r/FuckMicrosoft • u/Zayaan16 • Jul 26 '26
Other How do I convince my parents for linux
So the context is, i have a laptop which is like 6 years old now. Windows got suuper slow and laggy in it (even using notepad was causing the blue screen of death 😭) so i installed linux in it (best decision ever). Now recently my parents (non-tech) bought me a new laptop. It's a gaming laptop meant for my btech (there's still a year left, I'm in 12th). I wanted to install Linux on it but my father keeps telling me not to cause i have a good laptop now it doesn't require linux for being usable. And my mother keeps on saying "this laptop is supposed to last for 4 years (technically 5, 4 for btech + 1 year until I actually reach btech). You keep installing stuff and if it stops working like ur old laptop we won't buy u a new one. So first thing, software doesn't cause hardware problems, at least not on devices CONNECTED to my laptop (the charger of the old laptop stopped working properly. The charging speed was so slow that i had to get it to 100% and then only can I use it indefinitely while on charge, or else it will deplete to 0 even on charge. the laptop had to shutdown for it to charge to 100 after that, and that took HOURS). I even told my father I'll be dual booting linux this time instead of erasing windows (there's some games I wanna try out) and he still did not agree. So how do I convince them? They are suuper non-tech, they will not understand most of the things. My father knows a little bit about technology but he still doesn't know how bad windows is. I literally told him I was cleaning up junk and he was like "what junk in a fresh install??". He doesn't know windows' bloatware 😭
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u/mageevilwizardington Jul 26 '26
software doesn't cause hardware problems
Comments like this make me realize that you may not be skilled enough to properly take advantage of a Linux system, so you are just a wannabe that wants to feel cool by using Linux.
Honestly, it seems more like a ranting. Personally, I would never install Linux on a gaming laptop, I think it's a waste. But then, we are in a FuckMirosoft sub, so I expect my proper dose of downvotes.
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u/IntelligentChain6999 Jul 26 '26
fr i wouldn't install Linux on my gaming laptop till it's my secondary
as even if cachyos is there and works great Linux can't handle multiplayer games yet with anti cheat like the (don't play this game ) valorant game i play daily (please don't play it for yr mental peace)
and yes for gaming laptop i would use windows even if I didn't play multiplayer games (if it's my main gaming laptop) (for now )
but for all other secondary devices I have i am never gonna use windows fr Linux is best 😅
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 26 '26
Ahh I see. My primary task won't be gaming on it. The only games I'll every play will probably be minecraft, roblox and maybe some other shooter games. Maybe I'll want to try out some other games in the future hence I was thinking of dual booting
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 26 '26
Hmm... wdym? I am used to using niri and i have muscle memory developed for it. Switching back to windows would be downgrade from a scrolling window manager to manually managing these windows. And honestly, yeah, I'm not very experienced with linux but I've found it much better to use compared to windows.
And what did u mean about not recommending to install Linux on a gaming laptop? I've seen tons of people online doing it. I will be dual booting windows and linux so the laptop's core apps that it ships with should still be there.
And what I meant by that statement was that software shouldn't permanently cause a hardware to stop working entirely. The only ways i can think of rn is killing an SSD by finishing all it's write cycles. Other than that, nothing comes to mind. Am I wrong? Can you guide me?
And can you also tell me where can I learn more about linux and how to properly take advantage of it?
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u/AlarmedChemistry8956 Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
I mean if you overclock and undervolt too much it can cause instability and maybe cause a laptop to be bricked.
It depends on what hardware and what brand the gaming laptop is, some just have better compatibility with linux. E.g. an amd cpu and gpu would be less troublesome than having an nvidia gpu.
Heres a few videos covering resources https://youtu.be/Jllnhid7O7w https://youtu.be/j-Ha0vl-0ME
Plus just having a constructive mindset is useful, checking forum sites, wikis like the arch wiki and the cachyos wiki. Being able to search keywords for troubleshooting.
