I probably should have got back to this forum to note that Ubuntu 22.04 is now installed with the copied home directory added. I didn’t do it myself. I found a knowledgeable person who gave me hands-on assistance. It still took an educated and experienced Linux user hours to copy my important files to a usb stick, do a clean install of 22.04, and put the files back in the computer. It seems something special had to be done to allow the computer to boot with UEFI
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Some machines will complain about secure boot being on with UEFI … until that’s turned off, Linux will refuse to boot. Sounds like that’s what may have been going on.
I probably should have got back to this forum to note that Ubuntu 22.04 is now installed with the copied home directory added. I didn’t do it myself. I found a knowledgeable person who gave me hands-on assistance. It still took an educated and experienced Linux user hours to copy my important files to a usb stick, do a clean install of 22.04, and put the files back in the computer. It seems something special had to be done to allow the computer to boot with UEFI instead of the legacy BIOS it had been using. ( It looks like I inadvertently sent the message just now while I was still typing. Sorry.) Just copying my home directory to a flash drive was a long and complicated process for someone who knew what he was doing. On my own, I found the posts above in this forum so confusing that I’m afraid if I’d tried to do it all by myself, I might have broken something beyond recovery. I don’t understand why something like this is not more straightforward. I keep seeing people wondering why more people don’t move from Windows to Linux. Ubuntu is often recommended for newcomers. Am I particularly simple-minded, or why do I have so much trouble here with the basics? Am I really the only one with these problems, or do others just give up and stay with Windows? I really want to become familiar with Linux, but I’m getting tired of feeling foolish. Is there a thread for others feeling this way? Thanks for all the suggestions, even though I couldn’t use them.
It gets easier. I don’t know how long you’ve been using Linux, but a lot of people on here have been doing it for years and years, so they make it look easy. One of the things I recommend for new people is Linux Mint, which is more Windows like than even Ubuntu (while at the same time being debian based). Also don’t be afraid of breaking stuff, it will happen. It’s not if it happens, it’s when it happens, and as long as you have good backups there’s nothing to feel shamed about. I’ve nuked and paved my system hundreds of times over the years because I broke stuff. If you like I can recommend a few books that take you step by step through things, and maybe make things a little easier to understand.
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You should be doing this sort of backup on a regular basis anyway.
You need to setup a regular backup routine for your personal files.
If you cant get started with that on your own, get some help.
There is a wide choice of backup software available in Linux.
Perhaps someone could recommend one for beginners.
Hi @Doron_Beit-Halahmi
Thanks for your reply. My references to Windows were as regarding Linux newcomers in general. I don’t come from Windows myself. Ubuntu was installed on the first computer I ever had. I’d never even learned to type. So I’m not concerned about a user experience similar to that one. I’m not really new – just a slow learner. I’d been told if I messed around in the terminal without knowing what I was doing I could really mess things up, so when I needed something done I took it to people who could help me. Then when those places had to shut down I was left almost on my own. Maybe the mistakes I made can be fixed, but I don’t even know what I did, let alone how to find where the problem is. ‘Step by step’ instruction is what I need. I’ll be grateful if you can post such links that can be downloaded for free. (I’m on a limited fixed income, and can’t really afford to buy any books.) Thanks again for taking time for me.
I think that is a bit drastic.
If you use the terminal as a normal user, you cant do much damage, except to your own files.
If you use the terminal with sudo or su to root, you have to be careful.
There are some itsFOSS tutorials in using the bash command line shell
Regards
Neville
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Hi @frankp,
Don’t feel foolish. I been there and yes it can be frustrating. Sometime I believe it is my age that keeps me from learning new things as fast I think I should be able to.
Rule 1.
The first thing to do is learn how to backup your PC. There are a lot of options but learn how to perform backups and restore procedure. I personally have 2 different backup procedures. One for the system (OS) and one for my data.
The reason for having a good backup and restore procedure is that it gives you a very comfortable feeling. Make a big mistake, can’t fix it. Do a restore. Broke it again. Do a restore. Want to try something, but it goes very wrong. Do a restore.
For me Timeshift has restored my OS (Linux Mint) several times. But sometimes I have needed to perform a standalone restore (boot a USB) using Clonezilla to perform a restore.
So what I am trying to say is that if you have a good backup and restore procedure, you don’t have to be afraid of breaking something because you can always put the PC back to the time of your last backup. And when I was leaning Linux and dual boot I had to perform several restores. You learn by your mistakes, but having a good backup is very forgiving.
And as far as UEFI and secure boot, I still get a little confused about it.
Hang in there. Mistakes are frustrating, but learning can be very rewarding.
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Frank P:
I could sure hear your pain as you went through this process. I’m impressed with the help you got; the folks here are incredibly kind and patient. May I give you a few future tips?
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Invest in an external hard drive–mine is 1 Terabyte and is plugged into one of the USB ports on the back of my machine, where it waits patiently to be used.
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Become friendly with your file manager. Mine is called Thunar; other distros call them Dolphin or something else. It probably has an icon on the desktop, in the panel, and for sure in the menu.
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Explore the folders within the file manager. Usually, your external HDD or USB stick will be listed at the bottom of the leftmost column. To back up a batch of files–say a group of photos someone sent you by email–just do these steps: find out where your email program saved them when you told it to do so. They will usually be in the Downloads folder. For one file (or photo), right-click on it and select Copy. Then right click on your storage device and select Paste. Now you have a picture in each location–it’s backed up!
You can create folders anywhere you like, just right-click in a blank space and select New or New Folder. Give it a name. You’ll get it really quickly.
The advice you got on backups and timeshift was all good, but a little scary. If you remember that you are right-clicking to Copy and Paste, you probably won’t lose anything. Save Cut, Move, and some of the other commands for later–they’re useful but a little riskier.
And come back here anytime you have a question. There are nice folks all over the world waiting to help; you got help from the US. Australia, Germany, and the UK in the conversation I saw above.
Cheers!
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