Fastest Linux To Boot – Only Need To Run VLC?

Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum and linux too.
I thought of installing a lightweight distro of linux and did some research on the net where I found people recommending Puppy Linux. Plus it is (theoretically speaking) possible to run it from a USB (flash) drive which I decided to try out but it seems like it's not that simple a task as a lot of people (all over the internet) say it is.

What I tried so far is this: installing it into a thumb drive using unetbootin follwing a youtube tutorial (which basically showed how to download an iso of puppy, use unetbootin to make the thumbdrive bootable and install puppy on it). It didn't work. The USB wasn't recognized as a bootable device. I know for sure it can be booted from it since I tried ubuntu from the same USB and the same Laptop (which is able to boot from USB).

I thought that something with the Flash Drive not OK so I tried to use a windows installer to install puppy like other windows programms but this didn't work either. This time Puppy was recognized because there was an option to boot either Puppy or Windows 7 but when I chose to boot from Puppy nothing happens just a screen flash, some letters in the top left corner saying something like NTSC or NTSF (I can't read it properly because it goes away too fast) then after the screen flash the whole thing again (boot from win 7 or Puppy I choose Puppy again the flash... basically a loop).

Any ideas what I'm doing wron or what the problem is?

Thank You for any replies.

Hey guys, im a long time Mac user but I want to have a Linux computer in my office for web based stuff and fixing hard drives.... I'm going to buy a used computer from eBay to install my Linux software as I believe that Linux is a lot faster than Mac or windows and doesnt need the latest hardware to compete.

In order to be at least as fast as a windows computer but no more than $100. What range of computer should I be looking at? What specs should I look for? And once I get it should I run Ubuntu or mint for web based things and hard drive repair? As you no doubt know, the Linux lingo is a bit difficult sometimes so please bear with me. I'm doing the best I can.

Weird question I know, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

Hello

My harddrive on my home server computer seems to have corrupted, likly due to some recent power outtages (using it as a home nas, game server, nothing important really)...
It was previously running windows 7 because I took the harddrive from my old computer, but now as I have to format it anyway I might as well do it right.

Since my server does not have a CD drive (that works) I am hoping for a way to intall Debian onto the harddrive from my main computer (running windows 8).
I have plugged it in, and the drive seems fully functional.

I'm not very skilled with Linux, and am completely on bare ground. My googling has not come up with an answer that I have understood yet.

TL;DR - How do i install Debian onto a secondary harddrive plugged into my computer take this drive and put it into another computer and boot from it?

Is there any non-obscure linux distro that will boot on a computer with a atom chip without having to build the grub bootloader yourself. By non-obscure I mean opensuse,redhat,ubuntu,arch,mint.
I don't understand this whole efi/uefi thing and I don't want to know either, all I need is a stable linux computer.
Thanks

EDIT
It's a 1.3GHz Intel Atom Z3740 Bay Trail Atom processor, Asus Transformer Book T100

Hi,

Could anyone please explain as understandable as possible how could I on my Windows 8 open either single file or install (and use) entire software which is supposted to work on Linux and/or Ubuntu? I have absolutelly NO experience with Linux and have never used it. Honestly, I don't know if there is any difference between Linux and Ubuntu. I want to be inside my Windows 8 while using Linux files/sofware. The only solution I could think of are actually two but neither of them is useful for me:

1. Vmware (i don't know how to use it)
2. Rent remote computer (vps/rdp) with linux OS installed (this would let me be in Windows 8 while being able to use Linux file/software [on remote computer] but sooner or later I would want to have Windows installed there too)

Tried program Linux Reader but didn't work on my Windows 8. Although I would need solution for installation/usage of software (that can be used only on linux/ubuntu), regardless of details***, the current problem is basically related to single files only: I have two files, both in IMG extension. Don't know how to open them because Deamon Tools doesn't handle IMG. The problem is that filesystem in one of them is "Linux" and filesystem in another is "142". The error I am getting when I try to open them is:

"File with harddrive/disc snapshot is corrupted."

But this is most likely because they are supposted to be used in linux environment, hence such question.

*** when i said "details" I was referring to basically anything: type of software, size, purpose, whether or not it needs network connection, whether or not it contains logging in (username password, etc) requirement, etc.

