This Grandma just installed Linux Mint on two computers.
Here’s the backstory.
I have two old, slow computers that were slated to be tossed out. Instead, I decided to install Linux. After all, I had nothing to lose and much to gain. The first thing I had to do was figure out which Linux distribution (distro) to install.
With so many Linux versions, I was unsure which to use. But, after much research, I settled on Linux Mint. It’s touted as the distro for newbies like me.
The Computers
The first computer is a Beelink U57 with 8GB of memory and 256 GB of storage, and an Intel Core i5-5257U @2.70 GHz x2 processor. It was running Windows 10, and I was advised by Microsoft that it didn’t have the necessary requirements to run Windows 11. It was slow and outdated, so I wanted to toss it. Instead, I put it in a drawer and left it there. You know, sort of like the bag of clothes for Goodwill sitting in the trunk of the car.
The second computer is a Dell Inspiron computer running Windows. I outgrew it, not because of size, it has a 1TB hard drive and an Intel Core i5-6400 CPU @ 2.70 x 4 processor. But unfortunately, it was soooo s-l-o-w! It was so slow that I gave it to my husband, whose computing needs were minimal. He, however, stuck it in the closet just like my Beelink was in the bottom drawer.
When you look at the specs, the Dell computer should run much faster than the Beelink, but sadly, it does not.
Enter My Grandson
My Grandson enjoys playing video games with the hopes of having a YouTube channel. When he plays, he narrates to his imaginary audience. He’s a bit young, so he doesn’t have a channel as yet. However, his gaming/YouTube desires got me to thinking. Why not put Linux on these old computers and let him have his way with them? After all, I have most of the equipment needed to record his games.
My granddaughter, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same interests, but if her brother has his own computer, she must have one too. Luckily, I had two discards.
The Linux Installation Begins
Once I decided to install Linux Mint,the Cinnamon edition, using the Beelink computer, I went to the Linux Mint site and downloaded the appropriate .iso file. Next, according to instructions, I downloaded a file called Etcher. Etcher modifies the .iso file so it can be used as a boot disk.
A boot disk is necessary to run and install the operating system.
Windows Hostage
The biggest annoyance with the installation process happened when I booted up the Dell computer. Before I could install Linux, I had to go through endless Windows updates. Oh my! All I wanted to do was get rid of Windows, but it held me hostage for the last time with endless updates.
Once it released control of the computer to me, I stuck the Linux boot disk into the USB drive as soon as I could. By the way, the Dell computer would not allow me to create a Linux boot disk. Something in the Dell computer prevented Etcher from creating the boot disk. Fortunately, Beelink happily created the boot disk without issue. So I used that disk on the persnickety Dell.
Changing the Boot Sequence
Once Etcher created the boot disk, I had to change each computer’s boot sequence. That involved entering the BIOS and telling the computer to boot from the USB drive instead of the default boot sequence. On the Dell computer, I had to wait and press F12. On the BeeLink, I pressed Esc while the computer was booting up.
After changing the boot sequence, I inserted the boot disk into the USB drive on each computer and restarted the computers. Each computer accessed the disk and used Linux as an operating system. Once the Mint desktop displayed, I clicked the icon that said “Install Linux Mint”. For folks not familiar with Linux, it can happily run from a USB drive. However, I didn’t just want it on the USB; I wanted it on the hard drives.
I received the usual warning that doing so will destroy everything on the hard disk. I was only too thrilled to destroy all traces of Windows. I clicked OK, and the process began.
It’s only been 24 hours since installing Linux, and I couldn’t be happier! There will be more on this topic later.
On a side note: Sadly, the Dell is still slower than the Beelink, even after the Linux installation. I don’t know why, but it is. Fortunately, my granddaughter doesn’t seem to care.
Now that I’ve been turned onto Linux, I’ll keep my eye out for an older, yet faster machine to replace the Dell.
I created a YouTube video on the topic here: