are windows XP safe to use?

G'day friendly_jacek,

Sorry to see you have a bad sector problem on your 500GB Samsung drive.
And even more aggravatingly, the checking programs you've tried can't agree what to do about it.

I'm assuming XP still runs after these checks.

By the way, did you do a defrag - not with the XP 'freebie' but something more thorough - sorry, I can't recall the program I used to use for defragging when I had Windows? It wasn't Norton Commander (that was too old), but its name may have begun with a 'J'?

Does the Puppy slacko Live-CD still boot - if so, what does its GParted say about sda1 (your Samsung drive)?
To do this, boot up with the slacko Live-CD.
Once the initial slacko set-up is done (your time-zone, language, keyboard etc, are entered by you, and X is re-started to load these changes into RAM), click for the 'Menus' (right-click or equivalent on an empty space on the desktop, a Menus window will open), and go to 'System' and find GParted in that sub-menu, about half-way down. Click on GParted and see what Puppy's GParted reports for a scan of sda1.

When closing down Puppy, don't make a Save Session folder or file (Puppy will ask) unless it's a writable CD you've used. No Save file will mean going through the set-up step each time but that's only a minute to do.

I'm assuming your 'GParted boot disk' is just that - a boot disk with just GParted on it as a single-purpose tool? I've only ever used the GParted in Puppy and have not had a problem formatting and partitioning disks (touch wood).

The Ubuntu fix in your post to re-size bad-sectored ntfs formatted drives with its GParted would probably work for an experienced Ubuntu user (who had two computers as the affected drive was made a slave in the second and Ubuntu-running computer to get the fix done).

I'd still be inclined to first see if XP can re-size itself - in Control Panel or somewhere, is there a tool for XP to do this? And to make/leave the empty space unformatted? With 500GB, you should have a ton of space for other stuff if XP is cut down to say 30GB. How much is already 'in use' by your XP?
If so, as a confirmation, after re-sizing XP's 'C', make yourself with XP a data partition, a 'D' drive in MS-speak, of say 100GB, and put/copy your important data on that (photos, music, videos, etc) - just leave Windows and the programs on 'C'. And there'd be about 370GB of free space left to play around in later.

Keep telling yourself the first hurdle is always the biggest,

And keep smiling - you know where the off button is.

David S.

 

FWIW, I found the freebie Auslogics disk defragmenter worked very well and quickly, tho it might have a lot of unwanted extras it'll try downloading with it if you're not careful. So I'd recommend unticking those pesky checkboxes and opt for an advanced install. Best wishes.

 

G'day friendly_jacek,

I'm glad to see you are making progress and are OK with fixing glitches that crop up.

So you have had to wipe and re-format your drive (pity, as I was hoping you wouldn't have had to do that) but thankfully, you had the foresight to clone your XP and now you're back to 'square 1', albeit with a new 'playing board' (partitioning).

With the re-format, you should have also wiped the slacko session 'save-file' that you had saved (to 'C'?) when trying out the live-CD. After that initial 'save', Puppy would have found & used that 'save-file' on 'C' when re-starting (this file data saves you having to re-enter your set-up preferences for Puppy each time you run the Live-CD).
But because that save-file data became part of Puppy's running configuration, Puppy may have prevented you from un-mounting sda1/'C' while he was running (historically, Puppy is/was a boy-dog hence 'he').
As part of his shut-down process, 'C' would have been unmounted after making any updates to his save-file.
On the other hand, that 'C' drive un-mountable issue you mentioned in your post may have been partly the 'bad sector' problem. Is that bad sector still there after your re-format?

Mint being a derivative of Ubuntu - that script you posted for Ubuntu's GParted should have worked in Mint (as far as I know). Pity about the Mint crash, of course, but "well done you" for being ready for it.

How much of your 500GB drive have you given to XP MkII?
To add Mint and Puppy to your hard-drive, do Mint first. It should tell you what minimum memory it wants and what format for its partition. I'd expect something like 20GB and ext4? And it should set up its version of dual booting at the end of the install process - if it has no more problems.
Check the computer offers you to run either XP or Mint with a re-start - and try each OS to confirm both work.

