I bought a laptop yesterday, it came pre-installed with Windows 11. I hate win 11 so I switched it down to Windows 10, but then started considering using Linux for total control over the laptop, but here’s the thing: I keep seeing memes about how complicated or fucky wucky Linux is to install and run. I love the idea of open source software and an operating system without any of the bullshit that comes with Windows, but most of the open source stuff I have is on my android and fairly easy to install. Installing and using Linux just feels like it’ll be a whole different beast that’ll eat up most of my time and I’m kind of intimidated by it.
TL;DR Linux scawy, how does a barely computer literate scrub like me who’s used nothing but windows since the dawn of their life get started with Linux?
Dont install it, yet. Make a bootable usb stick with balena etcher and put a linux distro on it (I highly recommend mint, pop_os or ubuntu (standard version) as ISO on it.
Ubuntu is very controversial in the more advanced sphere but I learned on it and its great for beginners.
If you want to go a little bit over the top download ventoy and put it on the usb instead. You can then put as many ISOs on there as you can fit and just select one of them at boot.
The most important part for beginners is the desktop environment anyway so gnome should be fine. If you have tried it for more than an hour and still feel like this could be fun, click install and give it a go.
You could also dual boot but windows might fuck you over since they‘re not great neighbors as an OS.
Feel free to ask if you want to know more. Good luck.
Ubuntu is very controversial in the more advanced sphere
I would argue only turbonerds really complain about it. But in my experience, for professionals who just need to get things done it works perfectly fine 99% of the time. Same for Windows or OSX to be honest.
Of course there’s going to be those one or two guys from the vocal minority with some esoteric hardware that didn’t work chiming in shortly I’m sure.
I think its an outdated recommendation. They keep making weird choices and one of only two friends that was willing to try Linux went and tried Ubuntu without my input and decided to go back to windows for a bunch of mostly mundane reasons that could have either been configured away or been preempted by using a different distro. The other guy will be back but on bazzite after trying my steam deck he only left for shitty rootkit anticheat games that he’s now sick of. He started on one of the arch easy install methods and was already a power user on both windows and Mac.
In fact, I dont use ubuntu on my desktop anymore because of their snap craze. I also think talking down to people shows lack of character btw. Have a good one anyway.
There are ways to remove snap and prevent it from (even accidentally) being installed again, that’s what I do. https://www.baeldung.com/linux/snap-remove-disable
But you can tell me how you think I was talking down to people? I’d like to know so I can correct my behavior if necessary.
Was it the word turbonerd? Sure not everyone may agree with that, it was said jokingly and I really just meant non-professional users who are passionate about Linux, wasn’t trying to make fun of anyone.
I highly appreciate you asking for feedback and acknowledge a possible opportunity for growth. Very rare, doubly so on the internet imo.
The intention you use something with - sadly - does not communicate over written text well. If you use common derogatory language in a „funny“ way doesnt change that it is derogatory. Think calling a black person the n word or a woman the b word but „meaning it funny“.
The word turbo nerd is exceptionally derogatory and akin to making fun of disabled people.
screaming at themselves or cursing can be a sign of tourette, the IT world has a very high rate of autistic people and hearing them scream can be a sign of a meltdown. Thats not something to make fun about.
In any case it never is your business to make fun of someone except the person gives consent (ie is a friend who is cool with being treated that way or does the same with you). Taking away people‘s agency that way is indeed what can lead to horrible outcomes. Just dont do it. You can be funny in a different way.
The word turbo nerd is exceptionally derogatory and akin to making fun of disabled people.
This is really not true in any way, and he never mentioned screaming. It is good that he’s being conscious here, and I don’t want to assume anything about your personal experiences, but I felt like I should offer my perspective because I feel that yours is not representative of the common view.
Listen mate, please read before you assume. I cited a source because thats what you do when you claim stuff so I did.
Using degrading language isnt okay and neither is trying to dismiss someone explaining it because its „not representative of the common view“. I never said it was.
I was explaining how I made the conclusion. No reason for you to jump to their defence. I was explaining. Have a good one.
Listen mate, please read before you assume.
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Speaking of assuming, you assumed he was using the Urban Dictionary definition. What I was trying to say is that he likely didn’t mean it in that manner. It’s good to be conscious that the UD definition exists, but it seemed like you were saying he was intentionally using that definition.
Hope your day is going well too.
If someone is leaving windows for privacy reasons, it doesn’t make sense to go to Ubuntu.
