Linux Fedora?

[Lucaz97]

Hi all, 

I am currently running windows (10) on my desktop and it is the only operating system I've ever had on my pcs...

In the last year or two I've been interested in Linux, and now I am taking an online course and the teacher is using Linux Fedora, in the requirements for the course he stated that the operating system is not a must since we'll be working on VMs, but I thought it would be a valid reason to finally get involved with something different than windows... 

So here's my question, should I make a partition for the new OS, should I add an HDD  and dedicate it to the new OS? And last, once I decide how to move with the storage, how do I set up a dual boot? I am probably going to google it but since I was already asking stuff... I believe is not that hard...

 

Oh, do you have any expirience with Fedora? What do you think about it? Is it worth a try?

 

Thank you all 

Luca 

[Cela1]

[Lucaz97]

2 minutes ago, Cela1 said:

?

[Cela1]

5 minutes ago, Lucaz97 said:

?

Fedora

 

 

(Sorry I can't ACTUALLY help, but I couldn't help myself )

 

[Sintezza]

Fedora is basicly a very stable distribution based on Redhat / Centos.

But its not the typical most user friendly distro out there.

Fedora in general does not come with support for third party non free repo´s.

But there for its very stable and reliable.

This is due the design and mind of Fedora.

You could basicly use 3rd party repo´s but you have to add them manualy.

So its not that user friendly from the get go.

Users who choose for Fedora, are mainly users who want a very stable and reliable OS.

And dont want too much bloatware on it.

The YUM package manager has been replaced for the DNF package manager, which works pretty convienient from the terminal.

 

I have played with Fedora and several spinoffs based on it.

And as far as my recommendation goes, it highly depends on what your usage goal is with it.

If your goal is to use it for school projects and other productivity workloads, then Fedora is definitely a very stable choice.

But if you looking for a user friendly distro for home use aswell.

Then you might be better off with one of its spinoffs like Korora.

Korora is a spinoff from Fedora, its basicly the same thing, however this particular distro comes with more software out of the box, and also has support for 3rd party non free repo´s.

Which makes it easier to install certain applications you might need, that are not included in the standard Fedora repositories.

 

About dual booting, i suppose that there are several tutorials to be found on the net for it.

But if you seek for more help, you might also ask this question on the Teksyndicate forum.

We have a couple of Fedora users out there, that use it as a daily driver.

 

[Lucaz97]

8 hours ago, Sintezza said:

Fedora is basicly a very stable distribution based on Redhat / Centos.

But its not the typical most user friendly distro out there.

Fedora in general does not come with support for third party non free repo´s.

But there for its very stable and reliable.

This is due the design and mind of Fedora.

You could basicly use 3rd party repo´s but you have to add them manualy.

So its not that user friendly from the get go.

Users who choose for Fedora, are mainly users who want a very stable and reliable OS.

And dont want too much bloatware on it.

The YUM package manager has been replaced for the DNF package manager, which works pretty convienient from the terminal.

 

I have played with Fedora and several spinoffs based on it.

And as far as my recommendation goes, it highly depends on what your usage goal is with it.

If your goal is to use it for school projects and other productivity workloads, then Fedora is definitely a very stable choice.

But if you looking for a user friendly distro for home use aswell.

Then you might be better off with one of its spinoffs like Korora.

Korora is a spinoff from Fedora, its basicly the same thing, however this particular distro comes with more software out of the box, and also has support for 3rd party non free repo´s.

Which makes it easier to install certain applications you might need, that are not included in the standard Fedora repositories.

 

About dual booting, i suppose that there are several tutorials to be found on the net for it.

But if you seek for more help, you might also ask this question on the Teksyndicate forum.

We have a couple of Fedora users out there, that use it as a daily driver.

 

Thank you so much, I'll give it a try! 