Yup.
Puppy is flexible (almost too flexible, to the point of being confusing in choices for first-time users). That's installing alone, or for a poly-boot, and what type of Puppy.
The better type of Pup-install is the 'Frugal' - just three read-only files to start & run the computer, with the fourth file, the save-file holding everything you add or change. Usually these four files are in their own sub-folder. The sub-folder can be on any partition - 'C' drive (sda1), sda2, sda3, sdb1,.. as long as the boot-loader knows where it is. The formatting doesn't matter for Puppy Frugals so ext2 is fine, as is ntfs or ext4.
To put Puppy in his own partition, I suggest 10GB ext2 for a start, as you've plenty of drive memory. Puppy will probably take up less than 1GB.
With the Live-CD running, and the desktop 'Install' icon clicked, select the 'Frugal' install button when the Universal Installer offers you the Full or Frugal install. After copying the three files, the Puppy installer will ask if you want to install a Grub boot-loader. Mint should have already installed its boot-loader so I'm inclined to skip Puppy's offer in case this clashes with Mint's. Exit the installer program and see if Mint can update its booting options to include the new (Puppy) Os. If not, re-run Puppy and its Universal Installer and have Puppy load its boot-loader which will list all the Linux systems it sees as well as XP.

NB: Clicking - Puppy's default is single-clicking to do stuff. Windows' default is double-clicking. If you find yourself with too many instances of a program running by 'instinct', Puppy can be set to double click, in the Rox-filer options for starting desktop stuff. Not sure for deeper mouse use but it can be done - I'm so used to the single click now I found Windows taxing to my index finger.

A 'Full' Puppy install is a bit restrictive - just one Puppy per its own partition and which must be in a Linux format, not ntfs- and if anything goes wrong, you need to do a complete re-install of Puppy. With a Frugal, I just delete the my-fault-corrupted save file and start again - backing up a Puppy system is backing up just the save file as the other three files are 'read-only' so don't change. Frugals are great for playing around with other software because of this. Then again, a fresh Full install only takes a few minutes (remember, it's not Windows) but it's the loss of the things/packages I've added that is the irritating part.

You can have both of course, a Frugal Puppy in a partition somewhere, and a Full Puppy in its own partition. But I'd start with the Frugal if you want to try Puppy. After all, you may be more than happy with Mint once it's installed and running.

"Maybe Problems" I Can Imagine, .... but don't know if they will actually happen?
1) Mint may set up in a way that prevents other OSs being installed after it and using the Mint boot-loader. So Puppy will install but won't be offered on computer re-start. (I don't know Mint in this regard. You may need to edit the 'boot menu' text file that lists the available OSs used by the boot-loader and add Puppy's details - i.e. where to find Puppy and its booting files.)

2) Internet - do you have an ethernet connection or only wifi? Ethernet connection is automatic in most cases but wifi can be a problem with so many different hardware modules in many different laptops. Less common hardware may need a less common wifi driver which may not be included in slacko (to keep the 'default' size down). I had to add a particular driver for my Samsung laptop wifi with some Pups. I'm assuming you're not on dial-up?

3) The 'Unknown Unknowns'
These are just computers after all, and annoyingly lack 'initiative' and will only do what we precisely tell them, not what we wanted them to do. What ever happened to fuzzy logic? I wanted fuzzy instructions!

Happy hunting,

David S.

 

The answer is NO.

Windows XP is the most hackable system out there. I could go on at length about this but the details would probably bore you.

Fact is NOTHING is secure in it at all. It can be cracked with near to NO effort on the attacker's part.

Aw. I read the rest and see you're thinking of Linux. As a long time Linux user I can say that's a solid choice. I use Arch here at home. Much more secure, much more hackable and fun. If you have any issues I'm Red Hat certified and can help with anything, just send me a message so I don't spam up the thread.

 

Yay, congratulations!

 

G'day friendly_jacek,

That's good news you've got Mint up and running as a dual-boot with your XP .

