Switching to linux for newbies.
Switching to linux for newbies.
Honestly, at this point I’m so done with window’s bullshit. Their operating system is damn near unusable. All the convenient stuff is hidden in weird places. The constant whining about having to buy their crap. Or worse trying to get me to use the horrible software that comes with the new versions.
My excuse used to be, but I can’t play games on it. This is no longer the case for the games I love. So Windows can suck it. At this point I’m switching away from a lot of stuff I used to use. (x-box became Steam-deck, twitter became blue-sky and reddit is becoming Lemmy) As a kind of computer illiterate person, this has been a worth while transition but a difficult one. Let’s just say I had to learn a lot of new stuff.
So I’m a total Linux newbie but thanks to my Steam deck I’ve become somewhat used to using it. Not like an expert, but I have run wine to create separate environments for running pokémon fangames. And have taken a look around the Linux environment. I like it and think I’ll be able to get used to it with practice. It reminds me weirdly of windows XP in how easily I can get everything to work the way I want. It takes a bit of doing and some research, but it works. Which is all I want in an operating system.
I am looking for tips as to where to start searching, because I am converting my windows computer to Linux. I just don’t know what version.
Any user experience is welcome, I have no idea where to begin. I mostly use the computer I’m installing this on as a glorified typewriter, that I play movies, music and retro-games on.
A user friendly version is preferred, I find it hard to parse out from the various versions I have seen so far how easy they actually are to use. Extra points if a large amount of the information has easy to find tutorials on the internet. I don’t always know where to start looking and as I learned while getting wine to work, some of the names/terms are completely different. (And kind of a lot at once if you are just getting started).
Any resources you might think are useful for a newbie are also highly appreciated.
tl;dr: I (a Linux noob) am looking for a recommendation for what version of Linux to use for my needs. And any tips tricks or other info that I might need to know before I switch. Because windows sucks.
I’m sorry if this has already been asked and answered. I did try to find an answer through searching, but as I already mentioned. My lack of terms and knowledge is holding me back.
https://distrosea.com/ After following some of the recommendations here, you can look into this website to gets first look and feel for the distro before downloading the live USB.
I'd go basic debian . Install flatpak and flathub to get any packages that are too far out of date or might get so. Any derivative or ubuntu derivative just sees like unnecessary extra dependencies to me.
Debian gives i think a wider choice of desktop environment than any of the derivatives on install, but I think they're all much of a muchness really. Most of the DEs have the "Click something, window opens" feature.
Here’s a nice pic that make you feel less “lost” about how some popular distributions relate to each other:
A bit more useful, puts the different parent distros to scale:
High-res source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions?wprov=sfla1
This picture definitely explains why I was so confused about all of the different versions. Dang, also fascinating to see that so many people put so much work into this operating system, making their own versions for their own needs. Thank you, this one also goes on the research pile.
Thank you, this is going to make organising my research in preparation a lot easier. It also answered some questions I got by reading other peoples comments.
Probably Linux Mint. If you have a hardware support issue on Mint, Fedora.
A few people have been recommending Mint. I wasn’t aware it could possibly have hardware support issues, I’ll be sure to look into that beforehand. Thank you for the alternative recommendation. I’ll look into that as well.
You can always try the live USB without/before installing. It's a great way to start getting comfortable or try out several different distros with minimal effort and risk.
Linux Mint. Easy to set up, reasonably easy to use, and used by enough people that a quick internet search should probably turn up results of people who have run into similar issues if you ever have a problem.
Also has an interface that clicks easier with people used to Windows.
The best advice I can give you is to switch to Linux is don't right away. Switch the applications you use to open source or Linux compatible alternatives that also run on windows. Then after you get used to those on windows then make the switch.
I would also recommend not dual booting at first since it's too easy to jump ship at the slightest issue vs sticking with it to figure out the issue just like you would with a problem on windows. It's a real thing I have experienced it in reverse as a long time Linux user that tried Windows 11 i kept jumping back to Linux every time I ran into issues that caused frustration.
This is some very solid advise.
