I'm starting to second-guess my switch to linux...

[zixi]

5 hours ago, HeyYou said:

Linux/Unix IS user-friendly, it is just VERY picky about who its friends are. (and I ain't one of 'em.)

It's extremely 'friendly' in the sense that it will 'cheerfully' go off do things for you which are not always 'good' things to do...   

[InDarkestNight]

I'm starting to get tired of Linux already. I can't access the same folders I could in windows. I thought Linux was supposed to be more transparent? Then why don't I have the option to have it show hidden folders? Also, why am I not allowed to create shortcuts on my desktop? Why am I not allowed to access the downloads folder until whatever I'm downloading is done?

Also, I'm getting sick of not having things work. I just downloaded dwraf fortress, but strangely it doesn't seem to have a debian in it. Looking at its readme, it claims I need to install three different things I've never heard of before. I'm also having problems with videos not working on the internet, and I can't for the life of me find what I need to download to fix it. Why is there no instructions that come with this? I have no clue what I'm doing, and I have no way to find out.

I'm starting to think I should just go back to windows, for the sake of compatibility. Maybe I could install it on a partition here (the new ssd has twice the storage I had before, so surely it could hold it). Maybe I could copy my hold SSHD to the thing through my laptop, and then not have to re-install everything? Everything was working before, and it would take me probably months to rebuild that LotD load order I was working on.

Point is, I don't have a clue how to use this system, and I have no way to learn, and I'm also getting tired of not being able to run anything. I mean, what, do I need to go download the windows version of dwarf fortress and try to run it through an emulator? I've never used an emulator before, because I've never had to, so I know nothing about them. Fml. Maybe I need to just stick with what I know, rather than trying to switch.

edit: Also, downloading Skyrim is taking up my entire internet. I can't hardly do anything while its downloading, even on my laptop. I have no software to run on this thing while its downloading, for obvious reasons, and right now my laptop is lagging really bad for no apparent reason. I essentially can do nothing but watch this thing SPEND 12 HOURS DOWNLOADING SKYRIM. Fml.

Edited December 13, 2023 by InDarkestNight

[zixi]

InDarkestNight - If what you want to do is game then Linux isn't the platform for you. Most of the 'fun' from Linux comes from getting the things to run. I have a perfectly stable system here as a gaming platform - this was a brand new machine a couple of weeks ago and it took me probably a week to download everything ( we have ASDL and it is beyond slow... I download when I'm asleep and even then it took several nights). But...

1. I vaguely know what I'm doing on Linux  because I vaguely understand OS... and I like messing around with things I vaguely understand. I don't care if I break them. 

2. I have access to someone who understand Linux very well (though I don't go to him unless I'm desperate and that isn't very often).

3. I'm retired

4. I couldn't care less if the whole thing falls over and my bottom line is I'll re-install the OS or use a different Linux flavour or something. 

5. I dislike the alternatives very much indeed. If push came to shove and I couldn't run my favourite games on Linux then I'd take up the oboe...

In your position I'd stick to Windows because you know it well. Linux is for a spare machine and when you have time not to care if it doesn't work. You've tried it. You don't like it. It's fine! Don't let it make you sad. It's not worth it! 

[Guest deleted34304850]

there is a consistent pattern of behaviour in the post history. this is just the latest in a series of attention-seeking posts.

[InDarkestNight]

The reason I wanted to abandon windows is because every version since at least xp (the first version I got to know well) has been a downgrade from the previous. Basically, I don't like how the OS has developed over the past decade or so. I also prefer older games, so I'm sick of being forced to upgrade and leave my games behind. I also don't like a lot of window's features, such as its stupid 'stealth updates', how it spies on you, doesn't even let you put files in an order that you would like, etc...

I was hoping linux would be something I could maintain and keep as long as I wish. Its more transparent, and honestly I do sorta like the idea of being able to tinker with it. Like I said, I do like a lot of what I see, though I am having issues learning it given that complete lack of learning materials.

