Linux & Windows maintenance

Created; 14/12/2013, Changed; 02/04/2025 – 03/04/2025

Back to; Windows and Linux operating systems

There is a choice of Linux desktops that are smart or plain that is fairly straightforward to use;  

Windows 10 is now mature and runs nicely but is cluttered with programmes, toys, games and tries to be helpful, so it is necessary to second-guess what might be happening or what the problem is.  By comparison Linux distributions, and Windows 7 are comparatively predictable.  Unfortunately, Windows 7 and 10 programs are not supported or soon will cease to run, though both OS's receive security updates.  Of the web access programs, Firefox and Thunderbird will continue to run for a few more years yet and MegaSync and Dropbox might continue longer, though Google programs are generally the first to stop running long before the security updates cease. 

A teaspoon of sugar in your coffee cost 0.44p or one hour laptop plugged in electricity usage. 

Plugging in when using an electronic device to reduce battery ageing.  There is no easy way to look after a lithium battery pack, cycling it and keeping it fully charged to the higher voltage, manufactures of the pack usually chose both introduce ageing. 

At an electricity cost of up to 27p/kWh (Ofgem, March 2025).  Probably 0.5p/Hr. for a laptop that is running at 50% power, 20W.  And 1p/hr. for the first hour or so if the battery is also charging. 

Hana Restaurant in Southborough opened unfortunately at the first day of COVID lockdowns and closed finally 30 months later August 2022. 

I visited this and many other places plugged in my laptop and either, did work off-line or used Wi-Fi.  But this was one of the best for food and tea for miles. 

I learnt that the key thing was to put boiling water on the leaf or flower petal tea, discard the water, then put more boiling water on the tea.  The tea was lovely, say chrysanthemum, not bitter like most places serve it.  Thank you, Sabrina, for explaining! 

Shutdown or put the laptop into hibernation before you move it if it uses a Hard Disk.  That is so that the hard disk is properly parked before moving it.

USB charger and high power 3m USB-C cable. 

I found USB charging is usually good but can be poor with some PC USB ports.  I suspect it depends on the port's output voltage, 5V +-10%.

Battery safety - even brand-new iPhone's batteries overheat, expand and break the screen.  But you can take the battery out and use the laptop on mains only. 

Laptop battery charge status display can be read from the battery pack, but often it is a separate estimate made by the operating system and is a bit wrong, though evidently the hardware is managing the battery pack properly. 

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Installation of a Linux desktop





Debian and Ubuntu Repositories are used by many Linux distributions. 

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Ubuntu is one of the easiest Operating Systems to install;

Secure boot or legacy bios PC; 

A Secure Boot type of PC can be difficult to install or clone an operating system to; 

More detail see; Secure boot PC 

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RECOMMENDATION TO GET THE BEST FROM YOUR HARD DISK; S.M.A.R.T settings in DISKS;

Linux Distributions and Live CDs may have partition and SMART tools;

Disks and Gparted provided on Ubuntu Live CD for example and other tools provided on an MX Live CD. 

If you need to use the installation advanced configuration;

Ubuntu and most other Linux distributions including by default use one or two partitions, that is swap partition is not always included;

    Mounting point /

    + Swap

If you are using an SSD, then use the manual or advance setting to prevent a swap partition being created.

There may be options on how many partitions with some Linux's.  You don't need to be concerned with those options.

Lubuntu by default uses one partition, and you can add a swap partition at installation time or add and configure it to be turned on subsequently. 

Swap space is also used for hibernation, and in that case more than the available DRAM should be allocated.  But swap space should not be included if an SSD is used*.  See the distribution's wiki for swap space required for hibernation to function.  It has become a complicated process to enable hibernation in some Linux's. 

* Different advice on the Web sounds more plausible, have Swap space on an SSD if you need Hibernation.  Extra wear warning is not a serious issue, I read. 

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Subsequent modifications can be made to use swap spaces but on other hard disks in order to make operation a little faster.  After installing multiple Linux's it is useful to review the swap partitions used in any case, for example, some Linuxes do not set up any swap partitions but on a slow PC, it is very worthwhile to set them up.  Debian recreates swap partitions it finds and thereby they become unavailable to other Linuxes installed, but those other Linuxes can be configured again to use the swap partition(s).

The computer freezes and has been switched off and on again.

Windows fix from the 1980s - turn it off and on again and hope it's okay when you turn it on. 

All desktop operating systems freeze periodically.  Consequently, operating systems, recover quite well from being switched off and on again, but you then need to take some measures to fix them.  Linux takes care of this, and newer versions of Windows 10 now also takes care of these things automatically.  Take any action recommended.

Windows 7 or when using a new HD or SSD to you.  Run Check Disk (best with the first option set, but occasionally with both options set in Windows 7).  If Windows starts and gives you an option to start in safe mode, you can let it do that then restart the computer normally is usually adequate. 

Try to quit the slow or frozen task, or simply close the task from the toolbar.  Usually right click and select the task and close. 

If necessary on Windows, pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete works well.  Select the task manger, then cancel the tasks you wish to.  

Or, Window's short power button press, and then closing tasks. 

Cancelled tasks will not close in a tidy way, so your work won't be saved. 

A short push of the power button is the last resort and is safe.  But a Long push for a forced power off is often unavoidable but leaves some things broken.  The system will, when next switched on, then usually repair by restoring older or initial settings as necessary.

If necessary, on Linux, pressing Ctrl-Alt-Backspace or Ctrl-Alt-Delete might work, though I have not found these to work.  Right-click the toolbar item and select close, usually does not work either.  There is no good equivalent to Windows Ctrl-Alt-Delete. 

In the unlikely event that the computer, fails to start; 


When I save my work I also make a copy of the file so if the current version becomes broken, or I messed it up, I can go back to a known older version rather than use an automatically backed up version that I am less sure about what I had been doing at the time.  That is, I keep three or four back-ups, which are better because I know that I have stopped at a convenient point and made them. 

A particularly old PC

Generally, adding memory speeds up an operating system a lot, particularly increasing from 1 GB to 2 GB, 2 GB to 4 GB (64bit OS) of DDR. 

Windows 10 is particularly improved in speed running on a solid state drive (SSD) with a PC that has a fast SATA interface, which most are.  SSDs are well-supported by Ubuntu and some other Linuxes.  I believe the SSD manufactures provide support, utilities for old Windows versions that do not support SSD's?

