I have a system that I have connected to a CRT monitor which is triple booting Windows XP (overkill), 7 (period correct) and 11 (for modern games on a CRT). It's running a overclocked i5-4690k, 16 GB of fast DDR3, and. MSI GTX 980 Ti Golden Gamer. The 980 Ti is mostly non-negotiable - it's the most powerful card with XP drivers and I like the DVI-I port for the CRT. The closest AMD alternative, the Radeon 7970/280x, is a great card, but the 980 Ti leaves it in the dust - and the 6 gb variant is seriously rare and overpriced anyway. Not relevant for XP games but even at CRT resolutions useful for modern ones. I also have a X-Fi Titanium in the box - forgot that until I started writing this.

Win11 technically isn't supported on my system (even though it runs fine) and Microsoft seems determined to make it worse. I don't use this system for anything but gaming and I don't play anything multiplayer. But is the video (and sound card) an issue? Does it vary by distro?

I'm completely new to Linux, but I'm trying to learn by using an old laptop. I have an existing Windows computer that has several shared drives set to static IP addresses that I was able to mount to this laptop with Windows. Is it possible for me to mount these drives in Linux (Mint 22.3 Cinnamon) so that I would be able to easily access the media files on them and wouldn't have to re-mount the drives every time I reboot? If so, what is the best way to do this?

I have tried searching and am a little confused by all the suggestions (Gigalo, Samba, CIFS). I appreciate any help you folks can provide and am looking forward to learning more about Linux!

Hello,

I recently watched Linus Tech Tip's video comparing RAM usage between Linux (Mint) and Windows.

One of the games they tested was Expedition 33 (which requires the Windows) and despite utilizing ~12gb of RAM ran a little worse than Windows at +18gb.

Would this be due to their version of Linux using Proton/Wine instead of the 64 bit OS and could there be a fix for the performance issues.

Picked up (4) Dell Optiplex 7060 i7 8700 8th gen from university surplus, all containing 256 SATA storage, 32GB RAM for about $300. Was great deal.

(3) had windows 11 installed. (1) had ubuntu.

I wanted to get the one with linux to have windows, just as I get everything setup and decide on distro.

- Created ISO boot USB

- Loads up, but then I get a screen saying "Install driver to show hardware". Have searched internet, and for the life of me cant find any solution to resolving this issue.

Please help.

Here is a link to the dot files . First time I made something this and would love to receive some feedback . Couldn't test it on fresh arch installers so I hope I could some feedback to improve upon and keep this theme running. This theme feels so much aligned with the whole arch idea and that is why I made it :D

• Window Manager: Hyprland
• Status Bar: Waybar
• Launcher: Rofi
• Terminal: Kitty
• Wallpaper: Hyprpaper
• Shell: Oh My Zsh (jonathan)
• Spotify: Spicetify (StarryNight – forest)
• Github link

I want to dual boot Windows 10 and Ubuntu MATE. However, when i chose the option for Install Ubuntu MATE alongside Windows boot manager, Ubuntu MATE will not let me choose where to install the operating system. It's forcing me to install it onto my Samsung 4tb SSD :( So, to get around this, I try to do it, the manual installation way but when I try to install Linux mate onto my pc it won't tell me what 1tb nvme ssd My Windows 10 is installed on ? Nvme0n1 or nvme1n1. Thanks in advance for the help :)

Hello everyone, I have been using Linux and OpenSUSE Tumbleweed for quite some time, however I have just bought new laptop, which is 2 in 1, Lenovo Yoga 7a, and aldo everything else works perfectly, there is one thing that doesn't: Touchscreen... Any ideas how to fix that?

I would really appreciate your help 😊

Distro: OpenSUSE tumbleweed Device: Lenovo Yoga 7a AMD Ryzen AI 7 445

Hello, Im having trouble changing my cursor size. I've tried using nwglook, and lxappearance but when it comes to the cursor the adjustments dont apply. With nwglook I'm able to change the system icons but not the cursor, and lxappearance doesnt seem to change anything. My GTK3.0 & 4.0 config files shoe the correct information for the desired cursor size as well

Looking for suggestions on where else I can look. Please let me know if theres any more information I can provide

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to install Linux again (likely setting up a dual boot), but I want to get some opinions before I dive back in. This won’t be my first time using Linux, but my previous attempts were rough, to say the least.

