20.04 GOG-Galaxy comments...

[Kris_M]

I was very pleased to find GOG-Galaxy in Ubuntu software but it doesn't work for me.
Under win8.1 I use it for KQ5, KQ6, UW, UW2.
Under Ubuntu, release 1 : the programs install but on play they pop up with a thing to report an error.
With GOG-Galaxy release 2.0.16, they won't install - error E2.

However, I had noticed that under 8.1 they just execute SCUMMVM. and that's in Ubuntu software, So I installed that and grabbed the KQ5 and KQ6 folders from 8.1 and gave them to SCUMMVM under Ubuntu and they installed and ran just fine. UW and UW2 did not, however, but that is minor as I can and do easily play them under DOSBOX.

so I should be jumping up and down here because I can get all my games running on 20.04 (incl NWN Enhanced and NWN2) - less need for win8.1 .

[mastablasta]

some gog installers need additional libraries (see Play on linux documentation, there should also be something about this in wine docs). also even though the installers crash they would often actually install the game.

old games are often not an issue. i also play them. some more you should try (based on your current selection): Arx Fatalis (this is a must if you liked Ultima underworld), OpenMW (it now actually looks better than original Morrowind engine), Torchlight 1&2 Oblivion... - all these work really good in Ubuntu. a bunch of slightly newer games from GOG also installed well with hardly any tinkering.

[CelticWarrior]

In a nutshell, many GOC Linux installers aren't native versions but the same Windows software wrapped in a bash script. It doesn't include Wine though and it is required. So, just install Wine and try again.

[Kris_M]

@mastablasta thanks for the suggestions - I will look at them. Yes the engine in Ultima UW1 and 2 was the first 3D 360 degree - influenced everything that came after. Though it gives me headaches I love it!

@CelticWarior yes, I now have wine 5.0 and it seems to be a good one. When starting up the snap GOG-Galaxy it comes with lots of warnings that it is new and beta so it is something that, perhaps once a month I might try, just to see it's status, but it's very nice to know I don't actually need it. Back in times of ubuntu 19, so long ago , I thought I needed win to play those old Sierra games, but now I am indeed jumping up and down being able to play them just as well on Ubuntu. I still need win for Macrium Reflect and Rufus, but that's about all.

Thanks all!

[CelticWarrior]

I still need win for Macrium Reflect and Rufus, but that's about all.

Why do you think you need any of those?
There are several native tools that do exactly what Rufus does, and do it faster.
Sure, it's nice to have an intuitive GUI like Macrium has but really? There are better and FREE alternatives in Linux.

[Kris_M]

history!

I seem to have to defend this every time I mention it.

I have a very old Easeus (doesn't play nice with linux) backup that just a week ago I grabbed something from it in prep for trying Ubuntu again(I have a 7 page log that I create when I do an Ubuntu install, and that I use and update when I do the next install. It makes installs SOOOOO easy. People like me tend to forget how to do the MS font install after a year!!! or how to install the Europe drivers for my Canon printer.).

Because it is windows, I can click on the backup, browse and select individual files, and restore it. My stuff (logs etc) for doing Ubuntu is all on NTFS. Why? because over the years I always have had a windows system available. It is only sometimes that I also have a linux system. Because I have, in the past, always run into linux shortcomings and have abandoned it. Or back when I had boxes that had Nvidia cards I would wind up with a zombie system when trying to boot it to use just the Intel video driver(like when I actually fried a 650TS). Linux still does not play nice with changing video cards and drivers. (this laptop is simple ONLY because it ONLY has an Intel video chip.)

Same with the Macrium backups - I can explore and recover just a single file if I wish. It's been a tremendous time saver. I know there are things available to backup/sync a linux system but none play nice with NTFS and none allow me to explore NTFS file by file to see what's there. In the past I used Clonezilla extensively as I kept changing the linux build, but I am done with that. Macrium is too easy - any time I want I can restore the entire SSD with its mix of partitions. If I make a bunch of changes and get things working, I just go to win and do another Macrium image. Easy! Too easy.

As to RUFUS - yeah, btdt. My experience has been : I come up with an iso and I use something on nix to flash it to a stick. I test boot it and it doesn't work. So I try to flash it with something else. Maybe success, maybe not. Again, my experience has been : RUFUS always works. So what if I have to spend a minute booting windows and using it. I would have windows around anyway. I know better than to delete it! My backups, my history is on NTFS. I can't be bothered plugging in a nix live boot and booting it just to access some file on an ext4 partition.

gets on soapbox:
I am lazy.
I use what works for me and saves me time.
That is why I also avoid the UEFI/GPT thing - again, btdt - wasted many many many days trying to find folks to help me to get it to work when it wouldn't do one thing or another.
I work on a live system - that is, it CHANGES. CONSTANTLY. I may need to pop in a drive that it has never seen and use it for an offsite backup at any given moment and not have to worry about permissions or formatting whatever. I use my system. I do not serve my system! My system exists to serve me. When it doesn't I delete the offending opsys (that's where win10 went LOL.)

steps off soapbox

[CelticWarrior]

I was just asking, absolutely no intention to start a discussion whatsoever.
You use what you want, to each its own. My question was because I didn't know how passionate you were regarding those things. That said, "I test boot it and it doesn't work. So I try to flash it with something else. Maybe success, maybe not" is certainly not a problem with those tools because almost everybody else uses them successfully. And "RUFUS always works" maybe true for you because "[you] also avoid the UEFI/GPT thing" so Rufus' default settings (BIOS/MBR) surely work. Now ask all the other users who want to proper install in UEFI mode how they feel about their Rufus made USB media NOT booting because they didn't know or forgot to change those anachronistic default settings...

You're doing yourself a real disservice by refusing to update your knowledge about UEFI. Sooner than later you won't have the option to do Legacy installations; IMO that should have been removed at least 6 years ago. Are you gonna quit computers for good when that time comes? Likely not... You'll then play a much harder catch up game.

[VMC]

I use Macrium bootable USB flash. balenaEtcher-1.5.86-x64.AppImage works very well.
Ventoy is now what I use. It will boot and run almost anything.
edit: just realized this is marked solved.

[Kris_M]

ignore that I'll fix it tomorrow....

[mastablasta]

Same with the Macrium backups - I can explore and recover just a single file if I wish. It's been a tremendous time saver. I know there are things available to backup/sync a linux system but none play nice with NTFS and none allow me to explore NTFS file by file to see what's there.

just for data backup i use Areca (in Linux and Windows).

for whole disk backup there is also Rescuezilla which uses parted. you can backup entire disk or portions. it's easy to browse iso images in any file browser.