A legacy boot Windows 10 can be cloned to an SSD from a conventional HD, then the drivers will update so that the defragment utility becomes TRIM required for the SSD.  The Ubuntu and Mageia Linuxes take care of SSD's TRIM automatically, but it used to be necessary to run TRIM weekly with other operating systems.

Now all current operating systems take care of the SSD automatically. (Jan 2024). 

The Toshiba T1350 laptop pictured, has a very new at the time, about 2005, SATA interface and a hard disk.  Unlike computers which are a year or two newer than this, the hard disk interface is not much faster than an IDE interface, although the computer is fast and well-made.  Picture taken in 2023 fully working except for two keys on the keyboard that have stopped working but slow partly due to reduced air ventilation quality. 

An even older PC are more difficult to install an operating system on -

This entry is old and many of the steps may not be possible now.

Example; Sony Vaio PCG-GRT996ZP - Was a heavy Laptop that requires a high power 120W power supply, but was very well-made and particularly fast for its time.  It was taken out of support in 2020 only a decade after the last one was made.  Consequently, the BIOS can not be updated, and Windows drivers have been withdrawn from Windows update and the Sony website.  32bit up to 2G DDR1, but probably 256M to 1G, and IDE hard disk interface.

I don't have this laptop now, the DVD was failing, and eventually the screen went blank.  It was particularly fast for its age, with 1.5G DDR (they were two different sized DDR modules, but it worked, unusually), to ran Windows 7 and most Linuxes.  The advantage of using Linux is that you will have a brightness control, otherwise the screen is too bright, but a brightness control maybe at; settings - system.  There are driver websites which have most drivers, but be careful they are scattered with false links to click as well as their own good drivers.  Therefore, brightness control can be fixed on Windows. 

An issue with another Sony Vaio with withdrawn drivers is that Windows 10 hibernation does not work, the laptop gets warmer, and the disk activity light keep flashing.  With Windows 10, I can not see missing drivers and I have not used any of these websites to find a replacement, and even so the laptop works well enough without doing that. 


I've used these and others successfully for Windows and Android; 

https://www.drivers.com/ 

https://www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php/ 

https://driver-booster.en.uptodown.com/windows/ 

http://www.oldversion.com/ 

Linux Kernel's up to 3.x.x will run on this laptop, but Kernel 4.x.x causes a failure at startup and mentions APIC timer 8254?  There is a fix, that requires adding "noapic" to the Grub configuration file kernel line to work around the problem with APIC that the kernel reports.   I have carried out this fix, but it may be difficult if the configuration file is rewritten so that there could be virtually no way of starting Linux and editing the file again if it is not possible to fall back and use kernel 3.xx? If the boot screen offers Grub edit "E" you can change the configuration this one time then change the configuration file using Terminal when Linux is running to make the change more permanent.

This example might help where you don't have Mageia or other Linux with tools for configuring the Example of editing the Grub Configuration file

The commands in terminal, root terminal or other Linux terminal are similar to UNIX commands I understand but less similar to DOS commands.  Commands must be in lower case with a space between the command the options, operators and names are case-sensitive;

cd \ -- To change the directory, go down a directory level.  But Windows/DOS "cd\" also works.

dir -- Display directory.

su -- To enter root terminal in some cases.   To do root level things that could stop the Linux working.  Some desktop terminals do not allow the su command to be used.

sudo - command line with switches and operators - -- To operate in root (administrator) mode for one command is required instead in some cases.

Mageia distribution allows you to set "noapic" in the grub boot setup tool, but you have to be able to start the distribution running to use the tool, which should be easy enough if you install an old enough version of Mageia in the first place which is not necessarily so easy to upgrade from?

Puppy installation, grub edit detail above should help with changing kernel switches settings. I doubt that this is the best way, or if it will work, to add an option to the kernel, which is the line with "vmlinuz" in it.

This laptop does not boot from a USB port and only support a small USB memory stick, I think up to 2G?  I used net install USB using a Windows utility called Plop 5.15 https://www.plop.at/  which made it possible to boot and install from a small USB stick.  The add to Windows boot menu variant does not work well enough to run a USB Linux installer, so I believe, it was a number of years ago, I used to add to MBR variant.   I could have burnt a CD or DVD, perhaps with a net or the full installer for one of the distributions. 

Starting from an old version of Linux that has the features you need in order to get started, then updating to the current version of that distribution, will require some reading of the Wiki.  Debian, Mate, Mageia and Ubuntu probably will support that, but not all distributions will.

If you make a Debian 8 or Mint Mate 14.1 USB installer, there is an Installation or Mint program in the root of the USB that may allow you to install that distribution from Windows.  A boot installs Linux option is added to a Windows startup menu.

See Grub Rescue

Installation of a Puppy Linux is different to other Linuxes. 

GParted Linux tool; BIOS and MBR (DOS) partitioning.  The BIOS, Windows 7 to 10 configuration with Linux installed.  Linux installed on the extended partition can do very little work on other partitions, but you can use a Linux installation or repair media can carry out resizing and partition moving.

I have given some of the partitions a label. You can set up all the work you want to carry out on your Disks and USB sticks, then press the green tick to proceed.  It will then proceed to resize, copy, check as you defined, but it may or may not stop if errors occur. 

Do ensure that the boot flag is set on the Windows system partition.

If you want a second Windows on this Hard disk, it could be placed in the extended partition, run Windows repair media - start up repair. 

In this case, only three or four partitions are required, so using an extended partition could have been avoided. 

Ensure that the partitions are numbered consecutively by placing them consecutively, or else Windows is likely to delete some of them arbitrarily.  In addition, by adding temporary partitions, to ensure the extended partition is No. 4 will make partition work later is easier.  In any case, Windows Disk Manager is likely to delete any or all partitions, it is a poor tool to use. 

Windows Disk Manager shrink Windows partition tool seems to be the only tool that will do that reliably, though.  That is because it will not try to shrink a Windows partition that it can't handle easily. 

GPT partitioning.  I am changing a partition label or name.  

I will press Apply when I have completed the list of things for GParted to do. 

Most of the partition names have already been set by the system.  But you can see that I have used GParted to add a label and name to the Linux partition. 

Note that there are more fields when GPT partitioning is used.

Cloning and Boot Repair

Legacy boot is fairly straightforward, but secure boot is difficult or not possible with either Windows or Linux.  I have already discussed this, see Secure Boot and Edit the Grub configuration file 

It is possible to clone legacy boot Windows 7, 10 and Linux to an SSD or Hard disk. 

It is also possible to clone Linux to any drive, whatever boot mode and partition mode is set. 

