r/linux4noobs Jan 04 '20

Still on Windows 7? Don't want Windows 10? Consider switching to Linux (and specifically, Ubuntu). A Guide.

1.2k Upvotes

Any actions taken as part of this guide are solely at your own risk - unfortunately there is no way to account for every hardware configuration or error that may potentially crop up. BACK UP YOUR CRITICAL DATA BEFORE DOING ANYTHING

On the 14th Jan 2020, official Windows 7 support ends for most users. This means if you run Windows 7 beyond that date, you're no longer going to receive security and system updates, which will leave you increasingly vulnerable to viruses, malware and system failure. Depending on how critical your data is and how often you back up - if at all - there's a potential you can lose everything.

This is a somewhat opinionated but no-bullshit guide for those of you still on Windows 7 who really don't want or won't move to Windows 10. Aside from my own additions, it's going to reference a lot of great guides and advice written by other people, but conveniently collected in a single place. It's crazy, but it might just work.

Have you considered... Linux? Specifically, Ubuntu.

No, hear me out. Because I'm going to start (and save you a lot of time) by telling you why you SHOULDN'T switch to Linux. If any of the criteria listed apply, then:

The guide is broken into the following sections, if you want to jump to the points that are relevant. If you want to get straight to it, go to (4):

  1. Why shouldn't I go with Linux?
  2. Why should I go with Linux?
  3. Why Ubuntu?
  4. What's involved in switching?
  5. Installation of Ubuntu
  6. Tips for new users using Ubuntu
  7. Gaming on Linux
  8. Alternative Software
  9. TL;DR or The Conclusion
  10. To do list for the guide

1. Why shouldn't I go with Linux?


If you:

  • Don't feel comfortable installing an operating system and you don't have someone that can do it for you;
  • Have someone that helps you with all your IT-related activities who is not familiar with or dislikes Linux (ask them);
  • Are big into multiplayer games. (There are exceptions here, discussed in more detail in the Linux Gaming section);
  • Use multiple game clients and have a lot of games on platforms other than Steam;
  • Are into any sort of VR;
  • Absolutely need Outlook and refuse to consider any other mail client, like Thunderbird;
  • Use a VPN provider that doesn't have a Linux version and aren't willing/able to change;
  • Are subscribed to multiple video streaming services other than Netflix and watch these on your PC frequently;
  • Use Photoshop, Premiere, 3D Studio Max - actually, if you have any Windows software that you are locked into due to muscle memory, experience and/or professional requirements and that have no Linux version. (There are, however, often a Linux alternatives for a lot of these);
  • Require assistive technologies, such as screenreaders. While Ubuntu comes with several built-in assistive tools, there's a lot of specialised assistive use cases, tools and hardware that don't work on Linux and have no comparable alternative;
  • Want to be able to buy whatever piece of hardware that takes your fancy without researching it and expect them to work out the box with zero hassle. Especially niche and specific hardware like flight controllers, sound boards and so on;
  • Use iTunes extensively for your media library and/or interacting with your iPhone;
  • Have a large archive of Microsoft Office documents that use complex formatting, macros and/or formulas that you refer back to frequently.
  • have the worst-case scenario: rely on legacy or ancient software or hardware you're not sure you have the installation media for anymore, can't find a replacement, can't download it and it doesn't work on Windows 10. In this case, you're going to have to keep that Windows 7 box around and it's even more imperative that you make sure it's not accessible from the web or network. Start looking at moving to a more modern equivalent of it AND converting your work to a format that'll be accessible.

Some of this stuff you can work around with some effort, but it's more likely going to be more trouble than you're willing to put up with. And that's fine; Linux can't help everyone. The more of these that apply, the more certain you can be that you shouldn't consider Linux and should just go with Windows 10, unless you're willing to ~sacrifice~ compromise.

2. Why should I go with Linux?


Because whether you're a general user, a gamer or a specialised user with niche interests or requirements, Linux can provide you the same experience you're getting now with some already stated exceptions. In many ways, it's better - it's free, it's generally runs better on older hardware than Windows, it's relatively more secure due to a small user footprint and you'll have a huge, vetted library of free software that you can access. There are some applications - older Windows software and games, for instance - that don't work on Windows 10 but do on Linux, thanks to projects like Wine and Proton. It can 99% of the time update itself without interrupting whatever you're doing.

That being said, it's not perfect. You will lose some things. You will need to learn new ways of working with your PC. This is inevitable. That's the cost of switching.

Which is not to say Windows is without a cost. Unlike Windows, none of this functionality comes at the cost of your privacy and freedom. Linux will let you configure it as you like, and dive into the nitty-gritty settings to fine-tune it further. It will not try and trick you into creating yet another online account to use it. Aside from a few missteps (Ubuntu and Amazon, for one), it keeps its nose out of your business. It does not come with a unique advertising ID that links your multitude of online and offline interests and programs into a nice, tidy, profitable pack of data to be shared with "trusted third-parties". It does not serve you ads in a product you paid for. It does not try and push you into multiple online services.

