What are the cons against changing from Windows XP and installing Linux - my pc store advises me to do it and?

Question

What are the cons against changing from Windows XP and installing Linux - my pc store advises me to do it and?

Answer 1

The disadvantage will be that you realize you have been paying for an os, and its slower than linux

Answer 2

I wouldnt pay them to do it, just do it yourself.



go to www.linuxmint.com download the ISO and burn it on to a disk. Id partition your drive first.



this link can give u step by step instructions.



http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2011/04/23/how-to-dual-boot-linux-mint-debian-edition-and-windows-7/



OR you can just do a clean format/install , but back up the stuff you want to keep first.

Answer 3

Why are paying them to do something you could perfectly well do yourself? Windows is easy to install, especially in this case where you are just going to write over everything that is already there. Save yourself the £50.



Adding Linux is a good idea for older hardware, and it will save you money because all add-on software is free (to replace Word, go for LibreOffice, which will read all your old Word docs. Note that LibreOffice is a very recent, debugged, and faster version of OpenOffice)



There are light versions of Linux, very suitable for older PCs, for instance Mint LXDE http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=87

This has a good installer, and you'll have no problem installing it yourself, so that saves you another £25.

Answer 4

If you have access to another computyer, you can download and install Linux for free, yourself. Popular versions are Ubuntu, Centos, Debian (more complex) and Mint

http://distrowatch.com/



You would need to download a bootable CD/DVD image, and boot to install it on your system.



As for Word, there is a free "OpenOffice" that runs on Linux, and is very MS Word compatible. Music and video are supported, but use much different tools. Some older video cards may have issues with smaller Linux distributions, as well as the "latest, burning edge" video cards, as drivers are usually a few months behind Windows...

Answer 5

Even better: Spend the ₤25 on a USB external drive. Copy your MS-Word docs and pictures (and whatever other files you need). Then download Linux for free onto a CD/DVD. Install Linux on your PC, blowing Microsoft's Windows away completely. The virus will be gone too.



Then bring back all your files onto your new Linux PC system. Use LibreOffice for word processing, spreadsheets, etc. Plenty of music programmes, graphics programmes, web browsers, etc. If anything, Linux suffers from TOO MANY free application programmes.



Even on MS_Winduhs Is till use LibreOffice instead of Microsoft's Office suite. LibreOffice is simply better.

Answer 6

I would simply do a factory restore to return your laptop to out-of-the-box condition.

here is a link to the Dell website to show you how, and is easily done in about 1hour at home

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&docid=3E48AE3870775D64E040A68F5B2877D4&journalid=5AA45DD742A4E20FE040AE0AB6E12558&Query=&SystemID=&ServiceTag=&contenttype=&os=&component=&lang=&doclang=&toggle=&dl=

HTH

David

Answer 7

why are you even thinking about paying £25 for a free OS?



there isn't anything you can't do on a linux distribution that you can do through windows, open office can port documents to and from office file formats, or use 'wine' to run office in a linux environment.



internet, buying & selling,, U-Tube < that's all browser stuff, so fire fox..



music, video< that's all player stuff and linux has the best players like VLC / or free editors like audacity etc.



get ubuntu as it's 100% gui like windows if you don't know or don't want to learn bash commands. or 'puppy linux' to breath new life in old hardware.

Answer 8

Alot of programs run in windows Only .

Answer 9

They are charging extra you to install Linux? Eh, computer shops today, anyway if your installing a new OS, have a look at Ubuntu, its based of Linux and is free, this is all great if you can still use your current windows but if it is damaged beyond use i would go for a new copy of windows, If you are going for Linux i don't think word is available, it is possible on Ubuntu, Refer to source for an article on that



I would go with windows



If your OS will not boot on your computer, with a little know how, a hard drive can be removed, you can then install it into a friends computer and THEN install your Windows/Linux saving yourself a service charge



SCAN YOUR HARD DRIVE BEFORE - Installing into a friends computer



Lewis



12

Answer 10

Overall a Linux based platform can perform most of the tasks equally as well as a proprietary platform using OSS such as the excellent comprehensive Office Suite LibreOffice

http://tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/html/chap_01.html

http://www.libreoffice.org/features/



There is really no reason to use a proprietary platform these days with the exception of High End gaming which will always be the achilles heel of Linux. Otherwise Windows is all but reduntant which is becoming increasingly evident particularly where users upgrading from XP are switching to Linux permanently

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/247577/desktop_linux_gains_share_in_recent_months.html



The Linux Desktop is currently a mess with a plethora of options available. Unity as on Ubuntu 11.10 and GNOME 3 as on Fedora 16 are cluttered and in my opinion not suitable for use on a production machine. I need a Desktop Environment that has stability and allows me to just get things done with minimal fuss. This is where the older Gnome 2 Desktop Environment excels.



Linux Mint 12 goes some way to addressing this wth MGSE (Mint Gnome Shell Extensions) which is a layer built on top of GNOME 3 however like other distros. such as Fedora to deploy the GNOME 3 Desktop Environment for me does not convince



Linux Desktop Faceoff GNOME 3 vs Ubuntu Unity

http://lifehacker.com/5853099/linux-desktop-faceoff-gnome-3-vs-ubuntu-unity



There is a promising project being developed by Linux Mint called Cinnamon which is also a layer built upon GNOME 3 and will replace MGSE on Linux Mint 13 LTS

http://cinnamon.linuxmint.com/



I thoroughly recommend the earlier release Linux Mint 11 which is based upon Ubuntu 11.04 Its easy to install and easy to use plus it comes with much of the software you are likely to need preinstalled



Linux Mint 11 Download

http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=81



Linux Mint 11 Release Notes/Installation Guide/User Guide

http://linuxmint.com/rel_katya.php



You download the ISO. image of Linux Mint 11 then you need to create a Bootable LiveDVD

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto



Linux Mint 11 can also be run straight from the LiveDVD without touching your Hard Drive







LUg.