Finally, enable swap, and the operating systems will update drivers, or you may need to do that. 

UEFI Boot - here is a video I found, I don't know if this works;

Here is another on Legacy Boot PC and Windows 11, once again I do not know if these are helpful; https://www.aomeitech.com/cyber-data-backup/install-windows-11-on-legacy-mode-ac.html The site warns that at some point, Windows 11 it could malfunction with this modification.  

Other than being curious, I will be wary of this solution. 

Grub Rescue  

This helped, see; https://askubuntu.com/questions/232215/stuck-in-grub-rescue-mode Which I have copied below, but I did not use step 4, but it also works.

1. Command: 

ls

It will list all your drives and partitions, like:

 (hd0) (hd0,msdos2) (hd0,msdos1)

2. If you don't know your Ubuntu boot partition, check them one by one: 

ls (hd0,msdos2)/

ls (hd0,msdos1)/ When you hit the right one, you'll get a line mentioning lost+found, more importantly, boot, and so on.

3. Assuming (hd0,msdos2) is the right partition: 

set prefix=(hd0,2)/boot/grub

set root=(hd0,2)

insmod normal

normal

4. Now you'll be able to boot into which Linux. Once you do, execute the following terminal commands: 

Note the commands are as below for Ubuntu, but for Debian preceded the command with "su -" in order to enter the root terminal.  You then do not begin "sudo" for each line.

sudo update-grub

sudo grub-install /dev/sda

5. Extra step if necessary, take care - Edit the boot/grub/*.cfg file to add "noapic".  I have not carried out this, but you need to use the root terminal or terminal logged in as an admin or sudo command using a text editor such as gedit.

You might be able to carry out the grub repair using Terminal in a Live USB.  You can also use Gparted on the Live disk to copy partitions, resize them and configure boot as described above.  Depending on the PCs, boot will permit.

Take care with Windows partitioning tools both those with Windows and third-party Windows tools may delete Linux or Windows partitions, but Linux GParted is much safer to use by comparison.  Just use the Windows tools to resize a partition but not create or delete partitions, particularly if you have any Linux partitions on your hard disk.  Some of the Windows third-party tools are more careful with Linux Partitions, can copy but not paste any partition type safely?  So if you need to clone a Linux least risk is to clone to an otherwise empty USB stick then use GParted to clone to the target PC.

If you do lose a Linux partition where Grub boots from and there is not another Linux to recover, see above, then there is nothing that Grub can boot.  So here is how to get back to Windows boot by restoring the MBR; https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/news/win7-windows-7-mbr,10036.html But do use gparted, such as from the boot repair, disk or Linux installation disk to ensure that the boot flag is marked on the boot partition usually the first partition before using the Windows install or recovery disk.

 Easy way to install missing drivers on Debian or any other distribution;  

An alternative, better way to install missing drivers with Debian; 

Instead of (3) above - Read the Debian, Ubuntu or other Wiki but use Synaptic package manager search to find and mark, then install the driver.

Signup to the distributions' forum, then look for an answer and if necessary ask a question. 

Not all start-up warnings or errors can or need to be resolved;

IBM 206M Server used as a desktop; 

- BIOS gives a warning when a sound card is fitted, but the Sound blaster card works fine.  This error comes from the bios before the operating system has started.

- Linux Kernel gives a warning at startup about no ACIP with newer Linux Kernels such as 4.xx or higher, this can be resolved by adding an option in the Grub configuration file or by selecting and running an older Linux Kernel.  This occurs during the operating system boot, but Linux runs okay despite the warning. 

In the case of an old Sony Vaio Laptop;

- Linux Kernel gives an error at startup about no APIC with newer Linux Kernels, this can be resolved by adding an option in the Grub configuration file "NOAPIC" or running an older kernel as I said before.  This occurs during the operating system boot to Linux, then the computer crashes.  Mageia allows you to add NOAPIC to the GRUB configuration file from control panel, but I have not done this. 

Editing the GRUB configuration file - remember the last used OS;

I do not know how to edit the GRUB configuration file to add NOAPIC?  But this is how to edit a Debian GRUB configuration file so that the computer remembers the last boot operating system used.  This is useful with Windows, which often needs to restart in order to complete updates.  There are differences for Debian to the Ubuntu version link;

Note;

Start terminal

enter; sudo gedit admin:///etc/default/grub # "admin:/" does not seem to be required?

Enter your password and change the lines to read so that one line is commented out, and two lines added, plus I chose to add a blank line;

# GRUB_DEFAULT=0  # Remember last choice

GRUB_DEFAULT=saved

GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true

With Debian 12 you will need to add by uncommenting the line;
  GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER = false

Save and close the file and gedit. Then 

You are still in root terminal, so you do not need to enter; su - and your password. 

Enter; sudo update-grub # This line is also useful after cloning an OS to your HDD so that the added OS is included in the boot list and can be used the next time that the computer is started up. 

Click close on the terminal window. Or;

Exit

Exit 

Restart your PC to test the change and have boot repair disk handy in case it has not worked, Alternatively see above to repair grub manually.

Linux sucks says Linus Torvalds in 2014

The comments Linus made would be relevant at the time, but not necessarily now!  The point though is to show how Linus Torvalds has led this big Linux kernel project successfully.  Linux Kernel is now quite large at over 70 MB (3.xx) but it includes a lot of drivers for various hardware. 

Debian often leads the way as well as releasing well tested Linux Distributions and has great repositories of drivers and programs.  And is a major supporter for Linux.

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After Installation

Debian and Mageia Installations

Both Linuxes are quite different, but both can repair grub bootloader without your need to re-install the Linux.  They may do that repair when a Linux Boot-repair-disk fails to do that.

Mageia installer also has a tool for restoring the Windows only Boot.  Boot repair USB can also restore Windows boot.

It is necessary to disable the installation from CD-path from update libraries.  With Mageia, you then need to press Add, which starts an automatic process that sets up update libraries for you.

Additionally, Debian look at the website at the repository's necessary and add those, including the non-free repositories.  Look at an existing repository to see how the advice in the Debian Wiki is applied, the single line URL is really entered as;

 URL space DISTRIBUTION space ALL-ELSE 

These are entered in the three boxes provided by the GUI.  After I did, there was a duplication, that can be disabled or removed.

Do lookup and if necessary ask for help in a Linux forum or Facebook group. 

