“Get it the **** off my system” and “in the trash where it belongs” were common refrains as users voiced their displeasure at having Copilot forced upon them. Numerous reports emerged of people imm…
I want to switch to Linux, but I honestly don’t know how/where to even start or the proper way to even ask.
I asked once on a Linux forum when the whole Cortana debacle happened, and I was called a moron or sent a link to “Linux from scratch”…which was definitely above my technical knowledge at the time. I’ve been scared to post on Linux communities ever since lol
From what I found, Lemmy is much better in this regard. I’ve gotten lots of helpful answers here, so give it a go! There is also a ton of tutorials on YouTube, I recommend something like this for beginners.
Oh absolutely. Looking back I probably asked in a hardcore Linux enthusiast community (no fault to them, we all get tired of our parents/siblings/coworkers asking us to “fix the wif”)
I just don’t know where the Linux-noob safe spaces are. Is Lemmy’s Linux community one?
I recommend taking a look at this Linux gaming wiki guide about getting started. It is geared towards gaming, but even if that is not your primary focus there is a lot of really useful tips and steps to take for anyone trying to switch to Linux. If you have some other questions you can shoot me a DM, I’m by no means an expert but I’ve been using Linux for around 4 years now so I like to think I’m at least moderately experienced!
Thanks for the link, I’ll take a look at the guide over the weekend! Someone already mentioned Linux Mint as a starter, but if I have any questions I’ll definitely take you up on the DM offer!
I’m so sorry this happened to you. We do have some assholes on our forums. But from experience, I can assure you that people on Lemmy are much nicer. Also, Linux is now so very easy to install. All you need is to get your ISO and burn it onto a USB stick then boot from that USB from the Bios. Linux even has a “live environment” where you get to try it and see if your hardware works. Don’t worry too much about what “distro” to install for now. They’re all the same except minor differences and how often they get updated. Your only mission is to choose which desktop environment you like. If you like how macos looks like, choose gnome. If you like windows, choose KDE plasma, if you like a windows 7ish look, choose xfce or cinnamon. If you want the easiet way to burn an ISO to a USB, then check out Fedora media writer. It even downloads the iso for you. Just stick your USB into your pc and launch the app and go from there. It does everything for you. It’s available for all OSs. Fedora comes with both KDE and gnome and others. I’d stick with the distros that are the easiest to install and where everything works out of the box. Fedora and Linux mint are the ones I’d choose from. And also, now YouTube is full of amazing Linux channels like this man Jay Lacroix. He is freaking awesome and has so many videos that will help you. Here is his channel. He even made a video the other day on how to dual boot with windows. If you have any questions at all, please post them in the Linux community here on Lemmy and we will all help you.
From what I found, Lemmy is much better in this regard. I’ve gotten lots of helpful answers here, so give it a go! There is also a ton of tutorials on YouTube, I recommend something like this for beginners.
Yeah whatever that forum was sounds kinda toxic, Linux from Scratch is like, notoriously one of the most complicated Linux installs there is so that wasn’t even bad advice, just straight trolling. Sadly there’s a few places like that that are hostile to newcomers because they’ve heard the same questions asked a lot and see that as a fault of the user, instead of remembering how it was when they first switched to Linux as well.
I’d highly +1 to giving Linux Mint a go, it’s designed to be very similar to Windows layout (specifically Windows 7) to make a lot of things more familiar for someone switching over, and their forums are some of the most beginner friendly I’ve seen.
If you prefer videos, I just gave this one a watch through and it looks good to follow, just download the latest version instead of the one downloaded in the video (current is 21.3 “Virginia”, though following the video should put you at that one anyway), the install process is the same https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0EBueufP0o
Others will also likely recommend other Linux distros to start with and that’s fine too, whichever one seems the most easy or comfortable for you is fine to go with. I like to point people towards Ubuntu-based ones like Linux Mint because there’s a large community around those so you can find answers to any issues from searches easier.
Edit: Changed video to a more up-to-date and easy to follow one that also gives some post-install advice (though a bit geared towards gaming pc use). Speaking of gaming, on https://www.protondb.com/ you can type your games in the searchbox to see how well they run on Linux. Generally if something is verified/playable on Steam Deck it’ll run great on pc/laptop Linux as well.
Edit 2: As others have recommended in the thread too, it’s good to try it out in a virtual machine first to see if you like it. For Windows, Virtualbox and VMware Workstation Player (not pro) are some I know. If you go full install on your PC, make sure to backup all important files and write a Windows install usb as well and make sure it can boot if you can just for the chance something goes wrong, so you can easily get back to a working PC with no risk
I want to switch to Linux, but I honestly don’t know how/where to even start or the proper way to even ask.
I asked once on a Linux forum when the whole Cortana debacle happened, and I was called a moron or sent a link to “Linux from scratch”…which was definitely above my technical knowledge at the time. I’ve been scared to post on Linux communities ever since lol
From what I found, Lemmy is much better in this regard. I’ve gotten lots of helpful answers here, so give it a go! There is also a ton of tutorials on YouTube, I recommend something like this for beginners.
