ABC Guide for New users especialy Ex-Windows users

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raymerjacque
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ABC Guide for New users especialy Ex-Windows users

Post by raymerjacque »

Firstly i highly recommend anyone moving over from windows run LinuxMint 32bit version, NOT 64bit version ( unless you have personal reasons for wanting to run 64x). The reason for that is that you will have ENDLESS hassles with Wine in 64bit, ENDLESS, and wine is needed to run any windows software/games you still might want to use. Dont worry if you have more than 4GB ram, that is a silly 32bit limitation that windows did not enable PAE on 32bit os to push sales of their 64bit os, LinuxMint 14.1 32bit has PAE enabled and picks up your memory, even if its more than 4GB in 32bit.

Some usefull software:

To enable 3D effects on mate you will need compiz, it adds some really cool effects and makes the os look really really really cool.

Installing Compiz on Mate 14.1 :
1- install the followig packages ( Via Synaptic manager ):

- compiz-gnome
- compizconfig-settings-manager
- fusion-icon
- compiz-plugins-extra
- libdecoration0-dev

2- In terminal run "compiz --replace" or run Compiz Fusion Icon and choose compiz as your window manager.

3- Go to Startup Applications click on add and in the name field write "compiz" and in the command field enter "compiz --replace"(without the punctuation) click on Add again then Close. This is to make compiz start automatically on next logins.

4- To stop that high CPU usage run in terminal “mateconf-editor”. When the editor opens go to /desktop/mate/session/required_components/windowmanager and replace "marco" with "compiz".

3- install "dconf-editor" by runnig in terminal:

sudo apt-get install dconf-tools

Then press ALT + F2 and run: "dconf-editor", navigate to org > gnome > desktop > wm > preferences and change the "theme" value from "Adwaita" to "Clearblocks. Remember this because in the same place you can also change the window button layout, among others.

Then open Start Menu, All, Apearances, customise and set Controls to Clearblocks, borders to spidey.

You will notice that file copy in linux is really basic, you cant qeue files, cant resume/pause them or anything, so i would highly recommend you install Double commander, which is the linux version of total commander which basicly is an app that adds all these features :
In the terminal type :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexx2000/doublecmd
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install doublecmd-qt

You can then just run Double commander from your start menu anytime and copy away ...
to use any kind of Windows programs or games you will need to install Wine, type following commands into terminal :
In the terminal type :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install wine1.5
for Torrents install Deluge, its the closest look and feel to most Windows Torrent apps :
In the terminal type :
sudo-apt-get install deluge

To Mount ISO Bin, NRG etc etc files install furiusmount, it is similar to deamon tools :
In the terminal type :
sudo apt-get install furiusmountiso
The first time you mount a image, right click image and choose open with other application, then cgoose custom command andbrowse to your "filesystem/usr/bin" directory and select furiusiso and tick "remember this application", now next time you want to mount an image you simply double click it. this works for any other files you want to associate with programs. All exe's of everything you install is inside the "file system/usr/bin" directory.


If you are going to Dual boot between Windows and Linux, then i highly recommend you install Grub Customizer 3.0. It will allow you to edit and customise the boot loading screen and customise the menu as you wish.
In the terminal type :
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install grub-customizer
If you are used to using internet download manager and multi threaded downloads then fear not, there is a similar app in Linux called multiget, follow the instructions below to set it up :
Install Multiget :

In the terminal type :
sudo Apt-get install multiget

in firefox :
Install the addon flashgot in firefox via "tools->addons" and get more extensions.
Open FlashGot Options (Tools -> FlashGot ->More Options)
Click Add
Enter the download manager name: MultiGet
Browse the location of MultiGet at /usr/bin
Find MultiGet then click Open
This is the important steps. insert [url=URL] [refer=REFERER] in the command line arguments place. That is for make flashgot can work together with multiget
Finally, click Ok
now whenever you click a link multiget will grab the download.


Some usefull tips concerning linux, now keep in mind ive only been using it for a few months so pretty much a newbie myself, but i have learned a few tricks here and there.

