Windows 7, 10 and Linux 64 distros??

[GreyGeek]

Linux Mint is a good newbie OS to start learning Linux. He can add KDE to it later, give it a try, and then choose which desktop he wants to boot into. I'm 99% sure that once he runs Plasma5 he'll stick with it.

[Simon]

*Puts on his yellow Trek shirt and does his best Lt. Sulu impression.* Ooh my, I better start comma checking my posts.

He has Windows 7 - 32 bit on a machine that is sporting (get this) 16 GB of RAM and a 2 GB Nvidia card and told me it is more "wicked" than my Linux.

He has Windows 7 - 32 bit, on a machine that is sporting (get this) 16 GB of RAM and a 2 GB Nvidia card and told me it is more "wicked" than my Linux.

I already knew the hardware supports 64, I just didn't understand why his machine that he bought from a local second hand dealer didn't come with 64 bit. I was thinking tho that one of you may have told me something like, there was something they did to tweak is Win 7 so that it could use it all. But as Oshunluvr said,

From the Desktop or Start Menu, right-click on Computer and select Properties. In the System Properties window, the system will list"Installed memory (RAM)" with the total amount detected.

and I showed the boy yesterday,

Processor as i-3 core and the RAM 16 GB installed 3.2 RAM usable.

I told him, "You have a full tank of gas in this monster truck, and a tiny Honda Civic carburetor running it." That probably was a bad analogy but it got my point across.

Thus, today he and I are installing it to his HD after work and school. I will go with the 20GB swap on that chart, I thought the swap would decrease as available RAM increased, but as a rule of thumb I set the swappiness from the standard 60 to 30 on my machines. It is not like he will be porting all his video games over to Linux, I just want him to get the most out of his machine hardware. First thing I will be doing with the Live CD this evening is creating a 100 GB partition at the backend of his HD. I have done it on other machines but it is a long process and I hope we don't have a power outage.

Meanwhile I had a long talk with Deb about getting him a legal copy of Windows 64 bit OS for his games... She failed to see the need, but I told her, I don't believe his copy is legit on the machine. Also I don't believe in the "borrowed software policy" either. However that is going to be down the road later and a real chore to install. I looked up prices for Window 7 64 bit and it appears to be running $40 on eBay (if I can trust the seller) and $69 on Amazon Prime.

I will look in here tonight while I am waiting on the machine to partition. I hate squishing NTFS.

[dequire]

I would agree that the copy of Windows on that machine is bogus. If that's the case, it should be removed ASAP, as there are massive security implications from running a cracked Win copy. Not that there aren't massive security implications from running a legit copy

Before you go giving MS cash for an OS to duel-boot (and perhaps the headaches that can arise from that), I'd cut the cord and only run Linux for a few weeks and see what happens. Linux has so many games out for it now it's mind-boggling. That is - unless he already regularly runs games that you know won't run on Linux (natively, via WINE, PlayOnLinux, etc.).

Looking forward to seeing how it goes!
Also, FWIW, to ease the transition, you could always install Kubuntu / Neon and install the Win Look And Feel Pack: https://store.kde.org/p/1172822/

[GreyGeek]

....
Meanwhile I had a long talk with Deb about getting him a legal copy of Windows 64 bit OS for his games... She failed to see the need, but I told her, I don't believe his copy is legit on the machine. Also I don't believe in the "borrowed software policy" either. However that is going to be down the road later and a real chore to install. I looked up prices for Window 7 64 bit and it appears to be running $40 on eBay (if I can trust the seller) and $69 on Amazon Prime.
....

If he is not the original owner of that computer and he did not purchase the copy of Windows now on it, then it is an illegal copy. Further, if he cannot prove to the BSA (the enforcement arm started by Microsoft) that he purchased it by producing the original bill of sale then it is considered an illegal copy. Fines of up to $150,000 US can be assessed for each illegal copy. How many of you still using Windows have the ORIGINAL bill of sale the vendor gave you at the checkout stand?

The original copy of Windows on that machine had to be "Authenticated" within 30 days of the install or it defaults to an essentially worthless OS. When it is authenticated then its GUID, which is linked to the personal info the original purchaser entered during authentication, can be compared to the person's personal info currently running the machine. IF your stepson made a purchase using that machine and used a credit card to pay for it then Microsoft links the CC info to the GUID. If there is a discrepancy then Microsoft will make note of such a discrepancy and give the BSA the CC contact information. Sooner or later a BSA rep will come calling by letter or in person. What that rep will demand is treble damages from Joe or Sally Sixpack at MFG prices, which could be $110X3 for the Windows 10 Home package to $199X3 for Windows 10 Pro, or, depending on the case, up to $150,00 per illegal copy for businesses running illegal copies.

IF he does plan on getting a legal copy of Win10 then he should use a LiveUSB to repartition and reformat the drive to blow away that illegal copy of Windows 7 ASAP. I recommend AGAINST using eBay as a source (hacked versions being sold there) and would refer to Amazon or NewEgg, then when he gets the bill of sale to put it in a safebox for permanent keeping.

