Friday, November 12, 2010

Adventures of a computer inexpert

So, today, for a variety of reasons I'd rather not go into, I decided that clearly I needed Linux on my computer.  I chose to dual-boot, since I am rather attached to my current operating system in addition to wanting to learn slightly more hard-core computer stuff.  Yeah, I know.  Really descriptive.  But that's pretty much what it is to me.  A little witch in the screen that makes things work, and when there's a problem, the witch is sick or having difficulty understanding what I'm saying.  :-)
So first I had to decide what version to boot. This was an adventure in itself, let me tell you.  If I asked a Fedora user, she would say 'Use Fedora!'  Ubuntu users recommend Ubuntu.  Mint users, too, are loyal to their operating system.  And it's nearly impossible to find an objective source on the issue, because people who don't care one way or the other generally don't boot Linux.  I eventually settled for Ubuntu, since I know a few people who use it and who will be willing to help a beginner figure out what the heck they're doing.  I went to a friend (one of many local computer experts) for help with installing it.
So, I booted up the appropriate flash drive, and ... (drumroll, please) ... promptly crashed my computer.  We spent an hour fixing it, and another hour just getting the hard drive to partition properly.  At last, it completed, and I left happily, content with the knowledge that I now had Linux on my computer.  One little bitty problem...I don't. I just have a significantly smaller partition for my old OS.  Shoot.  But the adventure was well worth it, and I don't use all of my hard drive anyway. 
Anyhow, story to be continued...when I figure out the ending.  :-)

I'm grateful for those daily adventures that pick me up and make me smile, no matter how absurd.

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