Some questions for someone looking to try linux

[SenMithrarin85]

Any help would be appreciated:

1) What file system does linux use? Is it capable of recognising windows file systems like ntfs (which my backup drives are formatted in)?

2) where do drivers come from? I've read that they're built into the distro usually, but what happens if a hardware device isn't recognised?

3) does linux support bluetooth (I have bluetooth headphones and a series x gamepad)

4) is anti virus software needed?

5) which distro is best for gaming compatibility?

I'll likely think of more but i'll start there lol

[Cathulhu]

1) Depends on the distro but ext4 is not uncommon. Yes, it can read NTFS.
2) You can download drivers for linux just like downloading drivers for Windows.
3) Sure, the better question is, are those headphones or that gamepad themselves supported?
4) Yes, even Linux can get viruses.
5) The one you build and compile yourself, but that is not even remotely for beginners. Take a look at PopOS or similar.

[Omega]

1) Linux supports tons of filesystems. Ext4 being most common, Btrfs is also used by some distributions. Besides these there are many more interesting filesystems such as F2FS and XFS. There is lots of choice, or just go with whatever is default for your chosen distribution if you do not care.

It can read NTFS yes, but I recommend against using NTFS drives to store Linux stuff. Linux NTFS support is not great, and it's just a horrible file system. A new and better Linux kernel driver for NTFS is being worked on.

2) Drivers and firmware are build in to Linux the kernel. The only common exception to this being Nvidia graphics hardware which requires non-free (As-in freedom) drivers from Nvidia to have full functionality.

3) Yes Linux supports Bluetooth just fine. As long as your Bluetooth/Wi-Fi chip has a driver it should work.

4) Software distribution on Linux is very secure and thus you do not need anti-virus. Software is downloaded through centralized software respositories, or an "App store" as it is usually called. Only only download software from the internet as a last resort, get all your software via your distribution's app store or some other trusted repository such as Flathub or Snapcraft.

5) Pretty much any GNU/Linux distro will do. For gaming you usually want something reasonably up-to-date. For beginners Manjaro, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS and Solus are good options.

[logith]

1) Ext 1-4, JFS, XFS, btrfs and many more. ntfs is there, but will work better in the 5.15 kernel https://linuxiac.com/linux-kernel-5-15-ntfs-support
2) Afaik drivers come from the kernel
3) Bluetooth does indeed work, usually something called Bluez
4) Anti virus is more than likely not needed
5) PopOS is usually the go-to one for gaming, Garuda has a version that comes pre-installed with various gaming related programs, might not completely fit beginners though. Gotta research a bit with what distro works best for your usecase

[SenMithrarin85]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Omega:

1) Linux supports tons of filesystems. Ext4 being most common, Btrfs is also used by some distributions. Besides these there are many more interesting filesystems such as F2FS and XFS. There is lots of choise, or just go with whatever is default for your chosen distribution if you do not care.

It can read NTFS yes, but I recommend against using NTFS drives to store Linux stuff. Linux NTFS support is not great, and it's just a horrible file system. A new and better Linux kernel driver for NTFS is being worked on.

2) Drivers and firmware are build in to Linux the kernel. The only common exception to this being Nvidia graphics hardware which requires non-free (As-in freedom) drivers from Nvidia to have full functionality.

3) Yes Linux supports Bluetooth just fine. As long as your Bluetooth/Wi-Fi chip has a driver it should work.

4) Software distribution on Linux is very secure and thus you do not need anti-virus. Software is downloaded through centralized software respositories, or an "App store" as it is usually called. Only only download software from the internet as a last resort, get all your software via your distribution's app store or some other trusted repository such as Flathub or Snapcraft.

5) Pretty much any GNU/Linux distro will do. For gaming you usually want something reasonably up-to-date. For beginners Manjaro, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS and Solus are good options.

so is it best to use the nvidia driver from the kernel or download the latest from nvidia themselves?

