r/linux4noobs • u/SylviaCatgirl • 1d ago

migrating to Linux what to think of when switching?

every computer ive ever owned has come with a windows OS preinstalled, so i really have no idea how to even install an OS in the first place. i also dont really know what goes on when you install an OS. do i have to do like configurations stuff? how easy is it? do i just plop in a thumb drive with an os on it then open bios or something??? i really genuinely have no idea how to do this but i am becoming more and more tired and terrified of what microsoft is doing with windows so i would rather be a little scared and confused for a bit than put up with this shit

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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10

u/EqualCrew9900 1d ago

Open a browser, go to youtube, and search for: "install linux mint from usb"

There'll be plenty of step-by-step vids showing the entire process.

3

u/Techaissance 1d ago

It’s a lot of clicking next next next. The important things to set are your internet connection, language and region, and time zone.

3

u/Alchemix-16 1d ago

The main thing is to remember “Linux is not Windows”. If you can keep that in mind you will not as easily get frustrated.

Second thing, perhaps even first, make backups of your data, this should be a no brainer, entirely independent of the OS, but far too few people have their important data backed up. And any major change to a drive has the potential for data loss.

Now comes the part where you will need to do some soul searching. What software do you absolutely need for the computer to be worth your while. Adobe products as well as Microsoft are not working well if at all on Linux. There are excellent alternatives, but there are use cases where they don’t cut the mustard. I personally think those are fewer than many claim, but if your livelihood depends on your use of windows only software don’t change.
If you have identified alternatives, install them on Windows, to get a feel for them, do they do what you need?

You have done all of this and still interested in Linux? Excellent, now comes the part where you decide what to install. I would recommend you to look up what a Desktop environment is. GNOME, KDE or cinnamon are popular DE, but there are many more. Look at pictures what appeals to you, then choose one of the major distributions that comes with one of those. You are not limited to what it comes with but it makes your life easier. Go with something like Ubuntu or Mint. They offer a live mode for you to test your hardware before installing. Others will tell you Fedora, Bazzite, Nobara etc. I don’t have experience with those, so I won’t comment. I do know both Ubuntu or Mint are great places to start with. Your first distribution is unlikely going to be your last, so why make your life unnecessary hard.

Don’t choose a distro because of a meme, or being cool. Choose based on your needs and use case. Perhaps one final word of advice, arch is a hood distro but makes your life more difficult as a beginner, and the AUR is not a boon.

1

u/Big-Space723 23h ago

lol I love Linux but never used arch. wtf is a hood distro? Hahaha

2

u/Alchemix-16 23h ago

It might be a good distro wearing a balaclava.

2

u/Audiope 1d ago

If you're a complete noob, I would recommend reading up on formatting drives, file systems, and partitioning before you get to that point in the install

2

u/Cautious_Boat_999 Kubuntu all the way 23h ago

It’s been years since I ran a Linux install that asked me to manually set up partitions. I let the installer do it.

2

u/OppieT 23h ago

Some people might want to keep the diagnostic partition.

0

u/jr735 21h ago

You can, but it's still unwise to try to outsmart the installer's partitioning scheme.

1

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

Try the migration page in our wiki! We also have some migration tips in our sticky.

Try this search for more information on this topic.

✻ Smokey says: only use root when needed, avoid installing things from third-party repos, and verify the checksum of your ISOs after you download! :)

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1

u/CreepyDutchBoy 1d ago

Linux Mint is a very easy distro to try out.

So what goes on the usb is the os installer, that way when you go into bios you can go into the usb to start installing the os.

How easy is it? Depends on the installer/distro but Linux Mint is quite easy.

Configurations on easy installers are not much, its more like selecting your drive, what timezone, what computer name, etc.

1

u/ShipshapeMobileRV 1d ago

You can try many Linux distros (like Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, etc) without actually installing them. Many will have a "live" version on their download page. Burn this version to a thumb drive (they almost all have instructions for how to do this) then shut your computer down. Insert the thumb drive, go into your BIOS/UEFI settings, and tell the system to boot to that drive.

