setting up Linux MINT MATE 19.0

 
download Linux Mint MATE 19.0
    (avoid Cinammon or the beta versions until after you've become familiar with Linux)
create a bootable USB or DVD

you'll be in a live version of Linux Mint when you boot to that image
click on Install if you're ready

recommend only having the drive you wish to load Linux on connected.

If you want to see performance differences run a test before upgrading hardware or installing Linux.

http://johnmeister.com/linux/Microsoft/LOADTEST-OS-COMPARISON.html

inside of laptop:


upgrade of memory:




update ssd:



the 5TB 15mm will not fit, had to use a 2TB 7mm SATA:



Linux MINT will dual boot with other OSes installed. If you put in a fresh hard drive it will install as the only OS.
If you keep the original disk with the factory installed OS and install a new drive you can put the system back to normal
    to sell it or have it serviced by reinstalling the original.

Once you've booted into Linux you can look around and see what it is all about, then Install it.

Once installed you'll need to give it a hostname, and setup any user accounts.

the steps I usually take when setting up a system involve the following:

copying the files from another system will save you time, or having them on a thumb drive or disk.
setup .bashrc, .exrc, .viminfo, .History for primary user and root
   
   http://johnmeister.com/linux/basic-setup-for-BASH.html 

source .bashrc and check environment, aliases and paths

if you plan to allow sudo without passwords, not recommended, Mint is different than other distros 
 and the line to permit this is different:
vi /etc/sudoers    luser   ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
REMOVE GVFS - remember Stuxnet?
    sudo apt remove gvfs
do an update/upgrade so your system is current:
    sudo apt update
    sudo apt upgrade
Install KONSOLE (it's more configurable than Terminal)
    sudo apt install konsole
Install vim, it has some nice features - also copy over .exrc or .viminfo
    sudo apt install vim
Install ssh if you plan to allow ssh access to the box - ssh works outgoing only
    sudo apt install ssh

setup .ssh, ssh-keygen and push the public key 

    

http://johnmeister.com/linux/Notes/SSH/ssh-authorized-keys-setup-example.html

Install network tools like nslookup and traceroute by installing package:
    sudo apt-get install inetutils-traceroute

Install tree if you'd like to see directory structures
    sudo apt install tree

Install id3tool to edit mp3 and other files with id3 tag information
    sudo apt install id3tool

Installed exiftool to view digital image technical information
    sudo apt install exiftool

Install darktable, it's like the adobe product lightroom, only free and perhaps better (gimp may already be installed)
    sudo apt install darktable

Install stellarium if you're interested in astronomy or how an eclipse might look for different locations
    sudo apt install stellarium

Install vlc to view videos and dvds (It may already be installed by default)
    sudo apt install vlc

Install other tools for video:
    sudo apt-get install dvdbackup
    sudo apt-get install mplayer
    sudo apt-get install libdvdcss
    sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2 libdvdread4 vlc
    sudo apt-get -reinstall libdvdcss2 libdvdread4 vlc
    sudo apt autoremove # to clean up old packages)
---------------------
--> sudo apt install dvdbackup
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Suggested packages:
  libdvdcss2
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  dvdbackup
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 41.9 kB of archives.
After this operation, 239 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/universe amd64 dvdbackup amd64 0.4.2-4build1 [41.9 kB]
Fetched 41.9 kB in 1s (72.9 kB/s)  
Selecting previously unselected package dvdbackup.
(Reading database ... 269869 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../dvdbackup_0.4.2-4build1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking dvdbackup (0.4.2-4build1) ...
Setting up dvdbackup (0.4.2-4build1) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.8.3-2ubuntu0.1) ...
---------------------
--> sudo apt-get install libdvdcss
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'libdvdcss2' instead of 'libdvdcss'
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  libdvdcss2
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 56.9 kB of archives.
After this operation, 88.1 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://packages.linuxmint.com tara/import amd64 libdvdcss2 amd64 1.4.2-dmo1 [56.9 kB]
Fetched 56.9 kB in 0s (189 kB/s)      
Selecting previously unselected package libdvdcss2:amd64.
(Reading database ... 269892 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../libdvdcss2_1.4.2-dmo1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libdvdcss2:amd64 (1.4.2-dmo1) ...
Setting up libdvdcss2:amd64 (1.4.2-dmo1) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.27-3ubuntu1) ...
---------------------

NAME RESOLUTION ISSUES, switching back to DNS resolution via manual or NetworkManager:

    sudo systemctl disable systemd-resolved.service
    sudo systemctl stop systemd-resolved
    sudo systemctl status systemd-resolved.service
    sudo vi /etc/resolv.conf   #  not sure about this part... YMMV... need to configure dhcp and /etc/sysconfig/network
    sudo service network-manager restart
    sudo service network-manager status