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Microsoft really wants Local accounts gone after it erases its guide on how to create them
(www.xda-developers.com)
this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2024
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I was able to circumvent all of this on my Windows 10 machine, by installing Linux Mint.
I didn't even have to throw out my PC for not being good enough for Windows 11.
Microsoft is unable to track local accounts as thoroughly.
I was finally going to attempt installing Linux Mint only to find out it is not as simple as some say. I know less than nothing about computers and then there are mirrors you have to choose from to download. I have no idea what would be a safe secure mirror.
Then you have to install other software I have no knowledge of to make a bootable drive....I am just not intelligent enough I suppose. I was hoping it was a simple download process.
I am just a tad bit frustrated!
Dont you worry, mint provides a detailed step by step tutorial on how to do things:
https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
I think they were following the guide based on what they said was frustrating them. I think Mint could simplify the instructions for non tech people and remove the asides like checking file hashes.
All of the mirrors listed on their website are safe. Just pick one close to you. If it downloads too slow, you can try a different mirror. If you know how to use bittorrent, you can use their torrent link. It will typically be the fastest.
To answer your first question, ALL of the mirrors are safe. The idea with mirrors is that you choose one that is geographically close to your location (same country, maybe the same region or state) to help reduce lag in downloading the files. Any selection is valid, all of the mirrors will have the same content, but for your location some mirrors may simply be faster or slower than others.
One other thing you might run in to is different types of installers. Some may be a very minimal install which only give you a command line, while others will provide a fully configured desktop. You might also see an option for a "Live" version -- that is something you put on a bootable memory stick and you can test out a working version of the operating system without actually changing anything on your computer, but all of your settings will go away when you reboot.
I haven't used Mint so I can't provide specific info, however some things that are common to ANY linux desktop -- You probably want to start with printer drivers (install CUPS) and some office software (install LibreOffice). For internet access, Firefox and Thunderbird are good choices. LicreOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird can all also be used on Windows if you want to check them out ahead of time. There are many lists online that can point you to equivalent software, so like if you use Lightroom on windows, you might try Darkroom on linux. basically you just need to make a list of what Windows software you use and then install a similar package in linux.
Yes you will need some time to learn the new operating system and all the new software, very little will be 100% exactly the same, but they are "close enough". You figured out how to use all these things once before, so you can do it again, and it will definitely be worth the effort.
The hard part is getting the software on a usb drive to use on the old laptop. I haven't figured out what the instructions mean in order to implement. I have a lot of learning to do.
Don't feel bad, that's a shitty process even for those of us in IT. Sometimes it doesn't work for certain models of memory sticks, sometimes something on the computer gets in the way of booting to the drive. I recently worked on some servers where I had to disable EFI, grab a 15 year old installer to get linux booted up on it, then switch to the newer installer to complete the process. So far Dell has been the worst (but also the most frequently used) I've had trouble with for getting linux installed. Unfortunately the solutions usually involve combinations of disabling EFI, changing the hard drive to a different mode, or even changing what mode the memory stick is booted with (all selected from within the BIOS at boot time), and it's not always the same process even for the same release of a machine.
It's not you, it's Microsoft working with the manufacturers to make it difficult for people to switch.
I think more people would use Linux if it were a simpler process. The ones I know fed up with Microsoft have gone with Macbooks.
Just curious, but have you ever tried installing Windows from scratch on a new computer? I'm just wondering if your comparison of "simpler" is the same installation of both operating systems, or if you're comparing something that somebody else set up for you to something you're doing yourself?
And yeah, it DID used to be dead simple... throw in an installation media and boot up the machine. These days there's so much garbage in the way that they're complicated the whole process without much gain.
I do not believe so. I have only factory reset it.
I have. Used a disc and everything. It takes forever, but it's pretty dead simple.