How to speed up Ubuntu and other Debian or Ubuntu-based distributions 

I had noticed lots of disc activity, which turned out to be because the swap partition had not been set up.  The swap space makes the computer run faster, if it is running on a conventional hard disk.  If you install more than one Linux, you only need one swap partition, so you can delete other swap partitions and re-size the remaining partitions.  Doing this, you will find that the swap partition needs to be enabled.  It might seem like a good idea to run a swap partition for each Linux, so that you can put one Linux into hibernation and use another, but you will find that Grub will not handle wake up from hibernation in this case.

Over the years, these adjustments have become less important as PCs have got faster.

See Ubuntu help at;

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwapFaq#How_do_I_add_more_swap.

You don't need to use Terminal to launch GParted.  But you may need to install GParted and a few other things first, then launch GParted.  You can turn the swap on at this point to make the computer go faster, whilst you follow the other steps that will ensure swap is enabled when you subsequently start up Linux. 

You may find that your particular distribution does not have all the things and these needed to be installed, which are in addition, these things have changed over the years;

Note - as before;

In addition, the recommended changes to swappiness value to 10 was beneficial, but I have not used this setting change for many years.

When installing any Linux, you may not need an internet connection, but a wired or a Wi-Fi connection to ensure important drivers are installed even if you chose to not install the updates at the time of installation is a good plan.

Ubuntu community forum for help is particularly useful for Ubuntu-based distributions.  You find some general help will be useful for any Debian based distribution.  But don't count on finding help on any Linux distribution unless the question and answer are very general. 

Surveillance and security;

We are, of course, not immune from government surveillance I read, in the 1980s, about a secret surveillance circuit being required to be built into US designed Large Scale Integrated Circuits (digital).  But it is said of Linux, "that it is not US-based but a community-driven project which has no base in a certain country".  The Linux Kernel is governed by the Linux Foundation which is US-based, but the key thing is that it is open source and that there is nothing hidden inside it, the tools that create it can also be Linux and open to scrutiny (that is if it is compiled from source code not linked from object code). 

That does not address the surveillance by US or any other country build into the LSI.  Though there is so much internet activity now and people also talk about third parties who may not be internet enable that more than enough is known about everyone.  But how much of the government surveillance works and don't know, but I am sure that private surveillance for commercial benefit does work and that informal standards partly determined by the EU, for example, has been able to moderate it.

Installation options

Most Linux desktop providers provide Live CDs, these allow you to try that Linux without committing to installing it on your PC.  Some also provide Persistence, if you use a memory stick.  Persistence allows you to set up and retain a limited amount of things (settings and Installations) after shutting down so that you can continue evaluating them another time.  Another option is to run the distribution in a virtual machine running on Windows or Linux, but the PC needs to be fast to do this.  I recommend using a live CD or USB you don't need the persistence option, although persistence adds more function.  Using a virtual machine such as Virtual Box is good if you want to run two operating systems concurrently, but it makes the PC slow.

Installation media creation tools;

Rufus works on Windows and does restore a USB stick quite well, I have not used the persistence option with this tool.  This seems to be the best Windows tool, is recommended by Mageia, and it is particularly good at erasing and recovering a badly formatted memory stick.  Rufus can make the USB boot in various DOS, Linux and other bootable ways, you need the ISO image usually. 

Here are some Windows tools for creating a live CD USB memory stick with persistence; 

http://www.linuxliveusb.com/  

http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ 

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/

Be careful with these universal tools, they provide more features but do not work with all distributions.  You may find that some distributions of Linux don't work for you in any case.  Many distributions of Linux did not use to display properly during installation, but the installation turned okay.

The straight no features USB creation tools such as;

ImageWriter is most likely to work.  Many of these tools are unable or don't always prepare a previously used USB stick, such as by erasing or format satisfactory first.  When you have Linux running, you can somewhat recover a memory stick with tools provided within Linux.  But also use the Windows tools, format, and Check Disk. 

Microsoft has always over done its helpfulness to the point you have to second guess what might be happening and deal with that instead.  This joke was probably created for Windows 3.1. 

I have also found Windows OneDrive difficult because it can start backing up things that you don't want it to update.  The setting up has got easily, and you can stop or avoid this action.  You can now uninstall OneDrive, once this action has been stopped in every instance the last step is to delete the copied directories from OneDrive. 

 Reinstalling an old version of Windows from any service pack CD version.

The reasons for running Windows, as well as Linux, is; 

Windows 2000 - I believe you need to do the following; 

- The upgrade to the highest service patch, SP4, then apply it, you need the full off-line update.  Update Internet Explorer to the highest Win2000 permits, which is; IE6 must be the full off-line installation (this does not seem to be possible now).  Then allow Windows update to automatically apply security fixes and updates (this also does not seem to be possible now - although the Microsoft website says this is possible in July 2016).  There may be other things such as installing DirectX 9 you need to add?  You will find that the highest version of Firefox is 11 that will run on Windows 2000, this is not suitable for web browsing.

Windows XP - became end-of-life in 2014, but it has not been possible to activate it since about the summer of 2021, so now it will only run for a month after installation.  Prior to this time;

Microsoft Essentials (virus scanner) - continued updating in June 2017.  Microsoft malicious virus removal tool also stopped being updated.  There may be others virus scanners that support XP that you pay or are free that still support XP. - alternatively don't web-browser or use a Linux or other Proxy-server with virus protection (I am advised and observe that companies have been doing this for years rather than patch XP and run virus protection on XP that would slow it down severely when running mechanical CAD particularly).

Install the highest version of Java 7.75, which needed to be done manually.  It turned out that Java 8.121 was the highest version that ran on XP up to the release of about January 2017 at least and continued to update till Jan 2019.  But be careful using software on operating systems that it is not designed for, you can find some features do not work - I found with CADSTAR 15 which some parts work on XP other parts don't.


Windows 7, SP1 or higher - Does not stop working, but may start nagging for authentication or activation.  Windows 7 or higher may therefore continue to run without a periodic authentication to arise even beyond its end-of-life period?  Similarly, as Windows NT or earlier continues to run?  Although Windows 7 and Security Essential are at their end of life, but are still receiving updates in January 2024. 

I plan to install a free version of Panda security once Microsoft Security Essentials stops getting updates.  There are other free, and pay for Anti-virus software, but I have found Panda the least intrusive. 

Windows 10 - 1709 or 1803

Many PCs don't support secure boot well but have had their hard disks replaced with SSDs are faster will run Linux and Windows 10 - 22H2 for a long time if that remains possible. 

March 2025 everything is running but the first warnings of end of support have been received.