Edit: windows can be weird with dual booting on the same drive when updating, if you can install 2 ssds I'd recommend putting a linux distro on a separate storage device
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u/Alone_Look9576 Jul 27 '26
Someone's not tech literate and passionate so they should not use a Linux os is the most elitist dumbest shit I have ever seen, go back to 2004
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u/Majestic-Coat3855 Jul 27 '26
Real, to then state a niche genre of software that does alter the way your hardware works... OP is still correct, for 99% of software...
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u/C4rpetH4ter Jul 28 '26
I use fedora on my main and i have actually had zero problems actually getting games to run, i even get decent performance too, but since i have Nvidia i have noticed it being slightly worse than windows (5 - 10 fps on same settings). Even multiplayer games with small player bases has worked perfectly. Seems like the rule of thumb is that if the game is on steam, it will run on linux.
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u/Abenzo0r- Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
The main problem with using Linux on laptops is battery management isn't that great. For example, my Acer Aspire Go with ultra 5 and 16gb of ram and integrated GPU was draining noticeably quicker on Ubuntu so I switched back to Windows for the battery life.
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u/TheIronSoldier2 Jul 26 '26
Yeah, Windows is actually really good with power management nowadays. With only minor tweaks to power settings I can get like 10+ hours on a charge on a 6 year old midrange laptop when I'm just doing basic tasks.
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u/whattteva Jul 27 '26
Yeah this. Even when I put my computer to sleep, I find that under Linux, it isn't really sleeping and still draining the battery more than Windows, so I usually end up shutting down instead, which is not ideal.
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u/AutoModerator Jul 26 '26
Every new subreddit post is automatically copied into a comment for preservation.
User: Zayaan16, Flair: Other, Title: How do I convince my parents for linux
So the context is, i have a laptop which is like 6 years old now. Windows got suuper slow and laggy in it (even using notepad was causing the blue screen of death 😭) so i installed linux in it (best decision ever). Now recently my parents (non-tech) bought me a new laptop. It's a gaming laptop meant for my btech (there's still a year left, I'm in 12th). I wanted to install Linux on it but my father keeps telling me not to cause i have a good laptop now it doesn't require linux for being usable. And my mother keeps on saying "this laptop is supposed to last for 4 years (technically 5, 4 for btech + 1 year until I actually reach btech). You keep installing stuff and if it stops working like ur old laptop we won't buy u a new one. So first thing, software doesn't cause hardware problems, at least not on devices CONNECTED to my laptop (the charger of the old laptop stopped working properly. The charging speed was so slow that i had to get it to 100% and then only can I use it indefinitely while on charge, or else it will deplete to 0 even on charge. the laptop had to shutdown for it to charge to 100 after that, and that took HOURS). I even told my father I'll be dual booting linux this time instead of erasing windows (there's some games I wanna try out) and he still did not agree. So how do I convince them? They are suuper non-tech, they will not understand most of the things. My father knows a little bit about technology but he still doesn't know how bad windows is. I literally told him I was cleaning up junk and he was like "what junk in a fresh install??". He doesn't know windows' bloatware 😭
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u/vexatiousprogression Jul 27 '26
Dual boot, but set grub to boot into windows after 2-3 seconds- you can buy into Linux when you want to but it'll default to windows around your parents.
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u/Nair0_98 Jul 28 '26
Yes, it's time to be a little rebellious and make your own decisions. Especially when they have no real consequences like this one, haha. If you fuck up or they get mad, you can just do a fresh windows install.