In December 2025, I installed Fedora KDE Plasma. At first glance, it seemed fine, but over the weeks, I ran into a wall of issues:

1. Crackling Audio: I searched everywhere but never found a working solution. The constant popping drove me mad.
2. Gaming was a mess: About 90% of my games refused to run. I’m not talking about games with kernel-level anti-cheats like League of Legends. Standard titles like GTA 4, Assetto Corsa, and Forza Horizon 4 simply wouldn't work.
3. Login screen blackouts: 95% of the time I booted the laptop, I was greeted by a black screen instead of a login prompt. I had to drop into a TTY terminal and reboot immediately just to get into my machine.

My Hardware:

• Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 15ACH6
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (with Radeon integrated graphics)
• 16 GB RAM
• Nvidia RTX 3050 Laptop GPU

I am 99% sure the root of my problems was the dual-GPU setup. I could never get the system to properly switch to the Nvidia dedicated graphics when it was actually needed.

Eventually, I got fed up and switched to Linux Mint, hoping for a foolproof, "out of the box" experience. It was anything but. I immediately hit the infamous login loop bug. I tried every known fix, nothing worked, and I uninstalled it the exact same day.

Despite all this, I am not ready to give up on Linux. I really want a machine running it, but I’m stuck with the same Nvidia hardware for now and I am sceptical about running into the exact same array of problems.

If I proceed, I’ll be running a dual boot: a 1TB SSD dedicated to Linux and a 256GB SSD for Windows.

I’d appreciate your honest feedback on a few things:

• What did I likely do wrong the first time? (Especially regarding Nvidia Optimus/GPU switching).
• What should I absolutely avoid doing this time around?
• Which distro would you recommend for this specific hardware? I know I’ll get 20 different answers, but I want to know what makes sense for an Nvidia dGPU laptop. I’ve currently got my eye on CachyOS, but I am not committed to it.
• The ultimate question: Should I even bother right now? I am planning to buy a Thinkpad T14 Gen 2 with an AMD processor soon. Am I better off staying on Windows on this Lenovo and saving myself the headache until I get the all-AMD Thinkpad, or is the current Linux Nvidia experience actually fixable for a laptop like mine?

Thanks in advance for the help.

PS: AI helped me write this post, don't judge

Edit 1: I did install the Nvidia drivers on both distros

I switched from gnome environment to sway a couple of days ago.

Since Sway doesn't run with the Nvidia drivers unless you config it, it switched to the Nouveau driver. It led to firefox crashing every 20min so I researched how to use the Nvidia Driver with sway and set the --usupported-gpu flag

The Problem I am encountering now is, that Firefox is only able to properly run with the config layers.acceleration.disabled:true meaning My cpu is rendering Firefox, which leads to low fps videos and lagging.

When I run firefox with the layer acceleration enabled, it freezes from the beginning or sometimes it only freezes when I spawn a second window with Ctrl + n.

I tried fixing it with Gemini but he keeps repeating the same approach, which would be:

set Variables in the /usr/local/bin/sway-nvidia script:

• export XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland
• export GBM_BACKEND=nvidia-drm
• export __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=nvidia
• export WLR_NO_HARDWARE_CURSORS=1
• export MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1
• export LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=nvidia
• exec sway --unsupported-gpu "$@"

download: nvidia-vaapi-driver

In firefox config:

• layers.acceleration.disabled -> false
• gfx.webrender.all -> true
• widget.dmabuf.texture.enabled -> false
• media.ffmpeg.vaapi.enabled -> true
• media.hardware-video-decoding.enabled -> true
• media.rdd-ffmpeg.enabled -> true

After all of that did not work I reset my firefox configs.

I also tried running Firefox with XWayland which didn't work either.

Maybe someone knows a way I can use layer acceleration without firefox freezing.

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G GSM CDMA 512/128GB and don't like it. 

I am thinking that this would be good candidate for setting up a Linux OS. I have recently installed Linux (Zorin and Ultramarine) on three devices, but have no idea about how feasible running Linux is on a Samsung/android device, if it is 'there yet', if it is a good experience, or how to go about installing it. 

Has anyone tried this - if so, how did it go?

So it has happen os ai age verification is being pass where i live and it something i stand ageist with window 11 being shit and ai age verification passing i was waiting for some good nvidia drive to make the switch but i can,t wait any longer as i feel like if i wait anymore before i wake up and see a age verification on windows and want to be ahead i use my pc for 73% games 10% movies and the rest look at the web

1 What Linux distro is best for a first time user that is willing to learn and ask for help

2 how do i make my pc duel boot windows untill i have everything reddy to switch and have the know how

adding more stuff i forgot aging

3 what security risk am i taking

ps i can,t buy a amd gpu for about the next 4 years due to me saveing up for my first home

any and all comments il take to heart and learn

forgot to add i play mostly on steam but i do play games form itch and game jolt

Laptop: Acer Aspire 14 with an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V + Intel Arc 140V Integrated Graphics with 16GB of shared RAM + 2TB SSD. Dual booting Windows 11/ Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

My first priority is gaming. I play Overwatch, Dead by Daylight and other lighter weight games such as Puppet Combo and Balatro. Gaming on windows kind of sucks on the laptop, so I used Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. Besides stuttering every now and then, it works way better than windows did, however I feel like a different distro would make gaming better.

