So how long does it take to Install Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon & do the updates? Answer: Not very long...

Forums › Linux › So how long does it take to Install Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon & do the updates? Answer: Not very long...

amiga500

1402 posts

Uber Geek

# 207359 20-Dec-2016 16:49

I should have timed the whole thing but the actual install from DVD took around 15 to 20 minutes max.

Printer install of HP Deskjet about 1 minute including a test print! It configures automatically as soon as it is turned on.

Download of 150 updates totalling 280 mb took 7 minutes.

The installation of the updates took 9 minutes with no request for a restart, although I did one.

This was on a low powered desktop with a Pentium dual core processor, 4 gigs of ram, and HD Graphics. Motherboard about 2 years old.

I guess it is similar in speed to a pretty cheap laptop. I mention all of this to encourage anyone who is less than thrilled with Windows to give it a go. If you use Ubuntu 16.04 or Mint 18 there is a good chance that the install will be totally drama free with the installer offering to install alongside Windows 7/10. (I'm sure all Geekzone members know all about the need to back up their data and have copies of Windows restore images before trying any of this.)

Provided your laptop can use DVDs I think this is the easiest option. Just download the Ubuntu or Mint iso directly, or by torrent & burn the DVD iso image.

Oriphix

516 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1692916 20-Dec-2016 16:53

If more games run in Lunux I would change in a heartbeat.
Yes I know you can use Wine and play but its just not the same.
I haven't tried Ubuntu in a really long time might give that a go on a VM.

amiga500

1402 posts

Uber Geek

# 1692932 20-Dec-2016 17:17

Oriphix: If more games run in Lunux I would change in a heartbeat.
Yes I know you can use Wine and play but its just not the same.
I haven't tried Ubuntu in a really long time might give that a go on a VM.

Yes, gaming is a big issue I think. I only try to play chess (badly) and other very basic games.

There's a lot of very good Youtubes which show how good the recent versions really are.

dazhann

399 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

# 1692954 20-Dec-2016 18:22

Agree. Im no techie but I dual boot mint with 10 and I only use 10 on very rare occasions. The dual boot install was very easy, in fact other than deciding how much space on hard drive to allocate, the installer did everything else. For my everyday use it just works with no hiccups.

cynnicallemon

370 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1692956 20-Dec-2016 18:35

2 people support this post

amiga500:

Provided your laptop can use DVDs I think this is the easiest option. Just download the Ubuntu or Mint iso directly, or by torrent & burn the DVD iso image.

These days its probably easier to transfer the iso image to a USB drive and boot/install via that.

Been with Linux on my laptop/desktops for over 10 years now and would never go back to Windows.

d3Xt3r

642 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

# 1693029 20-Dec-2016 22:22

cynnicallemon:
amiga500:

Provided your laptop can use DVDs I think this is the easiest option. Just download the Ubuntu or Mint iso directly, or by torrent & burn the DVD iso image.

These days its probably easier to transfer the iso image to a USB drive and boot/install via that.

Been with Linux on my laptop/desktops for over 10 years now and would never go back to Windows.

+1

Also, your installation time would have probably been cut by half. Most of my Linux installs on modern machines via USB 3.0 have taken no more than 5 minutes.

meesham

919 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

# 1693033 20-Dec-2016 23:02

One person supports this post

Oriphix: If more games run in Lunux I would change in a heartbeat.
Yes I know you can use Wine and play but its just not the same.
I haven't tried Ubuntu in a really long time might give that a go on a VM.

I run up a Windows VM for games and use VFIO to pass through a video card, I get almost native performance. I tried gaming on Linux but it's just not there yet.

unclerichard

17 posts

Geek

# 1693056 21-Dec-2016 07:42

The general consensus in the Linux World is that Lint Cinnamon is the best desktop OS and Suse the best all rounder.

I also dual boot Mint with Win10, and find updates etc take forever and I am never quite certain what is going on.

The one caveat with Mint is its cycle; it is based on Ubuntu LTS with a three to four month lag. So, near the end of the two year cycle Mint tends to become somewhat dated.

cynnicallemon

370 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1693062 21-Dec-2016 08:07

Agree that Mint is probably the best Linux desktop OS but that would be for those new to Linux. Like Ubuntu, Mint is a stepping stone for a lot of people in their search for their Linux Nirvana.

Not sure about Suse being the best all rounder, I would say Debian is. However this is the beauty (and the achilles) of Linux, it's not a "one size fits all" outfit and what I like you might not like but we are essentially using the same product but tailored to how we like it and want it to perform.

timmmay

15214 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

# 1693069 21-Dec-2016 08:37

I set up Mint on the PC of a computer illiterate friend who's kids mostly use it. I never get called. Biggest problem I've had with it is forgetting the admin password when I went to apply updates, because it'd been so long since I had to do anything.

I do quite like the Ubuntu desktop, but Mint is the most intuitive Linux desktop I've seen.

meesham

919 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

# 1693155 21-Dec-2016 11:26

unclerichard:

The general consensus in the Linux World is that Lint Cinnamon is the best desktop OS and Suse the best all rounder.

I'm not sure you'll ever get a general consensus on that sort of thing in the Linux community, the thing I like about it is there's so much variation and choice and you're not constrained by how someone else thinks you should use an operating system and desktop environment. I ran Mint with Cinnamon for about 6 months and liked it but I now run Ubuntu 16.10 with Gnome (heavily tweaked), on my laptop I ran Manjaro with KDE Plasma 5 for a while but for servers I run either CentOS or RHEL for my customers (I used to work for a Red Hat partner) and Debian for my home servers. In the past I've run Fedora, Gentoo (back in the early '00s) and Arch, all have their advantages and disadvantages.

scetoaux

51 posts

Master Geek

# 1693225 21-Dec-2016 13:15

One person supports this post

While I don't use Mint myself, I have installed it for clients before and have only had good feedback from them. I think Cinnamon in particular is perhaps a little bit easier a transition for those coming from Windows environments. I'm from a Mac and Linux background myself so I'm comfortable in Gnome 3. The great thing about Linux in general is we can pick and choose what works for us.