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 tracyanneb |
Software installation in Linux is difficult |
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Posts: 1695 (06/03/09 5:40 AM) |
Software installation in Linux is difficult
Here are some screenshots to show you just how difficult it is… compared to how easy it is on Windows. 
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now. 
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Posts: 2119 (06/09/09 10:22 AM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
In DOS / Windows, the following command:
C:\ > Copy *.* C:\BackUpDir copies every file, regardless of file extension, to the folder or subdirectory named C:\BackUpDir What is the command syntax to copy all the files from /home to Passport folder "ubuntu"? |
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tracyanneb |
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Posts: 1703 (06/09/09 1:38 PM) |
I'd use cp -R ~ /Full Path to Destination Directory
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now.
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Posts: 2120 (06/09/09 3:53 PM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
Awesome tracy thanks.
I'm eager to try it. |
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tracyanneb |
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Posts: 1704 (06/10/09 2:54 AM) |
Try cp --help or man cp Also try typing help in the terminal. And cd /bin then ls, this will list all the available commands. you can then use man commandname to get the manual on the command
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now.
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Posts: 2121 (06/10/09 12:30 PM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
"Try cp --help or man cp The command syntax is: cd /bin and after that, type LS except use lower case? Thanks tracy. I think I tried: help /help /command /command list etc. But I couldn't get anything. So I just changed the partition from whatever it was before to NTFS. That worked fine. I don't know what's become of the data within the partition. But it was exclusively Linux. But it still wouldn't run the two upgrades. I spoke with tech help (at the chain store called Best Buy, the tech help is called "The Geek Squad". I imagine I'll have to get rid of dual-boot before I can upgrade / bug fix the Vista. But I've already installed ubuntu twice. I can't imagine why I couldn't do it again. And if I can ever find a TV tuner card it recognizes, I might. |
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Posts: 1706 (06/10/09 1:12 PM) |
You might also want to call the Local Ubuntu LUG the "loco" as they call it", the can also help, probably more than the chain store Windows techies.
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now.
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Posts: 2123 (06/10/09 1:32 PM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
On the LUG, I haven't had much luck.
http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=212 It seems in Northern NY State where I am, there's not much going on with Linux user groups. I opened that thread on help w/ Linux a week ago. It's got over 70 hits. But so far, not a single response. I suppose I could go to NYC. But when the time, $money, and other obstacles are factored in, it'd probably make more sense to (& be cheaper) to just buy another computer; or just buy a new system disk from Microsoft ($240.oo). NYC is hundreds of miles away. It would be silly to try to drive there; no parking (except Sundays). That means a train ticket (round trip). And just a one night stay in a flea-bag motel might cost nearly $240.oo in Manhattan. It's simply a matter of restoring the boot routine to MS Vista only. |
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tracyanneb |
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Posts: 1707 (06/10/09 1:35 PM) |
If you don't mind, I'll ask on the Linux forum where I post for someone closer to you, who is willing to help. What can I tell them?
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now.
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Posts: 2126 (06/11/09 1:15 AM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
"What can I tell them?" tracy My PC has MS Vista. I ran Malwarebytes anti-malware softare. It removed "MSVolume.dll" from my computer. As a result, the Media Center software integrated into MS Vista Home Premium edition totally doesn't work. I have two computer disks (DVD's I suspect). One that will restore "MSVolume.dll" (and thus Media Center software). The other will install MS Vista SP2; over 100 gigs of upgrades and bug fixes from Microsoft. BUT!! Neither of these install disks will run on my machine. I suspect the reason is because I installed ubuntu; which added a dual-boot function to the computer's start-up routine. So when I load the Microsoft update disks, they fail to install, asserting the system doesn't have adequate resources. At first I thought that was because in my ubuntu install, I dedicated so much HDD space to Linux. (I left only about 166 Gigs to Vista) But I turned most of the rest of the HDD back over to NTFS (MS Vista's HDD file protocol) and still neither of the update disks will run / install. Based upon what the technician I spoke to from the place I bought the computer; I gather it's because of the Linux dual boot start-up routine that neither of these update disks will run. So the question is: How can I remove the dual-boot routine, and restore the original OS environment, so both these update/restore routines will run & install correctly? |
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tracyanneb |
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Posts: 1709 (06/11/09 1:29 PM) |
You have to tell Windows rewrite the MBR on the boot sector of the disk that Windows will boot from, that used to be by using the recovery console and restoring the MBR with the Windows boot loader, I'm not sure how you do that with Vista, I'll do some more research. The problem is not that Linux doesn't remove it's boot manager, the problem is that Microsoft doesn't supply the tools to remove other boot managers, without doing a full install, such tools come with Linux, to enable you to remove other boot managers, or create dual boot scenarios. Microsoft assume that only Windows will be installed on any harddisk. There are a number of Linux Distributions that have recovery tools for such a purpose built in to them, including tools for rewriting the MBR with a Windows bootloader. I'll get back to you with some details. I'll point some people to this board.
