Resetting PC without factory reset option.

[#1]

@AWB70  For information.  I have a Toshiba 12 inch laptop ( non removable keyboard) that also has touch screen, and I am running Linux Mint 20.1 Vera. (  + WINE 8.1)

I have just tested out the touch screen operation on a music video.  selecting "music video" icon on the desktop, then selecting the artiste... then selecting the track to open.  Using File>open with Celluloid. and hey presto, it plays the music video. No mouse. no Keyboard interaction needed. Volume control also works with touch screen action

So.... Yes... Linux can "play nicely" with a touch screen machine.

(not sure if ZORIN 16 will though.... might give that a try on a spare hdd sometime ! ) .

Also "shut down" procedure works using touch screen option. 

[#2]

Interesting, do all the other tablet touch gestures work? Swiping left on screen to go back in browser or pinching two fingers to zoom in and out?

@jab1 I've watched some youtube videos with varying success, mint did appear to be the least problematic but with my recent baptism by fire getting back into windows and setting up a new pc to be honest I'm all teched out at the minute suffering from information overload 😂

[#3]

@shutter Interesting - but I won't be trying it - not least because I haven't got touchscreen machine. 😀

@AWB70 Understood - switching to Linux had that effect on me.

[#4]

@AWB70 

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@AWB70 wrote:

Interesting, do all the other tablet touch gestures work? Swiping left on screen to go back in browser or pinching two fingers to zoom in and out?

I did manage to increase a pic size on screen using two fingers to zoom out, and found that it was also possible to use just one finger to do the same effect starting with the top right hand corner and swiping down across the centre of the pic towards the bottom left... I don`t use the touch screen in my usage..so not fully acquainted with all the correct gestures, Maybe there is a "Learning Curve with Linux Mint, as to which gestures work, and how they actually work on screen.

Double tapping on the icons on the lower task bar works the same as clicking with the mouse !

Will have a go at ZORIN tomorrow.

[#5]

Hi @AWB70
This: https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=336841
Indicates that Linux may work better than you feared.
Regards
Richard

[#6]

@RichardB Yeah that was the post I was reading about mint on.

@jab1 Steep learning curve indeed. At first with Linux I found things very difficult to the point I nearly gave up but that was in the early days when you had to make things work but I find these days most stuff like wifi etc seem to work right out the box. What I'm finding now back with windows is it's trying to do everything for everyone and doesn't appear to have any order that makes sense. For instance office 365, I can open certain apps numerous ways but depending on the subscription I have some I'm not allowed to use. I constantly find myself putting a file somewhere to edit it, saving it somewhere else then having to move it again so that it's in the cloud. And as for working within browser tabs, don't get me started about the amount of times I've shut the browser instead of the tab and had to open everything up again. 😂 

I am reserving judgement for now though only being 2 weeks in, maybe things will make sense at some point just like linux.

I was chatting with @shutter earlier about the time I swapped a hard drive from one linux computer to another barebones pc and it booted up and started working, this new windows system I have I had to search for the drivers for a bluetooth keyboard that came with it using an old usb keyboard I had lying about otherwise I wasn't even getting past login 😂

[#7]

Yep, @AWB70 , I understand Linux in the old days was a kind of 'build it yourself' thing, but as you say, it now works out-of-the box - almost, unlike Windows which from my limited experience of W10 when helping family members is designed to frustrate logic. Don't really know where MS are going with it, but rather than simplify its operation, they seem determined to frustrate.

[#8]

I'll stick in, not sure where I am career path speaking, been self employed for so long but I'm guessing if I was to spend the Autumn of my career working "somewhere" they aren't going to put a linux distro computer in just for me, plus, my family and friends all have Windows PC's so it wouldn't do any harm to actually learn again how it all works.

If nothing else it's interesting.  

[#9]

" Don't really know where MS are going with it, but rather than simplify its operation, they seem determined to frustrate."

In my opinion, from what I've see so far, it's a money making machine with teams of very bright programmers being pushed to create the very latest and brightest things to stay ahead of the game but nothing is joined up and they seem to come up with a new idea before they fix the old one.

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[#10]

I suspect that this machine requires all sorts of special drivers, which will be required if you go for a clean install.