Yes, stay with that set-up to explore Mint - later, try some extra applications once you've checked out everything in the Mint version you've got. There're plenty of extra programs available in the Mint/Ubuntu repositories.

There should be one or more Mint user-forums for you to look into.

There are Linux 'equivalents' for most Windows software - maybe not identical but often good enough once you get to know the small differences. Certainly for the basics of current e-life.

Do you have a printer or scanner - Mint may already have a driver for these? I buy Epson as their products are robust (for the price) and there are Linux drivers so Puppy can use most Epson hardware. Hardware can be problematic in Linux as peripherals manufacturers don't always write drivers for OSs other than MS and Apple.

Do you have an Android phone or tablet - Mint should be able to exchange data with these (e.g. via your wifi network)?

And the G$64 question, can you browse PriusChat on Mint ?

Some Puppies come with XFCE, but in Puppyland, this is a bigger window manager that the default jwm. Sort of indicates a difference between Mint and Puppy in philosophy.
Mint is a smaller and easier-to-use version of a large Linux OS (Ubuntu), but still big by Puppy standards.
Puppy is a very small, stand-alone (unique?), Linux system for single users on older hardware, and for those who like to tinker without worrying too much about crashing their system.
So stay with Mint and only try Puppy if you find Mint becoming challenged by your computer specs or not up your wants in running your old XP laptop that you think a faster and lighter OS may fix.

Or if you just want to tinker a bit more on your old laptop .

David S.

 

G'day friendly_jacek,

Well done!

And which of your three OSs are you posting from - or are you on your new-but-now-old mono-OS computer and not your old-but-now-new-again multi-OS laptop ?

I did think that if you found Mint attractive (my computer-systems-supervisor brother-in-law uses Mint on his home network), TahrPup or one of the latest XenialPups might be more appropriate for you and Mint - the Slacko you have was made to the Puppy recipe with Slackware base files. Slackware and Ubuntu are different 'big' Linuxes so can sometimes 'disagree' on their modi operandi. Sometimes (but not always), living in the Windows monopoly is easier.

If you are still keen, without removing your (Frugal) Slacko, you could install another Pup in the same way to the same partition. I hope there's plenty of room on 'C' (sda1) and XP's not feeling 'crowded'. Just check that slacko (four files) is a small part of your 'C' (sda1).

The Ubuntu/Mint repository of programs would not necessarily match those in Slackware (a repository has those extra programs available when you find the right Mint button to click - it's an option in Puppy's 'Install' desktop icon) .
I was thinking if you found a must-have app. in the Mint repository and installed it to Mint, and then would also like it in Slacko, it may not be available in the slacko/Slackware repository .
In a Tahr/XenialPup, there should be less chance of this problem as these Pups are more compatible/similar to the Mint programs.
TahrPups have been around a lot longer than XenialPups so have had most, if not all bugs found and fixed.
Xenial is still new-ish and uses later Linux kernels than Tahr but is more likely to have a few bugs (small ones). I've not found any yet in the four or so different XenialPups I've tried.

TahrPup-6.0.5 iso (and lots of chat about it) can be found here:
Puppy Linux Discussion Forum :: View topic - tahrpup 6.0.5 CE

The .iso of one of the latest XenialPups - based on the files used in Ubunbtu Xenial Xerus - is here - just choose the .iso download.

The new Puppy enthusiast who used the make-your-own-Puppy-OS program ("woof-CE") to put together his Puppy of Xenial also did the same thing with Debian base files and has uploaded his DebianPup with the download links being also listed in his Xenial post. This is interesting in that Ubuntu itself is based on Debian Linux. If Mint is the child, then Ubuntu is the parent and Debian is the grandparent. A DebianPup is something like a Second-Cousin-Once-Removed to Mint if you're into genealogy as well as Prii & computers .

Of course, being small and independent from other OSs, you could try both these Pups. Tahr first.
Any you don't want any or all the Pups, just delete the four files involved in each and re-run Mint's boot loader program that will re-create the OS list.
Don't do this with XP or Mint, of course - their removal is more problematic I fear.