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now.
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Posts: 2127 (06/11/09 3:44 PM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
tracy,
I don't know how you do it. I tried "MBR" & "Master Boot Record" in Vista's search engine. Nada. I searched "boot", and got a folder. It's got two .exe and two .efi files. I won't try to edit the .exe files, because they don't have text in them. I tried to edit one of the .efi files, but it just came out ASCII gibberish. Maybe I never should have given up my DOS computer. That thing ran great! |
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Posts: 1710 (06/11/09 3:48 PM) |
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now.
Last Edited By: tracyanneb
06/11/09 6:23 PM.
Edited 1 times.
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Posts: 2128 (06/12/09 9:45 AM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
tracy,
That looked really promising. Then I started reading the procedure. Step #1: "1. Put the Windows Vista installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer (set to boot from CD in BIOS)." Merciful Heavens!! If I had the Vista install disk I could simply wipe (format) the drive and start over!! What could be easier? The question is how to get the job done without having to pay Microsoft $240.oo for deficient software. I'm just about done with Microsoft tracy. It looks like I'll be spending about $1,200.oo $US on an Apple. That's kind of a Linux system anyway (I'm told, by Trudy at Apple). tracy, I don't mean to discourage you. But I don't want you on a hunt for a non-existent holy grail either. There may be something that does exactly what's needed here. But this has gone on long enough. Time to cut my losses. I might have the Mac mini a week from tomorrow, or shortly thereafter. We'll see. |
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Posts: 1712 (06/12/09 10:02 PM) |
The problem sear is that the only way to get rid of the ubuntu GRUB boot loader is to over write it with the Windows boot loader, and to do that requires
either the Vista, in this case, recovery disk, or a special Linux recovery Disk, that will rewrite the windows boot loader, I'm not sure whether there is
currently one that will recover the Vista boot loader. I'll check it out.
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now.
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Posts: 2129 (06/13/09 2:58 AM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
Well tracy, a free Linux one would save me the $240.oo on a Microsoft one.
This isn't a very good time for "investing" $240.oo in MS Vista. For one thing, Windows 7 is available on the Internet for "free" ($0.oo purchase cost). What I haven't been able to find out is if the "free" version of Win7 has Media Center (DVR / time shift) software. That's the linchpin of this entire exercise. But frankly, I've lost patience with Microsoft's manifold inadequacies. That's part of the irony here. Microsoft's Media Center might get higher marks than many of the competitors in categories like: - jitter-free video image - predictable controls (some software, if you hit the -skip back 5 seconds- button, there's no telling how far back or forward it will skip; and whether it will desynchronize video and sound or not, etc. But though MS might seem good at that; the simple record scheduler simply fails to record sometimes. That may be random. But it seems sometimes it clusters, where as many as 10% to 20% of the recordings just don't take place. And perhaps more bizarre than that, some recordings it does make just disappear from the play-list. I've read MS fixed that "bug", but the entire package is still just plain weak. Ever the optimist, many MS users, including me, think: maybe they'll fix this in the next Service Pack; or maybe they'll fix this with the new OS (in this case, Win7). At that rate, I'll never get anywhere. The irony here is; the reason I know this software can be better is, the first computer I ever bought as a DVR was a SONY Vaio. I paid ~$2K for that. It had SONY's own DVR software on it. And although it had a few needless, silly, foolish, annoying bugs, it was transcendently better than any other such software I've ever seen. Ironically, the most up-to-date information I could find on it was a comparison test of the SONY Vaio against an Apple something-or-other. The report indicated they were each pretty good; but the SONY was ~$400.oo more. And that article might have been 2 or more years old. So tracy, if you stumble across an easy solution here, SPLENDID. But at this point it appears the sensible choice is to simply cut my losses, and get off this Microsoft merry-go-round. I've been riding it for decades, and it seems we're not really gettin' anywhere. |
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Posts: 2130 (06/13/09 3:06 AM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
PS:
