All you need to know about dual booting on UEFI/BIOS firmware and Intel hardware

I've been playing around with linux and dual-booting since 2014. It's fun. It's challenging. A lot of it is waiting around for the OS (operating system) to install. Recently, I've been experimenting with my Dell Inspiron 5999 with i7 and radeon m335 graphics, and has UEFI and BIOS (legacy) capabilities.
Recently, Windows 10 has been such a hassle to deal with as it just keeps getting space aids from the Nth dimension. It randomly corrupts its own drivers, forces you to update it, refuses to update because of your antivirus (no other reason), and is basically the inbred child of vista and ME. A lot of times it would just refuse to work because it randomly deleted an essential file. For no reason. In the middle of my editing music, the bluetooth cut out, and Windows went haywire for absolutely no reason, and caused my nice bluetooth headphones to have a heart attack and not turn off. This was the final straw:  I was installing Windows 7 on that machine if it kills me.
So. First problem:  burning the iso file right (as I do have a legitimate windows 7 key, but no cd, go figure) to an available usb. So I recommend using the windows 7 USB DVD download tool or the mkusb utility available in linux. I have found mkusb to be a godsend as the USB's were immediately bootable with no hassle. The hassle was either they wouldn't boot at all, or linux wouldn't recognize the partition table at all.



Windows 7 USB DVD download tool link:  direct download
mkusb link: launchpad ppa
 install mkusb (for linux only): 

• sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mkusb/ppa 
• sudo apt-get update

Now that we have our 2 separate USB's burned (both windows 7 and your preferred distro of linux), there's more complications. Windows 7 only installs in legacy/CSM/BIOS/compatibility mode with msdos/MBR partition table ONLY. Also, it will refuse to install via USB because of driver problems with USB 3.0. Now, I have done some research and dug up some information from intel, and I have compiled the files with DISM GUI and have followed this extremely helpful walkthrough from intel on how to inject drivers into your USB "disk". I HIGHLY recommend following this official walkthrough if you all don't trust me with the file links I provide for boot wim and install wim (this is for windows 7 HOME PREMIUM versions only, if you're using another version, follow intel's walkthrough by the letter).  Copy both the finished boot wim and install wim files into the sources file of the windows USB. This USB is now finished and ready to go. You will want to install Windows 7 before installing linux as the workaround (booting into linux live usb, installing grub, rebooting with the live usb still inserted, boot native installation of linux, reinstall grub) does not work for this pc in legacy mode.
After installing Windows 7, the next challenge is installing linux correctly so that it can boot into windows from the grub bootloader. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT let the program automatically partition these for you as it will not partition it correctly. Choose the "something else" option for when you arrange your partitions. The partitions you will need in order for this to work are as follows: 
/ (root)
/home
/boot
swap
I have proven this to successfully dual-boot with linux as I loaded windows 7 successfully from the grub boot menu upon reboot. This is with both operating systems installed in legacy mode. I have not experimented with having windows on legacy mode, and running ubuntu in uefi mode, completely separate from each other to prevent conflicts. The only conflicts I have got from dual booting so far is if I improperly shut windows down and try to boot into it again from the grub bootloader, it is graphically incapable of running properly. I have yet to find a workaround for this:  I might have to actually separate the two operating systems, tricking them both into thinking they're the only one on the system. The problem I think is windows 7's native recovery menus which completely zoink out after grub.

Why I personally Hate Windows 10

I have no idea about you guys, but I just hate Windows 10 and its big update/service pack thing. I hate that it has little to no reverse compatibility with windows 9x applications and cannot play x86/32-bit games on a amd64/64-bit processor such as Putt-putt travels through time. Windows 10 should include reverse compatibility, or at least a compatibility module like Linux's WINE and PlayOnLinux. People shouldn't be forced to use newer, less developed and less capable programs instead of older programs such as XP's sound recorder, which had more features than 10's voice recorder. I also question the new Edge web browser. It does not replace Internet Explorer or have the same integration into the desktop. It keeps me wondering why Microsoft keeps trying, since there are no extensions for it (yet), and it seems fairly clunky as far as GUI. There should also be a choice of Environment and Window Manager, and an ability to easily navigate, install, uninstall, download, and update the system from the command prompt. The virtual desktop switching and window management is terrible compared to Linux. Cortana should be able to work offline to open or find something on the PC. There shouldn't be apps trying to goad you into buying something. Sure, Microsoft is trying to make all the money they can, but shouldn't they also encourage the use of more useful free programs such as audacity, so that people who don't know how to trawl the internets for the right file and not get viruses can get a useful free program easily. Simple as that.