[oshunluvr]

duel-boot

Freudian slip?

[dequire]

Freudian slip?

I'll neva tell!!!

[Simon]

While I am certain the MS Police Force are not going to beat down the door. The machine was purchased at a local "used PC" shop in town. I personally have my old XP disks squirreled away but never plan to reinstall them. EULAs are very wordy, and in the end, they all state you DO NOT OWN the software. This is what I inferred to by the "borrowed software policy" because you are borrowing it for a heavy fee.

Also Dequire, I run WINE on my PC for a few games but it still has a few issues with DirectX 11. So I am afraid that is not going to work out in his favor. I hope given time he will use the Linux more frequently than booting Windows. I was dual booting XP and Linux 10.10 for about 5 to 6 months and realized I was in Linux more often than my XP. Finally I dropped the XP altogether. I never recommend Play on Linux either because it has the same issues as WINE but also adds a lot more baggage to the system with Python and Bash scripts for a GUI. I do snag my binaries from the POL site but never the installer. I only wish more commercial gaming companies would port to Linux.

I own a Steam account with Portal 1 and 2, Left 4 Dead, and Borderlands 2. These are all Linux games I purchased. I also play some silly MMO's but they need to pipe through the WINE overlay. One of them "Star Trek Online" looks horrible because they upgraded the game to Direct X 11. We might go through his list of games this weekend and find out which are WINE compatible. However should the weather permit we have a fishing trip over at Lake St. Clair we are both attempting to bond, just irritated bout his open mockery of my OS. So I am leaving the current Win 7 on there until I get a Win 7 32bit to replace it. I have no desire to pay MS but I assure you that anything purchase on Amazon Prime is already been paid to MS and it is now the property of AP. Tho I will have mixed emotions, should he decide next month to go 100% Linux, after paying as much as $80 for the Windows.

[Snowhog]

Tho I will have mixed emotions, should he decide next month to go 100% Linux, after paying as much as $80 for the Windows.

Should that become the case, remove Windows from the PC and put the install media up for sale ‘at a discount’; recoup some of the cost that way.

[GreyGeek]

Should that become the case, remove Windows from the PC and put the install media up for sale ‘at a discount’; recoup some of the cost that way.

I don't believe the MS EULA allows for resale of the install media. (That's how Gates became a billionaire!)

[Simon]

All finished. Working just fine, dual booting, and I tossed in a Steam account on it, he is looking over the games deciding what he wants to get. I told him not to be up all night we have to drive out to the lake in the morning.

I don't believe the MS EULA allows for resale of the install media.

So I should ritualistically give them a viking burial at sea? lol

[Snowhog]

I don't believe the MS EULA allows for resale of the install media. (That's how Gates became a billionaire!)

Actually, their ULA only requires that it be installed on “one PC”, so uninstalling and then selling the install media doesn’t violate the EULA.

[GreyGeek]

All finished. Working just fine, dual booting, and I tossed in a Steam account on it, he is looking over the games deciding what he wants to get. I told him not to be up all night we have to drive out to the lake in the morning.

So I should ritualistically give them a viking burial at sea? lol

As a flaming pyre! They deserve that!

[GreyGeek]

Actually, their ULA only requires that it be installed on “one PC”, so uninstalling and then selling the install media doesn’t violate the EULA.

mmm... That's not the way I remembered it (but my memory is now completely unreliable) so I looked it up.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...c4e49dd?auth=1

You are right, according to "Shawn Keene | Microsoft MVP - Windows Insider | CmdrKeene.com", who is not a Microsoft lawyer or employee.

[dibl]

mmm... That's not the way I remembered it (but my memory is now completely unreliable) so I looked it up.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...c4e49dd?auth=1

You are right, according to "Shawn Keene | Microsoft MVP - Windows Insider | CmdrKeene.com", who is not a Microsoft lawyer or employee.

The key phrase being "if deactivated ...".

[GreyGeek]

At one point in Microsoft's history they sued a charity in Australia for using "unlicensed" copies of Win95 and computers donated to them by a guy who would collected used Windows machines and rehabilitate them, recovering the original install configuration. Back then, the EULA had a "non-transferable" clause which prohibited someone from transferring the "lease" to another user. MS was deluged with a storm of protests claiming they were, rightly, being greedy. A couple years later MS introduced a program to allow such charitable transfer after payment of an "Administrative" license fee.
https://www.geek.com/news/microsoft-...puters-556448/

Since the not only was the Windows OS being given to the charity, so were the installation media AND the computer itself, so it wasn't like anyone was "stealing" the software except for Microsoft's "non-transferable" clause. There was a Linux guy in Texas, I forgot his name, but he was famous for referbishing Windows computers for homeless, charities, orphans, poor, etc... He was suffering from Cancer at the time and his wife left him. He was outspoken about Gate's greed and his "non-transferable" clause.

But, apparently, in 2004 in Austrailia, all that changed with Win98 licenses and the "mar" plan.