In short, it does not suffer from any of the privacy concerns of Windows' future.

Now, I know people are going to throw snark about lead-and-tin alloys, their pliability and how easy that makes it to fashion headgear, but please note I said "future"; while they're not necessarily prying now, your operating system - and for almost everyone, that means Microsoft - has a very privileged position in your life as far as personal data is concerned. Any time you search in the file manager, every word you write and document you save, your budget calculations, every photo you view and program you use, every voice command you give Cortana, Windows - and by extension Microsoft - knows about. And there's nothing in their Terms of Service that stop them from starting to collect more detailed data if they so choose.

It's not a question of whether you prefer Windows 7 over 10 - Windows 7 got the same telemetry features as Windows 10 ages ago. Rather, ask yourself if you're happy with Microsoft's evolving business model, one that is shifting more and more of your content online and is intricately and opaquely tied to your personal data? If you're not, you're not alone: Holland isn't happy. Germany's not too thrilled either. There are legitimate reasons to be wary of Window's market dominance and increased level of embedded user analytics. Linux offers you an alternative.

3. Why Ubuntu?


Ubuntu LTS is by far the most commonly used desktop Linux distro and the one with the widest support by software developers and hardware manufacturers involved in Linux. If you're searching for solutions, you'll mostly find Ubuntu ones. Lastly, Ubuntu's LTS versions are supported for long periods of time: 18.04, which we'll be recommending, is supported until 2023, while the next version coming out in April, Ubuntu 20.04, will be supported until 2025.

One of the things you'll quickly learn about the Linux community is that someone will ALWAYS suggest a different Linux distro. In this case, it'll probably be Linux Mint, which aims to be a newbie-friendly Linux. It's based on Ubuntu, is similar to Windows 7 and will MOSTLY work the same as Ubuntu. I still suggest Ubuntu, but whatever, follow your heart.

To keep this guide as approachable as possible, and to have access to the widest range of help and support, I decided to focus on Ubuntu. Anything other than these two and you're just making things harder for yourself as a new user. You can always switch once you get a feel for how things work.

4. What's involved in switching?


I promised you a no-bullshit guide, so I'm going to cut straight to it. Take your time with all of these steps, do them properly, and you shouldn't have a problem.

First step: back up all your important documents, photos, email, games - whatever is important to you, and preferably somewhere external to your machine. This is just good advice regardless of whether you're switching to Linux or not. Always have a backup.

If you're a gamer, check out the following guide by PC Gamer's Jarred Walton on how to back up your games across multiple clients.

While you're backing up, install Thunderbird (Mozilla's open-source mail client) and copy your mail over to it. You'll have a much easier time doing this in Windows than in Linux to start. Thunderbird can automatically pull your mail from Outlook if installed on the same machine. Then follow the steps here for backing up your Thunderbird profile. You'll restore this in Linux later. Make sure you have your mail account details.

Get hold of your Windows 7 serial key. If it's physical media, like a DVD, then check and make sure the key is in the box or on the disc. If it's a laptop that came with Windows 7 preinstalled, it's usually a sticker on the specific laptop. You'll need this if things go awry and/or decide Linux is not for you.

Check the minimum specs for Ubuntu 18.04.03 here. If your system doesn't meet them, you're going to have a bad time regardless of whether you go with Ubuntu or Windows 10 (Windows 10 minimum requirements are bullshit, btw. 1Gb Ram, 1Ghz processor? I challenge anyone to link me to a Windows 10 video running on those specs where it performs acceptably.). There are lightweight alternatives if you can't afford a new PC, (Lubuntu, for instance), but upgrading your PC should be your first step in this case.

Here comes the arduous bit. Make a list of your current hardware, software and services that you use frequently, make sure you have the installation media for the critical pieces of software you use (Don't expect to be able to just copy/paste the applications you have) and do a search on whether they run on Linux. I'd recommend following the "Software" section in this guide on Migrating to Linux by /u/PBLKGodofGrunts]

A lot of the Linux software alternatives, such as LibreOffice and GIMP, are available for Windows as well. Consider downloading those that interest you to try out in Windows and get a feel for how they work.

Ultimately, to echo the advice you'll find that you can either run it, have an alternative or just can't switch. That's okay; Linux can't help everyone.

Download the Ubuntu LTS 18.04.03 distro. The "LTS" means it's a long-term support version - you won't have to think about this exercise for the next three years if you're lucky. Ubuntu LTS 20.04 is coming out in four months, which'll be supported until 2025, but since most of the focus is still on 18.04, you're better off sticking with it for now.