To continue my rant about Windows 10, there was also a major update that was similar to the upgrade from a previous version of Windows to 10. This update uninstalled some of my better programs, such as my antivirus, surun, and etc. In my opinion, Microsoft should not forcefully uninstall any of my programs simply because they think it might not work with the new version of Windows. I am the sort of person who would try anyway to see if there were any problems. I reinstalled the programs the update uninstalled, and there were no apparent problems. So, Microsoft, don't tell me what I can and cannot run on my own PC because I will personally be responsible for whatever happens to the OS, and I also have the ability to reinstall the OS and dual-boot it with something better. I strongly support giving the user the ability and choice to install and modify anything at their own risk. Many people have no idea how to use their own computers to their advantage. Even if the user messes up and makes their OS unbootable, in which a recovery disk would be useful. Personally, I hate being told what I can and cannot have installed, and it drives me crazy if Windows 10 tells me I can't run an old program. Why do we even use Windows when we can use Linux, which is more malleable than Windows, although it has a sharp learning curve. For softer learning curves, start off with Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon or KDE OR Ubuntu with Unity. After much research, and internet digging, one can basically understand how to navigate and bend it to one's will. Easy as making a pie from scratch.

Personally, home users up to the challenge should boycott for either a Linux-based Windows OS or complete switch over to GNU-Linux types such as Mint, Ubuntu, and Fedora. The operating systems are free and open-source. Only download the ISO files from their official site, and avoid click-jacking. AwkDino signing out.

How to efficiently dual boot a PC with both Windows and Linux

The first thing you want to do when you are dual booting is to go into your BIOS menu (when you first boot up and pres ESC or something to enter the boot menu), and turn safe booting off. Then you want to boot up in your Windows OS if it is installed, and turn fast booting off in the advanced settings in your power settings. This is necessary in order to install linux and be able to boot up in it once installed. If you have neither OS installed, I recommend installing Windows first because if you install it after installing linux, it overwrites the bootloader, and you cannot boot in linux. This can be fixed by booting up your live disc/usb, installing your bootloader on that, rebooting with the media still connected, choosing your linux partition, then installing the bootloader on your native install. So basically, I will list some simple steps in order for you to get started.
1. disable safe booting in the BIOS
2. disable fast booting in Windows (if installed)
3. if not installed, install Windows on 1/3 of the Space on your hardrive. This is recommended if you have at least a 300 GB hardrive. Just 1/2 it if it is about 200 GB. Dual booting is not recommended on a small hardrive.
4. If windows is already installed, open Create and Format hardrive partitions, and shrink your windows partition to a reasonable yet smaller size while leaving about 100 GB for your linux partition. You are free to format and label that 100 GB of free space for later, as you will have to pick out your partitions and keep them straight while installing linux. I would label it something like "FORLINUX." If you can spare a double-digit GB besides the 100 GB, it is recommended to use as a medium between Windows and Linux partitions, and I recommend you format it as NTFS because both Windows and Linux recognize it, and you can store and move large files on this file system.
5. Burn the Linux ISO to either a USB or CD-RW. A good portable ISO to USB burner is Rufus, which I recommend because it paranoidly checks the ISO before burning it.
6. Reboot your computer with media inserted, and interrupt startup, and choose the media that you are booting from, and press enter. I am going to use Linux Mint for example.
7. double click install linux if it does not automatically start. Enter in everything that applies to you, but when it comes to how to install Linux Mint (alongside, over, or something else) choose something else, which brings you to the partition manager. One partition should already be labeled as Windows, so don't disturb that one at all. The 100GB (100000 MB) that you probably labeled and formatted is what you should be interested in.
8. Take the 100GB (100000 MB), and take about 3000-4000 MB for a swap partition. Take the remaining 906000 or so MB, make 1/4 of it dynamically allocated ext4 and tagged "/root", and the other 3/4 of it dynamically allocated ext4 and tagged "/home". This sets it up for a Joe Shmoe user so you aren't logging in as root (admin) all the time.
9. You are now ready to install linux. Sometimes the installs are a little quirky such as not installing a bootloader, so you have to install the bootloader (such as grub) on the installation media by opening up a terminal using ctrl+alt+t and typing "sudo apt-get install grub" on a debian/ubuntu-based system. reboot, and select your native installation of linux, then install the bootloader the same way you installed it on the installation media.
10. reboot, and see if both your operating systems still boot up. Check windows:  if you haven't disturbed it at all during the installation of linux, then it will probably still work. Then reboot and check linux. It might take a little time to boot up natively for the first time. It should lead you the select username and login style, which won't take long. After that, you are pretty much set. There is also a weird trick that you can do with hibernating either operating system, and being able to boot into the other operating system while the other is hibernating. I  haven't really played with this, so do at your own risk.
If you reboot, or wake up from suspend with a black unavoidable screen, then it is probably your display drivers. Switch to fglrx. If you can't even log in normally, then you have to boot up in linux recovery, enable networking, go to command line, enter in your root password, then "sudo apt-get install fglrx" then wait for it to get done, then reboot. It should work now. If it does not work, then do your research.

