Running 2 different Operating Systems - Advice/Experience

[jasonmcroy 315]

I am considering moving over to a Linux OS for all my computers at home, including the one running my Emby Server. I want to to do some more testing first before I fully move over.

 

I have been running Ubuntu on a separate computer upstairs to make sure I am able to install all the software I need successfully and everything runs in that environment and to learn Linux better anyway. I have the basic knowledge at least. I have been running the Emby Server for the past 4 days successfully on that computer.

 

Now, I want to install a second SSD on my existing Windows 10 HTPC and be able to switch back and forth for a few days before I decide to fully get rid of Windows. I don't want to dual boot on the one SSD already in the Windows 10 HTPC, I want a fully separate drive for each so I can see the fully environment.

 

I have done a lot of research on Google and I think I know the best way to do it, I just wanted get some information from some people with more experience.

 

So, has anyone else set this up in this way before?

 

My next biggest question is I would like to hear from any Linux users on their experience with running an Emby server in that environment. Are there any advantages or disadvantages I should think with?

 

My reasons for wanting to do this is that I am finding the latest Windows 10 updates are slowing my computer down quite a bit and there are a LOT of resources running in the background using up my CPU that I don't like, etc.

 

So, any advice, guidance or thoughts will be appreciated.

 

 

[mastrmind11 717]

I am considering moving over to a Linux OS for all my computers at home, including the one running my Emby Server. I want to to do some more testing first before I fully move over.

 

I have been running Ubuntu on a separate computer upstairs to make sure I am able to install all the software I need successfully and everything runs in that environment and to learn Linux better anyway. I have the basic knowledge at least. I have been running the Emby Server for the past 4 days successfully on that computer.

 

Now, I want to install a second SSD on my existing Windows 10 HTPC and be able to switch back and forth for a few days before I decide to fully get rid of Windows. I don't want to dual boot on the one SSD already in the Windows 10 HTPC, I want a fully separate drive for each so I can see the fully environment.

 

I have done a lot of research on Google and I think I know the best way to do it, I just wanted get some information from some people with more experience.

 

So, has anyone else set this up in this way before?

 

My next biggest question is I would like to hear from any Linux users on their experience with running an Emby server in that environment. Are there any advantages or disadvantages I should think with?

 

My reasons for wanting to do this is that I am finding the latest Windows 10 updates are slowing my computer down quite a bit and there are a LOT of resources running in the background using up my CPU that I don't like, etc.

 

So, any advice, guidance or thoughts will be appreciated.

I had a dual boot setup for a couple of years for work related stuff.  Ended up moving entirely over to linux on all my boxes.  I'm running Emby on a headless Ubuntu 16.04 box now and it runs great.  Only disadvantage I can think of is the mono dependency, which really isn't as big of a deal as it used to be years ago.  The advantage of moving to Linux is getting rid of the Windows bloat, and the ability to utilize awesome filesystems like ZFS.  I say go for it.  

[jasonmcroy 315]

Only disadvantage I can think of is the mono dependency, which really isn't as big of a deal as it used to be years ago.

 

Thanks for your input. Since I am very new to Linux, I am not sure what you mean by this line. What does Mono dependency mean?

 

Yes, the Windows 10 system runs ok, and I am used to it, but I see so many processes running all the time it gets annoying.

[mastrmind11 717]

Thanks for your input. Since I am very new to Linux, I am not sure what you mean by this line. What does Mono dependency mean?

 

Yes, the Windows 10 system runs ok, and I am used to it, but I see so many processes running all the time it gets annoying.

Mono is a runtime environment that allows apps written in .Net (like Emby) to run on Linux.  It adds a certain amount of overhead to everything run with it, but like I said, it's gotten way better than it used to be.  Don't worry about it, especially if you're new to Linux.  

Edited October 27, 2016 by mastrmind11

[jasonmcroy 315]

Ok, cool. Thanks.

[Luke 37054]

By the end of the year we may be on the newer microsoft runtime instead of mono.

[PenkethBoy 2063]

Curious - what windows bloat/processes are you concerned about?

[jasonmcroy 315]

One is the anti malware that I see running heavy a lot and various windows processes. I don' recall the specific ones, I just see what I consider are too many running. It's not the only reason either, just an additional reason.

[clarkss12 295]

I am a total newbie with Linux and Emby, but learning fast (turned 69 yesterday), cut my teeth on DOS.  Anyway, I have been testing Emby server on a low power Allwinner 64 board, the Pine64 and it seems to be working well.  I have installed this server on my 7 or 8 year old computer running Windows 7, a new Tronsmart Ara X5 microPC running an official latest version on Windows 10 and my Pine64 board.

 

So far, it runs better on the Pine64 and Tronsmart microPC, than my old desktop computer.  Obviously, while installed on my low powered devices, it will not do any transcoding.  But I have not found a need to transcode anything so far.  Since my low powered devices have no on board storage, I use the storage from my older Synology and WD MyCloud NAS's.  I struggled how to mount those networked drives in Ubuntu, but finally figured it out.

 

Anyway, just wanted to give my 2 cents.

[PenkethBoy 2063]

The anti malware - is i guess windows defender and/or the spyware removal tool - both can be turned off and replaced with IMHO far better low impact alternatives - i.e. a commercial AV program

 

I was doing some tests on a misbehaving server and without AV those two programs get very interested in any file movement consume large amounts of resources - replacing them later with Avast! in my case eliminated the extra load down to less than 10% of what it was before...