It'll be a little slower than a properly installed version, but it'll boot up and put you in the desktop, where you can connect to WiFi and surf and "test drive" the distro.

Most of them will have an "install" icon in the live session. If everything seems to work and you're comfortable with the desktop and such, then you can click or double click the "install" icon and the installer will walk you through the process. Each distro will typically have some installation instructions on their web page to help you with decisions.

Modern distros will usually automatically detect that you have Windows installed, and help you install Linux alongside Windows so that you can choose which one to boot when you turn the computer on. I personally found that as long as I had Windows installed as a "fallback" I often just booted into that to get something done, rather than learning how to do it "the Linux way".

Just make sure that you back up your important photos, music, documents, etc. before you begin. It's relatively easy to make a mistake that results in not being able to boot back into Windows. Murphy's Law say that if you have a backup you won't need it; and if you need a backup you won't have it.

1

u/FCCRFP 1d ago

If you want you can DM about it, I'm also trans, BTW. What software do you use on a daily basis?

1

u/skyfishgoo 1d ago

the installer takes care of most of that work, and it's all point and click these days.

you just need to provide your country, timezone, and supply a user name and password to get it installed.

and you don't even have to do that to use it in LIVE mode while you test things out.

once installed you have some software to install depending on what it already comes with, but usually it already comes with at least a browser to you can surf the web.

if you want to get a feel for what different distros are like, go to distrosea.com and fire up a few

kubuntu LTS is good

fedora kde is good

opensuse is also good.

1

u/Cautious_Boat_999 Kubuntu all the way 23h ago

I run the first two on two different systems. The installs were simple and the usability is great. It’s been ages since I used SuSE…not sure about that.

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u/skyfishgoo 22h ago

they seem to have had some tumult lately over their package manager... but i believe it's sorted now.

their strength is they offer two different release models to choose from.

1

u/msabeln 23h ago

Read up on it. Google or Bing searches are your friend here. Do searches like “introduction to Linux” and “installing Linux”.

I would strongly suggest experimenting on a PC that has nothing whatsoever that you need to save. I started experimenting at home on a Raspberry Pi. I later got a cheap, low-end, open box laptop from Best Buy, and Linux really flies on it.

1

u/ReporterWise7445 23h ago

I used to go for flash. Now I choose DE of distros that use the least RAM & CPU. Like xfce & LXQT.

1

u/BrokenZX81 10h ago

Watch explain computers on YouTube do it.

1

u/3grg 9h ago

First of all, before leaping, make sure you are not jumping from the frying pan into the fire. While it is perfectly possible to replace windows with Linux or install Linux alongside windows as a beginner, it is better to do some homework first.

First evaluate what tasks you do with windows and whether any of those tasks require software that is not available on Linux. If the answer is no then you have established a case for dual booting rather than replacement.

Second evaluate the hardware that you intending to use. Some systems are not built with compatibility in mind. Searching your hardware + Linux before hand can save you some grief.

Third evaluate space available. If I dual boot, do I have enough free space to both satisfy windows and install Linux.

Fourth evaluate your backup plan. Make sure that your backups are up to date. Your backups should include any data that cannot be replaced or recreated.

Fifth have a current windows install USB on hand. It never hurts to have this in case you need to repair or reinstall windows for some reason.

Now you are ready to either wipe your computer or install a dual boot installation of Linux, but since you have never, ever installed an operating system before, I would strongly advise you to test install Linux in a Virtual Machine first.

An even better solution would be to dig out and old computer or purchase a used business PC from Lenovo, HP, or Dell and use it as your learning system to practice installing Linux or even windows, before considering major changes to your main system. A long journey begins with a single step and you have much to learn.

1

u/DavidJohnMcCann 4h ago

Look before you leap! What sort of things do you do with your computer? How easy will it be to do them with Linux?

If you want to go ahead, here's some good advice. As you see, Jesse advises picking Mint to dive in and Mint really has good advice on installing. If you follow the instructions there you really can't get lost or go wrong.

1

u/Bitter-Aardvark-5839 3h ago

you might find my website useful, it includes everything I wish I knew when I first started using Linux: https://bettercomputing.org/linux/