Very poor student pc

English Discussion
1

Hi to everybody and thank you for your great work! Please forgive my poor english and my occasional confusion in IT terminology.
As my school has not a pc to install xenserver on it, I am trying to install linuxmuster on an existing WMware using manual installation. When (and if) I succeed, I’ll need advice to prepare the student client that are old 2006 netbooks with XP on it. Luckily, they have 2 partition.

  1. Is it possible for me to leave the first (the one with xp on it) unchanged, and install linux on the second? Will Linbo start from the first partition without managing it? And can linux start on the second partition just changing the partition itself, without touching mbr?
  2. Do you think the standard linux image will start on such a poor device, just for the time to install lubuntu-desktop? I’d prefer to install peppermint on a test pc and then export that image. Is it possible? What personalization (to fit linuxmuster) should I do?
    I know these questions are complex but I just need some advice and, if possible, some hint on the documentation, as it is difficult to browse it in a language you don’t speak. (When you land, google translate help!) Thank you very much. Silvia
2

Hello, Silvia,

there are a few problems you should manage. But before you start:

  1. Tell us something about your hardware,
    especially your “hard disk drives”, your NIC, your RAM-capacity !

Good luck!
Christoph G.

3

Hello Silvia,
concerning your questions:

Is it possible for me to leave the first (the one with xp on it) unchanged, and install linux on the second? Will Linbo start from the first partition without managing it? And can linux start on the second partition just changing the partition itself, without touching mbr?

Usually LINBO is Partitioning the disks before installing anything.
Also Linbo is installing into the MBR (it is the idea that it starts the other operating systems).
At the same time LINBO is incredibly flexible in allowing custom boot configurations.

As far as I understand you want to keep your first (XP) partition untouched - the problem is, that when LINBO takes over the „control“ it is usually partitioning the hard disk (as it needs a local cache for example). Theoretically if you choose exactely the same partition data, some setup as you mention it might work - but the question is if it is worth the hassle.

If you have the possibility to repartition and reinstall, then you should do it. You still can install on the first partition and leave it there (untouched by LINBO). You also might save your partition using something like Clonezilla and write it back after LINBO partitioned the disk. Afterwards you could even use Linbo for managing the XP partition.

Do you think the standard linux image will start on such a poor device, just for the time to install lubuntu-desktop? I’d prefer to install peppermint on a test pc and then export that image. Is it possible? What personalization (to fit linuxmuster) should I do?

The big advantage of a Debian/Ubuntu derivative is that you can use the linuxmuster-packages that handle Login and some other tasks as well.
On the other hand, LINBO is just some quite evolved tool for disk imaging and works with mostly ANYTHING saved on these disks. So after you „LINBOised“ the computer (as it hopefully worked), you might install anything on that device. As long as you do not change the partitions you can then use LINBO to save these partitions (first to the cache, then to the server) and deploy them to other computers, repair them, if necessary and so on.

If you want to use the sophomorix user-management, it still should work with most linux-distributions, you just have to check out, if and how it supports ldap-based logins. In Ubuntu-based distributions you can use the linuxmuster-client packages for this task, that set up everything for you.
If you do not need any domain/user management and just need to distribute an „all set up“ image to different notebooks, you should be able to use any distribution working on your hardware.

Hope this helps a little bit,
Best regards,
Thomas

PS: Just curious - where are you from?

4

Hello Silvia!

First of all welcome to linuxmuster.net

Not only out of curiosity, but we also have native French speakers here, for example.

Best regards

Thorsten

5

Hello Silvia,

the others have given you much INformation already, but i have the bad
habbit to „always add something“ :slight_smile:

As my school has not a pc to install xenserver on it, I am trying to
install linuxmuster on an existing WMware using manual installation.

thats not necessary. I importet the gibe ova Files in Virtualbox.
ova ist a Containerformat for „virtual Appliances“: VMWare schould also
be able to import these.
The only thing you will have to rectify afterwars is the Netzwork Stuff.

When (and if) I succeed, I’ll need advice to prepare the student client
that are old 2006 netbooks with XP on it. Luckily, they have 2 partition.

… netbooks… not good.
Old Hardware is normaly no Problem, but Netbooks are very slow:
Processor, Grafics and Storage. These Things do not give you a lot of
fun while using them.
Next Problem is, that they tend to habe very flawed BIOS/UEFI and there
are not updates to fix these Flaws. Thats something that has always been
a Problem with Linux: workaround for faulty BIOS.

  1. Is it possible for me to leave the first (the one with xp on it)
    unchanged, and install linux on the second?

… you will have to decrease the Size of the first Partition to make
room for linux and linbo.

