On 20/06/2013 14:22, c...@pampru.org wrote:
Thanks Tim, and to all others who have sent comments they have all
helped, but I do need Windows AND Linux.
I need Windows because it is used by business. As I am a 73 year old
pensioner augmenting my meagre pension by doing occasional work, I
can't afford to upgrade Pro versions of Windows software at
Microsoft's ever-shortening upgrade intervals. Also, the changes
between MS-Office versions are so great that it takes too long to get
back up to speed again, hence XP and Office 2003 as my reliable
Windows OS/Office. Win-7/Office 2007, which I was just getting
familiar with after the Vista 64 disaster, has already been made
obsolete by Office 2010 and Win-8!
I run Pampru, a small institute, on a shoe-string budget so this runs
Ubuntu Linux/LibreOffice. Not as easy to use as XP/2003, but getting
better and (almost) free.
Tim, your idea greatly appeals to me as it seems to solve all problems
and reduce complexity too. But please:-
Has Virtualbox been around long enough to be proven reliable?
Can all drives be formatted EXT4?
Would I be able to read and write to non-EXT4 USB memory from any
running OS?
Can I load two Virtual boxes on a machine, one for XP and one for
later version MS OS that I need to become familiar with?
If all are YES, I would run all PCs on LinuxLTS with Virtualbox(s) and
format all drives to EXT4.
Sounds like IT Heaven but what, if any, are the downsides?
Best regards to all,
Charles
Quoting Tim Allen <t...@ls83.eclipse.co.uk>:
Hi Charles
On 19/06/13 16:15, c...@pampru.org wrote:
I have four PCs, most will be dual-boot so that I am able to run XP-Pro
and Office 2003-Pro (a decade with no problems and do all I want) and
Win-7 with Office 2007 Pro (very difficult to use) with Office 2003 Pro
to fall back on en 2007 hits my exasperation limit (very short fuse!).
You may want to try Virtualbox. Choose your base system (either
Windows or Linux), put Virtualbox on it, then install the other
operating system within that. It's very straightforward (much less
hairy than dual boot/partitioning hassles) and very convenient - you
can have both OSes running together and copy/paste between them.
All will have Linux, probably Ubuntu LTS and LibreOffice, as this is
what I hope to migrate all my university and institute work on to (not
good enough yet to compete with XP/2003 yet but slowly getting there!),
but I will still need MS for legacy/MS-only devices and for outside
contacts.
If you plan to migrate to Linux, I suggest you install Linux as the
base system. You can them install Virtualbox and Windows as a guest OS.
As already mentioned, Samba can be used for a mixed (or purely Linux)
network.
Cheers
Tim
--------
All network devices will be fixed IP working through unmanaged 1GB
switches, and each PC has a hardware switch to uncouple it from the
Switch/hubs and connect to the BT internet home-Hub (so that network is
always isolated from internet).
As only programs live on PCs, taking a drive-image means that a restore
cleans the PC after internet use. One PC may be dedicated to
internet use.
XP-Pro and Office 2003-Pro (xls/doc/ppt/jpg/txt) remains the rock for
most of my work!
I have spent 25 years collecting data and I can't afford tany more
years
of the disruption that I have suffered, nor to be continuously dealing
with IT problems as is the case right now. I am nearly 74 years old,
and
I want to finish my project!
Following a double-upgrader, 12.04LTS is up and running well, but a
problem with Samba4 was flagged during the upgrade and I sent the
report. Replies contain several links which I will try and follow
when I
have some time to spare.
It may look like a mad hatter's tea party, but the system should
overcome my worries when it works, but I may need professional help
somewhere. Any ideas or comments are always most welcome!
Charles
Quoting Ralph Corderoy <ra...@inputplus.co.uk>:
Hi Charles,
Turns out I was on 11.04 so I have upgraded to 11.10 and am now in
process of upgrading again to 12.04LTS - will probably stop there as
that seems to be the latest stable LTS.
Yes, it is.
I will also be re-formatting network and USB drives to EXT4 and
installing Samba on Windows machines so that they can also use the
drives - does this make sense?
No, not really. :-) I've not used Samba, not having a need, but others
on the list have so hopefully they'll pipe up.
If you're intending to plug those USB drives into Windows machines
then
they need to be formatted with a filesystem Windows understands; and
ext4 isn't by default. If all the drives are connected to Linux
machines and Windows only sees them over the network, then ext4 is
fine.
To use the network to access the drives, I'd expect Samba to be on the
Linux machines so they can serve up the drives' content and Windows
would use its native software to access them over the network. Samba
could also be used for Linux-to-Linux access over the network AIUI;
bits of Samba running on both machines.
What is it you'd like to achieve? Access to what storage and where?
Cheers, Ralph.
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Virtualbox is stable in Ms, Linux and UNIX and again, simple to use and
a pleasant user experience with a short learning curve.
Better throughput is acheived with ESXi but it is more of a complicated
process.
For desktops, V'Box is great.
--
P.Lane
CEO Lectrics Ltd
Poole
Dorset
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