I dont like Microsoft operating systems and wanted to try something
different. The computer had a working installation of Windows, which
had been running well despite being from MS. Rather than delete it, I
just changed to another hard drive. I installed Linux. The
installation process was very painful. Getting it to cooperate with the
hardware was worse, and of course there is no real support. I finally
got it halfway working. At that point, I found it was hard to learn,
harder to get used to, and hardest to do anything useful since none of
the programs were familiar.
Two days later the computer stopped working entirely and would not even
boot. I spent hours fighting with it, tried to reinstall linux and it
simply would not work. I removed the hard drive that linux was on,
plugged back in my Windows hard drive, and could not make the computer
boot up. I finally took it to a computer repair place, and was told the
CPU was dead. Cost to replace was more than another computer.
Hundreds of dollars later, I had another computer, with more power than
before. Once again, I removed the hard drive, and installed that same
spare harddrive with linux on it, only to discover that hard drive was
permanently damaged. So, I purchased another harddrive, installed it,
and installed another distro of linux that was listed to be one of the
best ones. A week of fighting with installing it, and trying to make it
work, I finally had a semi-working computer. Another week of struggling
with trying to learn and use Linux, I was ready to give up on it and put
the original Windows hard drive back. The next day I removed the linux
drive and put back the Windows drive, and found the computer would not
boot.
Once again, I took it to the repair shop and was told the CPU was
damaged, and there was damage to the RAM too. Total cost was more than
I paid for the computer. I also took along the linux harddrive, and was
told that the drive had permanent damage (a brand new drive). The
repairman asked me what I was doing with these computers. As soon as I
mentioned the word "Linux", he told me that's my problem. He said Linux
destroys computer hardware, and said he wont even allow it in his shop.
He said that simply installing a self booting Linux CD can wreck a
computer in minutes. mostly destroying the CPU and drives. This is
caused because Linux sends the wrong voltages to components and burns up
the CPU and other chips. It also plays havoc with harddrives, and
causes them to lose their ability to read and write data.
So, here I sit with 2 ruined computers, 2 dead harddrives, and around
$1200 worth of damages and repair bills. (Not including many hours of
wasted time). Since Linux is made by a bunch of computer geeks and
idiots with no real business address, there is no one to sue. Both my
computer repairman and lawyer said it's worthless to even try a lawsuit.
It's just one of those hard lessons to learn in life.
All I can do is warn others, to avoid Linux like a deadly disease. Dont
even try it, unless you want to intentionally destroy your computer.
From now on, I'll just stick with Microsoft, even if their operating
systems are bloated. At least they dont destroy computers, and they
operate from an actual business that exists in brick and mortar, not to
mention having actual online and phone support.