[Thready]

I really don't want to have to buy an HDD. The system requirements say SteamOS needs a 500 GB HDD which I don't believe at all. I run Mint off of a 32 GB flash drive and I'd like to run SteamOS from a flash drive too.

 

[Plan9]

SteamOS would install, but you wouldn't get many games downloaded with only 32GB.

 

[Thready]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plan9

SteamOS would install, but you wouldn't get many games downloaded with only 32GB.

Forgot to mention it's only for streaming. That's why I don't want to invest in an actual HDD because I'll never use it. I'm not familiar with SteamOS at all and I'm only somewhat familiar with Linux as a whole so that's why I'm confused on the system requirements and all that. I would like to just put the ISO on the flash drive and run it from there like I do with Mint but the system requirements say a 500 GB HDD is needed and I don't know why.

 

[Shrak]

If you already have Mint then just use that and install Steam.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Thready

but the system requirements say a 500 GB HDD is needed and I don't know why.

So people wouldn't use a small drive then complain they have no room for games.

 

[Dimensive]

You don't need SteamOS to stream games, just need Steam installed on both machines.

 

[Thready]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dimensive

You don't need SteamOS to stream games, just need Steam installed on both machines.

I want to use SteamOS because I want to be able to control the PC with a controller and it's going to only be used for streaming.

 

[Dimensive]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thready

I want to use SteamOS because I want to be able to control the PC with a controller and it's going to only be used for streaming.

Well you should be able to install it onto a 32GB flash drive as well. But since it's in beta still, I still think using Mint with Steam running in Big Picture Mode might be the better choice.

 

[Shrak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thready

I want to use SteamOS because I want to be able to control the PC with a controller and it's going to only be used for streaming.

You still don't need SteamOS to do that. And as said, it's still "beta" and will be until Valve decide to finalize things.

It's honestly no different than running Steam on any other system, and since you already have a Mint drive, you might as well use that. You can even set it to autostart the Steam Big Picture Mode session just like under SteamOS.

 

[Thready]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shrak

You still don't need SteamOS to do that. And as said, it's still "beta" and will be until Valve decide to finalize things.

It's honestly no different than running Steam on any other system, and since you already have a Mint drive, you might as well use that. You can even set it to autostart the Steam Big Picture Mode session just like under SteamOS.

What kind of controller emulation does Mint have though? I've come across what seemed to be homebrew drivers before but I don't know how stable they are. I want to be able to control everything with a controller

Is XBMC compatible with Steam big picture? I heard XBMC has controller drivers in it that allow people to use controllers.

Can you tell I'm new to this? lol

 

[Xaero252]

The drivers for controllers are either built into the Linux kernel (ps4, ps3, a few dozen others) or are provided by evdev (99% of everything else). The remainder is usually either not worth owning or has third party driver support. Steam big picture mode uses controller events to detect controller input, and this is what *ALL* controller drivers *SHOULD* report in this manner.

The library steam uses to handle controller input has workarounds for devices that do not conform to this standard so you should be good. XBMC/Kodi use nearly identical technology to steam. The two do not work together by default but there are several ways to work around this you can read up on those solutions on the XBMC/Kodi forums. Usually you just drop Steam ' user interface entirely and use advanced launcher to launch the games. This keeps the steam overlay working but uses xbmc to handle game selection etc.

 

[Thready]

Thanks for the help fellas but in the end, I might just take my 1 TB backup HDD out of my gaming rig and instead use my 2nd SSD for backup since my backups only take up maybe 10 GB of space anyways. This could save me some hassle. The PC that I'll be using for streaming is an old Dell and I'm pretty sure the motherboard's BIOS is old and it might not run an OS from a flash drive. I wasn't even able to put Windows 8 onto it from a flash drive. I had to use a CD because it simply wouldn't recognize a flash drive in the boot order. Anyone else have a problem like this with old BIOSes?

I might actually have to buy some DVDRWs and make an ISO of Linux like I'm living in the 90s here. Oh man that's gonna suck. But at least in that case I can have like 10 different Linux OSes on there each with a ~100 GB partition. That might help me practice and learn Linux better. The first time I used Mint I thought to myself, I would gladly use this if it meant I could save $100 on a Windows license. All my mom does is browse the DIY arts and crafts sites on Firefox anyways, she would never know the difference.

 

[Xaero252]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thready

Thanks for the help fellas but in the end, I might just take my 1 TB backup HDD out of my gaming rig and instead use my 2nd SSD for backup since my backups only take up maybe 10 GB of space anyways. This could save me some hassle. The PC that I'll be using for streaming is an old Dell and I'm pretty sure the motherboard's BIOS is old and it might not run an OS from a flash drive. I wasn't even able to put Windows 8 onto it from a flash drive. I had to use a CD because it simply wouldn't recognize a flash drive in the boot order. Anyone else have a problem like this with old BIOSes?