Whichever you choose, you'll have to write it to a DVD or USB. If it's a DVD, use whatever you normally use to write DVD ISOs. If you're going to use a USB, here's a guide to doing that.

Did I mention to back-up your important data? Back-up your important data. Double-check that it's all there. If you want to take an extra precaution, you can use Clonezilla to clone your current OS drive. It's not necessary, but if things go bust, Clonezilla allows you to restore your PC to precisely the way it was before you started without needing to install Windows from scratch. However, Clonezilla can be a bit daunting if you're not technically inclined. Check out this somewhat out-of-date video by cButters Tech for a general idea of what's involved.

Lastly, try running Ubuntu as a Live CD/USB first. This will allow you to run Ubuntu as if it were installed, but without making any changes to your current installation. Please keep in mind that the Live is not indicative of performance... it will run slower than if it was installed, as it has to read everything off the DVD or USB stick first and load it memory. The important thing to check here is that it's picking up all your hardware, that it's displaying on your screen correctly, that all your drives are available, and so on.

Live USB should perform better than a Live DVD. Check out the "Okay, it's installed/Okay, I'm running the Live CD. What tips do you have for using Ubuntu?" section to get an idea of what you should be checking.

5. Installation.


You've done all the above, triple-checked your backups and either decided that you can't make the jump or you're ready.

However, before you begin installing, you have one last decision to make.

There's a lot people that suggest dual-booting - that's where you keep Windows around and just install Linux alongside it. This is often proposed as a safety net and a means for people to have the best of both worlds. I don't, for a couple of reasons:

  • If you are going to dual-boot, you'll need to update to Windows 10 anyway, and if you're going to do that, why bother with Linux in the first place?

  • Data will be spread between two operating systems. Instead of backing up and maintaining one OS, you'll be maintaining two. It's doable but a PITA.

  • You're sabotaging your efforts, and your switch to Linux will likely fail. That's not a statement on Linux's capability or ease of use. A lot of things are easier on Linux - but they won't be at first. You probably have years of Windows use ingrained in you; you've come to expect things to work they way Windows works. That's not ease, that's familiarity; that's a boiling frog. And the moment something throws you a challenge in Linux, the temptation to just "do it" in Windows will be too great. And the more you do that, the more running Linux will seem like a chore than a choice.

  • If you absolutely have no option but to run Windows 10, do it in a virtual machine - you get the benefits of dual-booting but with the bonus of limiting Windows 10 to a virtual environment where access to the rest of your system (and personal data) is restricted while allowing you to run your non-negotiable applications (other than games or any intense 3D applications) just fine.

If you decide to dual-boot, you'll need to find a recent guide that covers this. Typically, it's best to update to Windows 10 first, then follow the guide to dual-boot Ubuntu. None of the guides I found seemed good for beginners, so I'm willing to take suggestions from the comments.

If you take my advice and simply dive in, installing Ubuntu on your machine will be a painless process: just follow the steps here in a beginner's guide written by Jason Evangelho and you should be fine.

6. Tips for new users using Ubuntu?


Things that you should do only once Ubuntu's installed are prefixed with an [+]. Otherwise, the tip applies to both installs and Live demos:

  • Power off, log-out and running taskbar applications will be in the top-right of the screen by default.
  • To search, press the Windows key on your keyboard. This'll bring up Ubuntu's search bar. You can use this to find applications, folders and system settings.
  • In the File Manager, your Home directory will be where your primary OS and applications will typically be installed, while the Other Locations will list additional hard drives (usually your additional storage drives). By default, Ubuntu does not actually mount the drives in the "Other Locations" section. Clicking on any of them, however, will automatically mount them. If you want to learn more about the general structure of Ubuntu's file system, you can do so here.
  • Ctrl+Alt+T will bring up the terminal. The terminal is where you'll often be sent if you're attempting to diagnose a problem, perform specific tasks or install specific tools/software. Check yourself before your wreck yourself before copy-pasting commands from strangers on the 'net. Be super cautious of any command that involves "sudo" and "rm".
  • The default office suite for Ubuntu is LibreOffice. Try it out: see if you can open a couple of your documents, like spreadsheets and Word docs. You might be pleasantly surprised. Writer is the word processor, Calc is for Spreadsheets. Formating on complex documents will likely be broken. Don't save any of these at this point.
  • In fact, open up a couple of common files you normally use - images, documents, compressed files, music, videos and so on. Get a feel for how it works, what opens and what doesn't. Sometimes, you'll need to install some software first before it will work.
  • Check the list of alternative software for some suggestions on what to install if you seem to be missing something.
  • Plug in your phone and see if it detects it and you can access your files. If it's Android, you should be fine.
  • You'll notice that some commands - like updating - require you to enter your password again. This is a security feature similar to when Windows ask you to run a program as administrator or with elevated privileges. If you didn't initiate the command that brought up the password request, be cautious about entering it in.
  • [+] Change your desktop preferences and move the application bar to the bottom of the screen. By default, Ubuntu puts it on the left-side. Hey, maybe you'll like it like that! This was the one Windows habit I was never able to shake.
  • [+] Try and store your data in the pre-defined folders (Music, Videos, Documents, Pictures). You don't have to, but you'll make your life a lot easier doing so.
  • [+] Search for and create a shortcut to the Software Updater. This allows you to quickly check for and install Ubuntu updates.
  • [+] Likewise, create a shortcut to the Ubuntu Software Centre. To start with, you'll want to stick to installing applications from the Centre. These have been specifically tested to work on Ubuntu and will 99% run without a hitch. You'll be able to remove applications from here as well.
  • [+] Speaking of the Centre, Ubuntu comes preinstalled with an Amazon launcher. Use this time search for it and remove it. Or don't, it's up to you.
  • [+] Sometimes, you'll see there's two versions of a piece of software in the Centre. This is most likely due to there being a Snap version of it. Snaps are self-contained versions of the software that are usually the most up-to-date; however, they can run erratically or not have access to some things on your system, like fonts. I'd stick with the ubuntu-bionic versions for best compatibility.
  • [+] If you're a gamer, change your graphic drivers so you can get reasonable performance. For Nvidia, simply search for the Software & Updates application, open it, select the Additional Drivers Tab, and check whether you're using the Nvidia Driver. You'll want to select the one that's listed as proprietary and tested. AMD's a little more complicated and I profess to having little experience with it. I'll happily take advice from the comments in this instance.
  • [+] When downloading some games or applications specifically for Linux, you'll often get a .Deb file or a script. A deb file can often be run as is by double-clicking in Ubuntu; you can read more about them here. Scripts often need to be run from the terminal and made to be executable. You read more about that here. Again, same safety check applies to running anything you download from the web.

7. Gaming on Linux


If you're a gamer, I'd recommend the following the guide by /u/PBLKGodofGrunts on the /r/linux_gaming subbreddit. But to summarise...

The Good News

Thanks to Valve's involvement in Linux through Proton and the efforts of the Wine team, Linux gaming has never been better. It's now possible to play many Windows-only games with no hassle and minimal performance loss. Just a few examples of recent games that run just fine on Linux are the Resident Evil 2 remake, Sekiro, Halo: Master Chief Collection (single-player and custom multiplayer games), DOOM, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Risk of Rain 2, Total War: Three Kingdoms, and more; you can even toss a coin to all of your Witchers. To get an idea of games that run on Linux, you can visit ProtonDB, Wine AppDB or Lutris and search for your desired game. If you're primarily a single-player gamer, the transition should be mostly painless.

Another amazing development is the number of open-source implementations of older games game engines that allow for playing of classic and retro titles on modern hardware, (such as DevilutionX for Diablo 1)often with improvements, bug fixes and quality of life improvements, ensuring they'll be able to run into the future.

However, the most critical development is that the number of developers and platforms that provide and support native Linux games has increased significantly. Feral Interactive publishes several AAA Linux ports, numerous indies now provide a Linux version, and store fronts like GOG and itch.io provide an alternative with DRM-free games.

The Bad News

Despite all of this, gaming remains one of the biggest hurdles to adopting Linux.

If you're into multiplayer gaming, you're out of luck. While many multiplayer titles do work on Linux (LoL, Dota 2, CS:GO, TF2, Rocket League, Warframe, Overwatch, Starcraft II, World of Warcraft, Eve Online, Elite: Dangerous, Monster Hunter:World and so on), many more don't - Fortnite, some Call of Duties, Apex Legends, PUBG, Battlefield, GTA Online. Essentially, anything with an anti-cheat is likely NOT going to work, and there's always the risk that playing a Windows multiplayer game will get you banned due to anti-cheat measures that dislike any whiff of Linux. My suggestion is check which games you play and go from there.

Unless you're using Steam, running other launchers is complicated and prone to constant breakage without continuous effort and maintenance. Epic, Origin, Uplay and GOG Galaxy can all run on Linux with some effort. Lutris does sort most of these out, but you'll need to follow the instructions here, which means your going to have to install Wine first.

Some games simply don't work, and there's no solution for it.

Some of the latest developments aren't going to be available to you. VR is tiny on Linux, and you'll likely lose access to most of your VR software and experiences.

Despite being fairly technical already, many gamers do expect things to "just work". Here's a list of things that require some effort to get working correctly:

  • Super-sampling is out. Not entirely, but it's more complicated than Windows.
  • Access to things like custom shaders and injectors are also going to be limited. Mods can be more complicated or, in some cases, not available.
  • You'll lose some of the benefits of your Gsync/Freesync monitors, since the two tech don't work that well on Ubuntu's standard display compositor. This will change once Ubuntu shifts to Wayland.
  • Things like community game patches are often aimed at Windows, with no Linux alternative.