[logith]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από SenMithrarin85:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Omega:

1) Linux supports tons of filesystems. Ext4 being most common, Btrfs is also used by some distributions. Besides these there are many more interesting filesystems such as F2FS and XFS. There is lots of choise, or just go with whatever is default for your chosen distribution if you do not care.

It can read NTFS yes, but I recommend against using NTFS drives to store Linux stuff. Linux NTFS support is not great, and it's just a horrible file system. A new and better Linux kernel driver for NTFS is being worked on.

2) Drivers and firmware are build in to Linux the kernel. The only common exception to this being Nvidia graphics hardware which requires non-free (As-in freedom) drivers from Nvidia to have full functionality.

3) Yes Linux supports Bluetooth just fine. As long as your Bluetooth/Wi-Fi chip has a driver it should work.

4) Software distribution on Linux is very secure and thus you do not need anti-virus. Software is downloaded through centralized software respositories, or an "App store" as it is usually called. Only only download software from the internet as a last resort, get all your software via your distribution's app store or some other trusted repository such as Flathub or Snapcraft.

5) Pretty much any GNU/Linux distro will do. For gaming you usually want something reasonably up-to-date. For beginners Manjaro, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS and Solus are good options.

so is it best to use the nvidia driver from the kernel or download the latest from nvidia themselves?

Use the nvidia driver from the kernel, that way it can be updated with the system when needed. Most recommended to choose the proprietary driver, since nvidia gpus don't support the free Nouveau driver that well

[Omega]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από SenMithrarin85:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Omega:

1) Linux supports tons of filesystems. Ext4 being most common, Btrfs is also used by some distributions. Besides these there are many more interesting filesystems such as F2FS and XFS. There is lots of choise, or just go with whatever is default for your chosen distribution if you do not care.

It can read NTFS yes, but I recommend against using NTFS drives to store Linux stuff. Linux NTFS support is not great, and it's just a horrible file system. A new and better Linux kernel driver for NTFS is being worked on.

2) Drivers and firmware are build in to Linux the kernel. The only common exception to this being Nvidia graphics hardware which requires non-free (As-in freedom) drivers from Nvidia to have full functionality.

3) Yes Linux supports Bluetooth just fine. As long as your Bluetooth/Wi-Fi chip has a driver it should work.

4) Software distribution on Linux is very secure and thus you do not need anti-virus. Software is downloaded through centralized software respositories, or an "App store" as it is usually called. Only only download software from the internet as a last resort, get all your software via your distribution's app store or some other trusted repository such as Flathub or Snapcraft.

5) Pretty much any GNU/Linux distro will do. For gaming you usually want something reasonably up-to-date. For beginners Manjaro, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS and Solus are good options.

so is it best to use the nvidia driver from the kernel or download the latest from nvidia themselves?

You will need to use the drivers from Nvidia themselves. The Nouveau driver in the kernel for Nvidia hardware is barely good enough to get an image on the screen and can play no games. Some distributions such as Pop!_OS and Ubuntu ship with this driver already installed. When the installer asks if you want to install non-free drivers answer "yes".

Do not download the drivers from the Nvidia website, you can download these using the app store or a build-in third-party driver manager. By installing it this way it will be updated together with your OS.

[A&A]

1) Ext4 is the preferred and most widely used Linux file System. Linux is using NTFS-3G, so it is possible to read windows files

2) Most of them are integrated into Linux itself if they are not reconginzing your hardware then the Linux kernel must recognize and know how to talk to hardware devices in order for them to have any use to you.
Most of devices connect to Linux system, hardware can use standardized protocols. Linux have 3 of the most popular.
Well, you can still install drivers.

3) Linux is working with bluetooth.

4) Not really, but it is good to have one

5) I think Manjaro is the best for gaming.

[SenMithrarin85]

does linux support uefi or secure boot? or must I disable it in the bios?

[Haruspex]

1) What file system does linux use?
Others already mentioned, typically EXT4. If you mount an NTFS or FAT32 drive it will read it just fine. Some distros like Garuda use BTRFS which has really good fault tolerance.