I might actually have to buy some DVDRWs and make an ISO of Linux like I'm living in the 90s here. Oh man that's gonna suck. But at least in that case I can have like 10 different Linux OSes on there each with a ~100 GB partition. That might help me practice and learn Linux better. The first time I used Mint I thought to myself, I would gladly use this if it meant I could save $100 on a Windows license. All my mom does is browse the DIY arts and crafts sites on Firefox anyways, she would never know the difference.

You could also use a shared storage partition, no need to give each distro 100 gigs.

 

[Pip Boy]

of course it can be done. just use the advanced install, select the small ssd for the os and use the game drive for the HDD during installing, then unplug the HDD and just dont have a game drive.

fool the installation, basically

 

[Thready]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xaero252

You could also use a shared storage partition, no need to give each distro 100 gigs.

How do I do that? With Windows it all needs its own partition. I just figured Linux would be the same way.

 

[cones]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thready

How do I do that? With Windows it all needs its own partition. I just figured Linux would be the same way.

I believe he is talking about using /home and sharing it between the distros. You would do it through fstab.

Steamos is nothing to special compared to other distros. I would do what the others are saying and just install steam on Mint.

 

[N0rm]

I repurposed an old PC in my living room with Ubuntu, a wired Xbox 360 gamepad and the xboxdrv driver, which allows to switch between gamepad and mouse control.

Spoiler: How it worked for me

1. Ctrl + Alt + T to open Terminal
2. Type "sudo apt-get install xboxdrv" without quotes and hit Enter
3. Upon finishing the installation type "sudo gedit /etc/rc.local" without quotes and hit Enter
4. On the text editor, add "sudo xboxdrv --detach-kernel-driver --next-config --mouse --silent" above "exit 0", without the quotes. Save and quit.
5. Restart the PC with the gamepad plugged and you should to be able to switch with the Guide (big X) button. You may want to have Onboard (virtual keyboard) launch on startup as well.

It's said to work with other gamepads, but it may require some tinkering.

The only quirk I've had is when I'm required to click a button to set gamepad input, it registers the Guide button when I try to switch. I just plugged a mouse for those one-off occasions.

 

[enorbet2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thready

Thanks for the help fellas but in the end, I might just take my 1 TB backup HDD out of my gaming rig and instead use my 2nd SSD for backup since my backups only take up maybe 10 GB of space anyways. This could save me some hassle. The PC that I'll be using for streaming is an old Dell and I'm pretty sure the motherboard's BIOS is old and it might not run an OS from a flash drive. I wasn't even able to put Windows 8 onto it from a flash drive. I had to use a CD because it simply wouldn't recognize a flash drive in the boot order. Anyone else have a problem like this with old BIOSes?

I might actually have to buy some DVDRWs and make an ISO of Linux like I'm living in the 90s here. Oh man that's gonna suck. But at least in that case I can have like 10 different Linux OSes on there each with a ~100 GB partition. That might help me practice and learn Linux better. The first time I used Mint I thought to myself, I would gladly use this if it meant I could save $100 on a Windows license. All my mom does is browse the DIY arts and crafts sites on Firefox anyways, she would never know the difference.

Greetz

Booting USB on Old PCs - http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager/intro.html
Quote:

Originally Posted by PLOP_website
Plop Boot Manager 5.0 - Introduction

The Plop Boot Manager is a small program to boot different operating systems. The boot manager has a built-in ide cdrom and usb driver to access that hardware without the help/need of a bios. You can boot the operating systems from hard disk, floppy, CD/DVD or from USB. You can start the boot manager from floppy, CD, network and there are many more ways to start the boot manager. You can install the boot manager on your hard disk. There is no extra partition required for the boot manager.

Multiple Distros/Partitions -
While it is true that having "10 different Linux OSes" installed will each have it's own learning curve for parts relating just to that distro, it is highly inefficient to expect you can or will learn more about Linux as a whole from this method. The biggest difference between one distro and another (they really don't quite qualify as separate OSes since they are all the same base kernel with only slight distro-specific tweaks) is package management and whatever hoops the builder(s) have had to go through to accommodate that packaging method. Basically if you can do it on one distro you can do it on any other distro. The only other concern is also tied up in packaging method is how manual vs/ how automated everything is - Do you want a "butler" to dress you, have breakfast prepared for you and screen all your calls and letters, or do you prefer to do it yourself?

If you're not sure then try some distro like Ubuntu designed to strike a fairly decent balance of help and being underfoot or SolydXK (if you'd like more a more Debian oriented distro that already comes with Steam installed) and then decide from there if you enjoy having your hand held or find that annoying and prefer some level of rugged individualism. Your odds of both success and enjoyment are greatly enhanced if you don't spread yourself too thin. If you learn one distro fairly well it won't take but a short time to feel comfortable on any distro