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Finally nuked my Linux install. Where to go next.

slitherjef

slitherjef

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 8, 2012
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Earth
So it took a long while but it finally happened, an update to an application on my aging potato Linux box black screened my system... Been trying to daily drive Linux for a long time but it hasn't been smooth and I'm not Linux inclined anyway and often times felt like I was missing out on some of what I want a computer for anyway (before they became subscription based data harvesters *I say while typing this out on my android phone...*)

The system for me was marginally usable but found I was very limited in what I could do with it. Mostly a few games and web browsing and very limited photo editing. And a lot of fumbling around.

Can the install be fixed? Possibly. Or a reinstall but at this point I'm thinking of moving on. The rig needed updates and upgrades anyway.

Moving on? Possibly but I'm kind of torn and thinking of mainstream OS again. I have an air gapped windows 10 laptop I intended on a Linux install on a couple years ago, it never stuck. It might just stay air gapped.

Have a decent mechanical keyboard and benQ monitor so possibly a mini PC or even a Mac mini. At least with a Mac, I don't think I need to create an apple account or iCloud to actually use it. It's use case? Probably same as the Linux black box, minus the gaming part.

Of course they do have gaming mini PCs for similar (if not cheaper for more and possibly upgradable) and could game (seriously, the Linux potato runs a ryzen 2200g and Radeon RX 580 lol.

Of course I could take the previous windows 10 desktop I built years ago and repurpose it, I chose similar ram for the Linux box in case I wanted to do so.

Right now though I just want something I could just slot in, plug things in and power up and go.

Suggestions?
 
Mind elaborating a bit more why Mac mini? Because I might be interested. Watching (too much) YouTube, canon DPP and possibly affinity and or gimp (if I can find an arm version) and not sure what else.

Might have a couple ideas to try on the defunct Linux box before I start parting it out. Maybe the GPU got swapped but no idea why with a browser update.

Part of me thinking about cracking open the old ryzen 7 (first generation) with windows I haven't booted in like 2 years or more and shoving mint Linux onto it and taking the ram from the borked Manjaro box and use it also. Hardware is old though but might be able to make use of some of it.

Not sure I'm up for scratch building a windows box. Not really interested in "there's an app for that" or a bunch of sign-in services.

The steam deck is a possibility also.
 
slitherjef said:
Mind elaborating a bit more why Mac mini? Because I might be interested. Watching (too much) YouTube, canon DPP and possibly affinity and or gimp (if I can find an arm version) and not sure what else.

Might have a couple ideas to try on the defunct Linux box before I start parting it out. Maybe the GPU got swapped but no idea why with a browser update.

Part of me thinking about cracking open the old ryzen 7 (first generation) with windows I haven't booted in like 2 years or more and shoving mint Linux onto it and taking the ram from the borked Manjaro box and use it also. Hardware is old though but might be able to make use of some of it.

Not sure I'm up for scratch building a windows box. Not really interested in "there's an app for that" or a bunch of sign-in services.

The steam deck is a possibility also.
Click to expand...
You're a little all over the place with what you own, what your viable hardware options are and what your use cases are. Your posts just read as stream of consciousness which is difficult to engage with.
 
slitherjef said:
Mind elaborating a bit more why Mac mini? Because I might be interested. Watching (too much) YouTube, canon DPP and possibly affinity and or gimp (if I can find an arm version) and not sure what else.
Click to expand...

They're performant, low maintenance, quiet, give you a unix terminal if you want one, a decent web browser, secure OS integrated password manager, Applepay, etc. and they're literally cheaper than you can build a comparable PC for at the moment for the entry spec which should do the job for you.
 
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Sorry for the spaghetti thoughts.

Accidentally borked my Linux box trying to update a web browser. Data still looks intact but don't look like the display server or desktop is there. Trying to update the box from tty with -Syyu results in errors that wants me to y/n replace everything. I don't understand so now trying to figure which direction to go, hence some of the spaghetti that and I don't know how to talk.

So basically starting from scratch since it looks like an fresh OS install, I wonder if I should retry or try something else...

@throAU

Sounds reasonable actually. I could probably use my existing mouse and mechanical keyboard and monitor. One question, can I run MacOS as a local account only? Do I need to set up an Apple ID or apple iCloud account or anything like that? Just a couple basic programs I'd likely use. Not too interested in services.
 
Have you ever tried Zorin ?

I used Linux only for Servers but now i have Zorin on my Lenovo U4700 based Laptop for allmost 2 year´s and even when Windows11 hacked the Boot Loader the fix was easy:

Just boot the installer from USB Stick and choose Boot Repair :)
So running parallel on one drive is no problem as well.

No fiddling with drivers...

All Updates (also installed Browser etc.) run automatically (PopUp and choose Now or Later etc.) and i can just close the lid and it sleeps well without any Zorin Problem to this day.

Also my Nord related Extensions are running and the Desktop looks nice (i am still with the Free Version)
 
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slitherjef said:
Sorry for the spaghetti thoughts.

Accidentally borked my Linux box trying to update a web browser. Data still looks intact but don't look like the display server or desktop is there. Trying to update the box from tty with -Syyu results in errors that wants me to y/n replace everything. I don't understand so now trying to figure which direction to go, hence some of the spaghetti that and I don't know how to talk.