GPU Driver :
To enable your graphics driver go to "start menu->preferences->software sources->additional drivers". you can set your GPU drivers there.

Mouse pad buttons on Laptop not working :

go to "menu->control center->mouse->touchpad" and enable them there.

Install software via Terminal:
The command for installing a program manually via terminal will ALWAYS be : sudo get-apt install "appname"
Make sure you spell it exactly right, if it shows no spaces in name in software manager or wherever you saw the name, then you leave out the spaces as well.

Sudo:
The command Sudo is used for giving terminal admin rights, so if you are doing something and get a access denied error, just add Sudo in front of the command and it should work.

Installing .run files :
Open Terminal in directory that file is in ( right click "open in terminal" ) and type the following :
sudo chmod a+rx filename.run
sudo ./filename.run
If you perfer running Chrome or Opera or internet explorer in windows, then im sorry to be bearer of bad news, but running those in Linux will be more headaches than anything else, Yes they all work, but in linux the majority of users use firefox and thus all the cool addons and stuff is written mostly for Firefox. I hated firefox before i moved to linux, but i have learned to appreciate the browser simply because of all the features that has been added via addons. I have however downloaded a few addons to make my firefox feel more like my opera did, in both style and features. I will list some usefull addons you can try if you wish :
adblock plus
download helper
extended statusbar
facebook notification
fastestfox
flashgot
FVD speedial
gmail notifier
mint search enhancer
operaview
similar sites
stylish
zoom page
you can go search each of those addons and read the descriptions, but they have made life so much better for me.

Adding shortcuts on desktop :
to make shortcut right click desktop and choose "create launcher" and then click browse button and point it to filesystem/usr/bin/appname"

if you want to make a shortcut to a program in wine then the path to browse is : "home/your_username/.wine/drive_c/and wherever your app exe is".

Running windows in a Virtual machine:
the same programs that windows users use for virtual machine exist in linux as well. Virtualbox, Vmware and parrallels. However, Virtualbox is fastest, easiest to use and its free, so its highly recommended you install that :
In the terminal type :
sudo apt-get install virtualbox
the rest is the same as windows, the only other recommendations i can give you is unless you have an I7 with 8 threads then make sure you set only 1 core on a virtual XP machine and also make sure you untick "VT-X". your virtual XP will run so much faster.

if there is a program you want to install, but its not listed in the software manager, dont stress !!! normaly if you search google you will find the ppa for it. PPA is repository addresses that link linux to the location of the setup files. Since mint is based on ubuntu and everything between them are compatible i have learned to seach for both linuxmint and ubuntu in my search terms, i normaly get a hit with one or the other or both.

for example searching "grub customizer ubuntu" will yeild results pointing to this page : http://www.noobslab.com/2012/11/install ... buntu.html and on that page you will find install instructions starting with the PPA :
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install grub-customizer
I think this is everything that comes to mind of stuff i messed around with and eventualy got to work in linux, its all a learning curve and im enjoying every moment of it, there is alot of guides floating around that will give you detailed instructions on how to do stuff, and the community here on mint forums are always extremely helpfull. if i think of anything else i will edit it into this thread.

Can someone please Sticky this thread ?
Last edited by raymerjacque on Tue Jan 22, 2013 9:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sagirfahmid3

Re: ABC Guide for New users especialy Ex-Windows users

Post by sagirfahmid3 »

Can someone please Sticky this thread ?
That would be a big NO. You simply copy and pasted whatever was posted online and pasted it here. What is worse is you didn't even cite your sources!
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raymerjacque
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Re: ABC Guide for New users especialy Ex-Windows users

Post by raymerjacque »

what are you talking about ? are we kids now that we need to go around and argue about who posted what, where and who posted what first ? this stuff has been posted about a million times all over the net, any one of the above topics would get hundreds of pages of hits, most with similar or exact wording. the only stuff i have copied was the commands and instructions surrounding them, the rest i hand wrote myself, i dare you to find any wording that matches mine.