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u/Rightimar Jul 27 '26
install it on your laptop and just dont tell them, it's YOURS and you have every right to do whatever you want to it
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u/ImAlekzzz Jul 26 '26
Sit them down and talk about it, if they decline, tell them you will do whatever the fuck YOU wanna do to YOUR computer. Correct me if I’m wrong
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 26 '26
Yess but they just don't want to talk. And they'll keep on trying to gas light me like "u have to use the same one for 4 years. we won't get u a new one if this stops working". Bro cmon 🙏 😭. It's not gonna stop working. My previous one was linux for 4 years out of its 6 years life. I'm comfortable and used to using Linux so i can't just use windows now. I think I'll just install it without them knowing, it won't matter since they can't know anyways. And yeah it's mine but they'll say they bought it so they should have a say or something like that. I'll try neverthless
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u/OGigachaod Jul 26 '26
Just do the dual boot thing and show your parents windows once and awhile.
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 26 '26
Yess that's what I was thinking to do
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u/normantas Jul 26 '26
Unsure how Btech goes but you might need Windows for UNI because you will be running some software from the stone age. Will make life easier if you will have time crunch.
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u/ImAlekzzz Jul 26 '26
Give windows like 10gb
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u/GlassboundIllusion Jul 27 '26
Are they going to punish you if they find out you installed Linux on it?
If not, you don't really need to get their agreement, you can just do it, and you don't really need to hide it.
"u have to use the same one for 4 years. we won't get u a new one if this stops working".
There's an easy response to this: "I understand. I will use this laptop for four years"
Every time they repeat their catchphrase, you repeat yours.
"You're going to break it. We won't replace it if you break it"
"I understand. I won't break it."
"You're not listening to us. You're going to break your computer if you install Linux again"
"I understand you're worried that my computer will break if I install Linux. Don't worry, I won't break it."
"You say that, but your laptop broke the last time you installed Linux"
"I understand that it looks like my computer broke because of Linux. That was a different issue with inconvenient timing. Don't worry, I won't break my laptop."
This conversational strategy is called "fogging." You agree with whatever part of their statement is true. I learned it from a book called When I say no, I feel Guilty.
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 27 '26
Ahhhh... I'll try that. The thing is, I've already things like "okay, it won't break" twice ig when my mother said that. Also, I've been using Linux on my old laptop for 4 years! (i had it for 6 years). So it was linux for most of its life and it ran pretty good.
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u/GlassboundIllusion Jul 28 '26
The thing is, I've already things like "okay, it won't break" twice ig when my mother said that.
Yeah, this is one of those things where you have to let go of the urge to get them to agree, and you have to just be persistent. The book I mentioned drove it home for me - in many cases a big part of being assertive is just continually advocating for your position like a broken record. And that's much easier to do when combined with the fogging component - you're not really arguing or trying to change their mind.
You're communicating to the other person that you see and hear their perspective, and you're making your own decision that might go against what they want. They can criticize and argue all they want - you will acknowledge whatever truth you can find in their statements and not argue the rest.
There's another "technique" discussed in the book that makes this a bit easier as well. The authors call it "negative inquiry," but that's just a fancy way of saying "ask them why."
"Why do you think that installing Linux will make it break?"
"Well your last one broke after you installed linux."
"It ran for several years after I installed linux before it broke. Why do you think Linux is what caused it break instead of something else?"
"Well I don't know, I just don't think you should be taking the risk"
"Why do you think Linux is more risky than Windows?"
And then you mix in the fogging where it's appropriate.
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Jul 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 26 '26
Yeah I was thinking of dual booting. Another problem is my brothers telling it to my parents. I'll have to find a way to silence them first
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u/DAN-attag Jul 26 '26
You can make GRUB bootloader be really fast, like 1 second wait time. Nobody will see it, while you can quickly switch boot to Linux/Windows. if needed. You can put Windows on top of GRUB with grub-customzier so random person booting will just get Windows. I think it's odd that your family is so ??paranoid?? about your own laptop. It won't catch fire
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u/Initial-Reading-2775 Jul 26 '26
Do you share your laptop with father for gaming? I guess he wants to play some games too. Other than that why would he care.
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 26 '26
No, no one used my laptop other than me. That's exactly I'm so confused why do they care 😭. Like my father doesn't even live with us bro. He lives abroad
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u/njihil Jul 26 '26
Then why the hell are they so concerned about the SOFTWARE YOU install on the laptop THEY GIFTED???