Can you list some reasons why you think this is true?
I admit, everything I know about Ubuntu is heresay as I don’t use it myself. But I was under the impression that there was a lot of telemetry that they send back, and ads/bloatware they ship with to subsidize their development.
everything I know about Ubuntu is heresay
Then why did you act like you knew what you were talking about?
You have better things to do, why are you asking me that?
I don’t. I ask because confidently wrong people are one of the biggest reasons why the internet sucks IMO, and I want to understand why people do it.
Try out [distro based on Ubuntu], [distro based on Ubuntu], or Ubuntu? These are largely on in the same. Either test drive something with a non-.deb base & a different package manager, or suggest what a lot of folks really notice when discussing the feel which is the alternative DEs (desktop environments) on offer. Fedora & other big names usually offer ISO varieties with the major DEs. I think finding a DE is a better starting point since most DEs will be offered by most distros.
Try Linux Mint. You set it up on a USB drive, and you can try using it before you install it. So load it up, and try doing a few things you’d normally do (check email, etc.). This way, you can get your feet wet without committing fully. If you find you like it, you can do an installation (and it doesn’t require any fancy terminal stuff).
If the disk is not encrypted you can go wubi, it’s a windows app that will install Ubuntu in a virtual disk. You can use it forever without touching windows and also upgrade it with newer Ubuntu version: Check under assets here https://github.com/hakuna-m/wubiuefi/releases
Did you install Windows 10 yourself from scratch? If you managed to do that you should be able to handle most Linux installs as well. I would go so far to say that generally Linux is easier to install than Windows nowadays. Go with Mint or OpenSUSE or Ubuntu and you should be all right.
If you have nvidia graphics that might give you trouble in the form of one extra package to install. If you have Intel or AMD graphics you shouldn’t expect any trouble at all.
The biggest difference between Windows and Linux is that you generally don’t download apps and drivers from websites but use your package manager to install stuff. Similar to app stores on smartphones. And unless it’s nvidia all drivers are already built in.
You can download live Linux images that boot directly from USB to try them out without installing. Often the live image is the same one you can then use to install Linux, if you want to.
Mint
I definitely found Linux Mint the easiest version to switch to, coming from Windows. All the menus and icons were basically where I expected to find them. I couldn’t have cared less about Wayland support, I just wanted to do basic tasks and for my printer to work, and Mint did that out of the box.
Linux is easier to install than Windows nowadays.
This.
Go with Mint or OpenSUSE or Ubuntu
Not this. Mint maybe, even though their Desktop looks dated and is not Wayland ready. But OpenSUSE is strange (what to use, Leap? Good luck with outdated packages; Tumbleweed? Well you are now rolling) and Ubuntu is basically dead.
Ubuntu is basically dead
LMAO
Ubuntu is basically dead
It’s dead for hardcore nerds that care about such things as snaps and such. But in the corporate world, it’s very much alive. I literally just got done installing an Ubuntu-based NVR from Wisenet for a store’s CCTV system.
Ubuntu is dead
Kinda showed your ass with this one
You don’t have to install Linux if you are not ready for it. You can test it without installing by using Linux live distributions. With Ventoy you can have 10 or 20 different Linux distributions on one USB stick and test them to see how well your laptop works with it and which flavors you would prefer.
Note that what you will experience is just the Desktop, as the details of the distributions are more “which one has less errors over time and not outdated or unstable packages”?
Just download Balena Etcher (it’s the easiest USB flashing tool), flash a Linux Mint .iso file to a flash drive using it and boot from it like you do with Windows installers. Unlike Windows, Linux can work in “demo mode” straight from the USB without installing to the hard drive. It may be slow in this mode but it should give you an idea of how Linux looks and feels. If you like it, double click the “Install Linux Mint” button in the top left corner and proceed with installation. Other distros usually have the installation icon on the same place or somewhere in the “Start menu” so you shouldn’t have hard times finding it in case you decide to try another distro
On Windows, Rufus is better. On Linux, use Impression Flatpak, or the KDE IsoWriter, or FedoraMediaWriter, all better than BalenaEtcher.
Rufus has much more than 3 buttons and Etcher worked fine for me
Its an electron app and has ads. But for sure it works.
Fedora media writer also has only a few buttons and has mac and windows versions too.
Absolute beginners shouldn’t worry about electron too much imo.
Unfortunately I couldn’t properly try Fedora media writer because the iso download speed with it was at like 300 kb/s so I can’t say anything about it.
