Migrating from Linux Mint to Antix… (Asus EEE Netbook)

[Member MattNewbie]

Hi Everybody,

totally new to Linux and regretfully not very IT-minded (for lack of opportunity and/or time mainly). Apologies for not being used to the tech-talk yet, given time, I might get used to it…

The reason I am here is explained in this (quite long) thread:

https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?t=4175698521&referrerid=1231789

If you do not have the time/patience, the reason why I am here is: experienced users have advised that I should switch from Mint to Antix as the hardware is not appropriate for Mint (was already installed by the previous owner but – I suspect – not extensively tested).

I have read the FAQs, thanks, they are a great help, I will follow them and install via a USB (actually I will try on a micro-sd in a switched off old Nokia which in turn is connected to the USB port – i.e. data is on the micro-SD), if it does not work I will get a “proper” USB (yes, don’t laugh, I only have an old 2Gb USB…). If you think the idea with the Micro SD that won’t work, pls kindly let me know (will install step by step, probably starting tomorrow…if there is something I have learnt so far in my “Linux/Antix journey” is that it is very much a “trial and error” process). I have also searched the forum (here) but did not find anything really relevant to my issue.

As I go along I have some questions which I hope you can help me with:

– Using Mint, I have accessed/saved some data to/from a micro SD and this is safe. But there is also data I have saved on the note-taking software “Gnote” and if possible I would like to transfer that into Antix Note-taking software (or Word-processing software). If not I’ll just copy paste and save in an Office Libre file… however it seems I also started having problem with saving data on the micro-SD but could use e-mail as a way of saving the data (provided Thunderbird works, I started having problems with that too…)

– Does whatever data I have created/saved on the Netbook HDD (sda1) with Mint be overwritten when I install Antix?

These would be my first questions, thanks in anticipation for your help and patience!

Matt

P.S. I also have an old Toshiba Tecra DVD from 1995 (Windows XP) and – as an experiment – will play around with it after first experimenting with Antix + Asus… but that is another story…

I accept that Linux is not Windows... and possibly, Antix may be a different thing...
I accept I will need to invest some time
I accept I will never be an expert
I just want simple things to work 😉
I hope for your help and patience.

[Member Xecure]

Helpful

Up

1

::

Hi, @MattNewbie

The transition may be a bit difficult (as desktop options and menus may be totally different), but software wise you should be able to use the exact same programs (most of them at least).

MattNewbie wrote:

there is also data I have saved on the note-taking software “Gnote”

gnote is installable from the repos. Search it in synaptic or install in terminal
sudo apt install gnote

MattNewbie wrote:

– Does whatever data I have created/saved on the Netbook HDD (sda1) with Mint be overwritten when I install Antix?

If you manually partition and install antiX on a separate partition, you should still be able to access the Mint partition and its data from inside antiX.

The main difference between Mint an antiX is:
– Mint uses a Desktop environment (may be cinnamon, or a different one). antiX uses a Window Manager (very lightweight, but requires other programs to manage different aspects of the desktop (desktop icons are managed by one of the two main File Managers, ROX or Spacefm, the wallpaper is managed by a separate wallpaper program, fonts and gtk themes and icons can be changed using LXappearance, etc.).
– Many window manager options will require you to edit a text file (lik editing hotkeys, startup programs, toolbar and window options and dimensions, etc.), though icewm makes it easier by having most important options available from the menus (except hotkeys and startup options).
– The Control Centre is where you will find most of the programs you need to manage and change desktop and system specific options (keyboard layout, appearance, package manager, partition manager, etc.).
– You can either launch programs from the menus or from App Select.
– There is no “Software Center”, and the closest thing to it is the Package installer, which lists cherry-picked programs and makes them easy to install. Only some programs are available to install from here, and others will be available to search ad install from Synaptic Package Manager, or from the terminal (if you already know the package name).
– There is no “power manager” installed, so you can either install one (like xfce power manager), or use different terminal tools (like powertop or tlp) to manage them differently.
– antiX doesn’t include the pulseaudio sound daemon (though you can still install and configure yourself if needed). Most programs will work OK with ALSA (Advanced Linux audio server), so hopefully this is enough for you.

I cannot think of other things right now.

antiX is more a “do it yourself” distro, for people who want to have more control on their operating system but that want an ready and working environment. Things may be a bit different (as in not so user-friendly), but should outperform most other distributions in responsiveness and light on resources.

antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.

[Member ModdIt]

Helpful

Up

1

::

Hi Matt, will leave away the newbie tag as antiX is not so tough to learn.
Welcome to the global community of antiXia.

I came here from Mint Cinnamon, then Mate, moved to Manjaro XFCE, breaking on some updates
made me move on. I see no reason to move again, as with any software there will be occasional
problems, with patience and help here on the forum almost all can be fixed.

Once you have an installation there is plenty to explore, antiX is way more advanced than the
simplistic appearance suggests. Maybe the easiest manager for transitioning is ICEWM, I found
it that way nearly two years ago.

[Member MattNewbie]

Helpful

Up

0

::

Dear both,

after posting, I took the next step and went to the rufus site and downloaded both the standard and portable version. As I encountered my first issue there I came back to edit the post and saw that there were already two replies, impressive! Thanks!

