Crunchbang For Acer Laptops

[2cvbloke]

Also, with a 750kbps (on a good day!) ADSL Connection and a 10GB monthly allowance, mucking around with Distros isn't really an option, sadly.

You need to get onto Primus, they can offer you a cheap unlimited broadband package, we're on it and there's been hardly any problems, only ones that BT have caused when they installed that Infinity thing round here...

 

[excollier]

The new Ubuntu 12.10 distro has now been released. Got windoze and ubuntu on dual boot and barely use win 7 now.

I have a Vista / Mint 13 Cinnamon dual boot, also rarely use Windows since I put linux on.

 

[wolsty]

Try here for cheap linux distros

_linux-man.co.uk/shop/

Am I missing something? Why would I want to buy Open Source software that I can legitimately download free of charge from the Internet?

 

[Lazarus]

I think it was in response to my earlier remark about not trying too many Distros because of limited ADSL Speed and a stingy Download allowance.

But for the equivalent of the minimum charge on that Site of around a fiver, I could buy an extra 5GB anyway and then waste three weeks waiting for an alternative Distro to Download!

 

[excollier]

Sorry, I was just offering up an alternative. I have very slow internet download speeds, and it took me nearly five hours to download Mint13, (885 Mb) that I use now.
So, for some, it is better to send off for a few sent out together.
We can't even get broadband on the telephone line here, I use a radio link for mine (like a BSB Squarial on the wall outside).
I will gladly post copies on to you if you want them (Debian 6, Fedora 17)

 

[Lazarus]

Not sure if you're answering me or wolsty (or both!), but that's a kind offer - I shall stick with Crunchbang as it suits both myself (Household Network Admin) and SWMBO (Management)

Not surprised there's someone out there with even worse Broadband - We do have an alternative in the village now owing to a scheme between a Private Company and North Yorkshire County Council >>>> One of my neighbours has a microwave link to a base station a few miles away and he has been given a local re-tranmission antenna and other gubbins (I haven't delved into the precise details yet) so anyone else in the village can sign up. Sounds not dissimilar to your arrangement.

It's fast (Around 40Mbps, IIRC) but not cheap at around £30 per month.

I'm quite happy paying £7.50 per month right now, but am considering a Dongle for accessing via the Cell Phone infrastructure and perhaps even doing away with the landline altogether.

 

[excollier]

Sounds the same, but much faster. The answer was to you, sounds like Wolsty has proper broadband.
Crunchbang looks interesting, but then almost anything is a refreshing change from Windows. And faster.

 

[excollier]

Just an update, I installed PiBang on my Raspberry Pi today, looks good. A port of Crunch Bang so I suppose it looks similar. I have soooooo much to learn, it's giving me a headache.
Satellite systems are so much easier.........

 

[excollier]

Tried #! from a usb stick today, very fast, and just the same as Pi Bang, very simple and fast!

 

[Lazarus]

Yep. I tested it from a USB stick before committing it to the Hard Drive.

It booted in two seconds flat.

Even when fully installed to the Hard Drive it boots in 20 seconds.

 

[excollier]

Twenty seconds?? Wow.
I don't get that sort of speed, but it's still waay faster than Win Vista.
I'm looking into turning my laptop into a triple boot Vista, Linux Mint and CrunchBang.
I hope it is possible.

 

[Lazarus]

Can't see why it shouldn't be possible.

 

[excollier]

This is my hdd partition line up, I'm not sure how to get a third OS in there without losing the boot capability of Win Vista, sda2 (essential, as I don't have discs) sda5 is Linux Mint 13.

 

[Lazarus]

Hmm. As far as I can recall, when you install Crunchbonk, it has a wizard that automatically detects all your existing Partitions and gives you the opportunity to selectively retain/scrub/resize etc.

But don't take my word for it!

sda2 looks like it can be shrunk as the 40GB unused is more than ample for Crunchblink plus Data.

sda3 also has plenty of redundancy.

(I don't have Recovery Media either, which wasn't a problem with SWMBO's Lappie as when the HDD failed, I only put Crunchblank on the new Drive, but my Netbook Dualboots with Win 7 - I was worried about firkin Windows, but found the Crunchboom installation installed easily and seamlessly alongside it)

 

[excollier]

I have some other forum enquiries out to see if it will be possible. I am becoming a total distro junkie!! Crunchsplat!!

 

[excollier]

Right, I was given another laptop, abandoned because of a broken screen (which would cost more than the computer is worth to them) so I took off the screen and attached it to a second hand (cheap,€25) Dell 15" vga desktop lcd monitor. Instant desktop computer, works perfectly.
I wiped Vista and installed Linux Mint Debian, Ubuntu 12.04 Unity and #!
I have one free partition left and the choices are Debian Wheezy KDE , PCLinuxOS KDE 64bit, Linux Lite and Peppermint 64 bit.
Which to pick to complete a quad boot PC, and then which to dump when I settle on a permanent os. Linux choices!
I am enjoying using #!, as I am familiar after using PiBang on a RasPi (it's identical).
It's only a pity that the channel list editors and other firmware programmes for sat receivers don't have a linux variant, or I would be rid of Windows permanently.

 

[Lazarus]

Well, after a good run with Crunchbang Statler, I took the plunge and did a full-disc clean install of the new stable release Crunchbang Waldorf (based on Debian Wheezy).

It's even cleaner, sleeker and faster than Statler and the Repositories carry far more recent versions of Apps, especially the Grisbi Finance Manager which I have been trying out on Win 7 and on Mint with great success, as a platform-neutral replacement for MS Money (The very best Programme Micros**t ever produced and sadly no longer supported).

I even managed to figure out how to port my Mail Client and Browser Profiles easily and saved myself some considerable time compared to setting up from scratch. Took a few seconds and was error free. Champion.

 

[excollier]

Do you miss Windows?
I have Waldorf on my above mentioned computer as part of a quin-boot. I tend to use it a lot as it boots so quickly, it's fairly impressive.

 

[Lazarus]

No, I don't miss Windows one bit - It has been a bit of a struggle to replicate every feature I like but having done so the results are impeccable and you realise just how poor Microsoft are. Preying on commerce and habit rather than technical excellence (Just how did VHS trump Betamax?)

 

[PaulR]

(Just how did VHS trump Betamax?)

Tchh. What about V2000? - best of both systems.