Strange that the download limit was so slow, I’ve never had that happen. You can download ISOs from a browser to use in the utility, however, and Fedora has done a good job of simplifying it down to a fairly identical user experience as Etcher
Just download the iso from your browser? Strange bug though.
I was just like you, but one day I got a USB stick and decided, ‘Heck, I’m gonna install Linux today!’. And it was surprisingly easy, I haven’t seen anything weird.
Just remember to back up your important data before making any changes. There are a lot of helpful comments already, but if you need anything, the community will always be happy to help you figure it out. No need to worry!
Go to your local Linux Users Group meetup
If that’s a real thing that sounds like absolute torture
It is a thing, it’s not a chore though. Usually it’s a talk about a cool project someone is involved with, sometimes guests from a major project give a talk.
And then snacks and chat after
Hello and welcome to the club! It depends on your skill level. For some it can be very difficult an OS, Linux or no.
I’d recommend practicing on a VM first to verify your technical chops.
Step 1: Download virtualbox and create a new Linux virtual machine with 30 GB of disk space.
Step 2: Download a Linux ISO and mount it in the VM.
Step 3: Maximize the VM window and install Linux.
Step 4: Play around with your new Linux installation as though it were your real OS.This will be the closest to bare metal install when compared to running it from USB. USB live tend to feel laggy, because of the bus, but in a VM, it’s just like bare metal (almost) minus the “going all our” part.
Try many different distros and DEs before you make your choice.
Try atomic distros too, they may or may not be your cup of tea.
Go crazy on a VM. If you don’t like it, nuke it, try again with something else.
The only problem is the insane amount of options, which is also what makes this so much fun.
Like others have said, definitely try a few distributions out via USB before committing. Also, you can dm me if you need help beyond what you find online.
Good luck, and have fun!
Don’t install on your main rig over your main hard drive. Don’t obliterate your windows drive, that will ease a lot of the intimidation, knowing you can always go back. Getting a cheep laptop or thin client to try distros out on will elevate that intimidation as well.
Start with what you have heard of and have been recommended repeatedly, Mint, popOS, Ubuntu, all great distros to learn on, have great documentation.
Also, read the docs. They are dry and long, but will always have the solution.
In my experience it being easy to just switch back to Windows wasn’t always a good thing. When there was an issue or I had something new to learn sometimes I would just take the easier option of switching out the Linux drive for the Windows one, even though I really wanted to stop using Windows.
Not saying OP should go cold turkey, but something perhaps worth considering at some point.
@ComicalMayhem what do you plan to use it for?
Buy a new SSD or hard drive. Take the existing one out of your computer and put it in a drawer. That eliminates the possibility of the Linux install somehow messing up your Windows drive. Put in the new drive and do your Linux install onto your new totally empty drive. Now you can always go back to Windows by swapping the drives again.
Seriously, Linux installation is pretty easy if a bit time consuming. I generally use Debian MATE since I don’t like Gnome. Go to https://cdimage.debian.org/images/release/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/ , copy debian-live-12.5.0-amd64-mate.iso onto a USB flash drive, set your BIOS to boot from USB, plug in the flash drive and boot and follow the prompts. Give yourself an hour or so for this since the installer is going to install 100s of packages one at a time. You mostly won’t have to interact while this is happening though.
A little off topic but I’m kinda new to Linux myself, why do you dislike Gnome?
I don’t remember exactly, just something about being unable to get some crap off the screen. But it’s a matter (in my case) of subjectively preferring the MATE UI. It’s fine to try them all and see what you like best.
It does not matter much which distro you choose, as long as you choose a bigger distro. They are all well supported linux systems. Use a live USB. You do not have to install it, you can plug it in and use it. Or, install via a virtual machine.
Well, looks like you know how to format a PC. Then you already did 90% of the dirty work of installing and using a Linux.
Choose a friendly-linux distro and you’ll be fine. I suggest you to try
Arch (I’m joking!)Linux Mint, Fedora, PopOS or Zorin OS.I think PopOs would be really easy!
I really like System76s work so even though never used PopOS it is very likely fine.
But Zorin, hell no. It is a randomly patched outdated GNOME and their installer is Buggy.
Just use Fedora with Dash to panel and you have a better experience.
Mint and Kubuntu are great for newbies. Ubuntu is also great, but the community hates Ubuntu these days so be ready to get replies criticizing Ubuntu or your choice to use it. It still makes a lot of shit really easy.