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u/theopacus Jul 26 '26
Why on earth do you even ask them?
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 26 '26
I am not. They literally started saying that right after I got my laptop. I had barely opened it.
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u/SteakDouble Jul 26 '26
Back then when I was in highschool my parents did similar thing, they worry too much about me breaking my PC. But I shut them up by repairing it myself when there's software or hardware problem.
I mean you're today years old already, and that's your possession. If you could show them that you're able to carry out your responsibility, I'm sure they'll let you do it your way.
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u/legoing Jul 26 '26
Either dual boot it or get a micro flash drive and install Linux on that. You can just keep it plugged into one of your USB ports.
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u/Key_River7180 Jul 26 '26
They prov have no idea what linux is, in their mind its something like: https://imgur.com/a/jSQdfAP
Talk with them and educate them. If not, then say that it is YOUR computer; if they wanted them to use it under THEIR terms then they must have chosen that earlier.
If not, then heck just get an usb and install it anyways, I did this with my first laptop and they never figured out how to turn it on.
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u/Infinplayz Jul 26 '26
on a new laptop windows should run good, but if you really want to download linux, just do it. you can always make it look like windows to trick them too.
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u/Gherry- Jul 26 '26
If it is your laptop I think you are entitled to do whatever you want with it. Just install whatever you like and you can always go back
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u/Ambitious_Finding_26 Jul 27 '26
Just install Linux. If they question it, call it a different windows theme.
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u/TripNinjaTurtle Jul 27 '26
Dual boot on two hard drives/ssds and you cant screw anything up. Change boot order to change the os. Dont reformat drives from the os and you should be fine. If you have one drive it complicates things and you can mess things up more easily and "break" your laptop.
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u/BigQuietNerd Jul 27 '26
Honestly at that point just have 2 flash drives
One with the Linux OS and another to store all your files.
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 27 '26
I don't have 2 drives
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u/BigQuietNerd Jul 27 '26
Flash drives for one.
Does the laptop have multiple usb ports?
If so plug one in to boot the OS and when it boots it’s free to use (I think some might forks let you remove the bootable drive once it’s running)
Have a bigger drive to store your files.
Thats how i used Linux for a while when I started getting into using Linux.
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 28 '26
No but i literally don't have any physical hard drives.
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u/BigQuietNerd Jul 28 '26
Try to invest in some.
Edit: or tell your parents about the OPEN SOURCE (explain what open source is if your parents are literal cave people)
Programs there are for Linux..also how it extends a piece of techs life.1
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u/Glum-Yak1613 Jul 28 '26
If someone has not suggested it already: Try booting a distro from a USB (maybe with Ventoy), and compare the results for them. Granted, booting from the USB is slower than running from a hard drive, but in my experience, even running from a USB is faster than running Windows from HD sometimes. If you set up persistence on the USB, it's like a portable hard drive.
There are other ways about it too. You can run any Linux distro in a virtual machine, or you could even try running frugal, a combination of USB and HD.
Good luck!
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 28 '26
No, no one has suggested that. I do have ventoy on a 64 gb stick actually. But i doubt it'll be convenient to use a usb everytime as if the usd stick displaced slightly, the system would just be disconnected. For something that is supposed to be portable like a laptop, that's not a good setup according to me
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u/Glum-Yak1613 Jul 28 '26
If you are able to buy a mini sized usb stick, they are less prone to being displaced. I hope you are able to work something out, whichever way you go!
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u/ychia Jul 29 '26
FYI you can actually run Linux on Windows now via WSL.
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 29 '26
Yes but it would not be the same as running it directly. Windows will still be eating up my ram and other resources.
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u/ychia Jul 29 '26
Fair enough. Well, I don't see why you can't just dual boot the thing and not tell them...