5 Reasons Why Linux is Better than Windows: an Argument from an Apprentice in the art of Linuxing

First of all, I am going to explain my experience with both Windows and Linux. There have been a lot of heat between these two operating systems, and I hope to finally settle the argument once and for all. I have been using Linux Mint for two years now. I enjoy using it, but I dual boot with Windows just because some things just like to run in Windows more than Linux. I only use Windows when I have to. I have an extensive history with Windows, beginning with Windows 3.1, 98, XP, 7, 8.1, and 10. I loved to go file exploring with the computers I had, especially Windows 98 and above. Then, I had figured out how to hack into the Administrator's account in Windows 7, which was fairly easy, yet convoluted. From there, my experience expanded as I installed Linux Mint over Windows, then installed Windows, then attempted a dual-boot. Finally, I ended up with Linux Mint 17.2 Rafaela and Windows 10 on the same machine, both fully bootable and operational. I am going to explain why you should use Linux if you are frustrated with mainstream operating systems from Microsoft or Apple.

1. You can make Linux as hard or as easy to use as you want it

There are so many options nowadays. You can install Linux without the graphical user interface (GUI), and used text-based operation only, or use GNU-Linux. GNU-Linux is the kind of Linux that comes with a Graphical User Interface already. They are specified with the specific flavor of Linux. There are different kinds of GUIs that you can have as the default (in the case something bad happens, it is the go-to GUI to fix things besides command-line-interface). Sure, you can build your operating system from the ground up as in Arch Linux, but if you are lazy and impatient, I would suggest getting a linux flavor with an easy desktop environment, such as Cinnamon, Enlightenment (for speed with relative functionality), MATE (use desktop items to launch WINE programs), or KDE (which is just a fat desktop environment, but nice eye-candy).
If you know what you are doing, then installing well-developed flavors of Linux is easy (ubuntu, fedora, mint). Setting them up is easy.
Linux also has its own software manager for all of the software you might want on this platform. You can also get some Windows programs to work through Wine, PlayOnLinux, and Steam, such as some video games, and Microsoft Office 2010 and below. Oh, and you can also run Putt-putt in linux in WINE.
Also, If you need Windows for something, you can always stick it in a virtual machine (VM). I have also heard that you can put your native installation of Windows in a VM while running Linux. So you could probably run that Respondus Lockdown Browser and Visual Studio. I have not tried the native VM yet, although I have made some attempts. Just be careful when typing in those terminal commands!
You can also personalize Linux to extremes not allowed in Windows. In Linux mint cinnamon, you can resize icons, change the actual theme of the taskbar, add gadgets, have a dock, change the taskbar menu icon, change the folder theme, change the mouse theme, grub2 (the bootloader) appearance, and add or subtract the number of workspaces (drag and drop programs from one workspace to the other, or even throw it away to close it), and how alt-tab is viewed. 

2. SPEED!

If you are really frustrated with how slow your mainstream operating system is, then you should try Linux. Whenever I use Windows, most of the time I get somewhat impatient. I would try to load some programs in Windows before some items loaded, and it would freeze. I actually made it blue screen, probably because I spammed it with commands. Just a simple warning:  you might get impatient with Windows or Mac after using Linux.
Also, you would be impressed with how integrated keyboard commands are in Linux. This also contributes to speed and efficiency just in case your mouse does not work or freezes (like in Windows, but you don't have this convenience in Windows or Mac, do we?).
I know, some overclocked and/ or gaming computers don't have this problem. Those do not exactly need Linux for this purpose, although it would be entertaining how ludicrously fast it would be on that hardware.

