Saturday, February 5, 2022

Ubuntu Update

I decided to install Ubuntu OEM version on an external disk, since a few guys new to Linux makes adverse comment on Linux based  on limited  use with Ubuntu.

I am not an Ubuntu User but Use Ubuntu regularly for critical work.
To begin with there are over 300 Linux derivatives of different flavor.

If one is not happy with Ubuntu one can choose a different distribution depending on one's taste.

Coming back to Ubuntu OEM version is almost  identical to normal installation except having Disk utility to view and change partitions, including resizing.

It uses only about 15GB of hard disk for its utilities.
Rest is incorporated with the root partition and there is no home partition.
It needs rebooting twice for functionality.
It is frugal but one can get free or commercial apps after installation.

Ubuntu has the knack of detecting bad sectors when formatting.

It does not state bad sectors but say it cannot form a partition and halt installation.

It was a SATA 250GB hard disk.
After three days of failed installation, I excluded that part of the hard disk when installing and it did the trick.
Installed Debian and Emmabantus, too.

This error checking is bypassed when one lets the distribution takes over the whole disk for installation.

Making partitions before installation is mandatory job.

OEM distributors take advantage of this major lack of oversight of not checking the entire hard drive by many Linux distributions and may be dishing out faulty hardware.
They assume hardware is full proof when sold in the open market.

Even SATA SSDs can have bad sectors.
I may have discarded the hard drive long time ago, due to that reason..

It had a Linux distribution installed in it but it did not boot.

What made me to consider the presence of bad sector was the undue time Gparted took to scan the disk after having partition this disk.

I let a day go off before reformatting the old disk.

Patience is prerequisite skill in Linux installation and use.

I have found a another reason for Ubuntu installation aborting in mid cycle.

It has a thermal daemon to detect the hard disk.
My old SATA disk mounted on a external aluminium case got heated up and installation stopped.

Ubuntu gave a detailed list including bad hard disk but luckily  for me it gave a note on thermal daemon and my hard disk was new spare one.

I switched off everything and put a heat sink on top of the external hard disk.
While installing Ubuntu for the second time I used a bundle of A4 papers to fan it.

I am told by a guy who was introduced to Linux by me (never mastered it coming from Windows base) that where he works water coolers were running around supercomputers.

Computers consume lot of heat and me giving them a test was mainly due to soaring electricity bill.
I do my work on PC as a routine after midnight or between 5AM to 9AM and switch it off thereafter.
Keep it running only if there is a download of Linux distribution pending.

Debian also has a thermal daemon and switch down to cooling mode automatically.

So switching on, a computer is not good for this planet earth and we are in the middle of a rising temperature.

If your computer packs up do not repair or buy a more powerful computer unless you are a game addict.

My PC has lot of fans (one inside busted in three months and I pulled the link to the motherboard) and they have diode lights that gives a Wesak lantern type of color display.

That warn me, that I have not switched it off before dropping to sleep.