21 January 2024
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 kit.
This is a whole computer running Debian Linux and free
Mathematica for under $200. I bought mine from Amazon.
21 July 2023
Dual Boot and LaTeX
Overview: Basically, we start off in Windows 11 and end up in Linux Mint (Cinnamon).
Warning: The information provided on this page should not be considered infallible
on how to install Linux on a computer, especially in the case of a dual-boot machine.
The best I can do is to report what I did and how it transpired. Linux is broadly intended
to be all things to all people, but that doesn't bode well as a system for a newcomer to
learn. Read appropriate manuals. View a variety of videos. Make a backup of the data
on the machine you intend to install on. Hope for the best, but be prepared if things go
wrong. If you attempt to follow the instructions I followed, I cannot guarantee that you'll
have favorable results, though I did. Changing any setting or configuration on a working
computer is a risk. (Over the decades, I've learn to take such risks.) Nor can I attest that
the instructions I present on making a dualboot PC is exactly how you, the reader, should
do it. So, watch videos on how its done, taking care to include the specific OS that is
already on your PC and what version of Linux you wish to install. Fortunately for me,
there were YouTube videos tailored specifically for my needs.
FYI: Let me briefly mention the key players in the recent Linux controveries: the companies
behind RedHat Linux (especially its server platform) and Canonical (Linux software
producer). Probably the best way to get informed on what's been happening with these
two companies (and perhaps others I'm not yet aware of) is to watch a few YouTube
videos on the matter. It's not my place to go into it deeply. My concern at this point is
to follow the comments on the whole thing so I can best decide which second Linux
desktop distribution I want to try.
First Question: Why did you install Linux on one of your PCs?
Well, it wasn't because I don't like Windows or I thought that Linux could run
software that I couldn't run on Windows. Actually, I'm quote happy with Windows
-- at least for the software I need to do my work. Truth is, besides a browser,
the most useful software packages to me are: Word, LaTeX, Inkscape, Notepad, and
FileZilla: Pretty basic stuff. I am writing this post on a Windows 10 PC that cannot be
upgraded to Windows 11. That deadline is due in October 2025. And then what will
I do with this machine? Correct! The obvious thing to do is to install Linux on it.
The questions for me now are: When should I do it? And, what version of Linux
desktop should I install? There are many to choose from. There are many ways to
install a Linux desktop, and the most precarious way to do it is onto a PC that already
has an OS on it. Just the same, if you're successful at it, you've got a dualboot
machine that you can choose which OS to boot into at boot time (or at reboot time).
So, one reason I installed Linux is to prepare for the day when my unupgradable
Windows 10 machines have to be taken off line or maybe scrapped. (Note: It's
relatively safe to run an out-of-date OS if that OS is isolated from contamination
by other machines or devices or the Internet.) My biggest reason to install Linux
now is as a precaution in the unlikely event that all my Windows PCs would suddenly
not work, say, because of a powerful virus. In any case, I performed the dual install,
and it works. A lot could have gone wrong, and, thank God, it didn't.
Second Question: Which version of Linux did you install and why that one?
Answer: I chose Linux Mint (Cinnamon), as it is widely reported to be easy to install
and easy to work with, if one is a regular Windows user. It's supposed to have a nice
graphical interface, and yes, it does.
Third Question: Why did you dual boot with the new Windows 11 PC rather than
with your Windows 10 PC, which you will probably dual boot in the future anyway?
Answer: I purchased the Dell PC with Windows 11 already installed to future-proof
my local network. This way, I know I'll have a PC that will work even after the
October 2025 deadline. Now, my Windows 10 machine is my main productivity PC
and I like the way it's set up and performs for me. I use it productively more than
all my other PCs together. On the other hand, my new Window 11 PC is hardly
used at all. Most of the time, it's not even powered on. So, I figured that if I
messed it up attempting to dual boot it with Linux, that I would be inconvenienced
-- yes -- but much less so than if I messed up my primary workstation PC. The
other reason is because I want to learn Linux now that I have it installed, and
I don't want to suffer the inconvenience of having to switch between Linux and
Windows on my main workstation.
Fourth Question: What were the trickiest parts of the dual-boot installation?
I can only answer this question relative to the way I did the install, being ignorant
of any other way to make the install. My very first step was to make an up-to-date
repair disk (USB) on the Windows 11 PC. (I dedicated a USB disk for that purpose.)
Then I downloaded the software that would be placed onto a bootable USB disk.