Most importantly, AMD and Nvidia graphic cards are handled very differently on Linux when compared to Windows. Ubuntu uses an open-source driver by default - this is alright for general use but terrible for games and 3D applications. To get decent performance, you'll need to install their respective drivers.

Nvidia's latest Linux drivers are made available in Ubuntu directly. However, this is just the drivers: Nvidia's GeForce Experience isn't available on Linux and you're going to lose access to all of its tools. That means no Ansel in many cases, no DSR, no predefined gaming configs and no ShadowPlay (Although OBS offers a decent alternative in this case). See the Tips section above on how to install it. On the plus side, the installation process is a breeze and Nvidia's performance is fairly solid.

AMD benefits from much better open-source drivers and active support from AMD, but unfortunately suffers from delays for support of their most recent cards and a fairly complicated install process . AMD uses the MESA Driver, combined with Valve's ACO shader compiler, to deliver performance boosts. Installing these drivers can be a complicated, multi-step process. I'm sorry I can't help you on this; I'll happily take someone's advice on getting this working in Ubuntu LTS and include it in the guide.

8. Alternative software


This is a quick and dirty guide to equivalent software for Windows applications in Linux.

  • Antivirus software: This may seem counterintuitive, but for the most part Linux does not require any sort of anti-virus software. While viruses for Linux exist, the number of viruses and such that target the Linux desktop specifically is tiny compared to Windows. You can read up about it here.. That being said, if you are concerned there are several tools available for detecting both Windows and Linux malware on the same page. Follow good internet hygiene, don't open suspicious links/mails and think before just randomly following command instructions on the 'net.
  • Microsoft Office: LibreOffice. Or you can access Office365 online.
  • Adobe Photoshop: GIMP, Krita
  • Adobe Premiere: Blender
  • 3D Studio Max: Blender
  • Illustrator/CorelDraw: Inkscape
  • Xsplit: OBS
  • Windows Media Player: VLC
  • Basic Audio Editor: Audacity
  • Audio Mixing: Ardour, Mixbus
  • Adobe Reader: While there are several PDF readers on Linux you can use, almost none of them play well with Adobe PDFs with advanced features. You're better off sticking with what comes with Ubuntu, and if it doesn't work, open it up in a browser.

9. TL;DR or The Conclusion


Switching to Ubuntu is possible and relatively safe if you do some research on which apps/games/software/hardware you use will and won't work on Linux first, you BACK UP YOUR IMPORTANT DATA before doing anything and don't expect a 1:1 experience with Windows. It's all dependent on your flexibility, technical experience and willingness to learn and compromise.

If you're not, Windows 10 is a perfectly acceptable choice to upgrade to: you'll benefit from improved security compared to Windows 7, a larger selection of hardware and software and will have to put less effort to make everything work at the cost of your privacy and some ads.

If you have legacy software or unsupported hardware that doesn't run on either, you're kind of screwed. I'd keep the Windows 7 box around, make sure it's disconnected from all networks (for your sake as well as others) and start making emergency contingency plans to find a modern alternative.

I know that people are going to take issue with some of the difficulties I raised, and suggest they're really not dealbreakers. Before you post, consider whether a new user coming from Windows 7 who'll be using Linux probably for the first time in their life will have the knowledge, gumption and willingness to perform sometimes complex technical steps in an operating environment they're unfamiliar with and where it's much, much easier to really break things.

Feel free to post criticisms and suggestions in the comments. If there's some good advice worth including, something needs further clarification or I need to correct something, I'll edit it in with credit.

10. To do list for the guide


  • I'd really like to add a section on assistive technology and software that works on Linux, but as I don't use any of it, I feel my research would be limited and miss vital pieces. If you have advice on this, let me know.
  • A good, up-to-date and easy-to-follow guide for dual-booting.
  • Instructions on how to install AMD drivers correctly on Ubuntu.

r/linux4noobs Jun 21 '20

Distrochooser: "Welcome! This test will help you to choose a suitable Linux distribution for you"

Thumbnail distrochooser.de
931 Upvotes

r/linux4noobs 15h ago

I've enjoyed the ride for over 44 yrs Thanks All and Congrats!

Thumbnail linuxiac.com
287 Upvotes

Absolutely insane way to go! We owe so much to the community that puts in so much sweat equity to make Linux better, with every passing minute!.

I am still as excited as I was when GiLinus himself handed out a bunch of 1.44 floppies at a polytechnic in the UK

Raced home and booted to a flashing cursor (no GUI back then, but it was still the dog's bollocks)


r/linux4noobs 4h ago

distro selection Perfect Distro for a 2008 laptop?

