[SOLVED] ?'s on running on V-M, UEFI install, software list

[rollon]

I hate windows with a passion and since the useful life of "XP" is coming to an end, I figured I might as well try to learn linux, instead of a new windows OS. I had a really hard time getting the live dvd iso to download, the MD5 checksum would never match. I finally got a good copy this morning to download after my 7th try. I am having troubles with this old computer (constant random BSOD's), so I have built a new computer instead of sticking more money in this 8 year old computer. I want to try out Mageia-4 in a virtual machine first. Now to the Questions.

~ I am on a 32 bit OS at the moment, and want to install 64 bit on my new machine, will a 64 bit OS run in a virtual machine on a 32 bit computer? I'm assuming NO!
~ The new computer supports UEFI, How likely is it that I can get Mageia-4 to install (especially being a noobie) on the new computer? It presently has no OS on it. I noticed that it won't be fully implemented until version 5.
~ Is there a place where I can see a list of all programs (browsers, office suites, multimedia etc.) that can be used in Mageia-4 before loading the OS in my computer?

Please excuse the noob questions, but I have to learn sometime. I hope to be able to at least "get by" someday using linux, but I was never good with command lines in DOS, so I don't think I will get along very well with the terminal! Will need cheat sheets for sure! Hard to teach an old dog new tricks!

Thanks for your time!

rollon

[doktor5000]

~ I am on a 32 bit OS at the moment, and want to install 64 bit on my new machine, will a 64 bit OS run in a virtual machine on a 32 bit computer? I'm assuming NO!

Yes that is possible. E.g. for Virtualbox have a look at https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch03. ... 4bitguests

~ The new computer supports UEFI, How likely is it that I can get Mageia-4 to install (especially being a noobie) on the new computer? It presently has no OS on it. I noticed that it won't be fully implemented until version 5.

Well, depends https://wiki.mageia.org/en/UEFI_how-to
Also other users have posted their experiences with UEFI viewtopic.php?f=41&t=6668

~ Is there a place where I can see a list of all programs (browsers, office suites, multimedia etc.) that can be used in Mageia-4 before loading the OS in my computer?

Yes, called Mageia App DB: http://mageia.madb.org/

Please excuse the noob questions, but I have to learn sometime. I hope to be able to at least "get by" someday using linux, but I was never good with command lines in DOS, so I don't think I will get along very well with the terminal! Will need cheat sheets for sure! Hard to teach an old dog new tricks!

No problem, we all started one day - But please at least use a meaningful thread title, as your questions could be of use to others

[jiml8]

~ I am on a 32 bit OS at the moment, and want to install 64 bit on my new machine, will a 64 bit OS run in a virtual machine on a 32 bit computer? I'm assuming NO!

Yes that is possible. E.g. for Virtualbox have a look at https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch03. ... 4bitguests

Ummm...

Not so fast! OP DID say he was using a 32 bit OS. But he also said it was an 8 year old machine. I would bet that machine is a 32 bit machine. So, while it is true that a 64 bit guest can run in a 32 bit host, the hardware has to be 64 bit to make that possible.

Now, this was stated in the link you gave, but in case OP overlooked it, I will point it out. You can do this only if you have 64 bit hardware.

As for UEFI, when I installed my new motherboard last July (an ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2 which is UEFI) I plugged my hard drives in and the system fired right up. I didn't even have to set boot mode in the BIOS (though I did have to select the boot drive). So, I would have to say you CAN install Mageia on a UEFI mobo, though I don't know if you can do this with UEFI enabled; I don't think mine is and I don't really care.

I will also point out that, in addition to the apps in the Mageia App DB, there are a wealth of Linux apps out there - and you can run all of them, though you do have to compile them for your particular system. This is not usually a big job.

Oh, and one final comment regarding difficulty downloading. On my website, I have a fully functional demo of my product that can be downloaded, installed, and used. The web server is hosted in a large NOC in Provo, Utah and has excellent connectivity to the internet. In the last several days, I have noticed that a very high percentage of the downloads of my demo program are failing. Why this is happening, I cannot say. But there is a problem on the net someplace that is affecting connectivity for lots of people. It probably doesn't show much when you browse, but when you attempt a big download, then you may get bitten by it.

[benmc]

Hi

So, I would have to say you CAN install Mageia on a UEFI mobo, though I don't know if you can do this with UEFI enabled; I don't think mine is and I don't really care.

I can confirm that you will have to check mobo settings RE: UEFI. For me UEFI and legacy enabled would not allow optical drive to boot, I had to disable UEFI and left Legacy enabled and installed perfectly.

Benmc

[rollon]

No problem, we all started one day - But please at least use a meaningful thread title, as your questions could be of use to others

Sorry about that, I edited the title to reflect my questions. I appreciate all the links, they took care of my questions.

Not so fast! OP DID say he was using a 32 bit OS. But he also said it was an 8 year old machine. I would bet that machine is a 32 bit machine. So, while it is true that a 64 bit guest can run in a 32 bit host, the hardware has to be 64 bit to make that possible.

Now, this was stated in the link you gave, but in case OP overlooked it, I will point it out. You can do this only if you have 64 bit hardware.

Yes, I caught that and will download the i586 version for the VM, since my hardware is 32 bit. I just hope it doesn't take 7 tries to get a good copy! LOL

As for UEFI, when I installed my new motherboard last July (an ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2 which is UEFI) I plugged my hard drives in and the system fired right up. I didn't even have to set boot mode in the BIOS (though I did have to select the boot drive). So, I would have to say you CAN install Mageia on a UEFI mobo, though I don't know if you can do this with UEFI enabled; I don't think mine is and I don't really care.

Good to Know! I went with the ASRock 970 Extreme 4, I'm not into gaming much, just do a lot of work with audio files. This old system I have is not up to running some of my software. I'm hoping I can get most it running on Linux using one of the emulators (fingers crossed).

Oh, and one final comment regarding difficulty downloading. On my website, I have a fully functional demo of my product that can be downloaded, installed, and used. The web server is hosted in a large NOC in Provo, Utah and has excellent connectivity to the internet. In the last several days, I have noticed that a very high percentage of the downloads of my demo program are failing. Why this is happening, I cannot say. But there is a problem on the net someplace that is affecting connectivity for lots of people. It probably doesn't show much when you browse, but when you attempt a big download, then you may get bitten by it.

Also good to know! I had tried to save all the files previously on my main HHD. I saved the last attempt on my second HHD when I finally got a good copy. I was starting to think it may have had something to do with my other drive possibly going bad!

I can confirm that you will have to check mobo settings RE: UEFI. For me UEFI and legacy enabled would not allow optical drive to boot, I had to disable UEFI and left Legacy enabled and installed perfectly.

Thanks for the heads up! I didn't install an optical drive, so I will be installing with a bootable USB drive using rufus to format and install it. I guess I might have to play around with settings to get it installed.

rollon