As promised, here is a brief sketch of what I recommend to Windows refugees who want to migrate to Linux.
Update: A better version of this guide can be found here.
The following assumes you are fairly competent already with computers, and not afraid to try something new. Your computer now runs Windows, and you want to migrate to Linux. For my clients, the primary reason has always been the high vulnerability of Windows to viruses within the context of how they user their system, along with any others who may share it with them. It’s not as if Linux can’t get viruses, but given the habits of most home users, it simply never does. These instructions also assume you aren’t using a really old system. Slower than 1.5Ghz for the CPU is not enough for the latest Ubuntu. You might consider contacting me about migrating to something a little older, but still supported. It will be more work, but you’ll enjoy it more.
Backup your important files, etc. Copy them to a CD or a memory stick.
Get a copy of Ubuntu Lucid 10.04 (LTS) Linux 32-bit. Go here; make sure you choose the 10.04 release. The following instructions may work for the latest release, but you are on your own. I recommend the LTS because it will be maintained at least until mid-2015. Also, in case you didn’t know it, your consumer-grade 64-bit system actually is run by a processor built on a 32-bit chassis with a few extensions added so it can handle 64-bit calls. If you have more than 3GB RAM, it won’t make any difference; Linux will still be able to use it in 32-bit mode, unlike Windows.
Drop the CD in and run. Test and see if it works with your hardware. Once the desktop appears, take a look at where everything is. Ignore notices about special hardware drivers for now. The menus are in the top bar at the left. Your “systray” items are on the top right. When you open any application or configuration window, it will be listed at the bottom. To the far bottom right you’ll see two squares. For now, you have two desktops. That means you don’t have to crowd all your open windows onto one desktop as with Windows. You have virtual desktops. Click one and then the other. Get used to the idea of them.
If you are satisfied it works okay, click the installation icon on the desktop. At some point it will ask you if you want to keep Windows. If you need to keep Windows, choose the option for shrinking the Windows partition and creating a new Linux partition. Otherwise, use the whole drive for Ubuntu. Answer the other questions.
Come up with a good password. You’ll need to use it a lot when making administrative changes to the system. I typically construct my passwords from favorite songs or sayings, then taking the first letter from each word, including the punctuation. Here’s an example:
Song title: “God is in Control” = Giictrl! or Gi1ctrl' or G1nctrl.
Some letters I’ll swap with numbers or symbols which are similar in some way. You’ll need at least 7 characters, and 9 is better, so if your favorite phrase is short, choose a whole word or abbreviation to add characters. The whole point is to remember it.
At some point you’ll be asked to reboot and remove the CD. Make sure the CD is removed from the tray. Reboot.
Once it reboots and desktop comes up, then add any special drivers (typically for ATI Radeon or nVidia). Make adjustments to the color scheme: System > Preferences > Appearance. Everything should be self-explanatory, except the fonts.
One of the biggest issues continues to be fonts and Linux. It can do much better than Windows on most hardware, including better than ClearType. But it’s not automatic. The fonts normally supplied by default are okay, but they aren’t as good as the ones with Windows, for the most part. You’ll be adding those later, but right now, the issue is getting them to display at their sharpest.
Every peculiar combination of hardware will offer its own challenges. The biggest problem comes from cheap video chipset (such as VIA Unichrome or SiS) and cheap LCDs. It takes up too much space to cover each possibility, but there are some general tricks you can use to make this work.
First, take full advantage of the desktop controls. In your Appearance widget, click the “Fonts” tab. I highly recommend you look at the samples and click the one which suits you best. Don’t feel like you have to take my advice; test them yourself and make changes as often as needed until it’s right for you. With most modern computers and LCDs, the choices are obvious. Go ahead and click that button marked “Details…” Even if you don’t have an LCD, most people prefer the Smoothing set to “Subpixel”, and Hinting at “Full”, and the default “RGB” color setting.
For most things, this will work for you. More advanced configuration requires skills you may not have yet. However, if you are determined to figure it out, see this page. While it covers an older version of Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala), aside from the bug mentioned, it’s all the same instructions for 10.04 (Lucid Lynx).
Now we need to add some essential packages. Go to package management in the menu: System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. Use the quick search on the term “restricted”. It should offer, among other packages listed, “ubuntu-restricted-extras” — select this one by right-clicking on the tiny square to the left of the name. The context menu will allow you to pick “Mark for installation.” Click the “Apply” button in the top menu bar. Close Synaptic for now.
See this page and follow the instructions for adding Medibuntu to the list of package repositories from which Synaptic can draw. It’s a little complicated, but the hardest part is opening a terminal window, then doing the cut-n-pasted of that long command. Once you’ve done that, close the terminal window and open Synaptic again. Make sure to hit the “Reload” button to ensure it knows about the new package collection.
Now select some new packages using the search bar:
libdvdcss2
w32codecs
mplayer
gnome-mplayer
gecko-mediaplayer
cdda2wav
cdrdao
ttf-mscorefonts-installer
After you have marked them all for installation, hit the “Apply” button. You’ll be shown a list of extra goodies thrown in by default, but it really isn’t necessary to know all the details. Just tell it to proceed.
This will allow you to play most all media formats, particularly using Mplayer. Find it under Applications > Sound and Video > Mplayer. To make sure this becomes your default media player, go to System > Preferences > Preferred Applications. In the Multimedia tab hit the drop down box and choose Gnome-Mplayer. This links into Mplayer with a slightly different interface, but plays the same. This will play DVDs, movies, and music files.
For music CDs, you’ll prefer Rhythmbox to play them. To make copies of any CD, you should select Brasero. If you drop any CD in the tray, after a moment of checking, the system should pop open a window offering Rhythmbox or Brasero by default. Similar results should be for video DVDs with Gnome-Mplayer.
Most of the time, everything else will be pretty obvious. You can add more screensavers and a whole range of other goodies through the Synaptic package manager. It’s probably a good idea to ask someone with more experience what some of those obscure names and scant explanations represent in layman’s terms.
Play around with it and revisit the settings any time you aren’t happy with it. Change the desktop background, the desktop fonts, and get to know the system. If you have a few questions, first try running a web search, or you can ask me. If you have a lot of questions, it might be wise to join the Ubuntu discussion forums and post your questions there. It’s a really busy place, so it may take a day or two for some issues to be addressed. Welcome to Linux.
This will be posted on my permanent website, and is likely to be edited some as I correct minor details, add more ideas, etc.