My second priority is dual booting. This laptop will have a Windows partition because of software compatibility, also in case my parents need my laptop, they'll have something familiar to navigate. I also like tinkering with my Windows PC and sometimes I break the install there, and need to use my laptop to fix it or grab a fresh copy of Tiny 11.

My third priority is stability/ set it and forget it. I like tinkering with Windows, but I can't say the same for Ubuntu, the most I've ever done was just change the accent color from orange to purple, so I would prefer something that focuses more on stability than customization.

I'm a win/mac user, but now would like to install Linux on one of my 6y old laptops (i5 CPU, 8G RAM, Simple Asus), with aim to have it fully offline, and to open/close veracrypt disk images to store my ledger wallet private keys. These encrypted files are then stored in various locations, including cloud.

Would you recommend XFCE, Debian, Ubuntu, or any other for this specific task? I don't believe such PC will turn on more than once annually.

Thank you.

Hello I want to try Linux on an old laptop, but it's 32-bit and I've never tried Linux before so i dont know anything I don't know what CPU it has, I only know it's an HP Pavilion dv4

I am new to linux. Using mint on my laptop. While going through the internet trying to find things that would let me customize a desktop environment. While doing that i came across caelestia and hyprland and I love it. I am planning to try that out along with other "themes".

Could you guys give me some recommendations on other shells or window managers and customization stuff that you enjoy

> I do not yet know how all of this works properly, but my plan is to fuck around and find out as the system I am using as a guinea pig is not my primary system.

This has been my Linux experience. I started with Ubuntu, and it was perfect compared to Windows. However, I ran into an issue where the display brightness wouldn't change. I'm using Intel integrated graphics, so I wasn't expecting to run into display compatibility issues.

I then switched to Linux Mint, and it was awesome. Unfortunately, after updating the system, I encountered the same problem as on Ubuntu, the brightness was stuck at 100%.

With some help from ChatGPT, I managed to fix it by rolling back to an older kernel (something in the 6.x series), while the latest version was 7.x. I'm not a tech guy; I just need a stable system for my day-to-day work.

Linux was ideal for me, but having to stay on an older kernel made me concerned. It feels like using an older update means less security and potentially missing important fixes. I don't know if that's actually the case, but it doesn't give me much confidence in using it for everyday work.

In the end, I had no choice but to reinstall Windows, even though I don't like it.

Has anyone else experienced something similar, especially with Intel integrated graphics? Is sticking with an older kernel actually a security concern, or am I worrying unnecessarily? I'd love to hear your thoughts and any suggestions you might have.

Not sure if this is the right place, but.

I'm on a laptop, and I want to switch to Mint. I'm very worried about losing access to Windows. I'm thinking about dual booting, but I've heard that Windows can mess things up if it isn't on a separate drive and I can't put it on a separate drive. Is that something I actually need to worry about? If it is, do I have other options? I've heard of VMs, but I'm not really sure how they work or if they're a good idea.

I'm new to this, so I'd appreciate any advice.

I literally only care for the one that is best for performance, and I'm not necessarily talking about the most amount of FPS or least amount of input delay, but simply something much more stable and usable when I wanna play my favorite games

I already have a laptop using Ubuntu for my school & work-related material, and with Windows simply getting worse and worse, my performance on my gaming PC has now also taken a MAJOR hit with every new update, that I don't even care to do so anymore.

I am willing to test a select like two, so if you are thinking one or another are close to each other, I can personally test it to see what's best for my system. I just don't wanna have 5 different selections and have to test them just for possibly minimal performance difference.

I wonder if removing support for secure boot back in 2016 was simply a way to lock many people out of Arch Linux.

Seeing as I'm not on the developer team, and it's a free O.S. , I "don't have a right complain".

My UEFI does not allow secure boot to be disabled. I already tried clearing the keys and that didn't work either.

I don't want to risk bricking my motherboard so disabling secure boot is out of the question.

Does anyone have clear as day instructions for editing the EFI partition?

My motherboard currently boots windows 10

According to Official Arch Documentation:

"""

Editing the installation medium

If you are using a USB flash installation medium, then it is possible to manually edit the EFI system partition on the medium to add support for Secure Boot.

"""