3. More troubleshoot-ability

In Windows, the hexadecimal clunky computer-gunk errors yield no explanation unless you connect to the internet. In the case that it gives you that error, and you cannot connect to the internet, salute Windows for how much they assume you have something else to surf the internet with.
With Linux, if something goes sour, you can Ctrl-Alt-F1 your way into the command-line-interface (CLI), log in, and attempt what you were doing in the GUI in the CLI, but this time, it is telling you what is going on with more or less clarity than just a line of hexadecimal error message number. You can also use other desktop environments in the case that one of them breaks with a recent update or installation. Neither Mac nor Windows can have several desktop environments at the same time, but I could be wrong. Someone has probably figured out how to crack Macs to run Cinnamon or something, and KDE on Windows. When you run WINE programs, and the program crash dumps, WINE will be courteous enough to allow you to view the crash dump info, and what happened.
Linux is fairly hard to break compared to Windows. If linux locks up or is slow, try getting to the CLI by Ctrl-Alt-F1, login, then killall -u username to kill all the processes it was running and return to the GUI logon screen. If it completely froze, which is a rare occurence, force restart by pressing and holding the power button. If that does not work, remove the power source and let it die (this never happened to me).
Anyway, there are many support forums for linux. Linux mint comes with hex chat preloaded with the Linux mint help forums. The people there know a bit about Linux if you have any questions about it.

4. Software Compatibility

 There are some programs out there that are cross-platform (has support for several different operating systems) such as open office, spotify and thunderbird. There are also some Windows programs that you could possibly want such as Microsoft Office. I have Microsoft Office 2010 on Linux using PlayOnLinux, WINE, and Winbind. The only thing that does not work is adding more add-ons, and Outlook. You can also install Google Chrome on there, and it also has a clone name chromium. Also, there are many IDEs available in Linux. In addition, I would let you know that some native Linux gaming emulators tend to not come with the gui, so you will have to dig sourceforge.net or elsewhere for it.
What is really convenient is installing through the terminal. Just ask the computer to fetch the installation files from the internet and install them.
This made me think of something totally awesome:  what if all the programs were put into binary files, and that all the operating systems had their own native interpreter. And all of the binary files were on servers like the Linux Software manager. That way, we could sudo apt-get install packagename on all of the operating systems instead of rummaging around on the internet. Keep in mind, this is my idea, and if I start seeing it around and become a "thing," I will claim it as my own and name it fluffy.

5. Nice on old stuff

Linux can run on pretty much everything. It is basically what most circuit boards run if you have a circuit board debugger. Linux installs without you having to install all of the drivers, except for the proprietary ones, that is. On an AMD computer, you have to install the fglrx driver just so you can suspend and hibernate correctly. On even older computers, you do not really have to do anything special. It does not run systems ragged like Windows can. On my computer, Windows makes my fan run to cool down the extra resources it is using while idling. While my computer is idling in Linux, it is a whisper.


Summary

I know this topic is hot for flame wars, but I hoped I cleared some misunderstandings up. Yes, you can run several Windows video games through an installation in PlayOnLinux. I also know that I am not an expert. I level myself as something like an apprentice. I am actually a college student majoring in Information Technology, and took up Linux the summer before my Freshman year of college. I have been using Linux for approximately 2 years now, and using Windows depresses me. Mac also depresses me. I am so used to using Linux that I went too fast for Windows to process my spamming the commands (mashing several buttons methodically). Macs simply treat their users like children because ctrl-alt-t does not bring up the terminal / command prompt thing, neither does ctrl-alt-f1 work to bring up the CLI. I like to work in the CLI sometimes to make somethings work/ troubleshoot things to get the messages the programs are spewing out. And I do not think sudo exists for Mac OS, but I could be wrong.

