The Linux Experiment

Today I started out by going into work, only to discover that it is NEXT Friday that I need to cover.

So I came home and decided to get a jump start on installing Kubuntu.

I am now at a screeching halt because the hardware I am using has Win8 installed on it and when I boot into the Start Up settings, I lose the ability to use my keyboard. This is going swimmingly.

So, it is NOW about 3 hours later.

In this time, I have cursed, yelled, felt exasperated and been downright pissed.

This is mainly because Windows 8 does not make it easily accessible to get to the Boot Loader. In fact, the handy Windows made video that is supposed to walk you through how EASY, and user friendly the process of changing system settings is fails to mention what to do if the “Use a Device” option is nowhere to be found (as it was in my case).

So I relied on Google, which is usually pretty good about answering questions about stupid computer issues. I FINALLY came across one post that stated that due to how quickly Windows 8 boots, that there is no time to press F2 or F8. However, I tries anyway. F8 is the key to selecting what device you want to boot from, as you will see later in this post.

What you will want to do if installing any version of Linux is, first format a USB stick to hold your Linux distro. I used Universal USB Loader. The nice thing about this loader is that you don’t have to already have the .iso for the distro you want to use downloaded. You have the option of downloading right in the program.

After you have selected you distro, downloaded the .iso and loaded it onto your USB stick now is the fun part. Plug your USB stick into the computer you wish to load Linux onto.

Considering how easy this was once I figured it all out, I do feel rather silly. If I were to have to do it again, I would feel much more knowledgeable.

If you are using balls-ass Windows 8, like I was, the EASIEST way to select an alternate device to boot from is to restart the computer and press F8 a billion times until a menu pops up, letting you choose from multiple devices. Choose the device with the name of the USB stick, for me it was PENDRIVE.

Once you press enter (from a keyboard that is attached directly to the computer you are using via USB cable, because apparently Win8 loses the ability to use Wireless USB devices before the OS has fully booted…at least that was my experience).

So now, I am being prompted to install Kubuntu (good news, I already know it supports my projector, because I can see this happening).

Now, I have had to plug in a USB wired keyboard and mouse for this process so far. This makes life a little bit difficult because the computer I am using sits in a closet, too far away from my projector screen. This makes it almost impossible for me to see what is going on, on the screen. So installing the drives for my wireless USB devices it a bit of a pain.

However, the hard part is over. The OS is installed successfully. My next post will detail how the hell to install wireless USB devices. I will probably also make a fancy signature, so you all know what I am running.