The following solution for current situation (quoted error above) works only partially:

http://www.sysprobs.com/simple-tip-h...thout-software

I am able to open/run/mount IMG if I do what is described on this link (im basically opening iso in this case - see the website) but when opening the virtual drive, the following error message proves that the file can be used in linux/ubuntu only:

"Windows cannot access that drive. Drive could be corrupted. Make sure the drive is in condition that can be recognized by Windows. If drive isn't formatted then format it before usage."

Would need detailed instructions, for total beginner, who has never used linux/ubuntu, what to do in such case: how to use in win8 files/software that are supposted to be used in linux/ubuntu. Also answer on how to open IMG would be highly appreciated.

Kindest regards and thank you a million in advance.

I have tried to put Linux Mint 17.1 on a 500 gig HD (IDE) from
a DVD ISO. The file loads ok but will not complete loading. The
HD drive light stays on solid until I must shut off computer with
power button. Has anyone else run into this problem?

thanks Cliff

A week ago, I realized that I could not boot live disks. At first, I thought that it was the optical drive not writing the disks correctly, but when I tried two live disks that I've used many times before nothing happened with those either.

I have CD/DVD drive listed first in my BIOS' boot order and I even tried selecting the optical drive in the menu when the computer started and it still does not boot a disk. Thankfully, my somewhat old hard drives are still chugging along but I need to be able to use a live disk, in case one or both die on me.

My question is, how can I know for sure what the problem is? Is there a way to test the optical drive (Samsung Super Writemaster - which has a bad rep)? Could it be my motherboard. It was bought new 2 years ago, and there are no other issues with it. Also, I have been able to create playable DVDs on my computer with the Optical drive that work perfectly on my Bluray player, yet I cannot play the movies or open a data disk in file manager on my computer. What does that mean?

I want to know that it's worth it to buy another burner, before shelling out the money when I'm already practically broke from Christmas gift purchases. Any suggestions on how to test the optical drive would be appreciated.

I am having problems with my Sony Vaio windows
it boots up saying (on a black screen, grey text):
==============================================
Windows Boot Manager
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:
1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart your computer.
2. Choose your language settings, and then click "Next."
3. Click "Repair your computer."
If you do not have this disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assistance.
Status: 0xc0000225
Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.
Enter=Continue ESC=Exit
==========================================
No matter how many times i tried to restart and even tried F10 repeatedly or Alt-F10 I can't get to any other screen other than the above screen.

So I thought ah to hell with windows on this machine. I'll just install a linux distro because it's for my uncle all he really needs is internet and watch youtube videos/movies.

I have successfully burned and installed Fedora before on other machines using LiveCDs when they had CDs.

This time I tried to burn the DVD since it's it doesn't fit on the CD (I got my ISO from http://download.fedoraproject.org/pu...86_64-21-5.iso)
But when i inserted my DVD and restarted the same black screen appears.

So i have been looking for an older version of Fedora that fits on a CD (I am thinking maybe it'll boot from a CD, not sure though) but can't find any.

Any thoughts or solution to my problem?

Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone, I am a beginner Linux user. I have a had very little experience with it and would very much like to know more. Eventually I want to have my computer running strictly Linux.

I have experimented with a few distributions but almost all of them have had issues with my current setup. I always have trouble setting up the drivers for my video card and mouse. I have dabbled in Ubuntu(primarily), Fedora and Linux Mint.

My question is which distribution would you all suggest I use based upon my specs.

My System Specs:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 925 @ 2.80 Ghz
RAM: 8 GB of DDR3
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6870 w/ 1GB VRAM
Ethernet: Killer Xeno Pro 2100 & On-Board
Mouse: R.A.T 5

If anything else is needed to help determine the right distro please let me know.

All help is much appreciated.

Hello.

I don't know if this forum is the correct one to ask about this problem. Feel free to move it to another forum.

I am running PelicanHPC, a Debian-live based clustering distro.
It sets up a DHCP server, and offer PXE boot to other machines in a network.
I have switch off the DHCP server in my router.

Problem is that when I boot from this computer through the network, it displays a message for a split of a second: Succeed download. I guess that it is downloading the NBP correctly. But then, it's just returning to BIOS and/or booting my OS normally.

The other computer is offering a non-EFI image, and this computer boots: UEFI: PXE IPv4. Maybe there is a mismatch, but I have no idea on how to fix this.

What can I do to boot it correctly?

If you need more information, just ask me about it.

Thank you