I dual booted and I rarely ever used windows when i was starting, mostly because windows takes a while to reboot.
Since you are already familiar with the Steam Deck, I would go with a distro (that's Linux-speak for version) that uses KDE Plasma, as that's the desktop environment used by Steam OS. My recommendation therefore is Bazzite or Aurora. Both OSs are developed by the same team using the same core technology. Bazzite is more "gamer focused" (a.k.a. they are pre-installing steam) while Aurora targets more of a developer audience. But I would argue that the differences are, at the end of the day, mainly cosmetic. Aurora is still pretty noob friendly and you could still develop on Bazzite.
Both systems are "Atomic" which basically means that a system update can't screw up your system. And if you screw something up, then you can "rebase" the system which reinstalls the OS but keeps all your data and installed apps*. It uses flatpak with flathub as its appstore so you have the same apps available as on the Steam Deck.
Now for the downsides: Some apps are a bit harder to install. Mainly apps that need deeper system access such as vpn apps can take a couple more steps to install here than on other distros. There is also no live system. Many distros have a "live mode" where you can test the system before installing. This allows you to check if your hardware is supported. Aurora and bazzite don't have that.
Lastly the userbase is growing, but other disros such as Mint are still more popular. You therefore might find less specific documentation and tutorials on the internet for it than with other options.
*Technically it's more complicated than that, there are edgecases of apps that don't survive a rebase, but don't worry about that.
This is basically the holy grail for finding how to do things or troubleshooting once you have the basics down: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Main_page
A large amount of information is transferrable to other distros, particularly if they use systemd.
I would also spend some time getting comfortable with the command line. There are a million tutorials, guides, and free courses on this topic. Find a shell and terminal emulator you like. I'm using Fish and Kitty these days.
Going against the grain, maybe consider EndeavourOS for a distro? https://endeavouros.com/
I second Linux mint. It's my daily driver and I love it. I first switched my laptop which wasn't much daily driver to mint and when I got used to it I switched my main desktop.
I recommend dual booting Windows and Linux until you're comfortable switching entirely. Sometimes you need to go back for just one task.
Always back up your files before installing a new OS. Data loss is always possible during installation, and more likely if you don't know what you're doing.
The Grub boot manager (included and installed by default with Linux Mint and some other distros) makes it easy to pick which OS to boot each time when turning the computer on.
Check out Lutris for non-Steam Windows games. It uses Wine, but is a lot more user friendly to set up and use.
If their computer can handle running a windows vm on virtualbox, I’d recommend that over dual boot. Windows update will almost certainly cause issues on boot…eventually.
Jump into Linux with both feet. Use the vm as a crutch or a bridge to windows only software.
Follow the advice below… backup everything. If you have a 2nd hd, this makes it easier to keep files and is separated.
If you’re prepared to reinstall, it’s easy to nuke it and try again. It’s part of learning and sometimes easier to troubleshoot.
Sounds like Linux Mint would be a good start for you
You get my standard reply that I use zorin which is an ubuntu based distro that tries to give the look of feel of windows and has a lot of default installed things like wine/playonlinux, libreoffice, app for disc burning, rdp client, basically most everything I would want for day to day use. It is not necessarily the best gaming distro and its certainly not bleeding edge. Its a great install and get to doing things right away distro to me which is what I want.
I don’t mind if things aren’t the newest of the new. In my experience that usually means there are more tutorials and fewer bugs. A distro that feels like windows a bit is tempting as a newbie and might make my switch easier, thank you for that consideration. I also like the idea of getting to work right out of the box. I’m definitely adding Zorin to the research pile, thank you.
Linux Mint DE will be the easiest transition.
I like it and think I’ll be able to get used to it with practice. It reminds me weirdly of windows XP in how easily I can get everything to work the way I want.
xubuntu may be easier to switch for an xp user. Xfce is more malleable than all other desktop environments + ubuntu communities are active and less snobbish.
fedora also was surprisingly easy.
now i'm on arch and i asked myself countless times : Why are you doing this to yourself?
Why the pain of Arch? You probably fell in love with the rolling release, wiki, and the AUR.