Bison Bud

Initial poster update, I spent nearly a full day researching and reading on the internet as well as following this thread. Then decided to try Linux lite first. I downloaded the ISO file several times, then burned a DVD boot disk for each download, only to have it boot up the start screen followed by the logo graphic, but finish up on a black screen with no further response. I figured that this was probably due to corrupted files and this morning I tried downloading Linux Mint, again burning a boot disk, and again I got the start screen, logo graphic and it finished on the black screen. I figure that there must be some sort of driver issue with my computer or I'm doing something wrong! Any suggestions out there? Otherwise, it's back to the internet to try to figure it out, as I am determined to get one or the other up and running and at least try it out. Again, thanks to everyone who has contributed here, lots of great information shared here on this subject!

blackest Loc: Ireland

I think several people have suggested software for photo editing on Linux, there are somethings to learn sure,but the basics using a mouse left click right click , menu's, dialog boxes pretty much the same with cosmetic changes and a different font. An interesting thing to get used to is the very rare need to install drivers and the software centre where 99% of Linux software lives organised in to sections like games and office that you select and are downloaded installed and you get no unnecessary additional downloads or malware... sure that will take some getting used to. No figuring out if the link you are about to click on downloads the file you want or a 'download manager' or other garbage.

Sometimes trying something new is whats needed. Dual booting and virtual machines if you ever feel out of your depth with a new operating system you can always fall back to what you know. Taking a windows machine off the Internet and using say chrome for browsing in Linux immediately reduces the vulnerability of the computer in question. Why limit yourself to a subset of the tools out there with linux osx and windows you have a pretty comprehensive set of tools to use on their merits.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Try burning to a usb stick with unetbootin

https://unetbootin.github.io/

Its pretty straightforward , and you can always reuse the usb stick when its done.

Its possible you have EFI and secure boot turned on in the PC you are using.

A query like

can't boot Linux on (make/model of computer)

should hopefully lead you to a page with instructions on how to get round the issue. A lot of modern computers require a signed boot loader to load the operating system some linux distributions may not be signed and require secure boot to be turned off.

twr25 Loc: New Jersey

The only way Apple computers are better than PC's is in their ads ... if you maintain auto updates and use a good top of the line virus program you will have no trouble. Apples also have virus attacks. Unix based operating systems are not free from attack either and finding good virus protection is much harder and less choices. I've hacked many a unix based computer for law enforcement purposes and was never unable to gain entry. Most problems come from sharing photography with the assortment of other work or family programs slowing the machine down. I use a second PC for generic family use and save my best PC for photography.

Bison Bud

I think your on to something with EFI and secure boot, as it almost has to be something on my computer. Anyway, I'll look into it soon. I also tried the thumb drive thing, but it sounds like I need to reformat it to Fat32 and I'll try that as well. Thanks for the quick feedback!

radiojohn

It is interesting to consider which computer system, which is essentially a set of tools, works best for a person's photo editing. Also how complicated your needs are, as in if it is a case of wanting to improve a few things or a passion to create something very special. The former user can get by easily with modest gear while the enthusiast (many here) need a lot more powerful tools.

Cost considerations cannot be overlooked.

On one hand, I grabbed up an old MacBook (not pro) for $79 - used to be about $1,200. There are sufficient apps on it for my needs, but it cannot be upgraded to the later versions of OSX, so no new shiny apps for me!

Old PCs, especially 32 bit ones have trouble past Windows 8, and the same software problems arrise.

Even Linux distros now emphasize the 64-bit versions.

Kind of like finding an older FD mount Canon SLR. The upgrade path is limited.

With both Apple and Mac moving towards leasing software tools, that is another wrinkle.

Apple does have the edge in that they make the hardware AND software. They do not have to accomodate thousands of different configurations of PCs by hundreds of makers.

aflundi Loc: Albuquerque, NM

If you are bringing up a live filesystem on DVD, expect it to be *really slow.* It might be that you gave up too soon. Watch the DVD drive activity light to see if the DVD is being read.

Also, when you are 'black screened', you might try going to another virtual console with Ctrl-Alt-F4 to see if you at least have a command-line login.