I wasn't thinking about fully giving up on this; I was thinking of having both this and windows installed at the same time, which is what I was originally wanting to do. Also, I haven't yet tested this thing out; I want to see if my games run better through this proton than w/e emulator windows is using. On a side note, it would seem that steam has installed proton as a separate application. I wonder if I could use it to run non-steam games? In particular, I have a lot of older games no discs I would like to play again, though I would know nothing about getting an emulator to run them even if I did have one. Guess that will wait until I get mod organizer running, which I HAVE found a guide for. Once I learn that, I can figure out getting other things to run (though other than these old disc games, I don't know of anything I would need to install an emulator for, steam has its own built-in one and so do the games on GoG).

[Guest deleted34304850]

Got news for you, windows has NEVER done stealth updates - ever. Every fix that has been deployed in their maintenance pipeline comes with full details of what the update brings. The only ones they don't fully disclose are security/integrity fixes. I mean, windows is used in about 95% of corporations across the globe - do you think for one minute MS would be allowed to "stealth" update so many systems? A conspiracy theory of yours, perhaps?

How do you think, in an online world, updates to ANY o/s, be it windows, mac, linux, unix, android should be done? do you have a better method of keeping millions of devices safe and as error-free as possible? or is this another one of your crackpot conspiracy theories?

also, windows updates from xp to today are not, never have been and never will be "downgrades". Again, is this another of your myriad of conspiracy theories at work?

Also - complete lack of learning materials - again, this must be just you because THE WHOLE WORLD can learn as much/little as they want with a useful utility called GOOGLE.

Stop blaming your own shortcomings on everything except the one piece of commonality - YOU. Be better.

[InDarkestNight]

Uh, yes it does? It doesn't tell you when its going to update. It just does it behind your back, leaving you to figure out on your own why your computer is suddenly lagging. This is an infamous feature of windows 10, so yes its common, and everyone thinks its stupid. In the past, when it was updating, it told you it was going to, rather than just doing it randomly without your knowledge. The only way I've read to fix this is by EDITING THE REGISTRY. Stealth updates are an infamous feature of windows 10 that EVERYONE despises. So no, its not a conspiracy theory, and like skyrim's force updates is something I've been having to contend with for years. Guess it shouldn't be a surprise you deny that too. Do you also deny climate change? That the earth is round? Why not, seriously?

And yes, every version of windows is a downgrade; they keep removing features without adding any. Their idea of an 'upgrade' is to go the apple route and idiot-proof everything, rather than leaving it transparent and open like linux does.

[Guest deleted34304850]

must be unique to you. mine, since forever has never, not once, performed an update of anything i didn't know was coming. wonder why that is?

rest of your words are nonsense.

[zixi]

 

1 hour ago, InDarkestNight said:

I was thinking of having both this and windows installed at the same time,

Yes,  you're quite right, it's possible to dual boot with Linux and Windows. Some people manage very well like this. Some people (myself included) find it exasperating.   It's a long time since I tried that though (many years ago) so maybe it has improved... But as I say, I really don't care if games work or not. If they work - I play them; if they don't then  I work at making them stable. Last week my favourite 'game' was getting Mod Organizer 2 to work nicely and with several instances... This week I'm playing Morrowind and modding it as I go. If it all falls apart I don't care. It'll be interesting fixing it... and I'm sure I must be learning something even if it's "Don't do that again!"  

[InDarkestNight]

Well right now I can't seem to get Skyrim to even run. It was opening the launcher, but if I told it to run the game, it would tell me 'failed to initialize renderer'. Strangely, it also wouldn't save my settings each time I opened the launcher. Each time I opened it, would tell me it had automatically set my graphics to the lowest possible, even if I had set it to higher. I also set it to run in windowed mode, but that also didn't get saved on the next launch. I decided to update my graphics driver. I have the recommended driver now, but now the launcher won't even come up. Worse yet, since the game's an executable, I can't run it directly from its icon. I have no idea what I need to do to fix this, and can't find anything about it. When I try to look it up, I can only find guides for fixing this on windows, even if I explicitly type in Ubuntu or Linux. The linux guide on the UESP isn't any help either. I can't find what I need to do to fix this, or any information on what this error message even means. Also, why did the launcher stop coming up when I updated my video driver? Games from steam that support linux are still working, so what happened?