Will Linbo start from
the first partition without managing it?

no. linbo resides in its own Partition (or on an USB stick) called „cache“.

And can linux start on the
second partition just changing the partition itself, without
touching mbr?

why do you not want to modify the mbr?
Fear of a not booting Windows installation?
no Problem: it ist possible to make it boot again: up to now we have
managed atleast that every time :slight_smile:

  1. Do you think the standard linux image will start on such a poor
    device, just for the time to install lubuntu-desktop? I’d prefer to
    install peppermint on a test pc and then export that image. Is it
    possible?

yes: most easy it would work, if linbo was installed on the Computer
before you installed peppermint.
And it should be installed in sda2 wiht a (no matter what size) sda1
with NTFS, to reflect the Windows Partition.

What personalization (to fit linuxmuster) should I do?

i would rather advise you to use one of the predesigned default Clients
provided by the linuxmuster community: the are ease to setup and
everything works out of the box.
There are cloops for:
12.04 32bit
14.04 64bit
16.04 64bit

i would advice you to try 12.04, since it would run better than teh
other two on yout netbook.

I know these questions are complex but I just need some advice and,
if possible, some hint on the documentation, as it is difficult to
browse it in a language you don’t speak. (When you land, google
translate help!) Thank you very much. Silvia

we are specialists in „komplex Questions“ :slight_smile:
Two Years ago our Dokumentation was translated to english: but well …
that was two years ago.
Good thing is: linbo is still working the same way.

Best thing for you migt bee, to just ask her: the Commmunity will point
you in the right direktion or provide an explaination.

Yours
Holger

6

First of all, Thank again to everybody. I’m from Pistoia, north of Tuscany, Italy. Thank for asking, by the way, I always like to say that, even if my town is nothing special at all.
I know you are good for complex problem, I was apologizing because I know that complex posts are little useful for future users looking for references.
About netbooks …I go once a month to the Principal praying to invest € 2000 to buy 26 raspberry pi (we have monitors, kbd and mouses) but you can figure out the answer! I really wanna do the best with what I have to show her that’s worth.
But BIOS and network shouldn’t be a problem: they work (badly) as thin clients in LTSP and every distribution I tried on them has always worked well (exept for youtube videos, they lag always exept windows). Maybe disk space is, they have 160 GB, but I thought the point was to store user files on the server.
As a linux user receiving preinstalled Windows PC, I always shrink windows partition and install Linux beside. For me it’s “a kind of magic”, I figured out linux touch mbr to decide himself (with grub, I mean) who starts but after that win is untouched (so I use it once in a while). Then I saw Linbo uses PXE to start and every command I found referes to a partition, I thought it could live there as local linux do. But you told me is not this way, right? I just have one question:

  1. When in Linuxmuster workflow LINBO partition the disk? On the documentation after you register the pc “magically” a windows and a linux partition appears, I thought it read the local one to replicate. (Again, don’t wanna you to repeat obvious things over and over, but I could’nt understand on my own, just link for reference if you prefer and can).
    Thank you, again. Silvia
7

Hello Silvia,

  1. When in Linuxmuster workflow LINBO partition the disk?

usually the workflow is this:

  1. register a PC using its MAC Adresse an giving it the Following
    Information: PCname, HardwareGroup, IP Adress, NameofRoom
    These Informations are eather given when registering a PC within linbo
    (by booting ist the first Time wit PXE) or they are Provided in the
    Schulkonsole (our Webinterface) called WebUI in lmn 7.
    Registering is finalized by running the script linuxmuster-devices

  2. configuring the HardwareGroup:
    here you define:

  • which Partitions do i want on the Machines?
  • howmany and which Operatingsystems do i want on the Machines of this
    Group? There are Examples on the lmn7 System unter /srv/linbo/examples/
    Those Files are called start.conf.

  1. partitioning the Client using linbo (by booting it now through PXE)

  2. installig Operatingsystems.

Thats the normal way.
You need another Way, to preserve the preinstalled Windows.
Since you are not the first to have this Problem, we do have solutions
for that.

First you need to understand, that linbo needs its local Cache on the
Client: if you create an Imge its way is:
sda1 → cache (creation of cloop) → Server (upload of cloop)

You have three Options:

  1. use the Online Cache of linbo, by defining it in the start.conf.
    Then the cloop will be created from the Client in a Servershare mountet
    by the Client. I do not know if this ist working already in the lmn 7

  2. create a Cache Partition by Hand.