Bison Bud

Yeah, it does take a long time to boot from disk. However, the drive stops on the black screen and nothing further came up for at least 45 min. before I shut it down and rebooted to Windows. I'll try the control-alt-f4.

pixbyjnjphotos Loc: Apache Junction,AZ

Aftershot Pro is for both Linux and Windows. It works as well in Linux as it does in Windows. Originally, it was Bibble and open source which was bought out by Corel. Corel has done a great job of making Aftershot Pro a very good RAW converter and image editor. It will also work with jpg files. It does not support layers but works extremely well with PaintShop Pro (PSP) by passing an image directly to PSP for further editing or exporting images as tif images. Aftershot Pro also has a catalog feature. I like it since it is not nearly as confusing as Lightroom. There is no need to convert files to CNG or DNG to make the files compatible with PSP such as needed by Lightroom to edit in Photoshop. It is all so confusing to me.

pixbyjnjphotos Loc: Apache Junction,AZ

I have downloaded Linux distro ISO files, burned them to a bootable DVD, and tried them out by the dozens with very few problems. Ending up with a black screen is a sign that you may be trying to run a 64 bit version on a 32 bit machine. You must match the Linux version with your machine, 32 bit OS for a 32 bit machine and 64 bit OS for a 64 bit machine. Another thing I have discovered is, if you are trying Linux out on an older machine you will have much better luck with a machine with an AMD processor. Older Intel processors don't seem to like Linux. I have converted several older laptops to Linux and the AMD processors never fail me. The black screen will come up at the end of the load and may take a quite a bit of time to auto configure before running Linux. Give it at least 2-4 minutes when running live from a stick. I prefer to run live from a DVD. It is possible to have downloaded a corrupt version. The best one to try is Linux Mint 18 with the Cinnamon desktop. It runs on almost any old machine. Good luck and keep trying. Once you get Linux running and a little experience you will wonder why you didn't do this sooner. Have a GREAT DAY!

blackest Loc: Ireland

With local access it is easy especially if there is no encryption involved. doing so remotely is a different game entirely.

You should be dd ing the drives to image files if you want the evidence to hold up in court. Wonder how you would get on with an iPhone :)

danlsmith Loc: Columbus Ohio

Good idea, I too am fed up with Microsoft's Windows monopoly. Unstable. The only problem is that they don't have any real competitor. Linux is stable but you may be hard pressed finding editing software to run on it. Apple isn't targeted nearly as much by nasty virus writers, so you may just want to consider it.

Bison Bud

After some more internet research, it appears that quite a few folks have had the black screen boot problem with MSI computers, due to bios issues. Obviously, mine just has to be an MSI! Anyway, the bios setup is indeed odd compared to other computers I've used. I was able to get the boot device changed to the CD ROM. However, the usual fix listed of turning off safe boot and changing to csm bios doesn't appear to be available at least at startup. Anyway, I've spent most of the day fighting on the phone with my health insurance over some denied claims and I don't much feel like dealing with further computer issues today. I'm not giving up, just going to relax a bit before diving back in.

Jaackil Loc: Massachusetts

I do not disagree with a single point here, however for the average person changing over to Linux is a much bigger task than they might realize as the OP is finding out based on his most recent posts. I also always wonder what the attraction to software that is “almost as good as” or “pretty much the same as” is. I get it if you are tech savvy or really like the idea of free software but for most people the off the shelf mainstream software is cheap enough and is still the standard. For me LR and PS are still the gold standard and professional grade at a price that is very affordable.
I would also like to reiterate one point I made in an earlier post. If you are having problems with Mac OS or Windows OS the first thing to look at is the user. The user is always the weak link. Most of the people that have replied here that have switched over to say Linux have Tech backrounds or are much more tech savvy than the average person. So the ease the advantages they find with a new OS may not be the same that a less tech oriented person may find.

blackest Loc: Ireland

To be fair installing is the tricky thing for most users, even installing Windows once you are past that its as simple as well windows really.

The reason the OP is likely having a problem is because of secure boot. The idea is that the PC will not boot an operating system which doesn't have a signed bootloader. Most PC's you can turn off Secure boot and there are Linux versions which have an approved bootloader

If you bought a WindowsRT machine the bootloader was locked on them and you are unable to replace the operating system on them which is a shame really Arm processors are just as supported as the x86 processors with Linux you would certainly find more linux software than Windows RT software.

Chromebooks can also run linux which is quite handy if you have a kid who loves minecraft as there is a Linux client but not a chromeos one. Yep I know small children who can switch from chromeos to a linux desktop without a bother.