Ubuntu trial

[aj34]

Please forgive my possible misuse of terminology as I'm a complete Ubuntu novice. Any terms I use that I'm unsure about, I've placed in inverted commas. I'm not particularly PC savvy either, having only ever used Microsoft operating systems in the past. Anyone kind enough to reply will really need to avoid jargon. Explanations will have to use layman's terms, otherwise it will mean nothing to me. Thanks for your understanding.

I would like to ditch my current operating system, the shameful debacle that is Windows 10, so I'm exploring alternative operating systems (I imagine this situation isn't uncommon). I have "installed" Ubuntu on a USB 3.0 flash memory stick and run it as a trial. So far, I'm impressed. Despite a steep learning curve, things are gradually falling into place - except a couple of areas on which I would greatly appreciate advice.

Firstly, changes to Ubuntu settings and Firefox "extensions" I made/added yesterday were gone when I logged in today. Is this because I'm using Ubuntu as a trial? I trust this wouldn't happen if I "installed" Ubuntu on my HDD as my only operating system?

Secondly, I can't seem to access my personal files that I know are on the PC's HDD. Again, is this just because it's a trial? I expect I could duplicate a few of these files onto the Ubuntu USB memory stick as a temporary measure just to get a feel for how Ubuntu handles files. Would that work out OK?

Thanks in anticipation.

[Dennis N]

Firstly, changes to Ubuntu settings and Firefox "extensions" I made/added yesterday were gone when I logged in today. Is this because I'm using Ubuntu as a trial? I trust this wouldn't happen if I "installed" Ubuntu on my HDD as my only operating system?

Yes to both your questions.

[crip720]

What you have installed on the USB is a 'live version installer' it will let you test out Ubuntu on your hardware but does not keep any changes until you install it to another drive. From Win 8 on, windows uses what is called 'fast startup', this puts windows in a hibernation mode instead of shut down. It should be turn off in windows for you to see your PC files from Ubuntu, also make sure it is turned off before installing Ubuntu. Windows has a habit of turning it back on. Before installing Ubuntu, google installing ubuntu with your computer make and model, should find some tips to make it easier. Backup all important files before installing, oops happens to us at one time or another. Backups are important, hopefully will not be needed.

[Autodave]

Normally, "fast start" is disabled by entering the BIOS. Do you know how to do that? If not, please give us the make and model of you PC.

[aj34]

Thanks very much for your replies, folks. Most enlightening and I actually understood!

I have altered settings in the BIOS before so I'm comfortable with that. Just to check my understanding though: I need to disable 'fast start', which is somewhere within the BIOS settings. And this should allow me access to my personal files (on the HDD) when I "boot up" Ubuntu from the memory stick?

EDIT: Is 'fast start' specific to Windows?

[oldfred]

Do not confuse UEFI fast boot and Windows fast start up.
Both should be off.

UEFI fast boot assumes no system changes. UEFI/BIOS then does not scan system to check what hardware systems you have and assumes it is all the same. Often then boot from UEFI is so quick to starting system, you have no time to press a key to get into UEFI or UEFI one time boot menu to boot flash drive. Cold boot from full power down usually works to have it do normal boot once.

Windows fast start up is a type of hibernation and sets the hibernation flag. The Linux NTFS driver will not normally mount any NTFS partitions with hibernation flag to prevent damage or lost files. When hibernation is restored in Windows and changes would be lost. You can often force a read only mount if required. Note that Windows updates often turn fast start up back on, so you may have to turn off again or regularly. Also grub only boots working Windows and if fast start up turned back on, grub will not boot it. With UEFI you then can boot from UEFI boot menu and turn fast start up off again.

[SeijiSensei]

You can create a bootable USB with "persistent" storage. Then if you store files or settings, they will be written to the persistent storage area on the USB. See https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/1491...b-flash-drive/ for details.

[pbear42]

You can create a bootable USB with "persistent" storage. Then if you store files or settings, they will be written to the persistent storage area on the USB. See https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/1491...b-flash-drive/ for details.

FYI, there's an easier way to do this now. In Windows, one should use Rufus or UUI (in Linux, mkUSB, as discussed in the article). Persistence in Rufus only works for 19.10 and later, but obviously that includes 20.04. Meanwhile, LiLi was last updated in 2015 and lacks configuration support for any current version of Ubuntu.

[aj34]

Because I only want to understand how Ubuntu handles my personal files, whatever I do only needs to be a short term fix. Thanks for your replies. I didn't understand all recent respondents but I do understand:

I need to ensure UEFI fast boot and Windows fast start are disabled in order to view personal files on the HDD (and Windows may well enable 'fast start' at some point).
There is a way of creating 'persistent storage' on the Ubuntu USB memory stick.

My plan A is simply(?) to turn off the fast start and fast boot in the BIOS as I don't need to store personal files on the USB. I only need a brief look-see as to how Ubuntu handles my most common file types (documents, photos, video, spreadsheet).

Just had a thought though - I also want to see how Ubuntu will work with my QNAP NAS (i.e. 'upload' files - mainly music FLAC files - to NAS using Qsynch and interrogate the NAS). I'll get this file management side of things sorted first and may post back with a question regarding the NAS - if I need to. Thanks again for all your help - much appreciated.

[Dennis N]

I only need a brief look-see as to how Ubuntu handles my most common file types (documents, photos, video, spreadsheet).

I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Documents and Spreadsheets - LibreOffice is compatible with a wide range of document formats such as Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx), Excel (.xls, .xlsx), PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx) and Publisher.

Audio. No problem. Same file formats are used by both. Files in many formats will be readable by the good Linux audio players like audacious.
Photos. Should be no problem with the common file types.

Since you are not using Windows any longer, you will want to re-save your Documents and Spreadsheets in LibreOffice native formats.