 

[komaru]

My laptop is a Windows 10 and Fedora 23 dual boot. It's not too difficult thankfully. You may want to look up a more detailed tutorial, since I can't recall the exact screens during the install (been awhile), but it's more or less like this:

• Backup any important data (always the first step)
• Shrink your partition to the size Fedora will take & keep in blank (or add a 2nd HDD as you mention you may do)
• Boot to the install media (CD or USB)
• Click on the Installation Destination & make sure to pick only the partition/disk you want (don't accidentally overwrite Windows)
• Click next, setting time zone, making accounts/passwords, etc until the install in finished & reboot
• Check the BIOS/UEFI and make Fedora the default boot device (this is so GRUB loads)
• GRUB will ask what OS you want to boot to on each startup.

[Lucaz97]

8 hours ago, komaru said:

My laptop is a Windows 10 and Fedora 23 dual boot. It's not too difficult thankfully. You may want to look up a more detailed tutorial, since I can't recall the exact screens during the install (been awhile), but it's more or less like this:

• Backup any important data (always the first step)
• Shrink your partition to the size Fedora will take & keep in blank (or add a 2nd HDD as you mention you may do)
• Boot to the install media (CD or USB)
• Click on the Installation Destination & make sure to pick only the partition/disk you want (don't accidentally overwrite Windows)
• Click next, setting time zone, making accounts/passwords, etc until the install in finished & reboot
• Check the BIOS/UEFI and make Fedora the default boot device (this is so GRUB loads)
• GRUB will ask what OS you want to boot to on each startup.

Thank you! I am now installing it on a 80gb hdd i had laying around from my grandma pc... 

Is downloading some extension and given the speed of my wifi it looks like I'll be on my iPad for the next 2-3 hours...

[Lucaz97]

@komaru I just finished to install Fedora 24 on the HDD... I set up the BIOS giving Fedora priority, now though it only boot on it.... I'm trying to figure out

 

Also, I thought I could have shared my 2TB HDD between the two operating systems, but it is not seen by Fedora apparently, any ideas?

[tombuben]

You should set it up in bios so that GRUB (the Linux bootloader) is booted up first, which will give you the option then to select Fedora or the other OS. I think that Fedora does that by default.

[Lucaz97]

I do have it booting first but Windows doesnt appear int hte choices, only Fedora and a recovery of it... 

[DimasRMDO]

7 hours ago, Lucaz97 said:

I do have it booting first but Windows doesnt appear int hte choices, only Fedora and a recovery of it... 

Have you tried "update-grub" in terminal?

[Lucaz97]

3 hours ago, DimasRMDO said:

Have you tried "update-grub" in terminal?

Nope, not so used to the terminal yet  

 

I'll try later today, thanks

[komaru]

@Lucaz97 I agree with DimasRMDO. From the sounds of it, GRUB just needs to add an entry for the Windows partition and you'll be set. Odd it didn't do it by default.

[Sintezza]

28 minutes ago, komaru said:

@Lucaz97 I agree with DimasRMDO. From the sounds of it, GRUB just needs to add an entry for the Windows partition and you'll be set. Odd it didn't do it by default.

 

There are more distro´s that seem to have some issues with that.

 

[Lucaz97]

2 hours ago, komaru said:

@Lucaz97 I agree with DimasRMDO. From the sounds of it, GRUB just needs to add an entry for the Windows partition and you'll be set. Odd it didn't do it by default.

 

2 hours ago, Sintezza said:

 

There are more distro´s that seem to have some issues with that.

 

I tried the command to u

date the grub, it looks like it didn't work, I'm posting a photo with also the command to show the recognized disks 

[komaru]

#1: Here's what should hopefully work.

• Go into your BIOS/UEFI and make Windows the first boot device
• Restart and Windows should just boot (no GRUB screen)
• Go to the Control Panel -> "Choose what the power buttons do" option -> Click "Change settings that are currently unavailable" near the top -> Uncheck the "Turn on fast startup"
• Power down the PC and wait 10 second and tun the PC back on
• Power down again, then reboot to you BIOS/UEFI
• Make Fedora default again and reboot
• Once in Fedora, open a terminal and type the following:

su
grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg

• Reboot and see if Windows is there, and if so, try and boot from that option.