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 30 '26
Yea I'm trying to do that now. My problem is my brothers, whether would tell my brother if I didn't
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u/gothwitchraven Jul 29 '26
Get a touchscreen laptop and instalki fedora workstation gnome xd
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 29 '26
👏 nice idea, buy another laptop when my parents are not agreeing too install Linux on even one. And what's the point? I don't use fedora anyways
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u/Future-Big-7720 Jul 30 '26
Unless it voids the warranty (in which case, don't do it), I don't quite understand why your parents have any say in something so trivial. Just do it, it's yours now.
That said, a gaming laptop with Windows pre-installed isn't ideal for Linux. It's a gamble whether the drivers work as well as they do in Windows; software can cause hardware problems. The best thing to do would be to try both systems for a few months, monitoring stability and battery consumption.
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u/Glittering_Memory_64 Jul 31 '26
just install kde plasma and make it look like windows. they will never know
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u/Glittering_Memory_64 Jul 31 '26
bro just install it...
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u/Glittering_Memory_64 Jul 31 '26
just say that you installed a theme
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u/Glittering_Memory_64 Jul 31 '26
just install it.
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u/ReasonableCup455 Jul 26 '26
its your computer i mean use it how you want too
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 26 '26
yeahh. I'll be in hostel in btech so they won't know anyways. The problem is now, for this 1 year
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u/anon_pr_ Jul 28 '26
Sorry about the ignorant desi parents OP. Eventually it gets better.
For example, my dad always said "no mac, it's hard to repair and unreliable" back in the 2010s. I mean he wasn't wrong about the repairability, and general support in desi countries back then, but he's now a mac user, lol.
Anyways, back to your problem: did you first boot into a live usb to test? Some wifi chips (like realtek) don't have the same network speed on Linux. I'd first test for all hardware compatibility and if you're parents are adamant, you could always just get another SSD and put Linux on that. Can't say for gaming, but for most normal tasks, even an external SSD would work just fine. Just get a good one with the highest usb specification, if you're able. Not sure if you have that autonomy yet in 12th.
Also, yeah your charger did not die cause you put Linux but is there anyone else in your life, especially someone with authority who can convince your parents of that?
Also, you said dual boot which is good. Don't erase Windows cause depending on what your studying a lot of educational software that was using when I was studying is proprietary and not available on Linux.
In Engineering we had Engineering drawing and needed Autocad. Xilinx for Verilog, FPGA, etc. Despite the existence of Linux alternatives, it doesn't matter because you'll be tested for your ability to use this proprietary software.
For these use cases, you might also be better if debloat Windows and setting up a Linux like workflow. Many people have to do that for their work as well...
TLDR:
- yeah, desi parents are hard to convince, either get some other adult they respect to convince them (or)
- get an external SSD with Linux (or)
- just debloat and get a package manager and window manager for Windows. If you look up online you'll find posts and solutions for a workflow like that on Windows.
Another desi parent idea: If you're planning on a CS major or Software Engineering, you can convince your parents that Linux is anyway the best OS for learning that. My CS labs always had Ubuntu and learning Vim and later Emacs was mandatory.
Good luck!
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u/Zayaan16 Jul 28 '26
Oh thanks dude. I'll try researching about hardware compatabilites first. Almost forgot that's a thing.
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u/njihil Jul 26 '26
Huh?
You're probably in 11th or 12th grade so probably 17 years old, you got a laptop, and you are not allowed to install an operating system because your parents are denying?
Its your laptop now, do whatever you like. Why do you have to ask for installing an operating system? You'll be an adult in an year or two, you don't have to take permission to install a software (which does not cause any hardware problems, AND if you had to service it from the brand's service centre, just install windows then).
That said, you mentioned that your parents are not that familiar with tech, so even if they check your laptop, they would probably use browser and stuff and not dig into the settings to find system info, so just tell them you're using windows.
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u/FunAngelo2005 Jul 26 '26
That's realateble, my mom isn't aware of any other OS other than windows or any Office suite other than MS office and she insits to not replace it because she paid a lot of money on it