Why racism is so ridiculous

Racism is ridiculous. Why do some people make generalizations about the other race? Some may think white people are so stuck-up (and some of them are, but not all of them). Other people may think black people are good for nothing (some of them are, but not all of them). What is true is that some individuals included in all the races of all people are total jerks.
RACE does not define PERSONALITY. What if all of us were aliens with purple and green spots, and the aliens without horns resented the aliens with horns, but the aliens with horns envied the strength of the aliens without horns.
Why can't all of us just get along and not be so shallow by just looking on the outward appearance. A person could be ridiculously handsome, but still a jerk, or another person could be really ugly and have a heart of gold. My mother told me that it is the inside that counts, not the outside.
Take the motion picture Frozen, for example. Anna was enamored with Hans, who turned out to be a total jerk because he wanted to exploit one of the Princesses' royalty and become king.
Sometimes it helps to think of the physical thing that others see as just your shell. It is the layers of personality that one has that makes a person worth being with. True, some people are flawed in their personalities. Nobody is truly perfect in any way, but some things you will HAVE to overlook. Not many people have impeccable manners. Not many people are polite all the time. Not may people may give you the attention that you want. So..... nobody is perfect.
Just because a few individuals are a certain way doesn't mean that they are all that way. A few people may be mean, but that doesn't mean all people are mean. This is an invalid argument.  Just because some people you meet and spend most of your time with are nice doesn't mean that all people are nice, either.
If all of the people in the world could not see each other's appearance, how would they judge each other? Naturally, we would judge each other by the personality, tone, attitude of the voice. Like I said before, it is what is on the inside that counts. We are blinded by the outward appearance, and fail to see the inside. Some people would see more blind than with literal sight. To a blind person, you could be any race, and it would not matter. However, when we have literal eyes to see with, we are blinded with prejudice.
Next time when you vote for someone, don't vote for them because of how they look. Vote for them because of their personality. I may not be able to turn people away from a hasty generalization, but I can at least point out some things that don't make much sense.

Why One Should Consider Switching to Linux

Hello, Windows buffs and Mac people, greeting: 

You are seriously misled and misguided as a group. You are told that this new thing-- this new fad called "Linux" (and no, you don't pronounce it like "line ucks." Its "lynn-ucks.") is just an ugly command line prompt thing that geeks use to hack the Internet. Nonsense. Complete and total half-truth! Yes, the non-GUI (Graphical User Interface, or the pretty interactive pictures you see) command line is an option, and some people use and/or prefer it. On the other hand, very few people use the actual desktops (the Linux with a GUI).

There is a need for Linux in the world. It is popular among the servers which make the Internet work-- most of them run Linux. Linux can remain on for years without restarting. Windows still has to evolve in order to not have to restart after every install and every update. Linux just immediately applies them after they are installed.

When you have Windows, you are a target for virus distributors. You download something form the internet, and click on accept because you don't care and you are in a hurry. You probably have a virus. When using Outlook, you read something in your email from someone you don't know or from someone who doesn't know that they are infected in which the email contains a seemingly harmless Word document. Little known to you, viruses could reside in the macros. It would be better to just ditch this operating system if getting viruses gets old. If you decide to stick with it, then you most definitely have to have some kind of anti-virus. Windows is notorious for allowing pretty much anything to have root access, even viruses. You give them permission once, you give them permission forever.

When you have a Mac computer, and it is having problems, you can't do anything about it yourself. The security is out of your hands, and you have no idea how to fix all your software problems. In other words, if you have a problem, you have to take it to the store and pay money. Many of apple's apps cost money. They also get viruses, contrary to popular belief. No operating system is completely immune.

There is reason to switch to a Linux desktop. First of all, it is free. You don't have to buy it, and it never comes with viruses when you get the *.iso (disk image files) off of a Linux official site such www.fedoraproject.org. Linux will work on may PCs and some have made it work on Mac computers. It will work on your poor discontinued Windows XP computer, and make it up-to-date in security. You can save more of that green stuff people use for a trading medium. You can even burn the disk to a usb, then reuse the usb for something else. People can even get Linux to work on a Chromebook with 3rd party software with allows the computer to take on a fuller potential. Chrome OS is another derivative of Linux.

Linux also restricts everything to a non-root authority. Only the person knowing the root password can allow major changes, good or bad. Linux will do what you tell it to do, and nothing else. It can install through the terminal (command prompt) and can answer the "whoami" command. You can run more things through the terminal simply because it makes more sense to use the terminal that way. You are such a hard target to hit-- there are so many distributions of Linux and so few users-- that you are not susceptible to viruses. The root-restriction and small target theories are not the only way Linux is not susceptible, but there are software repositories from which many apps are made available to you. There are also other ways to convert packages from something like *.deb to *.rpm using the package "alien."