So basically starting from scratch since it looks like an fresh OS install, I wonder if I should retry or try something else...

@throAU

Sounds reasonable actually. I could probably use my existing mouse and mechanical keyboard and monitor. One question, can I run MacOS as a local account only? Do I need to set up an Apple ID or apple iCloud account or anything like that? Just a couple basic programs I'd likely use. Not too interested in services.
Click to expand...
I think you need an Apple account to register the device with but it’s been a while since I’ve not signed into iCloud.

I’m pretty sure you do NOT need to stay signed in though, and I’m not 100% sure the first sign in is mandatory or not; it may be as it is essentially registering who owns the machine.

Anyone?
 
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Haven't made much headway with things. Still have a borked install, haven't decided quite which direction to take, haven't had time or energy to get much of anywhere.

I did get a windows 11 iso burned to an old thumb drive with Rufus but I seriously doubt it's going to work even with the bypass since my other more powerful ryzen 7 windows computer is so old. Thought I'd try it though. Probably end up going Linux again for the older machines to use the hardware.

Modern mainstream OS? Not sure yet. Maybe pencil and paper...
 
Sounds like a lot of work. For the money I have decided when my 2016 MBP dies I'm getting a Mac Mini. Inexpensive (relatively), hassle-free, powerful.

I've been considering various Windows builds but in the end I just need to be able to get on the internet sometimes and use GIMP and Google Docs. I try and be NOT on my computer as much as possible these days. I certainly don't want to be fiddling with various software and hardware issues.
 
salamanderjuice said:
Steam Deck + Dock/USB C hub. Gaming pedigree is obvious. Has a full KDE desktop and it's pretty hard to mess up without trying because of how the OS is setup. It runs Linux well because it was designed to run Linux.
Click to expand...
It's funny this is the first comment because I recently bought a Steam Deck and was thinking the same thing. I haven't really given it a good try in desktop mode, but I did just get a docking solution for my TV. It's my first Linux experience and it seems great for me as a newbie. I'm also really happy how it just runs Cyberpunk or Red Dead Redemption smoothly, anywhere you want. It's an actual game changer.
 
Been kicking around the idea of picking up a mini PC, such as a beelink ser8 moderately priced and easy access. Could give me a chance to test drive windows 11 for a bit and if I can't stand it, should be easier to go back to a Linux install.

Thinking it *might* be a little easier to bypass the Microsoft account with a little fiddling around and if I can't could possibly still make use of the little box. Whereas the Mac mini (also haven't totally dismissed) might be a little more difficult since it's more of a closed system.

Very torn on which direction since almost every thing requires an account or sign-in anymore or limited support and hair pulling (Linux) just want to sit down hit power and use *my* computer without it nagging or require Googling (that is almost unusable now...) to figure out.
 
I have a 2014 mac mini 2.5 ghz i5, 8gb ram, 250 gb ssd with windows 11 installed using rufus made installer. I ticked every box on the bypass windows requirements when making the installer. As a result there is no Microsoft account required and I have not experienced any of the complaints I keep reading about in windows 11.
It runs great, can also run macos or linux on it, and these models are very cheap right now. Got mine off ebay last fall for $75.
 
Snowlover said:
I have a 2014 mac mini 2.5 ghz i5, 8gb ram, 250 gb ssd with windows 11 installed using rufus made installer. I ticked every box on the bypass windows requirements when making the installer. As a result there is no Microsoft account required and I have not experienced any of the complaints I keep reading about in windows 11.
It runs great, can also run macos or linux on it, and these models are very cheap right now. Got mine off ebay last fall for $75.
Click to expand...
It's an 11 year old computer. Advising such a purchase is incredibly bad advice.
 
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slitherjef said:
Mind elaborating a bit more why Mac mini? Because I might be interested. Watching (too much) YouTube, canon DPP and possibly affinity and or gimp (if I can find an arm version) and not sure what else.

Might have a couple ideas to try on the defunct Linux box before I start parting it out. Maybe the GPU got swapped but no idea why with a browser update.

Part of me thinking about cracking open the old ryzen 7 (first generation) with windows I haven't booted in like 2 years or more and shoving mint Linux onto it and taking the ram from the borked Manjaro box and use it also. Hardware is old though but might be able to make use of some of it.

Not sure I'm up for scratch building a windows box. Not really interested in "there's an app for that" or a bunch of sign-in services.

The steam deck is a possibility also.
Click to expand...
I'm surprised that Fedora or Ubuntu distributions couldn't see the drive and make use of it without starting again.

As someone else said SteamOS is good on Steam Deck. It's got me wanting to convert my Windows 11 Pro machine to Linux, but I can't decide which distribution.
 
throAU said:
Yeah hardware that old has a myriad of unfixable hardware/firmware bugs and capacitors etc on the board have a limited lifetime which that machine will be close to reaching.
Click to expand...
Maybe, maybe not. There is a whole thread here on macrumors dedicated to hardware that old and older. https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/early-intel-macs.230/

I have been buying older macs for almost 20 years now and the only hardware issues I have had to deal with are failing super drives. Laptops will potentially have more issues, not so much with minis. Of course your mileage may vary.

Another point I was trying to make was that you can run windows 11 without a Microsoft account, without having to sign in.
 
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