 

#2: If the above does not work at any step, then Windows will need to be added manually.

• In Fedora, open a terminal and type the following:

su
vi /etc/grub.d/40_custom

• Then added the following:

menuentry "Windows" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
chainloader +1
}

• Note, since the location of the Windows installation can differ widely, I need to explain the “set root” line because (hd0,msdos1) refers to /dev/sda1 on the PC. More generally, hd0 (or /dev/sda elsewhere) refers to the first hard disk installed in any PC with hd1 (or /dev/sdb elsewhere) being the second, and so on. Make the changes to the "set root" line to reflect where your Windows installation is located.
• Lastly remake GRUB:

grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg

• Reboot and see if Windows is there, and if so, try and boot from that option.

[JefferyD90]

On ‎6‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 5:51 PM, Lucaz97 said:

Hi all, 

I am currently running windows (10) on my desktop and it is the only operating system I've ever had on my pcs...

In the last year or two I've been interested in Linux, and now I am taking an online course and the teacher is using Linux Fedora, in the requirements for the course he stated that the operating system is not a must since we'll be working on VMs, but I thought it would be a valid reason to finally get involved with something different than windows... 

So here's my question, should I make a partition for the new OS, should I add an HDD  and dedicate it to the new OS? And last, once I decide how to move with the storage, how do I set up a dual boot? I am probably going to google it but since I was already asking stuff... I believe is not that hard...

 

Oh, do you have any expirience with Fedora? What do you think about it? Is it worth a try?

 

Thank you all 

Luca 

Fedora is my favorite flavor of Linux for a desktop.  Ubuntu is still my favorite for a server or a phone although.

 

Anyways, start with a VM.  Don't even think of dual booting until you VM it.  Being a new Linux user, YOU WILL BREAK IT!  haha. 

 

If you're serious about Linux just install it and forget Windows.  Otherwise, if you have to keep Windows, and you're serious about Linux, just buy yourself a second small SSD (I mean you can get a 250GB for less than $100 now, just do it) and then install it on there.  Once you do that, its as simple as including the OS in your boot log.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/306559

 

Specifying the Default Operating System for StartupIf you have more than one operating system on your computer, you can set the operating system that you want to use as the default one for when you start your computer:

• Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
• On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.
• Under System startup, in the Default operating system list, click the operating system that you want to start when you turn on or restart your computer.
• Select the Display list of operating systems for check box, and then type the number of seconds for which you want the list displayed before the default operating system starts automatically.
  
  To manually edit the boot options file, click Edit. Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not modify the boot options file (Boot.ini), because doing so may render your computer unusable.

[Lucaz97]

18 hours ago, JefferyD90 said:

Fedora is my favorite flavor of Linux for a desktop.  Ubuntu is still my favorite for a server or a phone although.

 

Anyways, start with a VM.  Don't even think of dual booting until you VM it.  Being a new Linux user, YOU WILL BREAK IT!  haha. 

 

If you're serious about Linux just install it and forget Windows.  Otherwise, if you have to keep Windows, and you're serious about Linux, just buy yourself a second small SSD (I mean you can get a 250GB for less than $100 now, just do it) and then install it on there.  Once you do that, its as simple as including the OS in your boot log.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/306559

 

Specifying the Default Operating System for StartupIf you have more than one operating system on your computer, you can set the operating system that you want to use as the default one for when you start your computer:

• Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
• On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.
• Under System startup, in the Default operating system list, click the operating system that you want to start when you turn on or restart your computer.
• Select the Display list of operating systems for check box, and then type the number of seconds for which you want the list displayed before the default operating system starts automatically.
  
