Not the first time. I thought a Windows 10 update wiped grub, but Microsoft actually deleted my entire Linux partition. Others have experienced the same thing.

Windows is required for a couple of apps I need with no alternatives, but the only way it runs on any of my computers is in a VM.

I have mine behind a Pihole too. It blocked all the ads at first but Roku seems to actively varying the ad servers and they’ve started showing up again. I haven’t had a chance to see if I can block them again.

Could be a bad board. I have a Pi 3B+ that intermittently crashes and shows insufficient voltage no matter what power supply is used.

Roku is chocked full of ads too, and regularly sets the default for the “Select” button to open those ad sites or apps. Roku used to be great. It has now been completely enshittified.

I have a convertible laptop with a MicroSD slot. A 4TB card would be great for backups.

Another tip: On Android phones, Tasker can be used to automatically activate Wireguard tunnels to your own or a commercial VPN host. Taskernet.com has one project that activates WG when off specific wifi networks, and another that I wrote that allows you to activate a tunnel on demand only when you open specific apps. Great if you want to access a home server occasionally (without detectable open router ports) or want an extra layer of security when running a financial app.

There are a number of ways to access your Linux drives from Windows (I did it regularly when I ran Windows) and if your drive hasn’t been wiped your data is probably all accessible. Here’s a link that should help: https://www.howtogeek.com/112888/3-ways-to-access-your-linux-partitions-from-windows/

Windows went a step further on my machine. I thought it had just screwed up my bootloader, but when I went to restore it my Linux partition was completely gone. Windows Update had deleted the partition.

Malware is right.

Depends on the phone. Oneplus has a 65 watt charger.

I use a W10 VM for processing individual files once a week or so. With the required 2 Windows programs it takes about 3 minutes to complete the task and shut down the OS. Not worth switching.

MacOS is okay, not terrific (I hate how much RAM it uses though).

On that note, I’ve been amazed how well Mint works with just 8GB of memory. I’ve had Firefox and Chrome running with plenty of open tabs, Thunderbird, Libreoffice Calc, and a half dozen other programs open while running W10 in Virtualbox. Mint just takes it in stride.

I had to go into the BIOS, turn UEFI to legacy, turn off secure boot, reboot to boot from the USB stick, install Mint, then turn legacy back to UEFI to get it to boot from the hard drive.

That is ridiculous and it does sound like a Lenovo problem.

I’m running Mint on a Surface Laptop (which was difficult to install because Microsoft), but getting Secure Boot working only required changing the UEFI settings to allow non-Microsoft Secure Boot certificates. With that set Mint boots just fine both with Secure Boot enabled and disabled. So do USB installation ISOs.

Secure Boot can still be a pain. To get Virtualbox working with it enabled required signing several kernel modules which took a while to figure out.

Mint is great though. After distrohopping for years I finally decided I wanted to just use the OS and GUI, not play around with them and I came back to Mint. The latest versions of Mint just work and work for years once they’re installed. For me, going back to Windows (especially W11) feels like punishment. I hope you enjoy the switch.

And btw secure boot is Mint’s fault. It just doesn’t support it yet

Not the case. I’m typing this on a Surface laptop running Mint with Secure Boot enabled. Even the bootable Mint USB can be run with Secure Boot turned on.

Docker can be really confusing, but IMO being able to add and remove software without having changes made throughout your system is well worth the effort.

So if you haven’t seen something happen it couldn’t have happened to any of the billions of people in the world? If I said my computer won’t power up someone here would insist I don’t know how to press the power button.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-update-delete-linux/

TeamViewer was breeched several times resulting in remote hacker access to customer machines and all their data. Rather than issuing a mea culpa and advising their customers to immediately change their passwords, the company vehemently denied that their systems had been breached and actually blamed their customers for reusing passwords.

It took 3 years for these assholes to finally acknowledge that the problem had been caused by them, not their customers.

Trusting TeamViewer to protect your data and tell you the truth if they are hacked is a mistake.

https://threatpost.com/teamviewer-denies-hack-blames-password-reuse-for-compromises/118427/

The problem with purging Edge is my Windows 10 install will not open Firefox when the OS calls for a browser. For instance certain help screens are displayed in Edge or they aren’t displayed at all. And then there are Microsoft’s repeated reinstallations of Edge when running updates.

I have only one PC still running Windows and that’s only because Microsoft deleted my dual boot Linux partition and it is difficult and time consuming to reinstall, but Windows will be blown away soon…

Microsoft has been abusing their customers due to their market position for years and Justice Department needs to reopen that anti-trust suit. Time to break the company up.

About 7 months ago. A Google search will turn up other reports of the issue.

Keep your Linux partition backed up! Windows update deleted my EXT4 partition and all Linux data on my laptop. (No, it wasn’t a Grub problem, the partition was gone.) There are reports this Microsoft BS going back years.

I don’t need you to validate my life experiences.

LOL! Apparently you do.