Thank you, I’ll take a look at the video and at the Lemmy Linux communities!
Asking stuff like that is always a good idea, IMO. It could be the difference between a successful Linux install and a very expensive paperweight.
… Don’t ask me how to install it, though. I’ve only tried Ubuntu as a dual-boot, and that was several years ago.
Oh absolutely. Looking back I probably asked in a hardcore Linux enthusiast community (no fault to them, we all get tired of our parents/siblings/coworkers asking us to “fix the wif”)
I just don’t know where the Linux-noob safe spaces are. Is Lemmy’s Linux community one?
I recommend taking a look at this Linux gaming wiki guide about getting started. It is geared towards gaming, but even if that is not your primary focus there is a lot of really useful tips and steps to take for anyone trying to switch to Linux. If you have some other questions you can shoot me a DM, I’m by no means an expert but I’ve been using Linux for around 4 years now so I like to think I’m at least moderately experienced!
Thanks for the link, I’ll take a look at the guide over the weekend! Someone already mentioned Linux Mint as a starter, but if I have any questions I’ll definitely take you up on the DM offer!
I’m so sorry this happened to you. We do have some assholes on our forums. But from experience, I can assure you that people on Lemmy are much nicer. Also, Linux is now so very easy to install. All you need is to get your ISO and burn it onto a USB stick then boot from that USB from the Bios. Linux even has a “live environment” where you get to try it and see if your hardware works. Don’t worry too much about what “distro” to install for now. They’re all the same except minor differences and how often they get updated. Your only mission is to choose which desktop environment you like. If you like how macos looks like, choose gnome. If you like windows, choose KDE plasma, if you like a windows 7ish look, choose xfce or cinnamon. If you want the easiet way to burn an ISO to a USB, then check out Fedora media writer. It even downloads the iso for you. Just stick your USB into your pc and launch the app and go from there. It does everything for you. It’s available for all OSs. Fedora comes with both KDE and gnome and others. I’d stick with the distros that are the easiest to install and where everything works out of the box. Fedora and Linux mint are the ones I’d choose from. And also, now YouTube is full of amazing Linux channels like this man Jay Lacroix. He is freaking awesome and has so many videos that will help you. Here is his channel. He even made a video the other day on how to dual boot with windows. If you have any questions at all, please post them in the Linux community here on Lemmy and we will all help you.
Thank you for the links! Someone else has also mentioned Mint, and I love the Win7 interface, so that’s probably what I’ll be playing around with.
Of course. Also, try it in a virtual machine or on a spare laptop if you got one, before you commit to it.
From what I found, Lemmy is much better in this regard. I’ve gotten lots of helpful answers here, so give it a go! There is also a ton of tutorials on YouTube, I recommend something like this for beginners.
Yeah whatever that forum was sounds kinda toxic, Linux from Scratch is like, notoriously one of the most complicated Linux installs there is so that wasn’t even bad advice, just straight trolling. Sadly there’s a few places like that that are hostile to newcomers because they’ve heard the same questions asked a lot and see that as a fault of the user, instead of remembering how it was when they first switched to Linux as well.
I’d highly +1 to giving Linux Mint a go, it’s designed to be very similar to Windows layout (specifically Windows 7) to make a lot of things more familiar for someone switching over, and their forums are some of the most beginner friendly I’ve seen.
This install guide is pretty good for it, not making it complex, images to walk through the process https://itsfoss.com/install-linux-mint/
If you prefer videos, I just gave this one a watch through and it looks good to follow, just download the latest version instead of the one downloaded in the video (current is 21.3 “Virginia”, though following the video should put you at that one anyway), the install process is the same https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0EBueufP0o
Others will also likely recommend other Linux distros to start with and that’s fine too, whichever one seems the most easy or comfortable for you is fine to go with. I like to point people towards Ubuntu-based ones like Linux Mint because there’s a large community around those so you can find answers to any issues from searches easier.
Edit: Changed video to a more up-to-date and easy to follow one that also gives some post-install advice (though a bit geared towards gaming pc use). Speaking of gaming, on https://www.protondb.com/ you can type your games in the searchbox to see how well they run on Linux. Generally if something is verified/playable on Steam Deck it’ll run great on pc/laptop Linux as well.
Edit 2: As others have recommended in the thread too, it’s good to try it out in a virtual machine first to see if you like it. For Windows, Virtualbox and VMware Workstation Player (not pro) are some I know. If you go full install on your PC, make sure to backup all important files and write a Windows install usb as well and make sure it can boot if you can just for the chance something goes wrong, so you can easily get back to a working PC with no risk
Thank you so much for writing this out, I really appreciate it! Looks like I’ll be installing Mint on my old laptop this weekend to see how I fair.