Back in the days when people still had floppies and cd drives in their computers, yeah things were dead-simple. You pop in a disk, format the hard drive, and walk away while the process completes. I miss that. The machines I've worked on in probably the last decade, it seems like I have to fight against the hardware every time I want to wipe the system or replace a failed drive. The last set of servers I got, I couldn't figure out why the linux image (with full EFI settings) refused to even boot up properly. Turns out Dell had made these machines so you could easily boot a Windows installer from any of the external USB ports, but to install linux you had to use a hidden internal USB port. Once I found out about that then yeah the installation went as planned, but this is the kind of BS I'm referring to about manufacturers trying to prevent users from getting rid of Windows.
Ouch. Yeah, that's ridiculous. I feel ya.
Microsoft ignoring Linux exists is prime anticompetitive behavior. It causes problems that Linux installations have to go around. I learned that when installing a dual boot configuration.
They really ought to include this info about mirrors on their website. They have an aside about checking file hashes which can give paranoia to people who don't know what's going on.
Eh, this is the same for windows as well, you always need some sort of installation medium to boot and install from regardless of OS.
The difference is OP probably got their device with Windows already installed and they only needed to go through the setup steps. Setting up the installation media really is the biggest barrier of entry to linux right now. A lot of distros are so easy to set up with a step-by-step gui installer, but a lot of non technical users don’t have the knowledge, skill, or motivation to download an iso and create a bootable drive.
I suppose it is automatic on Windows so it has the illusion of being easy. I can honestly say, I have not had to install anything after I hit the update button. I am also old and don't use a computer every day.
The process is actually simple.
It can be a little daunting at first because it's new, but don't let that discourage you. You can mostly ignore the whole mirrors thing, just pick one that is geographically close to you to hopefully get a better download speed. Outside of that, all the mirrors lead to the same file just in a different physical location.
Installing another software to make a bootable drive. You can use Rufus, which has a portable version so there's no need to install it. I put a link below, there's one in the downloads list that says portable.
https://rufus.ie/en/
There are plenty of step by step tutorials out there, however since Linux is very open, a lot of guides may give different advice and knowing what to/not to do can feel confusing. (For instance, if you have an SSD in your computer, you really shouldn't use a swap partition unless you absolutely have to due to limited RAM.) In most cases though you can get by with the defaults when installing something like mint.
That being said. You could simply make the boot stick and try out the live version of the OS before committing to wiping any of your drives to install the OS. Just know that running the live version from the boot stick will be slow, it may take a little time for things to boot which is normal since you are running the os off of a USB stick.
If you would like some help I could try to give you some guidance. I would just want to know the specs/model of your computer so I can make sure I lead you in the right direction.
Appreciate the link!
Rufus is what the instructions said to download and then a list of prompts to enter in the command line. I understand none of those prompts, literally a completely different language.
I am using an old laptop that has windows 7 on it. Figured it didn't matter if I screwed that up since it was old and not in use.
What instructions are you following? Last time I used Rufus on Windows, it had a graphical interface with reasonable default settings and zero messing around on the command line. (I mean, I sometimes did once I was booted into Linux, but I was using distros where that's not unexpected.)
I just downloaded rufus and a mint iso, here's a couple screen grabs.
Launch rufus, and plug in your usb stick, it should show up under device.
From there click select on the right side. Browse to where you have the ISO you got from the linux mint website and select it.
Once you get back to the other screen hit start.
You shouldn't need to mess with any settings unless you are using secure boot.
Once that's done, you should restart and boot from the USB stick. Depending on the model of your laptop there are different methods to get into the bios to change the settings to allow booting from usb. If it goes into grub mode it will look like a command prompt with a few selections. Just hit enter on the first option and it will boot into the live usb.
Once you are in the live usb mode, it's basically all gui to install, test, etc.
Nowadays the terminal stuff is not really needed for basic use, so you should be able to get spun up pretty easy.
Thanks for the screenshots! I have saved this comment for reference. I plan to try again tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
I wanted to add an additional reply thanking you again for the screenshots.
These visuals helped put the worded instructions in context for me so I was successful in creating and installing the bootable drive.