2) where do drivers come from? I've read that they're built into the distro usually, but what happens if a hardware device isn't recognised?
In most cases, your hardware will be recognized and just work. There are some fringe cases where a hardware manufacturer refuses to support Linux, and refuses to release specs, so the community can't support the device themselves. This used to be a bigger issue than it is today. The only device I own that won't work on Linux is the built-in fingerprint reader on my Lenovo laptop, but apparently Dell is working to make that work, since their own laptops use the same thing. Some devices work better under Linux. Like my Huion graphics tablet. On Windows I have to find the right driver, install, reboot, adjust the settings, and even then it's a crapshoot as to whether it will work. On Linux I just plug it in, and it's working.
You shouldn't need to download any drivers from third party sources. (Though it's still an option.) In fact you want to be careful with downloading software from anywhere but the official repositories.

3) does linux support bluetooth (I have bluetooth headphones and a series x gamepad)
Yep, absolutely.

4) is anti virus software needed?
Probably not. A little common sense goes much further than any anti-virus software ever could. Most viruses are made for Windows, and as a result won't even run on Linux.

5) which distro is best for gaming compatibility?
Take your pick. I've done plenty of distro hopping, and I haven't noticed any difference in gaming compatibility when using Steam. I eventually settled on Kubuntu, because most developers, if they support Linux, only support Ubuntu. Their stuff will run on other distros, but you often need to take care of prerequisites yourself, or recompile the application from source. Ubuntu and flavors of Ubuntu tend to be less work for lazy people like me. That being said Manjaro and Garuda have Steam pre-installed by default, which is cool. I really like Garuda. Ultimately I settled on Kubuntu, which is Ubuntu using the same desktop environment. (KDE Plasma) I tweaked my Kubuntu install to look more like Garuda though.

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από SenMithrarin85:

does linux support uefi or secure boot? or must I disable it in the bios?

Typically, you disable it. Some distros do work with secure boot enabled, like Ubuntu 12.04.2 and higher.

[A&A]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από SenMithrarin85:

does linux support uefi or secure boot? or must I disable it in the bios?

Most linux distros support uefi but not secure boot

Edit: Well l usualy have problems wit the secure boot

[Omega]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από SenMithrarin85:

does linux support uefi or secure boot? or must I disable it in the bios?

Yes it supports both. But it is usually easiest to disable Secure Boot since you will otherwise have to manually add keys to Secure Boot.

[Der tüddelige Fußgänger]

Not an expert but i try anyway
Which distro:
Doesn't matter. Just take any distro which is up to date, Arch, Manjaro, Ubuntu, one of the many ubuntu "reskins" like xubuntu, kubuntu the list goes on
Bluetooth: depends, Ubuntu had drivers for my bluetooth usb build in, didn't test it with manjaro.
Antivirus: No. There are far less viruses for linux, and those who exist are much weaker, since most of the time, you don't have admin acces, or at least how i set up manjaro.
And of course, depends on what you use. Just use your distros software repo or something trustworthy like snap.

And drivers. Also depends on the distro. I use manjaro, which comes with hardware detection and install the best drivers right when you install it on your PC.
Don't know about other distros, sorry

[76561198343548661]

is it really free (Linux) ? On the download page, one is informed that it s good to donate a reasonable amount of money ! It s a pure blackmail

[logith]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από littlecat20160:

is it really free (Linux) ? On the download page, one is informed that it s good to donate a reasonable ammount of money ! It s a pure blackmail

Practically any distro you can find is free. The donation thing is to remind people that it got to be funded somehow, but you aren't forced to donate, how is this blackmail. In fact if you really wanted to, you could make your own linux system since the kernel is both gratis and free (as in freedom) https://linuxfromscratch.org/ Takes considerable effort to do though, not needed for most users, most of the popular distros will do, but still good to check out lesser popular ones, might find some you like more

[Cathulhu]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από littlecat20160:

is it really free (Linux) ? On the download page, one is informed that it s good to donate a reasonable amount of money ! It s a pure blackmail

Since when is asking for donations blackmail?