I've been a Linux user for a while. I've used my fair share of distros - Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, the ever-memed Arch, and even Artix. I know my stuff with Linux, I know what it means to "pipe to GREP". I can install a package or two, make a directory or three, or hell, install a system... or four. This isn't to mention the skills I've developed as a result of being a Linux user, and I'm not just talking about operating a computer. If it wasn't for my usage of Linux, my interest in programming would've never been piqued, and there would be a couple fewer garbage programs on GitHub. But how did this all begin?
On this day, exactly three years ago - September 11th, 2020, I developed a strange curiosity about the plucky little operating system that apparently powered the world; Linux. I watched video introductions on it, read Wikipedia articles about it, hell, and even visited the websites of a few distributions of Linux. I decided to find out how one would go about installing Linux, and realizing I had the tools needed, a working computer and a USB stick, I downloaded the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS .ISO alongside Rufus, and on that fateful day I made what I now call the "Oh Shit Stick".Being a tad bit paranoid about my technology's well-being, I wanted to make sure that in case of absolute system failure, I had a way to recover it in some shape or form. This live stick was my ticket to make a bricked system usable once more, and so I made the decision to lower my guard and try something new: virtualization.
I was only 15 at the time, and the biggest thing I did on a computer was emulate old Nintendo games and make a handful of Doom mods. I never looked much into programming, virtualization, or any of that nerd shit. Those things were scary to me, so I avoided them like the plague. But knowing I had a backup plan emboldened me to step into the unknown; I installed VirtualBox and tried to run the Ubuntu ISO, but as fate would have it, Virtualization was disabled for the CPU of the prebuilt laptop I got three years before that day.I had taken a few IT courses at school, so I understood that I needed to enter the BIOS for my system. I powered my machine off, smashed each function key like an ape, and broke into the BIOS. I sifted through the options, only to be disappointed to find no option to enable virtualization. I was confused and then noticed under the tab that said "Boot" there was an option to not boot into UEFI mode, but rather into "Legacy" mode.
I changed that setting, and I changed the boot to "Legacy". That change ended up changing my life.
When I restarted my system, I was shocked. "STRIKE ANY KEY TO CONTINUE". As it turns out, the shift from UEFI to Legacy had my computer initially searching for bootable mediums - think live CDs and USB drives - before looking on the hard drive. This meant that I couldn't use my computer for anything - keep in mind, my attempts to reenter the BIOS all failed - unless I had a live medium.
My eyes turned to the Oh Shit Stick. It was time to test her out.
I plugged the USB into my laptop, restarted, and bang. A new splash screen for the OS. After 30 minutes of installing, I was in. I had officially installed Linux. Although the adjustment was hard, I rapidly learned the basics and never looked back to Windows.
Fast forward three years to today, and curiosity has stricken me. I wanted to try out the fabled TempleOS, but to do that, I needed to enable virtualization. I decided to do my research after shifting through the BIOS once again, only to find nothing like before.
As it turns out, for some fucking reason, to access all the options in the BIOS on ACER machines, you need to press TAB and the fucking Function key.
With it, I finally found that fabled option that had shifted my view of technology all those years back.
I finally enabled virtualization. And in the process, I enabled myself to learn things that I can consider a passion.
Thank you ACER, thank you for your fucking stupid BIOS tomfuckery.