To Win 7 Users: Install Linux Mint

[D. Flame]

First off it sucks what Steam is doing to you. Not making this post to shame you, but just to try to help.

Mint actually feels a lot like Windows 7 or Windows XP, but it is more up to date. It has a software store so installing stuff like Steam is super easy.

I have also installed it for non-tech savvy 60 and 70 year olds, and even they can use it without problems.

As for games, I wanted to test it with an lower end machine, so I took a Dell Optiplex 3040 as a base and worked from there. I got a refreshed Intel Core i5-6500 on Amazon for like $50, and I got a new RX 6400 for like $150 and put them in the Dell.

To install Windows games in Linux you just need to do a few extra clicks. On the page with the install button for your game -> click the gear icon near the right side of the screen -> click properties -> the properties box will open -> click the compatibility tab -> put a check mark in that box, and leave it set to "Proton Experimental" and close the popup. Then just click install like normal.

As for how well the game will work when installing this way. It should work just as well as the Steam Deck does, since the deck is also using Linux. As for that Dell machine that I tried, I was even able to run newer games like Resident Evil 4 remake and Armored Core 6 on it. I was playing them at lower settings and 1080p, but they were running on Linux. Older games like DOOM (2016) were running at a full 60 FPS on higher settings.

You can even put Linux Mint on a USB drive or burn it to a DVD and boot it from that to try the it out before committing to the change.

[Hobbit XIII]

Thank you!

[Tristin]

I've heard Proton does run Windows games, but not all. It can be hit or miss. As it is experimental

[lsdninja]

Originally posted by Tristin:

I've heard Proton does run Windows games, but not all. It can be hit or miss. As it is experimental

I've managed to get everything I've thrown at it running under Linux in some capacity, including some curlier ones like Control or Jedi: Fallen Order. My only real failure was Descent 3, and that was only because It had issues with resolution and aspect ratio (Hailing from a time when even 1024x768 was somewhat of a luxury, 16:9 1080p is completely alien to it). I have a bunch of era-appropriate machines I can install it on when the time comes, so it's not a huge deal.

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by Tristin:

I've heard Proton does run Windows games, but not all. It can be hit or miss. As it is experimental

There are release versions of proton too. Experimental just means you are always using the most up to date version.

Yes, there can be issues, but those issues also apply to the steam deck and you can check if a game is steam deck verified.

You can also look up specific games here:
https://www.protondb.com/

Such as AC6:
https://www.protondb.com/app/1888160

Resident Evil 4 remake:
https://www.protondb.com/app/2050650

[Wolf]

Or you can have dual boot with W7 and W10 like me, so when you want to play you switch to W10 and when you don't want that just W7,

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by Wolf:

Or you can have dual boot with W7 and W10 like me, so when you want to play you switch to W10 and when you don't want that just W7,

Windows 10 costs money and has privacy concerns associated with it. Linux Mint doesn't.

[lsdninja]

Originally posted by D. Flame:

Windows 10 costs money and has privacy concerns associated with it. Linux Mint doesn't.

It only costs money now because people left it too long to upgrade.

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by lsdninja:

Originally posted by D. Flame:

Windows 10 costs money and has privacy concerns associated with it. Linux Mint doesn't.

It only costs money now because people left it too long to upgrade.

This was all a ploy to get more people to buy Windows 11. Then Microsoft realized that people were taking advantage of this loop hole rather than paying, so they closed the loop hole.

[lsdninja]

Originally posted by D. Flame:

This was all a ploy to get more people to buy Windows 11. Then Microsoft realized that people were taking advantage of this loop hole rather than paying, so they closed the loop hole.

Windows 11 is a free upgrade if you're already running 10, that hasn't changed as far as I know. Microsoft is closing the 7 -> 10 loophole after 7 years, which should have been plenty of time for people to decide if they wanted to upgrade to 10 or not.

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by lsdninja:

Originally posted by D. Flame:

This was all a ploy to get more people to buy Windows 11. Then Microsoft realized that people were taking advantage of this loop hole rather than paying, so they closed the loop hole.

Windows 11 is a free upgrade if you're already running 10, that hasn't changed as far as I know. Microsoft is closing the 7 -> 10 loophole after 7 years, which should have been plenty of time for people to decide if they wanted to upgrade to 10 or not.

And they just conveniently happened to do it right before Steam discontinued Windows 7 support. Curious.

[lsdninja]

Originally posted by D. Flame:

And they just conveniently happened to do it right before Steam discontinued Windows 7 support. Curious.

They're three months out from closing the book on desktop Windows 7 entirely themselves (the paid ESU program for Windows 7 Pro ends in January as well. POSReady goes EOL next October and then that's all she wrote), it's likely just a coincidence.

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by lsdninja:

Originally posted by D. Flame:

And they just conveniently happened to do it right before Steam discontinued Windows 7 support. Curious.

They're three months out from closing the book on desktop Windows 7 entirely themselves (the paid ESU program for Windows 7 Pro ends in January as well. POSReady goes EOL next October and then that's all she wrote), it's likely just a coincidence.

People using that program weren't the ones taking advantage of the older keys to activate personal windows installs. I have believed since day 1 of the announcement that this change was due to MS putting pressure on Steam to increase Windows 11 sales. Hell, that is why Win 10 is no longer "the last version of Windows." Them suddenly cutting off the free upgrades just further supports that belief.

[Thiesen]

Good luck running DX12 games that is using SM6 on LM...

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by Thiesen:

Good luck running DX12 games that is using SM6 on LM...

Which game are you having issues with?

[Deathraven13]

Originally posted by D. Flame:

Originally posted by Thiesen:

Good luck running DX12 games that is using SM6 on LM...

Which game are you having issues with?

He told you: Games that run on DX12, so for exemple South Park: fractured but whole.

I download the whole game on my win7 PC and it didn't open because it need ubisoft launcher which don't run on win7 so I had to download the whole game once again on my newer PC that run on win10.........