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Before Windows 95 or 98 and NT4, Windows was a utility that ran on a PC running DOS or IBM DOS, in any case that is how Windows 3.1 and GEM before it worked.  You could copy those to another PC, and it received updates from new software installed, and there were a number of makers of office environment software including a set based on WordStar, I believe was StarOffice that had a Word processor, mail merge database, maths and a spreadsheet, plus disk file managing tools for CP/M or DOS.  It is unlikely that DOS3.3 to 6.22 or CP/M, will run on any modern PC?  It is also unlikely that an old IDE disk (10-100MB) will run on a PC with a modern IDE interfaces unless the PC was made in 20th century?

Word Perfect 6.x and others were quite good compared to Word, but people chose Word because it was a cheap Microsoft product regardless of its price.  But Windows printed much more slowly to dot matrix printers than the older DOS programs did. 

There are no issues in installing DOS and then copying one of these older Utilities, other than whether the drivers, the PC, floppy disks and CDs still work.  The DOS software that is licensed to a network card or a parallel port dongol is likely to be difficult to move and use on newer PCs.

In the 1970s more bigger companies started using minicomputers, in the late 1970s individuals and small companies started using computers as well. 

From 1976 there was a large and grow range of home and small computers. 

In about 1978 Home computers started up running BASIC and were programmed using the keyboard, tape, and Business computers ran an operating system loaded from two floppy disks and sometimes a hard disk.  Computers and home-Computer archive

Partition changing; (April 2017)

I trialled Windows 8 in April 2017 but found that inserting a Windows XP drive then using Linux tools to use GRUB to multi-OS boot seemed to worked okay.  BUT Windows 8 disk maintenance tools then automatically corrupted Windows XP and itself Windows 8.  I tested this again and the corruption which I think may be to change the permissions of very many files happened again.  The corruption of Windows has not occurred with Windows 7 (May - September 2017) 

Multiboot;-  example grub menu (Grand Unified Linux Bootloader). 

Windows 10 and Debian on the first disk. 

Windows 7 and Lubuntu on the second disk. 

* It is not essential to update Windows at first, but in that case it will very occasionally be necessary to remove the first hard disks in order to complete an update of the second Windows, on the second hard disk. 

The boot menu should list at least all the possible operating systems, whether one or both hard disks are fitted; 

In due course, it is likely that Windows 10 update will add Windows 7 to be listed in the boot options.  As long as the Windows 10 hard disk is the earliest disk in the system, then this is a good way to start up either Windows and allow some updates to complete. 

Note; cable swap, or use bios boot order switch, if you launch the wrong Windows loader from the grub menu, don't let it repair. 

You should not expect to need to use Linux boot repair USB subsequently. 

Repair Tools

Open source revolution (new name for a very old idea) - has spread out of software, perhaps since the fall of the former Soviet Union the idea that mutual benefit rather than self-interest brutal in tooth and claw (Victorian values or neo-Darwinism) works better.  See; The Guardian Open-source-revolution-conquer-one-percent-cia-spy 

Optional Tools that I have ready in order to prepare for trying Linux with the least risk;

If you are going to resize a Windows partition, using the Microsoft disk management tools, if your version of Windows has them, be careful.  Microsoft apparently does not publish all the details on NTFS, so you would expect Microsoft tools will be faster and safer, but the Linux tools are very safe and also a lot more careful about what they do but are slower.  The partitions need to be numbered in order 0, 1, 2, 3 ... one of these 3 is best then the extended partitions in order 4, 5, 6, ..... but it is better with GPT partitions rather than MBR partitions which it does not let you see and therefore move an extended partition.  Windows Microsoft tools easily loose partitions. 

Linux Gpart and Gparted has a very plain straightforward GUI to use, and the user is very unlikely to make a mistake defining what they want to change, copy or create in the queue of partition jobs they set up.  The tool will just get on with it when you press Apply - it will stop gracefully on an error or by command.  But if you want to work on the Linux and Windows partition, Paragon 14 or 16 for Windows is also good and there is a free version.  A good additional step is to set Windows to check and repair the partitions on the next startup - then use Linux Gparted - finally when Windows is next booted the partition will be fixed and Windows should start without issue.  All partition managing tools carry risks with using them, but don't expect any issues to arrive with Gparted unless the HD is really broken.


 Quick Grub repair using Grub commands

If Boot Repair USB does not sort the choice and startup of all the operating systems available on the PC, which it usually does sort, then there may be a utility on your Linux installation USB to fix it?  Selecting a variant of Linux, the computer Desktop (Graphical User Interface) you select;

I got very stuck with restoring Windows 7 boot.  XP can be fiddly, but I have always sorted it in the end if it is possible.  I had a link to advice on Grub, but it does not work now.  If you ask on a Windows discussion group you may be recommended to EasyBCD (BCD is not a format GRUB or Linux recognises, as of Jan 2018) it is different not better than GRUB and I would not recommend that tool.  If you are having problems with Boot Repair or the Linux installation, USB probably will fix it - if one does not, the other may. 

It is better to install Windows to carry out update to a "higher" Windows before installing any Linux;

Paragon Windows utility the paid for version is as flexible as Gparted, Linux utility. 

The free version of this tool does not support coping a partition.  It will resize Linux or Windows partitions, it is unlikely to break them. 

In addition, when paragon moves Windows partitions, it also corrects the Windows bootloader after moving the partition.  That is, unlike gparted you won't need to run Windows repair media - start up repair subsequently.

When shrinking, a partition with any tool you should leave at least 10% space, I have observed.  Leaving more than 10% is safer. 

Do not expect any partition editing tool to recover a partition after a power failure or interruption whilst working on a partition. 

------------------------------------------------------------------

Reliability and support; 

There is a good degree of protection due to the Linux approximate philanthropic culture and open-source philosophy. 

I looked up the number of users, in about 2015, Ubuntu over 150,000 users, Mint over 100,000 users and Mageia over 4,500 users.  Although a different statistic, the percentage of all Desktop computers are; Windows about 90%, and XP was the second most popular.  Linux accounts for 1.5% of the total, and it is growing fast I suspect (no figures found), whereas 98% of all the supercomputers run Linux, Linux having displaced Unix over the past decade.  {Update in 2021 there were 450 million Ubuntu and all Linux users 3 - 3.5 billion or nearly 2% of computers}.

Large servers for the past decade generally run Linux.