Here's the solution as suggested by the link. I imagine it would work. Here is the quick and very easy fix to remove GRUB and get Windows working again. These instructions are from Microsoft's site but with my own added tips for a brainless recovery: But as I say, to my knowledge Microsoft system computers generally do not ship with full system replacement / install disks. Instead they arrive with some silly routine where (at the user's option), we can make a series of "recovery disks". I've got three of those. I don't know why I bother making them. I've made them for each of the 3 computer's I've bought in the past decade. And it seems I'm must wasting disks. But at this point I'm sufficiently desperate, with so little left to lose, I may try slapping these 3 disks in there, and just see what happens. |
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Posts: 2131 (06/13/09 4:51 AM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
PS
As you can see by the time stamps of these posts, I just spent some "quality time" w/ my three HP recovery disks. I have no idea what they're for. One of them has some promising looking enticements. 1 of 3 has a "boot" folder. I tried to read the contents of the files within, and got gibberish. I tried to execute them, and got squat. I did find a slew of *.dll files. But none was the one I need, "MSVolume.dll". But it's not an entire loss. I think if I lay a piece of adhesive tape across the hole in the center of these 3 "recovery disks", they may be marginally useful as a beverage coaster. ------------------------------- -- Want another irony? Since the Sony Vaio had the best software for this purpose I've ever used, I checked out their web site. They had a ~$3,000.oo machine for this. AND They put it on sale for 50% off (while supplies last). At the bottom of the screen, in small print: this item out of stock Bottom line, it's Apple, or macramé. |
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Posts: 1714 (06/13/09 5:44 PM) |
Try this link sear Need Help to Restore Vista MBR About half way down the page there is an entry by User 159761 that I think will provide you with the solution. There's a link to a no cost tool called EasyBCD, and other information there. EasyBCD will not totally get rid of Grub. Simply doesnt work. Grub doesnt just sit on the first part of the Hard Drive. EasyBCD wont totally remove Grub. When you use EasyBCD, and reboot, Grub is still there giving an Error 17, making the PC unbootable. BTW I've finally located a distribution channel (a Wholesaler) who will supply me with no OS and Linux preinstalled, who will ship pre installed Linux of my specification direct to my customers, so I no longer have to be hit by the triple whammy of pay to ship computer to me, pay Windows License Fee ($AU50 for XP Home on the netbooks special price to male window desirable on netbooks, about $AU100 on normal laptops, even more for Vista), replace Windows then ship to customer, now I can offer Linux powered netbooks and Laptops and Desktops at a considerably lower price point than Windows powered ones, shipped direct from the wholesaler, and still make a profit.
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now.
Last Edited By: tracyanneb
06/13/09 6:21 PM.
Edited 1 times.
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Posts: 1716 (06/13/09 10:07 PM) |
Another way you could do what I think you want is to boot into Ubuntu an edit the Grub boot menu /boot/grub/menu.lst, you'll need to be running as root
to do this or simply open a command line terminal and type
Linux and Open Source Software.
In a world without Walls and Fences, there's no need for Windows and Gates. Linux..... The Future..... It's here now.
Last Edited By: tracyanneb
06/13/09 10:14 PM.
Edited 1 times.
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Posts: 2132 (06/14/09 10:33 AM) Fairly Regular For His Age |
"User 159761" etc EasyBCD may indeed be my solution tracy. But after years of diddling w/ Microsoft platform computers, I'm done. Trudy, the gal from Apple is scheduled to call me at ~10:AM/ET Tuesday. And even after I order, the computer won't arrive for several days. Until it does, my current PC is my only Internet access. So I think I'll leave well enough alone; until after the Mac mini is up and running. If you like, I'll open a feedback thread on it in this forum. "I've finally located a distribution channel (a Wholesaler) who will supply me with no OS" tracy I imagine that must have involved some arm-twisting. Excellent tracy. Well done! I sincerely hope you're your nation's next $millionaire. "who will ship pre installed Linux of my specification direct to my customers" tracy Wowie!! That's stupendous! tracy, you should be delighted!! "Another way you could do what I think you want is to boot into Ubuntu an edit the Grub boot menu /boot/grub/menu.lst, you'll need to be running as root to do this or simply open a command line terminal and type That's the kind of solution I had in mind in the first place. But I'll hold off on it for a while. I'd like to be able to limp to the finish line with this machine. Congrats on the computers tracy. I don't know how much if at all it could help you. But you're welcome to spam @TRT (my sig-line's the link) for those that would like to order one. We can think of it as a public service to our cyber-community. |
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