If in front of the machine I would automatically do what you just said.
I was looking for inspiration on how to phrase things in an email to a
very non-techie ;}
On 10/08/2021 10:55 AM, Ben Koenig wrote:
If memory serves you can usually find total HDD space pretty easily though the
exact terminology varies from one windows version to the next. Either right
click on My Computer or pop open the Disk Manager if that fails.
In general, if you open the file manager you should see something on the left-hand panel that says
"My Computer" or just "Computer". This will be there regardless of which folder
you have open so you can always just click on whatever you use to access your documents or files.
Once you find the Computer button, just right click-> properties. This should
give you the size of you C:\ drive which is going to represent a majority of the
disk. You can approximate total HDD size from there without having to walk someone
through accessing the Disk Management tool.
On any linux distro its just Terminal-> "df -h" which contrary to popular
belief is much easier walk someone through over the phone....
-Ben
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Friday, October 8th, 2021 at 8:36 AM, Richard Owlett <[email protected]>
wrote:
On 10/08/2021 09:32 AM, Ben Koenig wrote:
Good questions:
1. No. This is typically distro specific and only applies to end-user
"desktop" distributions.
That would not be a problem. It would be primarily a common frame of
reference. And as I would not be the author, it would prompt them to ask
a different set of questions than I would think of.
If such a document does exist I would check with projects like Linux Mint.
I'll search for Linux Mint info.
Debian is unlikely to have what you are looking for.
2. Yes and no.. theyve been moving stuff around and in many ways windows10
resembles your average linux desktop. While the terminology still exists
it does not match what you might expect from xp or 7 so I dont recommend
relying on it.
I need to know how big a drive they have and how much free space.
Suggestion on how to phrase the question clearly in an email? If they
and I were going to be home at the same time this weekend I would just
call them.
Whatever you do dont give them gnome or ubuntu. Things won't end well :(
ROFL!
Ubuntu is reason I run Debian.
Gnome3 is the reason I use MATE.
-Ben
Sent from ProtonMail mobile
Thank you.
-------- Original Message --------
On Oct 8, 2021, 7:02 AM, Richard Owlett wrote:
I've been providing informal support to a local couple for decades. He
is a retired pastor, now a missionary. A few years ago they bought a
computer from a local big box store. It has problems and customer
support has been inadequate. As part of my support for the missions
agency, I'll be purchasing a replacement. As I've not used Windows since
WinXP and they are pure Windows users I will set it up to dual boot
Windows and Debian. I've bought several refurbished machines from a
local company and have watched them deal with non-techie customers. That
will provide expert Windows support if/when needed.
My immediate questions:
1. Is there any site that explains to a non-techie the differences
between Windows and Linux and the advantages of using Linux?.
Preferably without describing "how-to".
[ From my side the advantage is using maintenance tools
I'm familiar with.]
2. Do recent versions of Windows still have icons titled "Windows
Explorer" and "My Computer"?
[ As we'll not be meeting for about a week I'm asking them for some
details of their current hardware. I'm suspicious that they may be
low on free disk space.]
TIA