Welcome to the Linux community. Most of the software is free and open source. Most of the people who utilize this software are good people who want to help you. However, there are a few people who are total dick heads and who want to fuck you over. So because of that we build security into most of the things that we produce. For instance, if you were confused by why it instructs you to run a checksum after you download the software, that is because the actual authors of the software want to make sure that you downloaded their legitimate software and not some hack bullshit posted by somebody else. A checksum is just comparison of what you have installed to what you're supposed to have installed and your computer will tell you if things don't match up.
It really seems more complicated than it is. I switched to a dual boot of windows and Linux mint about a year ago and it was super smooth, have basically never used the terminal. if you still want to try and have any questions, feel free to ask. Linux is really a nice feeling of being away from MS bullshit.
I want to figure it out if for no other reason than to prove to myself I am not too old to learn new tricks!
Hope all the other comments and suggestions are helping! Installation is honestly the only "hard" step for Mint. Once you're done with this, it should be smooth sailing - and if you ever need any help, just ask!
I was hesitant to say anything at first but I am glad I did. Everyone so far has been wonderful and supportive.
Kudos to you all for helping a stranger with no skill or tech savvy. I WILL try again.
Everyone always says Linux is easy these days. Until you start asking how to actually install it.
For mainstream distros it's pretty easy
Ubuntu used to send you a CD-ROM ready to use free of charge back in the day.
I've done this whole process hundreds of times and it's straightforward now, but the first times where really confusing, I totally understand you.
you basically want to put the installer file in a USB, but you can't simply copy and paste it because it needs to be "bootable", that's why you use a tool like Etcher or similar.
any link in the official Linux Mint page will point you to reputable sources so just pick the first one. the beauty of open source is that it's not as centralized as a big corporation's software, you have choices, confusing at first, I know, but it's worth it once you get past the learning stage
If you don't want to do that, then you can buy a bootable drive (for example here: https://www.shoplinuxonline.com/mint21-usb.html)
Using a different tool to create a bootable drive is just a part of installing any operating system, not just Linux. If you ever need to install windows on a pc that doesn't have it installed you will see the same process.
This is good feedback, the Mint team could definitely streamline things, maybe even with a "help pick".
Because it's not immediately apparent which to use (Cinnamon/MATE/Xfce).
I'm not sure how the resolve the mirror issue, sadly.
The cost of serving the data directly would be very high, but doing so would avoid scaring people. Unfortunately, it's hard for them to 100% guarantee every mirror is safe (even though they are!), which means they have to leave instructions on how to verify.
Selling pre-loaded USB sticks would be very cool, but people would have to be interested enough to spend £20.
Download any mirror. Accept any prompt. Where you are going, chaos is your friend, and the beautiful electric sizzling is your orchestra.
Edit: also just watch a vid theres tons out there.
I too install Linux Mint, though Fedora Silverblue and Kinote is another good alternative.
Wow! Tell me more!
Linux Mint (or Linux Mint Debian Edition), is one of the most user friendly Linux distributions out there. This is especially so for people used to Windows.
You can run Mint on a bootable USB drive, fire it up, and get a sense of how it feels running on your home setup. I'd highly recommend trying this with a few different Linux distros, to find one that you like.
What a beautiful thing
This is what I'm going to have to do as well since my computer isn't compatible with Win11. The only thing I'm worried about is gaming.
Depends on what you are playing, but gaming in Linux has come a long way. Some games won't work due to companies not enabling their (rootkit) "anti-cheats" for Linux, but other than that, there's more and more games that simply work by the day. Check out https://www.protondb.com/ to get an idea of what's working at the moment.
There are games for me on Windows 11 that won't run but will just fine on linux, and vice versa. For games that won't run or run well enough on linux, I have windows dual booted, but that's all i will use it for. Also I nice little boot U.I. that pops up every time I power on or restart my pc so i can pick which i want to load up.
I bought a SteamDeck as a way to test and see what works and what doesn't on Linux. So far all my games have run with no issues.
I'm likely going to be posting and searching through a lot of Linux forums as Win10 gets closer to EOL.
Steam has built in Linux compatibility that you can turn on for all games and has been working great for me. Lutris and Wine provide other compatibility options.