All ive done is put everything into one page so a windows user moving to linux has 1 place to look to answer most of his questions and address problems instead of having to dig all over the place for a month like i did and make duplicate topics on the same issue 5 times a day.

dont want to sticky it then fine, i dont care, but please dont insult me with this "you stole this or that routine" , its simple information, the commands never change, so you tell me where i must cite any sources ?, whoever posted any of this anywhere else on the net got it from software creator, and im not about to go and look up the homepage of each and every app and post that, this guide took enough time to write as is.
McLovin

Re: ABC Guide for New users especialy Ex-Windows users

Post by McLovin »

And what's worse, is about 80% of what you posted here is incorrect. WINE works just fine in 64bit, and the memory limitation is a limitation on 32bit itself, it has absolutely nothing to do with Windows. For most things people do, you do not need to run ANY Windows programs, as there are usually Linux equivalents to most major programs, Opera and Chrome both work perfectly in Linux, I use Chrome quite a bit myself, and have used opera, I just don't like Opera, and there are more and more programs coming to Linux every day, like Steam is now on Linux. As for Compiz, it all depends on what version of Mint you install, the ONLY versions you can use Compiz on in Mint are MATE and XFCE, and if you're using MATE, once you have Compiz running, alt+F2 will not work any more, until you go back using strait MATE.
Do some fact checking before you post something and start telling people what they do and don't need.
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raymerjacque
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Re: ABC Guide for New users especialy Ex-Windows users

Post by raymerjacque »

i ran wine in 64bit for 2 days, could not get .netframework working at all. even in wine HQ it is recorded it doesnt work on 64bit linux, it is documented there. some guys managed to get it working by actualy hexing the exe's themselves, but newbies wouldnt know how to do that. and .netframework is required by ALOT of games and programs, rendering ANYTHING that uses framework obsolete. so please dont try debate on something you know nothing about, ive been messing with wine for months.

secondly Steam native Linux only support 40+ games at this stage, and NONE of them are any mainstream titles except for teamfortress 2.

Thirdly, Linuxmint 32bit 14.1 has PEA enabled kernel, allowing the 32bit os to recognise more than 4GB ram.

Fourthly, not every windows app has a linux clone. ANY windows user has been using certain apps for years, coming over to linux you only find a handfull of linux alternatives, any windows user coming to linux will most definitely be using wine at some point to get his favorite game/app up and running.

I can see that this is going nowhere, please delete this topic, my effort is obviously in vain and these 2 guys above have successfully put me in a bad mood, i do not wish to argue with children any further, i will simply report both of you for trolling. the guide i made was based on my difficulties i had when moving from windows to linux, i wish i had a topic like this to help me, thus hundreds of possible new users will have same questions, but now its ruined, so thank you for that.
McLovin

Re: ABC Guide for New users especialy Ex-Windows users

Post by McLovin »

You do realize you're trying to tell someone who is on the Mint dev team that they don't what they're talking about right? I've been using Linux for 13 years, and Mint for 6-7 years, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about.
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raymerjacque
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Location: Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Re: ABC Guide for New users especialy Ex-Windows users

Post by raymerjacque »

maybe, but you havnt moved from Windows to linux in the last year, so you have not walked in my shoes, thus you dont know the questions going through a new users mind or the software and games he has grown custom to running that he will try to get working. I spent the whole of my weekend helping a friend setup mate, and he had the same questions and thus i descided to make this topic.

and because you on the team doesnt mean i cant report you for trolling my topic, which i have done.
McLovin

Re: ABC Guide for New users especialy Ex-Windows users

Post by McLovin »

I use Windows all the time, I keep a Win7 install, just for gaming, cuz gaming in WINE doesn't work very well, or least not to the level that I, and most gamers would want. I I replied because you are giving incorrect information to people, for 1, wine1.5 is a DEVELOPMENT version, and should NOT be used by new users, new users should use the version that is in the Mint repos, 1.4 .
As for where to go to figure out what to do here is the newbie section, that explains pretty much ANYTHING you need to know about Mint http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewforum.php?f=90
And I know about the report, cuz it comes to me, I'm locking this thread as it is getting nowhere, and I feel the info you are giving people is going to create more confusion than help.
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