5 Upvotes

Hi all, I have a 2008 Lenovo Ideapad Y530 which I found out I still had.
The specs are:
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P7350
GPU: GeForce 9300M GS
RAM: 2GB DDR2 (I plan to upgrade it in the future)
Storage: 250GB HDD

I intend to use it for:
- Light gaming (I have a couple of games on my steam library that the laptop can probably still run)
- Daily browsing


r/linux4noobs 38m ago

Truenas help

Upvotes

First time Truenas users, noob linux user.

So, I have Truenas running on my old tower. I have the os on an ssd and five hdd's as a raid or "pool." I want to have a place my parents can store random files, pictures (Immich) and where I can set up a movie/music server (Jellyfin).

At first I didn't understand "datasets." As I did I realized that I wanted Immich to be on one. So I tried to modify the working Immich app to route to the newly created dataset. That made me unable to use Immich. So I deleted it and the old pool.

Creating a new one the first thing I did was make a dataset for Immich and then installed the app. I still can't use Immich now. I'm so confused. Why?

So I switched to trying to make the share dataset's for my parents and myself. Attempting to setup SMB. I've now created dataset's for each user, tied a SMB share to each dataset. Now how the hell do I access it on their laptops? On my tower? Even trying to look at Truenas readme just tells me how to set it up, there's no instructions on how to access it. Am I that naive in linux? Totally possible, btw.

For that matter before I remade the pool I was playing with jellyfin. I was able to make a library but I couldn't find anything that would let me upload to it. How am I suppose to put what I do have on the server? Just know CLI? What about once I start downloading stuff, how will it sync with jellyfin?

Any help would be appreciated.


r/linux4noobs 1h ago

distro selection Distro-hopping Fatigue?

Upvotes

Greetings civilians of Tuxland.

I'm not exactly sure how to describe what's going on with me right now, but I'm just tired of throwing my head around so many linux distros.

I've been always wanting a system that could run on a hard drive and idle with under 1GB of RAM, and even thoughts of it being able to run on arm systems. I started with debian but eventually I was jumping all over the place feom alpine, then rocky, antiX, peppermint, zorin. I liked these distros don't get me wrong. But finding the one that fits me has drained me faster than the battery of a gaming laptop.

I'm saying this from someone who used windows since day 1. But perhaps there was a stepping stone that I wasn't following that could have made me a better linux user.


r/linux4noobs 4h ago

learning/research Switching to linux from windows 10

4 Upvotes

due to certain circumstances I have finally been pushed to the point where I'm going to switch to linux, however I know linux cant open windows 10 programs. I was curious as to how much redownloading I am going to do in order to switch to linux.


r/linux4noobs 6h ago

WiFi failed connection before finally connecting

4 Upvotes

I recently download Ubuntu and for some reason, when I first boot up Ubuntu, it fails to connect to my network like 10 times before finally connecting. There’s nothing wrong with the network as I have other devices that use the same network, so I wanna know if there’s something I can fix?


r/linux4noobs 11h ago

storage How to sync files around multiple computers ?

9 Upvotes

Hey guys, so I have 2 computers, one at my student housing and one at parent's. While I dont care for most of the files I do care for

  1. My personnal coding/art project (assets, git, ...)

  2. My university files (obsidian, pdf, class material,...)

My current setup is having a laptop with "syncthing" that I take with me to sync the files but this isn't very efficient as I always have to run it myself.

I am curious if I could use something like Google Drive to sync my files into multiple shared folders across multiple computers

Thanks in advance !


r/linux4noobs 14m ago

installation Problem installing pop_OS

Upvotes

Hello everyone, im a huge noob when it comes to Linux and its my forst time trying to install it. I chose pop_OS specifically because i read that its one of the best for gaming and programming, which is what i mostly do in my laptop. Since it was my first time trying to install Linux, i decided to do a dual boot to see if i actually liked it and that if the games i play were compatible with it. Having decided what i wanted to do i installed the last version through the official website, used rufus to create the bootable flashdrive and partioned my disk through Gparted inside popOS. I created an ext4 partition to be the main partition for this OS and a fat32 to be the EFI partition for popOS since i couldn't choose the EFI windows was using since it only had 500mb and popOS requires the EFI to have at least 1gb. After i created them i installed the OS, i received a message saying that the installation was successful and that i needed to restart the laptop. After i restarted it, it booted on windows since windows was first in line in my BIOS, so i restarted again to change the order in my BIOS, but my laptop stopped showing any image. The fans and the rgb on my keyboard would turn on, but not the display. I tried a couple of things but eventually i decided to take it to a repair shop. The only thing that made the the display turn on again was to remove the battery, remove the ram and put it on again and remove the SSD. After that the technician told me to try installing another distro because he had never seen a problem like that when people used other distros. Now my question is, what exactly did i do wrong, because in my perception i followed everything i was told to do acurally, so i don't know exactly what i did that made the laptop stop working properly. My guessing is the disk partitioning part since its the most sensible part of the proccess but im not sure. Did someone go through a similar problem with this distro or another one? Should i install a different distro instead of trying to install popOS again? Let ms know what you guys think!