Yes, this simplicity is part of the popularity of Puppy with the computer cognoscenti to fix Windows computers where nasties can be found and deleted by booting Puppy from a USB or CD, then mounting the affected hard-drive, and also for recovering files before wiping a too-far-gone drive (copy rather than delete).
On the other hand, be aware of just how powerful this makes Puppy - deleting means deleting, so best not to go berserk just yet in exploring your partitions. Look, but be careful when "touching" - Puppy has quite a bite for his size and assumes its handler/owner knows what he or she is doing.

If you visit any Mint fora, for interest, you could do a search for 'Puppy Linux' references for background history and impressions.

Great to read you're enjoying success with your old computer explorations,

David S.

 

Hope this assembled group does not mind me repeating advice I give to 'all the kids'.

Any files you consider important will be backed up* in at least 3 separate places. If your files are unimportant, there is no need to back them up

*I mean today

 

It's pretty funny to harass the hotel staff with why your browser doesn't open their login page. I don't really have an issue with this anymore. Use firefox maybe? Try google chrome otherwise?

It's a learning curve, but it's very worth it. I started knowing very little about computers in general, honestly, I was a gamer. Now I run Arch Linux which is an entirely DIY distro. It's very satisfying to have configured every little part of your system to run HOW you want, WHAT you want, WHEN you want for the exact purpose you want. I've never missed Windows a bit The terminal can be daunting at first, but when you get used to it it's faster and easier than a GUI, I can give you an ebook that helped me learn it if you're interested in learning the terminal. Honestly nowadays it's not entirely necessary to learn, but totally satisfying and easy once you get the hang of it if you do. Plus everyone is scared you're hacking them when you have a terminal up on your desktop, which is pretty hilarious.

Because of Linux I am now getting my degree in Computer Science, I program in python, and I can still play World of Warcraft through wine and it runs cleaner than on resource hogging Winblows. Stick with it, it's a very rewarding experience. And if you have any specific questions I'd be happy to answer. I can't say I really have run into the hotel issue in a while but the last hotel I went to I just opened firefox and the login page cropped up, it;s been a while since I frequented hotels, that was maybe a week ago. I would try different web browsers I guess.

 

G'day friendly_jacek,

Nice to hear you're exploring your Linux set-up on your old laptop. And with some enjoyment/success.

I assume it is Mint you're using? A bit like Windows with its 3.1, 98, ME, Vista, Win7 and other versions, it can be helpful to say which Linux 'distribution' you are using - they are usually 'all the same, but different'. Even to the extent of 'which Mint' if you are having a problem that could be restricted to a particular version - again, think as in Windows.

I'm glad to hear your laptop wifi hardware is Linux-compatible - not all peripheral manufacturers offer Linux drivers which may explain some of the Google-reported wifi issues.

LiliB's suggestion to try a different browser is worth a try. Different browsers may prompt different responses. I have half a dozen on my desktop as some handle certain programs better than others these days. I'm sure the Mint repository will have all 'the usual suspects' to quote 'Casablanca'.

With Puppy on my laptop, when I'm staying in a motel or somewhere else with wifi (e.g. at my interstate children's homes), there is a Connect menu item that offers several packages/programs that scan for available networks and then ask you for a password to try to make a connection to a found one. This connection is then stored for possible later re-use should we stay in that motel again, although a new password is often needed as the motels have 24-hour cycles of passwords.
I imagine Mint would have something similar for the basic wifi connection - if you can find it among the menus? I'm a bit surprised if it is only by command-line.

My main problem with hotel/motel wifi here is the variable quality of motel wifi - some rooms have good signal strength, others I have to sit outside the office to get any signal!

Good luck with it.

David S.

 

I suppose for many of us on here it's a case of new tricks for old dogs, so learning is more of an uphill struggle. Still, I'd be pleased if you could point me to that ebook to mentioned as I've an old Tosh laptop got bricked by Windows 8. A new hard drive and Linux could breathe life back into it. (Pity it can't do same for me)!

