Hello From Akron, Ohio

[Inundated]

Hi, everyone!

I am a LONG TIME computer user - dating back to the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 days! - who is only now, in 2018, using Linux.

I've kicked around trying it for a year or two. I kept passing up those live CD/DVD distributions in magazines at the local Barnes and Noble...but when I finally got decent speed home internet, and saw that you can easily do a live USB. I landed on Linux Mint, and have been exclusively using it on my laptop (an older Dell) via live USB with a persistent file until today.

Once I felt comfortable with it, I used that live USB on my dormant Windows XP machine - it worked, I got whatever files I needed off there (I had not used the XP box since the day Microsoft dumped support for it, so there wasn't much to get off of it), and installed LM 19 Cinnamon on this box for good, wiping out the hard drive.

I love it!

Of course, right after I did that, my aging Windows 10 laptop screen died, and it would probably require someone to fix a connection to the screen. The thing is being held together by tape, pretty much, so I'm putting it away...and this old Dell desktop with LM 19 on it is now my only computer.

I am slogging through some things, most notably the fact that I apparently bought the absolute worst WiFi adapter for Linux support (Netgear WNA3100, I posted about that elsewhere). I am going to keep trying to get that to work, but went ahead and ordered a TPLink adapter off of Amazon that many others on this forum recommend as a "plug and play" one.

In the meantime, I am online with an OLD Belkin G adapter that I had in a drawer somewhere. When it works, it seems pretty good, though I occasionally have to unplug it/replug it every so often for some reason. It'll get me through next week.

I am very much a Linux newbie, though I even go back to the DOS command line days, so dropping into the terminal from time to time doesn't give me chills - see the struggle getting my Netgear adapter going with ndiswrapper and instructions I found elsewhere.

But the Linux Mint interface is fantastic for someone coming over from Windows, and I very much look forward to learning more!

[phd21]

Hi Inundated,

Welcome to the wonderful world of Linux Mint and its excellent forum!

[catweazel]

Welcome aboard!

[all41]

Hi Inundated,

I landed on Linux Mint

Good to read you landed on solid ground, you will do very well with Mint.
Welcome to both Mint and the forums

[JerryF]

Welcome to the forums!

[lsemmens]

Hi, inundated, I certainly hope that you aren't, inundated, that is!:D You've found the best distro in Linux Land, I think.

[Inundated]

Thank you, all, for the warm welcome!

The name actually comes from a joke a former girlfriend and I shared ages ago. Something about someone using the word "unindated" instead of "inundated". The screen name/login name stuck over the years. (Mike, by the way.)

I really should have done this years ago, though I think Mint has made the process easier than it would have been years ago, so there is that.

I have Chrome set up here, and my login brought all the stuff over from Windows (bookmarks, extensions, etc.), so it's painless.

[WharfRat]

Hello Inundated

Welcome to Linux Mint and the Linux Mint forum

[Inundated]

Using a family member's Windows 10 laptop this afternoon, and I already miss Linux.

I'm going to bring over one of my Live USB sticks next time I visit here!

[Inundated]

Bad news: my former XP machine (Dell Dimension 8400) wouldn't boot at all last night. I don't think it is a Linux Mint problem, I think it is "this machine is old and I'm lucky it works at all" problem. I couldn't even get into the BIOS last night. There was just a flashing cursor on a blank screen, even after I hit F2 to go into the BIOS.

Good news: I left it sitting there all night, and it finally decided to boot. I'm using it right now.

Better news: The TP-Link 722 adapter arrived, and it works great with LM 19, plug and play, no setup.

I might just leave this thing on and avoid shutdown