  To manually edit the boot options file, click Edit. Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not modify the boot options file (Boot.ini), because doing so may render your computer unusable.

Thank you so much for your reply, 

I only had half an hour today at my PC, I tried to follow you indications, in the menu where I should pick the default operating system, w10 is the only one that appears...

18 hours ago, komaru said:

#1: Here's what should hopefully work.

• Go into your BIOS/UEFI and make Windows the first boot device
• Restart and Windows should just boot (no GRUB screen)
• Go to the Control Panel -> "Choose what the power buttons do" option -> Click "Change settings that are currently unavailable" near the top -> Uncheck the "Turn on fast startup"
• Power down the PC and wait 10 second and tun the PC back on
• Power down again, then reboot to you BIOS/UEFI
• Make Fedora default again and reboot
• Once in Fedora, open a terminal and type the following:

su
grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg

• Reboot and see if Windows is there, and if so, try and boot from that option.

 

#2: If the above does not work at any step, then Windows will need to be added manually.

• In Fedora, open a terminal and type the following:

su
vi /etc/grub.d/40_custom

• Then added the following:

menuentry "Windows" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
chainloader +1
}

• Note, since the location of the Windows installation can differ widely, I need to explain the “set root” line because (hd0,msdos1) refers to /dev/sda1 on the PC. More generally, hd0 (or /dev/sda elsewhere) refers to the first hard disk installed in any PC with hd1 (or /dev/sdb elsewhere) being the second, and so on. Make the changes to the "set root" line to reflect where your Windows installation is located.
• Lastly remake GRUB:

grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg

• Reboot and see if Windows is there, and if so, try and boot from that option.

I didn't have enough time to follow you indications aswell... I hope I can try tomorrow, but thanks for giving me some of your time,

 

I appreciate! 

 

PS: the worst case is that I'm gonna have windows as default and when I need to study the online class I go in the bios and force the boot on Fedora for that time... Not best option, but not too bad... 

 

[JefferyD90]

1 hour ago, Lucaz97 said:

Thank you so much for your reply, 

I only had half an hour today at my PC, I tried to follow you indications, in the menu where I should pick the default operating system, w10 is the only one that appears...

I didn't have enough time to follow you indications aswell... I hope I can try tomorrow, but thanks for giving me some of your time,

 

I appreciate! 

 

PS: the worst case is that I'm gonna have windows as default and when I need to study the online class I go in the bios and force the boot on Fedora for that time... Not best option, but not too bad... 

 

It will only appear IF you have more than 1 OS on that drive.

[Lucaz97]

7 hours ago, JefferyD90 said:

It will only appear IF you have more than 1 OS on that drive.

Oh... Gotcha... 

[handymanshandle]

On 6/26/2016 at 6:12 AM, Sintezza said:

snip

I wasn't sure which one of the mods from TekSyndicate's Forum had some presence here.

 

But yeah, Fedora isn't the best for a first timer to Linux. It's still a great OS. I like it. 

I know I'm representing Debian with my profile pic, but that's because I installed it to a VM, and I adore it for the flexibility that it has. Only down side is that it might be even less user friendly than Fedora. But otherwise great OS.

 

Actually, when build my first PC this fall (hopefully).  I'll have a similar question but it'll be about whether or not to use the GRUB Masterboot loader/Master boot record but maybe that's something that a Youtube video would cover. I won't be using a partition as I plan on using a more recent laptop HDD (DOM:03/2013) for Debian or Fedora or maybe Ubuntu. Idk, I like them all equally.

[handymanshandle]

On 6/28/2016 at 10:46 PM, JefferyD90 said:

Fedora is my favorite flavor of Linux for a desktop.  Ubuntu is still my favorite for a server or a phone although.

 

Anyways, start with a VM.  Don't even think of dual booting until you VM it.  Being a new Linux user, YOU WILL BREAK IT!  haha. 