Your start.conf would define
sda1 → ntfs Windows
sda2 → ext4 cache

Then you just format the sda2 that you already have on your Machines as
ext 4 (which would delete your linuxinstallation on one machine)
Then boot up the machine in linbo and „create and upload“ the Image of
Windows.
Then test it on an other MAchine by integrating it in linbo, using the
same HardwareGroup, partition it by linbo an sync the Image (neu + start)

  1. preserve the Windows installation using a Clone Tool like Acronis
    True Image (saving it do USB drive), patition using linbo, restore Image
    with Acronis, create Imge using linbo.
    Same Way is possible, at the same Time, with your linux INstallation.

I hope that was not too confusing.
Feel free to ask additional Questions :slight_smile:

Yours Holger

8

Ok, I think I got it (even if I’m a bit upset). All of you are very nice.
In the meanwhile, I was searching for the ova to import in VmWare, and I couldn’t find them. Could you please tell me where they are? Thank you, again.

9

Hi Livia,

Ok, I think I got it (even if I’m a bit upset).

… why upset?

In the meanwhile, I was searching for the ova to import in VmWare, and I
couldn’t find them. Could you please tell me where they are? Thank you,
again.

They are here:

Sorry: explainations are at this time only available in German.

Tell us, if you need a translation.

Yours

Holger

10

Ok, thanks to all of you I imported the ovas in my system and I run linuxmuster-setup even if my system got crazy with the umlaut in location name. I had to change the provided ini file to erase that special charachter and everything seemed to work. But I cannot do the first step in Proxy-Authentifizierung . I think it is because I have no valid user.
I tried to access server port 242 but it refuses connection. So I connect to server with ssh: sophomorix -i says I have no users but create-testusers.py ends with error because it can’t load module parameters.
Does anybody have any suggestion ? Thank you.

11

Hi Silvia,

Ok, thanks to all of you I imported the ovas in my system

which?
lmn 7 oder lmn6.2
?

I tried to access server port 242 but it refuses connection.

thats normal: only importet workstations from the inner Network are
allowed to access the Port.

So I
connect to server with ssh: sophomorix -i says I have no users but
create-testusers.py ends with error because it can’t load module parameters.
Does anybody have any suggestion ?

linuxmuster-setup --first (if 6.2) ran through without Problems?
Did you make
apt-get update
apt-get distupgrade
?

Are you able to connect to ipfire (if 6.2) with
ssh -p 222 ipfire
?

Without Password?

Yours

Holger

12

Sorry, baumhoft sent me to linuxmuster 7 and I imported that. I used linuxmuster-setup (as --first wasn’t an option in 7.0) and there were no errors except something about bittorrent and LINbo. I did upgrade and dist-upgrade and even rebooted the server. The firewall is OPNsense and I can access it even in web mode but only with its IPaddress, not with the FQDN. What i miss is the test in System | Zugang | Prüfer, because I don’t know a valid user.
Should the local root user (linuxmuster/Muster! as setup in the default machine) work as test user to test firewall authentication? It doesn’t work in mine, How can I check if AD is up and running? Thenk you very much.

13

Hi Silvia,

Sorry, baumhoft sent me to linuxmuster 7 and I imported that. I used
linuxmuster-setup (as --first wasn’t an option in 7.0) and there were no
errors except something about bittorrent and LINbo. I did upgrade and
dist-upgrade and even rebooted the server. The firewall is OPNsense and
I can access it even in web mode but only with its IPaddress, not with
the FQDN. What i miss is the test in System | Zugang | Prüfer, because I
don’t know a valid user.

i think you did not follow the „rules“ on how to set up the System
properly as described here:

I will try to make an englisch Guideline and write it down here, but now
i have to go to school an give some lessons.

Please write me, what kind of virtualisation you use.

Yours

Holger

14

Hi, I really tried to follow the guidelines and I don’t think it’s a language problem, so please don’t bother on translation. I really run linuxmuster -prepare -e, update and dist-update the server (in two steps, but it’s obviously the same), and linuxmuster-setup. Both the server and the firewall have the right IP Address even if cannot be reached by FQDN, I can use ssh on both but even web interface on firewall. Sophomorix is installed but ldap utils aren’t (should they?). I couldn’t install linuxmuster-client-servertools but I don’t know if it’s only for 6.2 or if some ppa is missing.
The file parameters.py exists (I think is correct, with no regional charachter) but create-users.py can’t find it.
I use ESXi (not sure the version cause I can’t reach it at the moment but machine type is 11). It couldn’t load the ova so I imported in VMWare Player 12 and transfer them with VCenter converter, checking ram, disk and so on.
Don’t know what else to check, please let me know.