Technical Forums - Sometimes people do comment adversely about some other users and say they don't like using forums.  I have contributed to forums for a few decades, they are good.  Use the Linux support forums and indulge the request for all the relevant technical detail required and the helpers' quirkiness.  Do appreciate that it is very hard to analyse and fault find remotely.  Understand conversely that it is usually not possible to describe clearly something until you understand what went wrong.  The aha moment helps you see after the event what you could have described better initially - this can not be helped much, other than to be aware of it.

  Linux is different to DOS and Windows, but not too different;

Windows uses shortcuts and newer versions of Windows support symbolic links (mklink command) are different to Linux symbolic links.

A Linux symbolic link looks as if it is the file that it is referencing, and the symbolic link can be moved or copied.  This is very useful, but you can not copy a Linux symbolic link to Windows.

A Windows mklink symbolic link can not be moved. 

File names lower case and capital letters matter on Linux but don't matter on Windows.  Consequently, if you copy a Thunderbird profile from Windows you must have proceeded with a dot but also be spelt in lower case  ".thunderbird" but copying to Windows you only need to remove the dot.

Neither Windows nor Linux hard disk can be taken out of one PC and put on another and expect it to run, but they often do. 

File copy to Windows - Linux security does make things inconvenient occasionally

Copying files belonging to you from Linux to Windows; you may find when they are copied they are unreadable and undeletable by Windows depending on the device or application they came from.  The only way to do anything with those files is to use them with the installation of Linux that you copied from.  But you may or may not able to change the file permission using the properties option on file, then right-click?  These sorts of problems have become less common since writing this (March 2017) - To revise that last point 1/2019 I have not observed any problem in any currently supported Linux Distribution. 

Thunderbird email client;

A problem can arise when you open Thunderbird and find your profile missing and an invitation to set up an email account.  The current version of Thunderbird, is much improved and allows you to fix this more easily, the pull down; Help - Troubling shooting mode, in which you can switch to another profile if there is one, use that and then delete the empty unwanted one created for whatever reason.  This fix will work, provided the profile came from about the same version of Thunderbird. 

This application, program or client whatever you want to call it is usually preloaded or well-supported in most Linux Distributions and Windows, it is very good.  The ability to manage and display many email accounts conveniently was added instead of using multiple profiles in the early 2000s in the SeaMonkey version.  You can conveniently send or reply with a number of different signatures with each of a number of email account address profiles. 


Thunderbird address book synchronisation is quite good, though it does not share google labels.  There are others add-ons that you might choose instead.  I do not use any of these add-ons now, and they may not work; 

https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/tbsync/?src=ss 

https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/dav-4-tbsync/?src=ss

https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/google-4-tbsync/?src=ss 

https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/cardbook/?src=search

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1362021 

https://support.google.com/mail/thread/142772003?hl=en&msgid=150037602 

https://github.com/zanonmark/Google-4-TbSync 

https://github.com/zanonmark/Google-4-TbSync/wiki/Why-another-Google-synchronization-add-on 


But I do use; LanguageTool add-on; https://languagetool.org/ for Thunderbird, it is also available for various web browsers.  It is a good spell and grammar checker, and it is worth registering it, logging in even if you chose to not buy it.


*** Thunderbird address book has completely changed over a five-year period between approximately versions 50 and 91.x  ***

Thunderbird on Linux stores the profile in the users' directory as a hidden file; .thunderbird

Thunderbird on Windows 7 to 10 is stored at for the logged-in user %appdata%/roaming/Thunderbird the full path could be in my case c:/users/Andrew/%appdata%/roaming/Thunderbird

To add a synchronised to Gmail and Yahoo Mail address books or any other; 

Click on Address book in Thunderbird, pull-down; New Address Book and select, Add CardDav Address book - enter your email address, it will then synchronise to your email account's address book. 


The disadvantage is that Thunderbird synchronised address books do not support making lists, and it still does not import lists called labels in contacts.google.com or yahoo.  You can create lists in your local, not synchronised, personal and created address books. 

Exporting Address books to email provider,

There is an export in the Thunderbird - Events and Tasks.  There is another type of export in - Tools.  I have not investigated much how to do this with current address book, but it does not seem to be possible to export my personal local address book. 

For old Thunderbird less than version 78.14, which has the address book stored in the file; abook.mab this file has not used since.

 File and Folder Sharing

The short answer is I don't know, but here are some things you can do.  Some of the Linux's are more set up, ready to go.

Linux may have a network browse button in the file manager.  Click on this button, and you can find Windows shared directory and printers, usually in MHOME.  You can find Linux shared directories in WINDOWs.  You will also find network printers for which you need to install a driver.  This is similar to Windows Networking.  

You may need to add Samba if you are sharing from Debian and many other Linuxes? - I have not done this recently, but when I have in the past, I found it difficult.

Mageia is different to the Debian based Linuxes and offers many utilises for sharing from Mageia, some are compatible with Windows.  Click on; Control Center - Networking and internet, then select the option you wish.

To create a shared folder most Linuxes have one called public which is handy, but you also need to then make that folder and any printer shared.  Windows the shared folders need to be from within the user profile and can be any of those created by the system or others you created there. 

Linux shared folders do not give anyone on another computer read/write/create rights in the same way that Windows shared folders do.  When you put things into any folder, you must then selectively or for the entire folder give those read or write rights.  You can find that files copied and shared can not be shared or deleted on the second computer. 

Windows XP (32 bit) used to share the easiest by comparison with newer Windows, but none that I have tried are straightforward.  Windows 7 or higher you need to create a password. 

I found that with network browsing you have to wait for the computer to find things but at first, it looks as if there is nothing on the network for a while. 

The easiest way to share is to use one of the cloud services or a tethering utility.  Once Windows or Linux share is set up, its data transfer quickly with a not too long network cable.  If you have a lot of data, moving the hard disk to the other computer and doing a one-to-one copy or clone can be the fastest way. 

But I observe that once all the settings ripple through, the connections all become reliable without taking this step.  Alternatively, the connection is never made but left me frustrated.

Cloud storage method.

There are many providers that once you download a program and install it, it will run on Windows. 

Dropbox runs on; Linux, Windows Android and Ipad.  Set up is clear and straightforward.  Linux has a Linux repository.  Dropbox allows up to 2GB plus an extra 500MB for each referral to both parties, up to 16GB just for trying Dropbox.  You can have three instances of the program installed plus many shared folders to different users or email accounts - this program is the easiest and has many well-thought-out features that you can use or ignore without bother.  Support is good. 

This link will give you a Dropbox free account and give you and me some more capacity for having recommended Dropbox

At the present time, the Dropbox icon is not displayed in Debian GNOME top right toolbar.


Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, are not available for Linux.  Be careful with both when setting them up if you don't want them to back up parts of Windows.

Google Drive stopped running on Windows 7, in January 2024. 


MegaSync, be careful with this.  There are bonuses for referring to a friend and trying more features, but these last just one year.  If you switch to another computer, and it has old files in the Mega folder these will either be overwritten with newer ones (as you would expect) but if they had been deleted subsequently so are not on mega.nz they may or may not all turn up again synchronised from the computer to the cloud mega.nz.  This is one of the few internet-accessed programs that an older version of would keep run on Windows XP.  There are various Linux versions.  You can find deleted files on mega.nz kept in folders using the deleted date, which you need to move back as necessary and with care, it is not straightforward. 

There is a promotion if you use my referral and use the free version of MegaSync we both get a little more capacity; 

Although Cloud storage can be accessed by a web browser, but not all public networks (Wi-Fi) allow access.  So it is a good strategy to use more than one cloud storage provider.  I have not tried to share any files and folders between them, and I rather not try to do that, and in some cases, I turned off OneDrive that was doing that!  

Note - conflicting files in cloud drives;

In Dropbox, Google Drive and most likely others, create a copy which the Name is changed to; Name(1), Name(2) etc.  So the file Name in one instance could be Name(1) in another instance.  Once you have determined which is the correct one, deleted the wrong ones, then renamed the correct files in every instance to Name.  This does not often come about, so you to make a point of checking folders in case it has occurred occasionally.  MegaSync is less robust and will simply overwrite older files with newer files.  The conflict arises if a file is used before the drive has synchronised, so the newer file could be a changed old version.  I have found both Dropbox and Google Drive are very good at, what seems like good guesswork, to get right what you intended even if you copy a file from another operating system on your PC without therefore having the cloud application running.

I used to use a memory stick with a string attached to my finger if I used a public library computer.  Where cloud storage access is blocked.  Though I still managed to leave my memory stick in the library computer sometimes. 

Symbolic link

Generally, adding symbolic links from where the original file was located pointing to a new location, such as in a cloud storage folder, is a useful way to share a file or a folder.  

You can not place a symbolic link into a cloud storage folder, such as Dropbox.  It won't access an original file on another computer outside the shared folder, such function is blocked. 

For example, sharing the one whole instance of Thunderbird profile is practical where you are using different users, who have no privacy issues between them, but on the same computer and operating system.  I do this with Windows, where I have different users for completed work and home, where I have work in progress and personal things. 

Windows 7 or higher;

Installations of Linux programs that are not in the main, contrib, non-free or back-ports repositories;

Chose the version for your Linux Distribution.  Ensure that the installer is installed, e.g. gdebi for Debian. Look at the Dropbox help as a general guide to customising a .bin generic binary type installation but for your particular distribution, particularly if it is not one of the common distributions:- Ubuntu or RedHat/Fedora.  {I have not done this}

I have mentioned above that Firefox and Thunderbird can be run on Linux, but outside the secure repository system.  Dropbox runs outside the Linux update system and similarly handles its own updating automatically. 

MegaSync is not available for all Linuxes, but you can compile the source code available from GitHub and install that, apparently?  But try to find a version that will install first. 

Linux;

In most Linux desktops simply drag the file or directory to another file manager window or tab then select create a symbolic link but not copy or move.   


There are differences between file managers, and so here is how to do it the long way;

"ln -s  /home/andrew/Dropbox/Folder/FolderOrFilePath /home/andrew/FolderOrFilePath/"

Where;

ln    Is approximately the Linux equivalent to DOS command copy.

-s    Switch makes this command create a symbolic link.  This is like a Windows shortcut and link.  You will need to move or delete the original file or folder (rename it for example). 

The source path    Is to where the cloud copy of FolderOrFilePath is now stored on your Linux computer. andrew - is my personal Linux user profile.

The destination     Is where FolderOrFilePath is the new symbolic link that has been created, it looks like the original file or folder, but its properties are symbolic-link.

Joking about Windows but even so it is used because there are many programs for it, and they are cheap, popular but consequently well-developed.  Microsoft have become more secretive about how to use the operating system, by comparison.  Conversely, there is a Microsoft tool or wizard to fix anything freely available.  DOS and Windows 3.1 and 95 for example were much more open, and the home computers like the BBC micro were very open and patches could be added to add features, I observe. 

Like engine management units made, cars less maintainable by the car's owners, who consequently become less aware of what could or was going wrong.  Secure Boot has done the same for PCs.

UNIX is the basis of a lot of not DOS or Windows operating systems;

IBM PC DOS or MS-DOS (Microsoft DOS) and the older CP/M (Digital) distinctively used 8.3 format file names, this is not true of other operating systems.  I used another OS in the 1970s and 80s at college called Flex, which did not use that format.  Significantly, Linux has been made somewhat Windows tolerant.  Linux uses the .xxx extension to identify a file type whereas OS 9 does not, you are in control of the name which can be mixed case and long.  UNIX has another file permission flag called executable, which I am told Universities and Colleges like in order to limit what their students are permitted to do.

The Dog and the Dingo a dog like Wallaby - which came first, patent and copyright - lawyers would probably make evolution not possible if a fee could be charged.

People have always made or written things and then given them away freely, even though for profit has become so the thing to do.  Companies may do that for a commercial benefit, they may do it for no commercial or tax benefit but just philanthropically.  Companies of cause are about making money all the same, before you think I am romanticising open sources software and there are big financial interest in and a lot of products sold using Linux. 

Linux or other open-source software in which the source code and/or the object code is free, but the product may or may not have a cost to individual users

If you use DOS then the penultimate version 6.21 is about the best, the disc compression was the most robust in its time.

TIP; If you are using DOS and FAT partition, you can add the line "verify on" in the config.sys.  DOS only runs on a FAT 12 filing system.  Microsoft does not publicly document how the NTFS filing system works, so Linux can not fully respect privacy and other features.  By comparison, a PC is made to IBM PC open de-facto standard, although a PCs circuits and firmware are property of their makers.

There were big court battles where Netscape lost the argument that Windows 95 was crippled so that Netscape Browser did not run efficiently.  If you run a Microsoft Windows Visual Basic program transferring data on a PC serial port (7 bit + parity or 8 bit) you will find bursts of data errors for a few minutes every half an hour, this is not the case running a DOS program such as Quick Basic.  It was also not the case with Visual Basic on Windows 3.1, 98 or higher either.  In another court case, Microsoft was fined for applying the use of two File Allocation Tables (FAT) for robustness to disk compression in the same way that Stacker was already doing for disk compression, even though using two FATs was the established way of making a disk filing system robust.  Double Space was replaced by Drive Space in the last version of DOS 6.22 so the very robust Double Space last appeared in DOS 6.21. 