There is also a possible issue with compatibility between any special drivers and newer versions of Win 10 unless they have been kept up to date.

[#11]

Looks like I'm stuck with what I've got unless Asus can maybe provide some sort of recovery image I can use. I'm pretty sure on my old computer somewhere I created a macrium image of just after a clean install and drivers added, I'll take a look tomorrow. 

In the meantime I think I'll throw some linux distros on a usb stick and run them from there, am I right in thinking that if there's functionality from a usb stick it should be there on install?

[#12]

@AWB70 
If Windows boots up then it should. Alternatively plug in the Linux USB, log into the BIOS if you can and see if there’s an option to boot from USB or even the memory card.

[#13]

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@AWB70 wrote:

In the meantime I think I'll throw some linux distros on a usb stick and run them from there, am I right in thinking that if there's functionality from a usb stick it should be there on install?

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If you are referring to Linux systems on a "Live USB" stick... yes. it functions as if it were actually installed on the HDD... However, unless you have specified a "persistence" level on the burn of the downloaded O.S. to the usb stick . you will lose any work you have done when the USB stick/machine is shut down.

If you have facility for a 2nd USB stick. it would be advisable to "save" any work to the 2nd usb stick as a back up.

[#14]

@AWB70  Further experimenting with ZORIN 16 CORE.

I installed a spare HDD into the Toshiba 12inch laptop. then installed ZORIN 16 CORE from a USB stick. using ONLY the touch screen.

All functioned well, and it is now fully installed on that HDD.

During the install procedures. It asks if you want to download updates during the install. I declined this option, as I wanted to find out the space used by ZORIN 16 CORE before any upadtes were applied.

here is the result using a 320 GB  HDD.

Partition 1.  537MB   - FAT  -  520MB free

Partition 2   320GB    -EXT4 - 304GB free

After doing the updates (which brings it up to date with version 16.2 ) and other smaller updates

Partition 1 537MB   - FAT - 520mb FREE

Partition 2 320GB   - EXT4 - 303GB free 5.2% full

 I also installed IRFANVIEW  [as a test] ( a windows software) for picture editing.   <  https://www.irfanview.com/   >

proving that you can run  *( some) Windows softwaren on **(some) Linux o.s.`s.

 * (some)  I put that in brackets because there are just a small number of softwares that will seem to install on Linux with WINE, but do not actually run... for these programs, I use VirtualBox with the extension and run an old version of Windows 7 Professional on that.  ( I actually only have one program on the VB)  other Windows failures have been replaced with Linux equivalents from the very extensive "Software Manager"

VirtualBox use is much easier and more convenient than Dual Booting, and  having to shut down, restart, use Windows, shut down, restart, to continue. Virtual box is available on an Icon on the task bar or via an icon on the desktop, so works without  the need for shutting down and re-booting.

**(some)  -  I cannot vouch for ALL Linux distros ! ! ..

[#15]

@shutter so how were you formatting that bud, did you have a swap file?

So am I right in thinking it's using 17gig when fully updated with out swap? If I formatted say 512mb swap, and 20gig / that should leave about 11.5 gig Home and that's if I wipe the disc area that possibly still contains the recovery stuff that I can no longer access. 

Currently the W10 installation is taking up 25gig but 2gig of that appears to be locked in to 2gig of windows updates that won't delete (possibly reserved) leaving me 7gig for files. I also have the 64gig memory card inserted ofc for extra storage which I keep portable libre office, Tor and gimp on  but it reads and writes very slow.

I suppose the beauty of the w10 installation is I can keep all the files and folders personal and work in onedrive and just pull them down on demand, nothing I couldn't replicate using just the browser ofc so essentially as long as the w10 installation doesn't grow much more it is manageable.

This obviously is going to fall flat on its a@se if I ever come unstuck and can't recover in w10 so I will need a plan B. For now it is what it is |I suppose, a surfing tablet I could do a bit of typing on and handy for reading ebooks in bed.

Further reading, I came across a lot of stuff about the 1809 update where it wasn't playing nice on some people's machines but windows made it impossible to roll any further back, I'm wondering if maybe that's why my recovery option stopped working, that being the case at least give me my disc space back 😂