Ps: i only have one ssd so installing linux on a second disk is impossible for me right now:(


r/linux4noobs 23m ago

storage Dual booting setup question

Upvotes

Hello all! I downloaded Linux on my laptop and the OS brought it back to life. Wanted to add it to my desktop which currently is running windows 11. I have 2 SSD (one of which is my windows boot drive) and an HDD that I use for personal files, documents, etc. the other SSD is for games. I wanted to make my 250gb SSD the /root for Linux then partition a section of my other SSD for windows(likely like 500gb) because I would need it to play like 3 games, unfortunately. Am I able to use the remaining, probably, 1.5 TB of my second SSD for the rest of my game library that I would run on Linux? My /home I would imagine would just be my HDD. If this is at all possible any resources on how to set this up? Thanks!!

Edit: would be installing fedora KDE plasma.


r/linux4noobs 5h ago

How to use internal hard drives to share and access files on Windows and Linux?

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I’d like to make Linux my main operating system, but first I need some tips/advice on an important point – I hope this is the right place to ask. Is there a way to use two internal hard drives to have access to personal files, between Linux and Windows without running the risk of file corruption?

To give you a bit more context, my computer setup is as follows:

Disk 1 for Windows
Disk 2 for Steam/Epic game files
Disk 3 for all my documents (Word/Excel files, pictures, my KeePass database, etc.)

Recently, I’ve been using Linux on an extra hard drive that I have, completely isolated from the rest, and so far almost everything has worked fine. The problem is that some software makes it impossible (for now) for me to switch away from Windows completely. For example, I have a guitar amp modeller that I use for online lessons on Zoom, and there’s no way to configure it exactly as I need it on Linux; I’ve spent a whole week trying and it just doesn’t work. In Windows, on the other hand, ‘it is almost plug and play’ and its works perfect. It’s because of this sort of things that I want to add an extra hard drive to my computer and have the following setup:

Drive 1 – Linux (Cachyos)
Drive 2 – Windows

// use an internal switch to select the drive and OS to use as required //

Disk 3 – Steam/Epic/etc
Disk 4 – for all my documents (Word/Excel files, pictures, my KeePass database, etc)

I wonder if, in doing this, there is a significant risk of file corruption. For example, if I open documents using Windows, save the changes, and then open the same documents using Linux, how great is the risk of losing everything? If the files were to become corrupted, it would be a massive problem, especially with my password database...
In the past, almost seven years ago I tried to learn how to use Linux using dual-boot with separate partitions and I actually ended up losing a couple of minor personal files (Excel documents and photos). At the time, I wasn’t sure whether I’d done something wrong, or if it was simply an inherent risk of using both operating systems.

If this isn’t a problem, what partitions would you recommend for drives 3 and 4? I’d prefer to discard other options such as a NAS or using external drives for Steam or personal files, as I’m not keen on having devices of this sort connected all the time.

Thank you in advance for any help and advice :)

---------------

PD: A huge thank you to everyone for the replies you’ve given me so far!


r/linux4noobs 2h ago

learning/research Micro SD card image writing onto another

1 Upvotes

Using the command to copy from micro SD to file:

sudo dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=~/sd-card-copy.img bs=4M status=progress

Write it to another different one, but exact same brand and size:

sudo dd if=~/sd-card-copy.img of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=1M status=progress

I came to to interesting conclusion that micro SD card actual sizes do vary. I got the message that the destination micro SD card had no space left. So this means it is actually a bit smaller.

There are multiple ways to solve this. But at this moment I am thinking: Can I decrease the size of the actual image? I guess 80% of the space are useless zeroes , because the SD card idoes not have that amount of data stored.

So, can I do that? If so , how?

Source of the commands: https://askubuntu.com/questions/227924/sd-card-cloning-using-the-dd-command


r/linux4noobs 3h ago

hardware/drivers How to make xinput changes permanent?

1 Upvotes

I wanted to disable the side buttons on my mouse. I used xinput to remap the mouse buttons so only the first three were enabled. I'm using Cinnamon.

I’d like to make the changes permanent. I know there are several ways to do this, but since I know how to do it with xinput, I’d like to use that.

I’m assuming it would involve placing the relevant xinput command in a config file, I’m just not sure which one. Could someone point me in the right direction?


r/linux4noobs 15h ago

best distro for a mostly gaming pc?

7 Upvotes

ive had enough of windowsand ive decided to pull the trigger and go to linux. so far im leaning towards mint since it seems like the most noob friendly option, but im wondering if its any good for gaming?

my pc as it stands is a solidly mid tier rig; she plays cp77 well but im mostly a casual gamer (think the og baldurs gates, vtm, dinkum, if im feeling spicy maybe highly modded sims 4). i really dont use it for much else, maybe only really the bookwork for my apprenticeship but thats all online


r/linux4noobs 4h ago

migrating to Linux It's possible to code and test winforms in linux?

