Computer Help and Support

I'm not a typical user. The first "real" operating system I used was BSD. I've been on the internet since 1979.

The last Microsoft product I used was Windows 98SE with some fairly wicked and possibly illegal modifications. (General purpose mass storage USB drivers cribbed from later versions of Windows, things like that.)

I first logged onto DU with a Windows 98SE machine.

I've had Linux machines from the early days, when it was a very rough work, but these were in my shop. Then along came Debian which has been my preferred operating system for many years now.

I'm a great hoarder of most everything I've done on computers. Every computer I've ever used and most of the files are just one or two clicks away from my desktop. This includes my homebrew 1802 computer, my university work, the Atari 8 bit computers, the Macs, the MS-DOS, MS-Windows, and DR-DOS/Geoworks machines.



My computer upgrade process usually goes like this:

I find a new machine that's better than the one on my desk. Usually it's something I've diverted from recycling; somebody else's trash.

I'll get the machine working, maybe install a larger hard drive or more memory, and then I'll install Debian, including Wine and all my usual emulators.

Then I'll connect the old computer, maybe even just the old hard drive, to the "new" computer and drag and drop the old computer's home directories onto the new computer's desktop. Drag over my configuration files, scripts, and shortcuts to their usual places... done.

Then the old hard drive goes on the shelf. I still have a few monster "boat anchor" 5.25 hard drives that haven't been run for decades because their content is mirrored on all the hard drives I've used since. The screenshot I posted is from a couple of computers back, but I've got all those on my current desktop too.

I also back up my home directories on USB drives, my largest a 500 gigabyte Seagate. I could rebuild any of my machines from that.

With Linux there's really no need to back up program files, those are on the internet. All the important stuff is in my home directories.

Best of all with Linux there are no serial numbers, no "activation codes," no "registries," none of that crazy shit to worry about.