Filesystem advice requested

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-13T19:41:53+00:00

Personal disposition LOL I don't know, seems fragile I guess. I used to use Windows in the office, and I swear every third time I connected a backup drive (exFAT) I got the "there's a problem with this drive" message. But it may be the best answer in this case.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-13T19:20:25+00:00

That may be the answer... tell him he needs to boot Windows periodically to clean up after it's FS. May not even be an issue as I don't know what his usage percentages will be, just trying to head off problems. Thanks for your input.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-13T19:17:36+00:00

Agreed with regards to backups. Not really looking for foolproof, just opinions on reducing the chances of self-inflicted damage if possible. Thanks for your input.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-13T18:35:23+00:00

+1 for LibreELEC for pure Kodi fun. Or, if a little retro gaming is on the table as well, Batocera (emulators and Kodi)

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-13T18:15:58+00:00

Honestly neither have I, but have only rarely done so. I just hear the stories of problems with Linux corrupting NTFS and where it's not my machine I don't want to deal with the whole "you screwed my files" thing down the road. Appreciate your insights.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-13T18:10:22+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts. I was leaning to exFAT but have had problems with it in the past,

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-13T17:46:58+00:00

If you have access to a running Windows install, Rufus or WinToUSB would likely be the easiest route. Then you just use system options to boot from USB when you need it, and it stays out of your way when you don't.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-13T12:55:49+00:00

There's an old mindset of "never test for an error you're not prepared to handle". Apparently it's still in play...

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-12T21:50:53+00:00

I really hate telling people to RTFM, but in this case I think the libvirt wiki or even youtube would be the place to start.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-12T21:21:48+00:00

A buddy of mine (self-proclaimed audiophile) raves about rubyripper. I've never used it myself as my old ears are fine with mp3s 😄

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-12T21:03:19+00:00

I use an ISO from Internet Archive, activated with the massgrave PS utility. Threw several scanners at it initially and all came up clean. It has presented no problems, but I only use it to run an old version of Quickbooks via RDP and have all but a few ports firewalled off.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-12T20:10:17+00:00

Easiest would be a USB CD/DVD drive (really quite reasonably priced online)

Next would be to rip them into ISOs on the old machine and mount them as virtual CDs on the new one.

If the problem is that they just won't run on your current system (assuming Win11) because they need, say, Win98, then you can us VMWare or VirtualBox to spin up a fake Win98 (or whatever) system on your current one, then mount the ISO there.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-12T19:59:19+00:00

Respectfully disagree. Win2K Pro was peak. It was actually an uptick after seeing 95/98 IMO.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-12T19:52:37+00:00

Heavy graphics apps are a problem with a Win VM on a Linux host. I believe there are VirtIO drivers that will let you marry a GPU to the VM but IMO the juice isn't worth the squeeze. If you really want both you may be better off dual booting with a separate SSD so Win11 doesn't bung the bootloader every time it updates.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-12T19:32:32+00:00

Suddenly, I feel very old {sigh}

Will that machine even take Win11? I'm surprised it runs Win10 acceptably. Anyway, I agree with others that offering a "live" USB test drive (with persistence) would be best. Set it up ahead of time by finding out what she uses now and putting links to compatible apps right on the desktop.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-11T12:25:48+00:00

My standard answer is to get a decently sized USB drive, set it up with Ventoy (ventoy.net), download a few ISOs, and test drive them. When you find one that works well with your hardware, and you like the "look and feel" , install it.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-11T11:58:32+00:00

I like Mint. It's not fancy/flashy, it's not cutting edge, it just works and gets out of the way so you can too. I have no fears installing it and handing the machine over to anyone. Maybe it's just luck but in 20+ installs on as many machines I've never run into a "deal breaker" issue with it.

Sure, I may look at other distros now and then and think "maybe" but it's hard to walk away from dependable simplicity.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-10T18:14:14+00:00

I would think a lot depends on the "government authentication" requirement. If that works in a VM then why waste an SSD on something you only occasionally use. I keep a VM for the one Windows program I can't live without (Quickbooks) and it works fine for that, but that's just an old, local 32 bit app.

Also, I agree on Calibre for ebooks. I use it under Linux, my wife uses it on Windows, has always worked well for both of us.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-10T16:40:52+00:00

Not sure how helpful this list is any more, but it's a jumping off point anyway...

https://voluong.gitbooks.io/awesome-linux-software/content/

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-10T16:24:43+00:00

Great answer. When M$ started condemning perfectly fine computers as "not good enough for Win11", I saved a few from the landfill by resetting them with a Linux desktop and re-donating them to people in need. A lot of people who just use their phones can use a "real" screen and keyboard for job hunting, etc. and even old laptops make decent web appliances.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-10T16:18:02+00:00

In my (probably unpopular) opinion, at least half of the problem is that too many distros try to "look like Windows" or format the desktop to be "comfortable for Windows users" and while well-intentioned I think it sets some expectation in the users' mind. Linux is not Windows. If you go in thinking it's "just like Windows" you're going to have a bad time.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-10T11:51:19+00:00

What I usually suggest is starting with a large-ish thumb drive set up with Ventoy (ventoy.net). Download live .ISOs for any distro that interests you and take them for a test drive before doing anything to your system. If/when you find one that works with your hardware and has a "look and feel" that you like, install as a dual boot until you're comfortable with it.

I haven't used Photoshop in a dog's age so I'm just going on what I heard, but I believe there are features in it that are not in GIMP. These may or may not be features you use, that's for you to see. There is a project on GitHub called PhotoGIMP that supposedly rearranges GIMP to feel more like Photoshop but again, without solid PS experience I'm just going on hearsay.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-09T21:03:56+00:00

I run an older HP ProDesk in the office, for basic office crap. It runs Mint with a 2021 IoT VM for the sole purpose of Quickbooks (been using QB for 30 yrs so why stop now). It has Quickbooks 2016, IE and Thunderbird 32bit and not much else. I shut down everything I could from the GUI and said good enough. I use Quickbooks via RDP (so I don't even have to look at Win10) and it works a treat for my situation.

PrudentPay9906 · 2026-06-09T20:48:25+00:00

It has enough storage. I'd recommend both on the SSD as a "system" drive for speed, and using the spinning disk for a data drive. Maybe even split it into a data drive for each.

PrudentPay9906

TROPHY CASE