I am so sorry I will need to test your patience some more… as I have no idea what to tick off in the rufus drop down boxes… I checked the FAQs but it’s like level 5 when I am at level 1 (if not 0… 😉 )

I enclose a screenshot from rufus (sorry it is in German but I guess you will know what the fields refer to, otherwise pls let me know and I will try and explain) and for you it will be like helping an old lady across the street…

@Xecure: thanks for pointing out the main differences Antix vs. Mint.
@Moddit: no problem with the tags, just hope they will save some effort if another beginner has similar issues.

Thanks again and hope you will have the patience to help me further.

Matt.

Attachments:

1. Rufus_Screenshot.odt

I accept that Linux is not Windows... and possibly, Antix may be a different thing...
I accept I will need to invest some time
I accept I will never be an expert
I just want simple things to work 😉
I hope for your help and patience.

[Member marcelocripe]

Helpful

Up

1

::

Hello MattNewbie.

Welcome to antiX Linux and the forum.

I don’t know how to write in English and I send my texts translated by the internet translator, I hope you can understand everything. If automatic translation into English is not fully understandable, automatic translation from Brazilian Portuguese to your language may have a better result.

The first suggestion I can give you for you not to give up, think about it, the hardest thing has happened, you have found people who have informed you about the existence of antiX, so you have already found the GNU/Linux distribution with the right community. It took me a lot of time to reach this estimable antiX community.

If you cannot prepare the USB device to receive the antiX ISO image with Rufus, try the Live AppImage USB Maker to prepare the USB device in Mint.

Watch the antiX installation process on Youtube, once you manage to install antiX on your hard drive, read the excellent tutorials created by @PPC:

Short essential how-to list for the complete Linux newbie and How-to install applications – 2020 version.

When you start a thread or participate with a post, remember to check the option “Notify me of follow-up replies via email”, by checking this option, you will receive a message in your email box whenever there are replies from the topic in question.

marcelocripe
(Original text in Brazilian Portuguese language)

– – – – –

Olá MattNewbie.

Seja bem-vindo ao antiX Linux e ao fórum.

Eu não sei escrever em idioma Inglês e envio os meus textos traduzidos pelo tradutor da internet, eu espero que você consiga compreender tudo. Caso a tradução automática para o idioma Inglês não seja totalmente compreensível, a tradução automática do idioma Português do Brasil para o seu idioma pode ter um resultado melhor.

A primeira sugestão que posso te dar para você não desistir, pense assim, o mais difícil já aconteceu, você encontrou pessoas que te informaram sobre a existência do antiX, então você já encontrou a distribuição GNU/Linux com a comunidade certa. Eu perdi muito tempo até conseguir chegar a esta estimável comunidade antiX.

Se você não conseguir preparar o dispositivo USB para receber a imagem ISO do antiX com o Rufus, tente o AppImage do Live USB Maker para preparar o dispositivo USB no Mint.

Assista no Youtube o processo de instalação do antiX, depois que você conseguir instalar o antiX no seu disco rígido, leia os excelentes tutoriais criados pelo @PPC:

Short essential how-to list for the complete Linux newbie e How-to install applications – 2020 version.

Quando você iniciar algum tópico ou participar com alguma postagem, lembre-se de marcar a opção “Notify me of follow-up replies via email”, marcando esta opção, você receberá uma mensagem na sua caixa de e-mail sempre que houver respostas do tópico em questão.

marcelocripe
(Texto original em idioma Português do Brasil)

[Member Xecure]

Helpful

Up

1

::

Last time I used Rufus was way back, so cannot remember. See if this video for MX Linux helps. Both antiX and MX Linux have the same live system, so making a rufus bootable USB should be the same.

antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.

[Member MattNewbie]

Helpful

Up

0

::

Dear Marcelo,

“Bom Dia” and thank you and I never used Internet translator so please receive my thanks in English (I guess you will get them translated back into Portuguese ;-)). I will certainly take some time to read the documents you advise.

Dear Xecure,

thanks for the video and it clarifies an important point: The MX/Antix iso image (I hope I am using the right terminology here 😉 ) has to be downloaded so to say “parallel” to rufus and it is the file that needs to be selected and which will be saved onto the USB. That’s for me a crucial point. I will then try this. Might take me a few days to give you some feedback.

Thank you both very much and have a nice week-end/Sunday!

Matt.

I accept that Linux is not Windows... and possibly, Antix may be a different thing...
I accept I will need to invest some time
I accept I will never be an expert
I just want simple things to work 😉
I hope for your help and patience.

[Member ModdIt]

Helpful

Up

1

::

Hi Matt,
the antiX ISO you will download is the complete image of an operating system.
Please check the download is ok, plenty of instructions in forum or net on how to do that
by comparing checksums.
Many failed installations are due to download errors, better check before creating a boot stick
than get frustrated later.

Before an installation and while running live I always do an update of the system then remaster.
In console sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade
The menu item for remaster is in the antix menu section, I hope your device can cope with that job ok,
if not just install then update afterwards.
Use a decent not too small capacity USB stick, it can be very useful later, when you have written a snapshot
of your own customised system to the stick. think of it as a backup which will run on both your and many other
computers, if needed you can reinstall with all your changes intact. One of many very useful features of antiX.

[Author]

Posts