zaterdag 30 juni 2012

Linux Mint 13 “Maya” Xfce RC released!

The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 13 Xfce RC.

Linux Mint 13 Xfce
New features at a glance:
For a complete overview and to see screenshots of the new features, visit: “What’s new in Linux Mint 13 Xfce“.
Important info:
  • mintMenu in Xfce
  • Xfwm margins
  • Xfce trash in live mode
  • Boot hangs on systems with b43 wireless cards
  • Moonlight
Make sure to read the “Release Notes” to be aware of important info or known issues related to this release.
System requirements:
  • x86 processor (for both 32 & 64-bit versions)
  • x86_64 compatible processor (for the 64-bit version)
  • 256 MB of system memory (RAM)
  • 5 GB of disk space for installation
  • Graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution
  • CD-ROM drive or USB port
Download:
Md5 sum:
  • 32-bit: e837b79e7f6c2550fd4d74c7d241b2d0
  • 64-bit: 2789901ecc92e03cf2bfc974a68ce978
Torrents:
HTTP Mirrors for the 32-bit DVD ISO:
HTTP Mirrors for the 64-bit DVD ISO:
Enjoy!
We look forward to receiving your feedback. Thank you for using Linux Mint and have a lot of fun testing the release candidate!

zondag 10 juni 2012

Mint install from usb

If you want to try MINT on your computer without modifying anything to the already installed system, you can use the Live CD/DVD images that Linux Mint uses to distribute its is version of Linux. Live_CD . As the inclusion of cd/dvd drives in lots of computers have been discontinued, eg netbooks etc It makes sense to use a flash/usb drive instead of the cd.
If you want to have certain features retained between reboots then you need to look at persistence.
This is what makes using a live image far more useful the most users, it allows you to keep your bookmarks and documents and to some degree install new programs that will be saved between boots. Persistence must be saved to a flash or hard drive so why not do away with the live cd and have have the USB load the iso image and automatically load the settings from the persistence file.
You'll need your live USB to install Mint on some of the other howto's on this site.
Form windows you need to download the ISO file of your choice form http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
Then to write the iso to your flash drive download
From Linux Mint follow this supplement
1. http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
OR
2. http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multiboot-usb-creator/
For this tutorial we will use UNETBOOTIN
Plug in your usb remember to back up anything you need to keep. Find the USB drive and make a note of the drive letter. find
 
Right click and and format the drive, are you sure you have the correct usb drive. format
 
Are you ready to format drive - last chance - make sure its the right one. are you sure
 
Once the format is complete start Unetbootin, you will see there are several options; but it is quite simple to use.
unetbootin
 
1st Make sure you have the correct usb drive selected it will automatically try to select any plugged in usb/flash drives.

2nd Chose the iso use want to use – here we are using the smaller version (no codecs or libre office etc) of mint for this tutorial that you should have previously downloaded.

3rd Add persistence, remember 1000mb = 1 Gigabyte, the larger size of persistence file the longer it will take to make the file. You should make a minimum size of 1000 mb or larger for normal day to day use.
 
Obviously this depends on the size of flash stick you are using.
 
Once you are happy with your choices press OK to start the writing process.
setup unet
 

Making the usb , copying the files from the iso to the usb.

making
Making the usb, making the required files and adding persistence this make take some time.
make
Ready to try
ready
Mint 11 live desktop, here you can see that we are installing from this live usb to a harddisk.
Mint 11 live desktop

This is a  LXDE edition of the Mint 12 Live desktop that uses the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (LXDE)


Mint 12 live desktop Mint 12 live desktop
 
After you have your livecd setup with new wallpapers, bookmarks and such its a good idea to back up the casper-rw file from your usb stick. If you keep this backup relatively up to date and you have problems booting from the stick, delete the casper-rw file and check weather the stick will boot, if it does copy the backup onto the stick and you have your system up and running in no time.
 
 
If you have to remake the Live USB just make a small persistence file then overwrite with the backup.
livecd
There is a good write up of persistence at what-is-persistent-linux