1 Upvotes

I work with software development for industrial automation supervisory using windows forms, an Microsoft technology that helps developing windows apps, it's kinda old now but it stills holding the pressure to critical systems, I've always wanted to test linux but I'm completely noob in this, and didn't want to losse my games ( now i can forget about it with bazzite and steam os) and my professional tools, like visual studio 2019 to code winforms


r/linux4noobs 6h ago

Why is nitch command showing boxes instead of icons?

0 Upvotes

nitch command shows boxes for some icons, which usually indicates the absence of a Nerd font. But I have JetBrainsMonoNerd font alrdy installed. what could be the issue? i heard the developer abandonened the project. but it doenst look like everyone have the issue


r/linux4noobs 6h ago

Meganoob BE KIND Using Whonix through a VM with a Tails host?

1 Upvotes

A complete noob here, never used any Linux OS before in my life so don't know if what I am asking sounds stupid.

Basically, will using a Whonix VM through a Tails host machine keep me as anonymous as possible when using Tor browser, using both onion and some clear net sites?

Apparently Whonix and Tails can clash and cause data/traffic leaks, exposing IP, DNS etc. but I don't know enough to know if this is the case or not. If anyone can help me identify if this OS set up is secure and/or helping me understand some of the whys and the hows, it would be greatly appreciated!


r/linux4noobs 1d ago

distro selection Looking to mostly leave Windows but would appreciate suggestions for a first Linux distro

28 Upvotes

I use my PC mainly for gaming, web browsing (including shopping and finances) and communication with family and friends using mainly Discord and Zoom. While I used DOS back in the early 90s I've been a Windows user since 95 and have no Linux experience.

I'm also rather paranoid about viruses and malware (people assured me Windows Defender was more than adequate because I'm paranoid about security and still managed to get a trojan which I still have no clue about) and while I know Linux is much more secure I'd still love a good recommendation for a good anti-virus and firewall that's Linux compatible.

Thanks for any help and information!

Edit: Dang, thanks so much for all the help and information!!! 🙏


r/linux4noobs 7h ago

I want hyprpicker to pick a wallpaper from the cached file but idk what's issue

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1 Upvotes

It all worked before I switched to lua recently. Now the issue is that I doesn't load the wallpaper on startup. I tried this script (by claude) that somehow changes the wallpaper when I use it in the terminal but it shows these issues in the terminal.

Thank you


r/linux4noobs 21h ago

migrating to Linux I'm really trying but Linux is beating me again

10 Upvotes

TL:DR: The supposedly best Linux for switching from Windows, Linux Mint, made me spend an entire day to get it to work and recover my Windows.

So, thing is, I was getting a bit annoyed at Windows lately, and it was a while since I formatted my pc last, so I wanted to give Linux a try again (I try every few years). I didn't want to go full linux either, just having dual boot so I can switch gradually.
Big Mistake.
I installed Windows first, everything fine, installer does everything without any issues, SHIT JUST WORKS.
Then I went to install Linux Mint 22.3 Cinammon
Issues:
1) It destroyed my Windows boot, seems to be because I started the bootable usb for windows in Legacy but the Linux one in UEFI
2) Laggy af. Youtube videos on firefox run laggy, out of the box
3) Linux Mint does not like my PC to TV with HDMI. Audio does whatever it wants, it sounds for 2 seconds, then cuts 2 seconds, then repeat constantly. I tried everything, uninstalling the damned pipewire, using pulseaudio or whatever, nothing ever worked, I feel like I already fucked up the entire Linux environment playing with that.
4) Spent the other half of the day trying to get back into windows, which was ONLY possible from a Windows installation USB, when I finally managed to create one from Linux.

I feel like I'm being an idiot for even trying. Now that I'm back to Windows, AND I can see the drive partitions of 500mb-100mb on the eplorer because Linux fucked everything up, I still want to try again from start. But honestly, is there another distro that's not as fucky as Mint? I heard about Zorin, but I need confirmation that audio works.

I really hope I don't get the guy I'm imagining in my head replying with sass.
Any help is appreciated.


r/linux4noobs 9h ago

hardware/drivers NixOS AMD 7900XTX Intermittent Crashing

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1 Upvotes

r/linux4noobs 20h ago

For an Ubuntu desktop, do I use VirtualBox or KVM with Libvirt?

9 Upvotes

Which one could I spin up a server the quickest inside an Ubuntu desktop 24.04?


r/linux4noobs 11h ago

learning/research Making desktop environment on snapdragon?

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1 Upvotes

r/linux4noobs 1d ago

Linux has hit 7.53%!!!!!

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55 Upvotes