COMPUTER NEWS – FURTHER LINUX ADVENTURES
I hesitated over the title of this post and eventually decided upon “Adventures” rather than “Problems” – one must keep a positive attitude!
For a while since Richard’s visit (see this post), everything was running smoothly with the new system. The Lenovo ThinkPad 14-in laptop running Linux Zorin is now installed on my office desk upstairs and is performing well. The old HP Envy laptop is spending most of its time in the studio now, and I can run my ancient Serif programs on it as it runs on Windows 11 (Serif PhotoPlus for photo editing and PagePlus for desktop publishing – this is the best desktop publisher I’ve ever used and I have a lot of files from way back which were created with it and which I need to continue to use). This laptop is now disconnected from the Internet.
I had a bit of a problem yesterday because since the installation of Windows 11, I cannot print directly from PagePlus, and if I try to scan anything into the program, I get a strange message about something else running, and cannot close it down or do anything at all unless I restart the computer. I can export files created in it either as pdf’s or jpg’s and save them on the external hard drive. Up until now I’ve been able to use the HP colour laser printer’s own software for all these functions but for some reason it requires an internet connection to work, and I really don’t want to expose this computer to further dodgy updates from Microsoft. I now have to use the Lenovo ThinkPad running Linux to do scanning. I can import the pdf’s and jpg’s created in PagePlus onto the ThinkPad and print from there as it recognises the printer driver just fine. It’s just involving a few more steps, but at least I know what to do now. Nothing is ever straightforward in this life…
Major crisis with the HP ZBook!
I ran a routine Linux Zorin update when requested, and restarted the computer. Uh-oh. The mouse cursor had vanished (and also the touchpad cursor). What to do? I tried restarting the computer. Same result. It was virtually impossible to do anything while only being able to use the keyboard.
I brought the ThinkPad downstairs again so I could work with that to try and find a solution. After some considerable back and forth on the Zorin forum and asking them PLEASE to use plain English so I could understand what the heck they were talking about haha – it appeared that the kernel (the foundation layer of the operating system that connects it with the hardware) had been updated to a new version and this was preventing the mouse from working properly. I was told to go into the GRUB menu (had to ask what that was!!) – GRand Unified Bootloader menu (no, I wasn’t any the wiser, either!) and use this to enable me to revert to the earlier Kernel version. This GRUB menu was not visible, so they held my hand through the process of revealing it, and I was able to find the previous kernel version and select it. The mouse reappeared as I rebooted the computer. Great. Problem solved.
Really? Next time I rebooted, no mouse cursor. I checked the GRUB menu and it had reverted to the later version again. Re-selecting the older one, and the mouse cursor reappeared. Further chat on the forum and I was given instructions as to how to make the older version the default version that the computer would boot into, and finally all is well. Phew.
This time I didn’t have to call Richard in. So far so good, all seems to be working OK.
With each thing that has caused a problem or gone wrong, I have gained just a little more knowledge. All my forum threads are available for me to re-read should I need to repeat any process, which is useful.
Some of the instructions involved using the Terminal, which I was unable to access via the Zorin menu without the mouse, but learnt that Ctrl + Alt + T will bring it up like a lamb. I was able to type in the various instructions that they gave me.
Baby steps but my knowledge base is growing! I am learning, just as I did when I first embarked on my initial “grown up computer” back in the 1990s, not to panic as a first resort, but to try what I know I can do, and then seek help from the forum and from other online sources. Richard can be called upon as a last resort!
My hubby’s laptop
A few years ago we both bought new laptops from PCWorld – Acer laptops. I would never buy another… As Richard confirmed, “Cheap rubbish!” When I got my HP Envy I gave my hubby my Acer, which was more powerful than his, and he has been using it as his second laptop. He has agreed to let me install Linux on this machine and he can run the other one on Windows (I think it’s running on Windows 10) which he can use if he needs to do something quickly with a system he is familiar with, but I am encouraging him to spend as much time as possible on the Linux system so he can learn it and not be scared of it! Eventually, when he’s happy, we’ll put Linux on that computer as well.
Now I’ve got a bit more knowledge, I think I will be able to work my way through any possible pitfalls, and there’s always the forum (and ultimately Richard) if I get really stuck. I am going to write down various basic instructions in a notebook for him to refer to as he learns, and I shall always be here if he needs to ask anything. He has been chatting with a couple of his friends about all this, and one of them is a real tech guy and he responded very positively to the news that we were going over to Linux, and he confirmed everything I’d been saying about the way Microsoft has been going lately. This has been quite an encouragement to my hubby, I think, who is always more ready to listen to anybody who isn’t me haha! He has now taken off everything he wants to keep and put it on an external hard drive, so I can now do a clean install of Linux. I’m making a list of all the things I need to do to prepare, such as going into the BIOS and disabling Secure Boot and Fast Boot, and once installed, I shall make sure that the GRUB menu is accessible just in case he runs into the same difficulties as me with later kernel versions. On my own journey I also learnt how to install the GUI (Graphic User Interface) for Nord VPN and will get that up and running for him, and set up Libre Office Writer so that it resembles his familiar Microsoft Word interface, and other such tweaks, to make the transition as painless as possible for him. In the notebook I shall write down how to find any new software he might want, and how to do updates and things like that. I don’t think there will be any need for him to go into the Terminal at all, but just familiarise himself with the different GUI.
It hasn’t taken me long to develop muscle memory with this and I’m now doing a lot without even thinking about it. We just need to let Windows go and stop trying to engage brain on old Windows tramlines, and go with the slightly different flow of Linux. Abandoning attempts to run Windows software on Linux has been liberating for me and I’m now enjoying learning new programs for the activities I need – photo and video editing as well as normal stuff like word documents and spreadsheets.