This was the file
linuxmint-21.1-cinnamon-64bit.iso
which is auto placed in the Downloads Folder. Then I downloaded rufus.exe
(this is not the only recommended utility to perform this action, but one has
to choose), which went into the same folder. Then I got a USB disk that I
dedicated to being a Linuxmint installation disk and inserted it into the USB
port. Then I opened the rufus program and told it to open the Linuxmint ISO
file, which it did and then made the USB an installation disk. At this point,
I've done all I can do from within Windows to complete the task ot dualbooting
the PC.
Next, I had to reboot the PC to enter the PC's BIOS (UEFI) to disable the
Secure Boot option. (After I finished the installation, I re-entered the UEFI
and re-enabled it.) To enter the BIOS on my PC, I had to depress the F2 key
during the boot process. (I depress it every other second or so.) You may have
to use a different key on your PC.
Next, I rebooted with the new Linux installation USB disk inserted into a USB
slot. I had to tell the PC to allow me to choose where to boot, so I depressed the
F12 repeatedly, right after reboot, until the boot option menu appeared. At this
point, I told it to boot off of the UEFI:sandisk, which it did. Doing this allowed
me to boot off of the USB disk, which has a whole Linux OS on it. There will
appear an installation icon on the desktop by which you tell the OS to install
Linux onto the PC. It will begin this long process and you will have to decide
how to do this. The installer suggested that I divide up the Windows partition
into roughly two partitions and then install on the second partition, leaving the
Windows partition alone, thereby allowing to a dualboot system. I was given
the choice of resizing the original partition, but this could have added a lot
more time to the installation process, so I decided not to. And then I let it
do its thing.
Upon reboot, one encounters the moment of truth. Will it reboot at all? Remove
the USB boot disk and then, during the new booting process, against a black
sceen, one should see the four options for booting:
Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon
Advanced Options for Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon
Windows Boot Manager (...)
UEFI Firmware Settings
Note that this is your new boot window and you don't need to hit any F-key
to enter it.
For the first option, one boots into Linux Mint. For the second option, one
gets a new menu for GNU GRUB. For the third option, one boots into
Windows 11, and for the fourth option, one can enter the BIOS (UEFI)
without having to depress an F-key at boot. If you do nothing, in a few
seconds the PC will autoboot into the top choice, which is the Linux Mint
OS. To choose some other option, just move the cursor to the other choice
and hit enter on it.
Fifth Question: Do you have any advice to give the beginner Linux reader?
Answer: Yes. Get a notebook and dedicate it to your Linux machine. Record all
your major steps you take on installation and on any post installation updates,
including how you install software on top of your new Linux OS.
Sixth Question: Anything else to tell your readers?
Answer: Yes. Changing anything in the BIOS can be tricky and risky. Record
whatever changes you make so that you can undo them later on, if need be.
On my PC, the UEFI has a reset button to bring the system back into working
order (that's original settings), if I can't figure it out on my own.
At some point, one should get one's Linux installation updated. I'm sure
there are many ways to do this. This is how I did it. Start with the command:
:~$ sudo apt update
Of course, I assume you are connected to the Internet for this command to work.
Anyway, after getting information of the software that can be updated (if any),
type in the command
:~$ sudo apt dist-upgrade
Seventh Question: What software did you install yourself?
Answer: Microsoft Edge (to get BingChat), Inkscape, and LaTeX. To install
LaTeX, I downloaded Texlive from
http://community.linuxmint.com/software/view/texlive-full
After that was installed, I could access it by opening a command window by
right clicking on the open folder where the tex file resides and then typing
in the command
:~$ pdflatex myfile.tex
This command will compile the myfile.tex file, and if it finds no errors, it will
produce a PDF file as the output.
Now, there is no way I want to run LaTeX from the command line. So, I
downloaded a free IDE (Integrated Development Environment) called
TEXMAKER, by using the command:
:~$ sudo apt-get install texmaker
After this is installed, it can be run from the commandline by the command
:~$ texmaker
I have not as yet much used TexMaker. I hope to report on it soon on my LaTeX
page after I've used it for a while.
Lastly, as a new Linux user, you have other options. One is that you can purchase
a PC with Linux already installed. Another is to purchase a refurbished PC
(such as a Dell) that has Windows 10 or Windows 11 on it. Then you can either
dual boot it, or remove Windows and install Linux on it. Amazon has a nice
selection of refurbished Dell PCs.
Now, I'm going to make a common-sense prediction about the future costs of
refurbished Dell PCs as the time approaches the termination date of October
2025. 1) If it's running Windows 11, its price will go up. 2) If it's running
Windows 10, its price will go down.