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Re: Debian right for my use?



Bob Proulx wrote:
Cadman wrote:
I need help determining whether Debian OS is the right OS for my needs.
You are asking on a Debian user list.  Any answer other than yes here
would lead me to seriously question the responses.  Meanwhile I would
expect that a Fedora list would respond for Fedora for example and the
same for every other distribution's user lists.  We are all here
because this is where we want to be.

I'd actually think just the opposite. It's reasonable to expect that Debian users can comment on the negatives of Debian as its positives, and it would be irresponsible to advocate Debian (or anything else) as the ultimate solution to any and all problems. Sometimes, the appropriate answer is "you probably should look elsewhere." (Speaking as someone who has both a Mac and a Windows laptop on my desk, and Debian on our production servers, at one time or another run Solaris and redhat in production, and used and experimented with lots of other distros and O/Ss over the years).

As to the question at hand...

I am a Draftsman working from home due to physical handicaps.  I use graphic
and RAM memory intensive 3D CAD software in Windows 7.  My W7 OS is
operating poorly and is expensive to replace.

Right off the bat, "My W7 OS is operating poorly and is expensive to replace" seems like a poor reason to switch operating systems. Switching environments has a steep learning curve - which can easily eat into billable hours. Guaranteed that a couple of hundred bucks for a new Windows license will look cheap in hindsight.

First off, you're talking software that you're using for professional purposes - your primary goal should be to make sure you can get your work done, and that your software and formats are compatible with your customers' requirements. Since you're currently using Windows based software, your first question should be what you're going to replace it with, if you move to Linux. I'd also verify that there are drivers available for your graphics board.

Personally, I'd start by doing a full backup of your system, and then a clean re-install of Win7 and your CAD package. If that doesn't solve your performance problems, I'd also run some hardware diagnostics - just to make sure that your problems don't stem from, say, a failing disk drive or battery pack (if a laptop).

Moving on to Linux, and Debian:

If Linux is right for me; I need to replace it with a 1. Very stable, 2.
With least amount of configuring and 3. User Friendly Linux OS.

Debian is usually stable, but.... a new major version is about to be released, and one that has some significant differences in how it gets configured. If you move to Debian, I'd recommend starting with the "Wheezy" release (the current stable release, about to become "old-stable"). Wait until the new release ("Jessie") is out for a while before migrating.

It might also be worth noting that Debian, traditionally, has been for more knowledgeable users - it's not clear that it's the most "user friendly" and "easy to configure" breed of Linux. Ubuntu might be a better choice for a newbie to Linux (but that's based on heresay, not personal experience).

A friend suggested that I replace Windows 7 with Ubuntu Trusty 14.04, which
I did.  It worked fine until I installed my 3D CAD software within Virtual
Box.  Since then Ubuntu and the software crashes often.  It even reboots
instead of turning the screen black when the 10 minute screen saver feature
operates.

This raises a whole different question: Why are you running your CAD software inside Virtual Box?

From a performance standpoint, running resource-intensive software inside a VM is a bad idea.

From an interface standpoint, you're more likely to run into compatibility problems with the drivers for your graphics board, if you're running inside a VM. (I wouldn't be surprised if your crashes are caused by driver problems.)

And the money question: If you're running inside a VM in order to run Windows, then what's the point? You're still going to need a Windows license. All you're doing is adding is adding a couple of layers of processing overhead.

More generally, running resource-intensive graphics software, along with the drivers for your graphics board, inside a VM, seems like a recipe for disaster.

To summarize:
1. Try to clean up your current system first (and make sure you understand what your problem really is). 2. If you're going to move to Linux, make sure you've identified the application software you're going to run first (including stuff beyond your CAD package), and that all the drivers you need are available, 3. You might well be better off biting the bullet for software (and maybe hardware) upgrades, particularly if your current problems and/or the time involved in making changes is going to eat into billable hours.

Miles Fidelman

--
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is.   .... Yogi Berra


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