. My Lenovo has an option to use both/either, which is nice.
Several years back I had a U3(?) type of flash drive, and it didn't allow me to boot off of it, however I think they are pretty rare nowadays.
Either try another thumb drive, or take the one you prepped and see another system will boot from it or does it also give an error.
Also just formatted a thumbdrive to FAT32, d/l'ed a Porteus image (270 MB), and used the Pendrive app to prep it, and it worked fine.
If you want to try a distro from FAT32.
I tried both Mint and xubuntu, I feel that xubuntu is a better distro than Mint, IMO. They both have the, view the complete network problem, but I think I have a fake work around, I have DropBox installed and I created a Share folder with smb.conf, so that seems to be working for the moment.
Since my xubuntu box is going to be handling programming development, I noticed that the SimpleIDE RC1 for Linux works way better than the version that is offered for the Raspberry Pi. This system is on my Gateway Tower, which sits on the floor underneath the table, I just might have to see how my Gigabyte Brix would work for the intended purpose, and gain some empty floor space.
So, all in all, Linux is not a "Just works OS" replacement for any Windows xx OS, IMO, which is shared by a lot of other OS users.
Ray
Obviously Linux/BSD etc are not drop in replacements for Windows. They are not supposed to be. What would be the point? We already have Windows, nobody wants another one.
I could say, with as much validity, that 'So, all in all, Windows is not a "Just works OS" replacement for any Linux xx OS, IMO, which is shared by a lot of other OS users'
Except of course it would not just be an opinion, it would be a hard fact. Windows does not drop in and work on my Raspberry Pi, other ARM boards or MIPs routers and so on. It does not work there at all. Linux does
What I'm starting to not understand is that if Windows is what you crave why not just use Windows?
Anyway, good to hear you got things working. Not sure what's up with your SAMBA thing. I have not used SAMBA for a decade or more.
Ray
"Preaching", perhaps. I see it as just pointing out some realities in response to your conclusions.
The "substance" was in my 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th paragraphs above. 4 out of 6 is not bad is it?
Where in God's name did =that= come from?
@
1. Windows' out of the box cost is expensive.
2. Windows 10 is highly invasive and does not respect the user's privacy.
Windows 7 allows for a few more years of cushion, but eventually it will have to go. The good thing about it is that the dollar cost can be reduced to zero with very little effort and without resorting to an illegal hack. It's probably less difficult to do this than it is to fix a single typical Linux problem.
Once up and running, it sure was pretty - the KDE desktop (I think) was well laid out and colorful and mostly intuitive.
It had a lot of support for NAS and I think down deep it really wanted to have a NAS to talk to . Probably from the close relationship to FreeNAS (also BSD based).
Once I got things configured a bit, I started playing. My first impression was it was sluggish compared to Linux distributions I had ton the same laptop and PC-BSD even had a fresh new SSD underneath it. The package manager and other tools worked well but they seemed slow to start and overall, the system just wasn't as responsive as Linux.
At that point, since I am mostly running Debian and Redhat based Linux systems elsewhere in the house, I didn't want to invest time in a 3rd flavor of *nix since it didn't really offer me anything beyond the others. If I was starting off fresh, maybe but with Debian and RedHat being #1 and #2 (or #2 and #1), PC-BSD (IMHO) would always be coming from behind as far as support for other software.
If I was setting up a firewall or when I set up a NAS, BSD might get that job but for now, I'll just be using it in its cloaked form on my Mac.
After this test, I installed a fresh copy of Fedora 23 on the laptop since I had the SSD in there. It's been good so far. Once you've been through the Fedora install, it poses now problems or surprises. It works and plays well with the SSD - the laptop is back to feeling snappy (for an old I3). I haven't tried Windows network access yet - it sees it but I have no Windows systems up and running normally on the network.
At least I tried PC-BSD now and have a feel for it in the grand scheme of things.
I don't pay myself, so I load and go. If it goes, great! I'm happy, until I am not, and if I've got copies, no worries.
Good as it gets with digital storage, IMHO.
actually it does. There is Windows 10 for the RasPi. And actually even for free.
Mike
Mike, it's not anything the average person would recognize as "Windows", just a kernel to support IoT in a .net envirnoment. No GUI, no IE, not much for a user to interface with.
At, least that's the last I had heard/read.
Anyway, the thing is I have been able to pop that second Linux drive into about any computer at all and it starts up without any fanfare or complaining, it "just works". So this also means my overblown WINXP virtualbox image "just works" also
Having to either Ghost image entire hard drives is slow. Having to reinstall and reregister all your licensed software is slow. With Linux, a separate /home partion for your data and installation preferences can remain untouched while you reinstall the rest of a system.
And of course, you can take a hard disk to any other compatible platform that you desire. Having a licensed OS that is tied to one and only one platform means the same move in Windows might have MS demanding a new license fee.
+++++++++
Yes one saves money, but the real point is that I just waste much less time dealing with the OS in Linux. Boots faster, doesn't require defragmentation (which you shouldn't use with a SSD anyway), doesn't require security scans, speeds up the backup process because you only backup your data in the /home partion -- not the whole hard disk.
There are other pluses as well, but those are more about the use experience and less about the time and money factors.