 

G'day RCO,

Could you post the specs for your "old laptop"? RAM? CPU detail? Wi-fi module? BIOS (uefi-enabled)? Only relevant for later actual installations, is the hard-drive size (I'm assuming SATA). And I doubt you'll need a new hard-drive for trying/using a Linux - remember, it's not Windows.

And 'old'? Sounds pretty new to me as my newest computer is a laptop that came with the all-new-and-wonderful Windows7 (now dual booting with about half a dozen different versions of Puppy Linux). But for home, I prefer my collection of networked 2005-7 vintage HP small-form desktops. Lots of "Designed for Windows XP. Windows Vista Capable." stickers on their outsides but nothing Windows-anything left inside.

A couple of other things to ask re your 'old laptop':
1) Does your old laptop boot from a DVD-drive and/or a USB? Needs to be the first boot option in the BIOS - before any hard-drive.
If either, then a simple way to try a Linux distribution would be as a Live-CD or off a USB. Nothing is installed to the hard-drive. [Don't be tempted to install anything until you've spent some time looking into each Linux.]
Because the Linux OS will not be on your hard-drive this way, things will run more slowly, data having to be read from the external source (CD or usb) to the CPU/RAM.
Once a Linux is installed to your hard drive then things happen much faster. Particularly without stuff like Norton needed anymore, a supposed necessity that I found very tiresome years ago.

2) Do you have a Windows program that will burn an iso image onto a bootable disk (not 'copy' a CD/DVD but convert the downloaded single iso into the variety of files needed to boot and then run the Operating System)?
Booting via a Live-CD/DVD is simpler - usb thumb drives are faster and bigger, but may involve sorting out formating problems.

3) Pick some Linuxes to try - there's a plethora of distributions, like car makers and models. I suspect they will all run on your 'old' Toshiba laptop. Test-drive before you pseudo-buy.
LiliB uses ArchLinux which she said is a more of a DYI distribution hence her mention of the ebook for learning the terminal commands.
For Windows 'refugees' who are familiar only with a graphical point-and-click user interface (gui), Mint or Ubuntu are popular Linux starting points. Puppy is a compact OS that has versions (think breeds, .. lots of them) based on the big distribution packages but goes his own way 'underneath the hood'. He's originally been bred (designed) for single-user, older computers with less RAM (<1Gb is fine) and slower CPUs and runs in RAM (having a hard-drive becomes optional). Like Mint, mostly it's all now done with gui software.

4) Do you want to keep your 'bricked' Windows8 on the hard-drive as a boot option? You can keep it or wipe it later. It is also possible to set up several different Linux systems on your hard-drive as well. Somewhere I have a desktop with XP and Windows7 as well as a selection of Pups - so, if you too are a retired 'old-dog' with time on your hands, 'multi-booting' can get out of hand .

All Linuxes run the common browsers and office software so unless you have unusual laptop hardware or a highly esoteric software need, a new freedom of choice will eventually be yours.

So I'd strongly recommend a slow-and-steady method - think like first driving a Prius. Not your 'average' car, nor is Linux a Windows-clone.

Having a good proportion of Scottish genes, I was particularly attracted to the price of Linux too .

David S.

 

my old laptop is a Toshiba with an Intel Core i5 It came with Win8 (64 bit ?) pre-installed on sata HDD.
Disk failed. Unable to read from USB, or CD and could not access bios.
No Windoze authentication code anywhere on machine and impossible to retrieve with softwares, a common failing with Windoze 8. Essentially, it was deemed to be a Brick!
I think it had 6gb of ram and onboard graphics.
The original HDD has been scrapped as it couldn't be read via Linux or any other OS

Here are the official specs:--

Satellite P850-321 - Toshiba

I have tried Mint and Ubuntu on an old desktop system a few years ago and they seemed ok to me so I'd be prepared to install Linux on a HDD or small SSD, but accessing the bios is the stumbling block to me. I couldn't get in no matter what i tried!

Thank for all the help and suggestions you offered. My confidence for this project is quite low!