 

Also all the "extra" progams MS dumps on us like cortana/skype/one drive etc etc can all be removed to slim down the install - i have dont it on all my Win 10 machines - 20 mins per machine and gone for good

 

So simply you may not have to change your OS but how its configured - you may still want the change and that's fine as its your pc's and time

 

Either way have fun

[jasonmcroy 315]

The anti malware - is i guess windows defender and/or the spyware removal tool - both can be turned off and replaced with IMHO far better low impact alternatives - i.e. a commercial AV program

 

I was doing some tests on a misbehaving server and without AV those two programs get very interested in any file movement consume large amounts of resources - replacing them later with Avast! in my case eliminated the extra load down to less than 10% of what it was before...

 

Also all the "extra" progams MS dumps on us like cortana/skype/one drive etc etc can all be removed to slim down the install - i have dont it on all my Win 10 machines - 20 mins per machine and gone for good

 

So simply you may not have to change your OS but how its configured - you may still want the change and that's fine as its your pc's and time

 

Either way have fun

 

Thanks for the information. I have gone in and achieved some of that, plus changing privacy settings so my data isn't continually being sent to MS. I am not worried as much about the data as I am the usage.

 

I have tried other anti virus programs and I haven't found one that I liked. In earlier Windows you could turn off the installed anti virus and it would go away. If you do that on Windows 10 it will turn back on on it's own. I assume it won't do that if you have other software installed.

 

Yeah, I sort of want to learn Linux too and I have always been interested in learning it. It's why I want to keep Win 10 on one drive and add Linux to a 2nd drive for now.

[PenkethBoy 2063]

yes the privacy issue is a concern

 

yes any good quality AV should stop MS progs from coming back as its logged as the system default e.g. like chrome vs Edge etc

[jasonmcroy 315]

Well, my experiment with Ubuntu on my main HTPC/Server was a huge fail! I don't know if it's because I have a newer equipment in this one or not, but tons of errors with python and my Movies HDD got partially corrupted and I lost about 15 movies (luckily I have a back up drive now so I can just reformat the drive and replace them). 

 

Anyway, I will keep a copy on my older PC to do some more learning because I am sure the issues I ran into were largely user error and lack of knowledge on how to correct the issues.

 

It was running fine on the older PC with a usb drive attached but that drive was blank and I added the video files to it after everything was installed. On the newer HTPC those were existing drives so I must have done something wrong on mounted everything. Anyway, back to Windows 10 for now. Maybe I will do more research on how to kill some of those tasks that keep running in the background permanently. 

[panamajim 5]

Don't give up on the Linux install.  There is a learning curve associated with using it but it's worth the effort in my opinion.  My current Ubuntu installation has not gone without issues but the effort put into resolving the problems that come up make the experience that much more fun.

 

I have no idea what could have caused the file corruption but there are some very bright minds on these boards and they're very willing to assist you with finding answers.

Edited October 29, 2016 by panamajim

[jasonmcroy 315]

From what I read doing searches on Google and in the Ubuntu forums it can happen with drives formatted in NTFS and the mounting process. I have 3 separate drives and it only happened with the one and on the drive it happened it was only one folder (I have my DVD rips and Bluray rips in two folders on the same drive). It was the Bluray folder that it happened in. The DVD folder was fine. 

 

Anyway, I will play with it more later. Yesterday was the only full day I had to mess around with it. I am going to do more research first since I am sure I could have fixed the problem if I knew more about what I was doing. 

[panamajim 5]

At 50+ plus years of age, I don't find all of this intuitively obvious but it is well worth the learning experience.  My hat's off to you for having the gumption to keep at it.

Edited October 29, 2016 by panamajim

[jasonmcroy 315]

Well, I found out what I was going to otherwise be doing today isn't going to happen, so I now have the day to play with this some more. I am going to reinstall Ubuntu and start fresh.

 

One hurdle I know I will have and ran into on my other setup (I figured it out somehow but forgot how I did it) is granting read/write access to the drives properly. I have even read all the tutorials on it but I am missing something. If anyone knows a good, simple tutorial or has advice I will be much appreciative!

[panamajim 5]

Take a look at this as a guide:  https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/37535-building-emby-in-ubuntu-server/

 

I wrote it and have had to follow it afterwards when I did a complete reinstall.  That led me to make several changes/adjustments to the step orders.  If you have questions or problems bring them up in the Linux area and you'll get some very responsive help.

Edited October 29, 2016 by panamajim

[jasonmcroy 315]

Thanks for the link. Off to do some reading...

[clarkss12 295]

Take a look at this as a guide:  https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/37535-building-emby-in-ubuntu-server/

 

I wrote it and have had to follow it afterwards when I did a complete reinstall.  That led me to make several changes/adjustments to the step orders.  If you have questions or problems bring them up in the Linux area and you'll get some very responsive help.

Awesome guide, and hardware list... thank you.

[clarkss12 295]

I am looking for the smallest and most inexpensive hardware to run the Emby server.  I don't need internal storage, I wish to utilize my NAS for my media storage.  I wish to run Linux server.  Any ideas to help?? thanks.

[PenkethBoy 2063]

Raspberry PI?

[clarkss12 295]

Raspberry PI?

Any experience with it as a server?

[PenkethBoy 2063]

nope just a idea - they are surprisingly powerful and a lot of people use them