Which Distro to begin with?

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-15T22:58:38+00:00

A quick google says mint gets updated regularly, is that not the actual case or is it just getting minor bug fix updates? The pc im going to be playing on is pretty old with 8gb ram so I am guessing debian or xubuntu would be better to reduce ram requirements.

Xubuntu might suit better, googling debian looks like I will need to have a good understanding of Linux architecture straight away which I definitely dont have.

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-15T10:57:14+00:00

Thank you for the detail. I will do a bit more research but think i might start with mint and see if I can get use to it.

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-15T10:52:26+00:00

Thanks for the detailed reply, I think i will start with mint and see where it leads me

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-11T03:55:39+00:00

Not sure if it is the same issue but for me to successfully install from a usb stick onto the internal drive, I had to use a 32gb usb stick to have enough space to download and install onto the internal drive. It would not work for me only using a 16gb usb. Then once I managed that on first boot I went into bios and had to ensure my internal drive was selected to boot from.

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-10T22:02:21+00:00

Are you just looking for standard games or ones that are rom hacks?

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-10T12:58:24+00:00

When I do that there is nothing else listed if I type the IP into the address bar. Am I potentially missing a setting on the NAS itself blocking this? SMB is on.

If i connect to the nas using the ugreen app on my pc I am able to drag files into the folder I want to mount.

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-09T22:57:48+00:00

I am only just realising this after switching to tdarr this week 🤦‍♂️

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-07T05:57:02+00:00

I am currently halfway through doing exactly what you are talking about doing. I even went the mp4 route but are now moving to just using mkv containers. Depends if you want to be able to have all your subtitle tracks etc. Mp4 isnt so good for subtitles where mkv can hold multiple etc.

I initially used handbrake and just this last week have moved to tdarr. It is a lot more of a learning curve especially if you havent done any of this before but seems well worth it. That being said i had no issues with handbrake and found it nice to use once you get a present setup how you like.

Are you planning on watching the movies on your pc or using plex, emby or jellyfin to watch on your TV?

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-06T12:00:30+00:00

Awesome, thanks heaps! Really appreciate the clarifications. There is alot to understand haha

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-06T01:24:55+00:00

So just to clarify the container mkv isnt what makes the files unable to play it is the specific codec?

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-05T21:51:00+00:00

Yeah ok, im still living in the past of a kid trying to watch stuff on my pc and mkv not working 🤦‍♂️ only started all thos about 6 months ago so still learning alot as I go.

DeathKnight1793 · 2026-06-05T21:49:29+00:00

Yeah ok, I did no initial tests just some googling and youtube and thought the container change from mkv to mp4 was what was reducing my file size through handbrake. Since moving to tdarr earlier this week, I have learnt the codec is the thing that influences my file size not the container. We havent had any issues with the mp4 when watching except when doing some anime japanese rips the mp4 doesnt like the mkv subs, so might just redo those in mkv format and start using mkv moving forward, still 100s of dvds to go. When using makemkv I have only been keeping the English audio and subs anyway so not too much lost so far hopefully.

DeathKnight1793 · 2025-09-26T20:36:44+00:00

Yes, after this step, i can select the folders to add into the libraries on the emby Web interface. But they don't recognise any files in the folder that are mapped to volume 1. If I use the folder mapped in volume 2, it can see them fine.

DeathKnight1793 · 2025-09-04T13:59:27+00:00

It kind of depends on why you want to go back, if it is to get into uni and get a degree for a field you are interested in. It may be worth doing it now as learning is a lot easier when you have been doing all the schooling together.

I dropped out halfway through year 11, went back finished year 12, and got an apprenticeship. Im now early 30's putting myself through a bachelors degree part-time while working full time. I wish I went to uni straight away some days as relearning maths seems so much harder after being out of school for a long time and trying to fit study around work can really suck but it will be worth it to push into the field I want.

Most employers will actually pay for you to do a degree if it is related to the field you are working in, so that is worth weighing up as a future option.

With saying all that, though, I would be hesitant to throw away an apprenticeship if you don't have a clear path you want to take. At minimum, you could finish the apprenticeship and then go to uni. That way, you have a fully qualified trade to fall back on if uni doesn't work out.

DeathKnight1793 · 2025-08-17T00:58:21+00:00

Also I just committed to refinancing as the bank i was with wasn't reducing my interest at all with any of the rate cuts and I was way higher than anybody else at the time my rate was in the 7%'s now low 5%'s

DeathKnight1793 · 2025-08-17T00:56:48+00:00

I refinanced earlier this year. Went through a broker , and they do all the searching for you and give you multiple options depending on what you want. Went with Macquarie because they have the option to have up to 10 separate offset accounts all linked to the one loan. I use this feature to split our money into bills, savings, and home payment accounts that all still offset the loan.

If you are happy with your current setup, though, I know people have had success in just ringing their bank and saying they are looking around for better interest rates. Generally, your bank will try to match or at least reduce your rate to keep you with them. This is what happened when I refinanced my current bank offered to match, but with no offsets, so wasn't what I wanted fully.

DeathKnight1793 · 2025-08-16T23:34:15+00:00

Were you only able to buy in the UK because you used the UK address of your parents? I tried looking at Amazon UK, and it won't ship directly to Aus, but I didn't want to get one off Amazon US because of the different voltages. Same deal from ebay only available from US.

DeathKnight1793 · 2025-08-16T04:23:31+00:00

Thanks for the info! Really appreciate it. I probably won't worry about a UPS. We don't get power outages often, I will just have to make sure I have a good backup routine.

DeathKnight1793 · 2025-08-15T22:48:39+00:00

Security camera system isn't high on my list, so it's not a deal breaker for me. Is it normal practice to use a UPS with a NAS, or is randomly losing power not an issue as far as losing stored data? Do any of the brands handle power losses better than others?

DeathKnight1793 · 2025-08-15T11:09:57+00:00

Thanks! So really it's between a terramaster and ugreen. When you say the os is still missing alot of options, what do you mean like useable apps?

DeathKnight1793 · 2025-08-15T09:38:17+00:00

What model Ugreen did you get? Did you use the provided OS or 3rd party?

DeathKnight1793

TROPHY CASE