You can also run some Windows programs in Linux using WINE (Wine is not an emulator). However, games may not install or work the best. You can get Microsoft Office 2010 on Linux using PlayOnLinux and the installation file, but Outlook does not work. You can use Thunderbird and LibreOffice instead. There is also an automated mail-checker called Popper, which lets you know that you have mail and from whom it came. You don't even have to have a browser or mail client open. You can even set a sound to play whenever you have mail.

When using Linux, don't run any strange symbols in the terminal. And don't do anything extremely dangerous or stupid. Having NoScript (www.noscript.net) and adblocker plus on firefox sure helps keep away the viruses. Nobody really has had a problem with viruses on Linux.

Sincerely,
~Hinata~

Safe downloads Malware free, no cost to you

As a courtesy for visiting my site, I will give you a chance to receive free software that is malware-free. Don't click on anything, but wait for the loading bar to load.
LibreOffice, an open-source alternative to MS Office: 
https://bju.box.com/agood764-LibreOffice-86

MalwareBytes, an antivirus software that gives you a free trial for a while
https://bju.box.com/agood764-MalwareBytes
MalwareBytes Premium key code information when your free trial expires
https://bju.box.com/agood764-MB-Key
Microsoft Security Essentials, typical Windows anti-malware defense
https://bju.box.com/agood764-MS-Sec-Essnt
Ye Olde Spybot WITH teatimer for free
https://bju.box.com/agood764-Spybot-Old
Sudo for Windows. Works like Linux's sudo to raise your rights with little danger. SuRun from SourceForge
https://bju.box.com/SuRun

 And I hope that the links work!

Anyway, the best advice is at least some advice, right?
RULES OF USING THE INTERNET
1. Don't click on ads. Ever. Try to block them as much as you can.
2. Don't download and install things without reading everything that the installer is spewing out. If you don't read it, then the possibility of your already having malware is increased.
3. Don't download from shady websites.
4. Don't save your passwords. If you have to, write them down on paper and store them in a secure place.
5. Don't give anybody your personal information, unless you absolutely know for sure that it is a site that you trust.
6. If something on a website is giving you a prompt that something about your computer isn't good enough, shrug it off. It's just an ad that people use to get their malware on your computer. Making you feel bad about your computer, and insisting that you need this particular thing in order to proceed is a trap. Ignore the ever-so-tempting big download buttons. Chances are, your computer doesn't need that particular piece of crap-ridden software.
7. Definitely get adblockers on all of your browsers. This makes it much simpler to avoid most annoying ads. Also avoid the ads on google whenever you do a google search. They are labelled as ads with a little yellow blob. Nice, huh? So avoid those at all costs.
8. Don't use internet explorer. Use a different browser such as Firefox or Chrome/Chromium. Firefox is the fastest, and usually catches something when the page wants to redirect to somewhere else.
9. When you want to try something that you downloaded out, and you don't want to sacrifice windows, use a virtual machine with windows installed on it, and sacrifice the virtual windows if you have to. This is a good way to find out what will happen when you install a questionable piece of software. Windows 7 (32-bit or x86) will work on VM (but Windows XP is faster on VM), and you can try it for a "limited" amount of time, but you can take snapshots of it and revert back to the first day if you want. You can take a snapshot of it right before you install the software in question, and revert back to before it was ever installed.
10. Definitely get some anti-malware just in case. And more than one. It's not worth the risk. If one doesn't catch the virus, the other probably will.

11. If all else fails, and you are frustrated with viruses and how slow your computer is, install the Linux OS and kill Windows. Linux usually works right out of the box, so don't worry too much because Google is there when you are at a loss. www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop and fedoraproject.org are the best and biggest Linux distributions (distros). This is a better way to use your old Windows XP computer:  put ubuntu linux or fedora linux with it. There are many other flavors that aren't as common as those two such as red hat, linux mint, gentoo linux, arch linux, puppy linux, and Debian. I recommend using Linux Mint because it is similar to Windows in general, and can be made to run some Windows applications through WINE (wine is not an emulator) program loader (sudo apt-get install wine OR su yum install wine) and PlayOnLinux (sudo apt-get install PlayOnLinux OR su yum install PlayOnLinux). You can even make linux look like mac.


Linux is a discouraging target for those who write malware. www.whylinuxisbetter.net is fairly accurate about linux.