Really basic question (which MAY be answered somewhere here already)...

Background - I have been running LinuxCNC for a lot of years, but while I am VERY good at Windows (System and network admin for many years), understanding Linux/Unix has always 'evaded' me. I was able to get LinuxCNC up and running originally from the ISO that I downloaded and was able to drive my CNC Wood router (hobby) just fine.

As time passed - I decided I wanted to load a version of Oracle's VirtualBox and get a Windows virtual here (back to the world I know...REALLY well). But the original version of LinuxCNC that I had would not support the newest release of VirtualBox. Hunting around - I found a conversation here which helped me install an ISO of with LinuxCNC on Linux Mint V19.3 Tricia. This version is now going out of support and I want to 'move along'

That brings me to today... I have a whole new PC that I will use to load whatever the latest version of LinuxCNC on whatever latest Linux I can (or maybe should?). I briefed through a string that discussed installing LinuxCNC 2.9 on some underlying OS. The discussion started last July and the latest comment to it was as late as late Feb. As technical as I am - without the basic understanding of the Linux OS - that whole conversation completely lost me.

I KNOW I could decipher it... it's just that I retired from 40 years of IT last May and I really just want to 'play' with my woodshop... my computers... my Arduino... I don't want to be really serious about it. I don't want to spend 2 days learning how the Linux OS 'hangs together' so I can do my own customized build with super personal features. I just want to upgrade to a newer version of LinuxCNC with a newer OS.

I hope that this post isn't insulting to the technical brain trust here... I will gladly do my research (I'm an expert Googler) - I would just like someone to point me in the right direction and give me a bit of a 'push'.

Thanks in advance!!
Arden

Linuxcnc will run on VMs like virtual box or vmware player. But its not real time so its not possible to run a real machine from a Windows based VM.

The VM is useful for testing or building/using a sim.

Personally I become less excited about WIndows the more I use Linux. Particularly the nasty tricks it tries to use its ecosystem when you don't want to. Not to mention sneaky policy changes that prevent  connecting to SAMBA shares on a Linux box. Took me years to crack that one!
But having said that, I am OS agnostic and use linux, chromebook and windows every day.

irwinger wrote:

I don't want to spend 2 days learning how the Linux OS 'hangs together' so I can do my own customized build with super personal features. I just want to upgrade to a newer version of LinuxCNC with a newer OS.

 

Well, i try to upgrade my pc since 6 months. The main problem was error "finishing read" in combination with latency errors. Reasons are many and depend on used hardware.
I got the best result with net install.bookworm.iso -> put it on stick -> install it -> after bare installation ->
sudo apt install linuxcnc-uspace linuxcnc-uspace-dev mesaflash.
Works pretty good but not with all hardware. 
Onboard graphic with realtek network card + dkms or non-free realtek drivers works.
Best latency have: switch on board graphic off and replace with one old card with DIV-D socket and intel network card.
But to get all running will also need 2 days...

 

I really wasn't trying to start an OS war (we all know there are plenty of those we can join up with). I really like LinuxCNC - I'm really just too old to get excited about learning the technical depths of Linux. I'm looking for a simple "Here is a ISO that you can use which comes with LinuxCNC preloade". Kinda like what I got when I started with LinuxCNC some years back and again when I bumped to Linux Mint 19.4.

I have no intention of running it as a virtual - it'll be the booting OS. I was looking for the reverse... to support Oracle VirtualBox on the Linux OS so I could load a Windows virtual.

And I TOTALLY agree with you about the Windows ecosystem and their recent 'sneaky' changes... like forcing me to log into my local box with a Microsoft username/password.(or trying to). Not gonna happen - it's MY box and _I_ will log in with it the way I want!

Pardon my ignorance... what exactly is this 'bookworm' I've seen referenced? Is LinuxCNC following the lead of Mac and Android and 'naming' their releases instead of just numbering it so no one has to 'guess' at the sequencing?

irwinger wrote:

Pardon my ignorance... what exactly is this 'bookworm' I've seen referenced? Is LinuxCNC following the lead of Mac and Android and 'naming' their releases instead of just numbering it so no one has to 'guess' at the sequencing?

Its the next version of Debian (V12) which will replace Debian Bullseye later this year as the release version. It is also called testing (and Bullseye is stable)