DOS 4.x was the most unreliable version of any major disk operating system, whereas DOS 6.x was the first professional and robust Microsoft product in many people's opinions.   Although supporters of Linux seem very confident about the robustness of Linux I am inclined to be careful I know I make mistakes then compound them with other mistakes and also find that the machine did not do what I expected resulting in things being deleted but knowing that I have lost very little.  The losses have been due to the filing system with old pictures that when found there was no backup of now.

At one time Microsoft had a financial interest in Novell, which is part of one of the best and long-established Linux distributions, openSUSE.  The point I make is that selecting Linux is not a way of putting Microsoft out of business, but it may be a way of avoiding virtual monopoly, and thereby improving the quality of software for a while. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novell

Up to about Windows 98 with drive letters being changed would stop the OS from running consequently.  I found problems do not arise if partition letters are changed, such as moving a hard disk with Windows XP. Windows 7 is even more tolerant of partitions being moved and numbers changed.  Cloning Linux may or may not work, but Linux Gparted and Boot Repair USB are good tools, but there are no issues with the partition being moved and renumber consequently by comparison.   

The Implication of using an Old PC

The item that can appear to wear, though not be broken, is the hard disk.  When hard disks are made they have surface errors, but these are marked bad, are not used and are hidden.  During the life of the hard disk more bad sectors are identified and marked bad, these can be retested but are eventually hidden, so they become removed.  The full format or DOS Check Disk (fsck is the Linux equivalent of Check Disk) with options set keeps the hard disk in order.  Eventually, sectors become marked bad and removed, then the hard disk speeds up again.  

I am told and observed that Windows 7 or higher looks after the hard disk quite well Windows 8 and 10 advise there is no need to run check disk unless advised but occasionally running Check Disk will improve the computer's speed even so, but defragment is still necessary. 

Linux Distros will check and fix things the next time the computer is turned on, adding perhaps another 30 seconds to the start-up time and another minute to the closing down time.  That is, Linux looks after the hard disk without slowing the computer as much as Windows disk maintenance does. 

Modern filing systems are much more robust, but files do get destroyed, and disk drives fail after a very high usage some sooner.

How much memory does an Operating System with GUI and all the office tools included;

Lots is the answer.  In about 1980 when (Digital and IBM were similar size companies) CPM (the commonly used general business office operating system prior to DOS) would fit on a 80K single sided single density 8" or 5.25" floppy disk.  Wordstar office suit called Star Office would fit on one 300-400K double-sided double density floppy disk or many lower capacity floppy disks, and you had to swap the disks as instructed depending on the feature of Wordstar you were using, e.g. for running spell check. 

Home computers had between 8K to 12K of firmware, The Acorn BBC computer had 20K + up to 8x 8K sideways ROMs and 8 to 32K of RAM.  Unix was a then staggering then 50MB but is now very small compared with Windows 3.1, office, CAD and other software with 10M of workspace all fitted on a 40MB hard disk.  Now computers have 10,000 time that data and program space.

So a PC now has high-speed SRAM, moderate speed DRAM, hard disk or Flash plus the use of parallel processing of two instructions and piping which allows instructions to be processed simultaneously with instruction completing although some of those instructions processed may be abandoned depending on the outcome of earlier instructions.

Shortcut keys universally used Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, Ctrl-F, Ctrl-R etc. are called as Wordstar Short-cut keys.

To create arrow keys, four keys formed the Wordstar diamond of short-cuts. 

The shortcut for print Ctrl-P came from CPM but is universally recognised as well.

These shortcut keys don't work properly on Windows 7 or "higher" sadly. 

Be careful the outcome of using Ctrl-C varies with operating context and seems a bit inexplicable. 

Ctrl-C stops a running program in DOS, but Ctrl-break can mean terminating a running program in any OS.

But generally these Control and letter shortcuts still work and mean;

Ctrl-C is Copy. (highlighted block)

Ctrl-X is Cut.

Ctrl-V is Paste.

Ctrl-F is Find. (search).

Ctrl-R is Find and Replace.

 This animation explaining a computer, joke is good unfortunately the host, Google Sites, does not support some animation graphics. 

After an installation;

Printer and other external devices; My very old Epson LX800 Dot matrix print works is probably still supported, I was still using it 10 years ago.  But will probably need to experiment with generic dot matrix printer settings.  The weakness I found was that it became difficult to cancel a big print job.

The printer driver interface is good on Linux.

I do not run a printer at home now but use the ones in the public library. 

Re-Ink - Non-aerosol dot-matrix printer re-inking spray.  Purchased in the 1990s.

Don't discount sticking with Microsoft Windows, it is good, even so.  An older, stable Windows OS is generally a good desktop.  Many things including installation and update are more robust, for example if the PC freezes, and you switched it off and on the computer tends to recover themselves some of the Linux recover well, but others just open next time with a text screen. 

When Windows comes to the end of life period at first there are no updates then subsequently there will be no security updates and the Windows security scanner Security Essentials will stop being supported.  Alternative virus scanners for Windows include;

Panda, AVG, AVAST which there are free versions of, but there are others.

Conclusion;

Linux Distributions share well with Windows and Linux Distributions.  Windows can be a problem, though, its sharing policies and work around are strange and don't work consistently.  That is also true between Windows and another version of Windows or Linux on a multi-boot PC.  GRUB handles multi-boot PC well.

At first, I found Linux security not ideal, in that it cropped up unnecessarily inviting a casual password entry to just get on with what you are doing, but this aspect is good now.  Password request occur when you need to update or do other system level things.  By comparison, using Windows without administrator rights is difficult and Linux security is much better integrated and just fine.  Conversely, Windows with administrator rights is also easy to use. 

If you do, just pull the plug or hold in the power switch to turn off the computer at the next switch on, the machine starts without fuss, straightening things out and starting up usually but not always.  This tolerance of misuse is quite good in Linux and Windows, provided you don't let it happen often.

 Note - the animations and cartoons do not belong to me if they belong to you, and you would like to be acknowledged, please tell me.

One page Linux guide  Basic Linux Commands youtube (These have been recommended, I have not used them much)

To discussion this, go to; blog.andrew-lohmann.me.uk