 

If you're serious about Linux just install it and forget Windows.  Otherwise, if you have to keep Windows, and you're serious about Linux, just buy yourself a second small SSD (I mean you can get a 250GB for less than $100 now, just do it) and then install it on there. 

Fedora is pretty good. A bit different than Debian or its close cousin, Ubuntu. Which I think might be easier for OP.

 

I've never broken Linux, yet at least. But yeah it's a good idea to try it on a live USB or disc or VM before you install it. 

Probably makes it easier to install Linux and forget Windows doesn't it?

 

But yeah I when I build my home server using virtualization for running Ubuntu Server and SteamOS off of it. That will be one hell of a Linux box won't it? UnRaid if I'm not mistaken is based off Linux, Ubuntu Server and SteamOS are both obviously built off of Linux.

 

The wonders that Linux and other Unix-like OSes can be and do. I just find it interesting how we're so surrounded by GNU/Linux or its kernel or other Unix-like stuff.

OS X, last time I checked was/had some Unix-Like (elements)

Android uses the Linux Kernel

OrbisOS (the OS that the PS4 uses) is built off of FreeBSD

Many webservers use something Unix-like or based off Linux or its kernel. 

[Sintezza]

6 hours ago, wcreek said:

I wasn't sure which one of the mods from TekSyndicate's Forum had some presence here.

 

But yeah, Fedora isn't the best for a first timer to Linux. It's still a great OS. I like it. 

I know I'm representing Debian with my profile pic, but that's because I installed it to a VM, and I adore it for the flexibility that it has. Only down side is that it might be even less user friendly than Fedora. But otherwise great OS.

 

Actually, when build my first PC this fall (hopefully).  I'll have a similar question but it'll be about whether or not to use the GRUB Masterboot loader/Master boot record but maybe that's something that a Youtube video would cover. I won't be using a partition as I plan on using a more recent laptop HDD (DOM:03/2013) for Debian or Fedora or maybe Ubuntu. Idk, I like them all equally.

 

Hahaha ah you got me lol.

 

Anyway, the thing with linux is there are soo manny distro´s, but to me all those third party distro´s dont realy make a whole lot of sense.

I think its just better to stay with the bigger dogs.

Allthough some of them might not be as user friendly then others.

But in the end linux is just the kernel, and basicly no matter which distro you go with, they all can be setup to do the same thing in the end basicly.

Fedora is realy stable and reliable, its just not that user friendly wenn it comes to installing additional software that is not included in their standard repositories.

Same can be said about CentOS on which Fedora is basicly build on.

If you are looking for a user friendly distro, with the DNF package manager.

Then Korora might be something to look at.

Because Korora has made support for third party non free repositories way more convenient.

 

Debian, the godfather of manny big distributions like Mint, Ubuntu, etc, is of course a very good distro.

But the same story with Fedora, its less user friendly from the get go.

And there for distro´s like Ubuntu and all its flavours or Mint exists.

 

I have played arround with more then 30 distro´s in the last one and a half year in virtualmachines.

And if i realy have to make a recommendation lists of distribution to go with right now, then i can do that.

[Sintezza]

Debian based:

- Debian: duh, but less user friendly, installation proces was less convenient aswell.

- MX15: directly based on Debian, but more user friendly.

 

Ubuntu based:

- Ubuntu, or any of its flavors: DE choice is a matter of personaly preference.

- Mint: Alltough min18 is only in beta atm.

 

Arch based distro´s.

- Manjaro: this distribution in my opinnion is one of the best and most user friendly distro´s that are based on Arch out there.

- Arch: If you like to start a project building up your own OS, and you want to learn allot about Linux.

 

Fedora / Redhat based.

- Korora: more user friendly then Fedora.

- Fedora: Stable reliable, but less userfriendly.

 

Open Suse: for system admins.

 

These are the most sollid choices i think.

You cant realy go wrong with picking either of those.

But there are still plenty of other distributions to choose from of course.