Linux starting point?

[sawdust3d]

Ok, I've been telling myself for years to do this (Linux). I've got a spare machine to dedicate to learning, so now's the time.

I know there are different versions, so let's say this PC is for mostly paperwork of one sort or another and some gaming.

I'll post specs if necessary, but suffice to say bit's a modern and very capable machine. Currently running Win10.

So where to start?

I contemplated posting this in the Linux for steam forum, but figured I'd wind up more in a Linux/Steam discussion.

Thanks

[☆ id/SweetRin ☆ [JP]]

I would advice using Ubuntu, Its friendly to beginners and simple to use. In my opinion if feels more like mac do to its layout. Give or take you can get Nividia drivers installed or graphic drivers installed without Ubuntu crashing. your golden. But for a lot of non linux games like skyrim i was able to get working on Ubuntu without the use of Wine(Wine is a Windows game emulator). It worked perfectly besides the every extremely rare crash.

Problem with linux is that it dont contain driver support very much.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

https://itsfoss.com/linux-gaming-distributions/

[mtono]

ubuntu has a huge community and the online support is very, very helpful. for beginners ubuntu is the best...imho.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Regardless how friendly a OS Distro is, if you are not actually willing to sit down and learn it, such as various useful commands you'd enter via command prompt, then don't waste your time.

[Omega]

For gaming you idealy want an up-to-date distro. The one you like, I recommend Pop!_OS, Manjaro and Solus if you want to do gaming.

Other slightly less up-to-date distros such as Ubuntu, the various Ubuntu flavors (Kubuntu, UbuntuDDE etc..) and Linux Mint are also fine for gaming. Just make sure you are always running the latest version, don't stay and a long term support release for 5 years.


For web browsing and productivity it doesn't matter which desktop-focused distro you use.

[Talby]

easiest way to test drive is to get fire up a linux usb installer like ubuntu and run it in "live" mode

https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/try-ubuntu-before-you-install#1-getting-started

I actually do this on every build I do old and new, just to get a feel for the hardware for basic error checks before I actually install windows

I find it convenient to use Ventoy as your usb boot manager, just run Ventoy, format the usb stick with it then drag / copy the linux ISO to the USB stick root filesystem and it will automatically detect it when you boot up the usb, you can have as many bootable ISOs you can fit

https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html

[mtono]

to make an usb stick ready with linux in windows 10, you can try this:
Universal-USB-Installer

[Bad 💀 Motha]

All you need is:

> USB Flash Drive (or Micro-SD Card via USB adapter)
> Linux LiveCD ISO (this is what its generally called on the Linux distro sites, this is an ISO that allows a test drive of the OS)
> ImgBurn or Rufus
> Select your USB Drive and your ISO file. Click START

Such a tool will generally take care of the rest. After its done your USB drive should now be a bootable Linux OS. Please note that changes in the LIVE-OS will not be saved should you reboot. Users can do this with Win10 as well, you just need a Win10-to-GO ISO and a 32GB minimum sized USB drive.

[buttmunch]

Etcher is the best for making bootable usb sticks these days in my opinion...
as far as which distro you want, thats up to you completely , but keep in mind all distros generally use different kernals and different packages, so some distros may lack hardware support for certain things.
Personally, I would start with Manjaro, ubuntu, fedora, POPOS, or Linux Mint.
Those have been the ones that have worked great and stable for me on my little linux adventure.
I still distro hop to check others out years later. As long as you dont worry about installing a few different distros to check them out, have a few USB sticks pre made with a few different distros before you install linux the first time, to ensure that if one doesnt support your hardware you can try another......
I will say Linux Mint is the best beginner distro that cares a bit more about privacy (ubuntu constantly pings amazon servers and has netflix etc on their home page, most linux guys hate ubuntu for reasons like this)

[sawdust3d]

Hey awesome.

Thanks all.

Sorry to be absent from my own question.

Stuck on a remote job site (emergency they say)

I'll get back to it in a day or so.

Thanks again

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Titanium Nutsack:

Etcher is the best for making bootable usb sticks these days in my opinion...
as far as which distro you want, thats up to you completely , but keep in mind all distros generally use different kernals and different packages, so some distros may lack hardware support for certain things.
Personally, I would start with Manjaro, ubuntu, fedora, POPOS, or Linux Mint.
Those have been the ones that have worked great and stable for me on my little linux adventure.
I still distro hop to check others out years later. As long as you dont worry about installing a few different distros to check them out, have a few USB sticks pre made with a few different distros before you install linux the first time, to ensure that if one doesnt support your hardware you can try another......
I will say Linux Mint is the best beginner distro that cares a bit more about privacy (ubuntu constantly pings amazon servers and has netflix etc on their home page, most linux guys hate ubuntu for reasons like this)

Very helpful. Yes, Mint or Manjaro is also what I'd recommend. Ubuntu should be avoided, it's gotten way too bloated. It's like the Windows OS of the Linux world.

[Omega]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bad 💀 Motha:

Opprinnelig skrevet av Titanium Nutsack:

Etcher is the best for making bootable usb sticks these days in my opinion...
as far as which distro you want, thats up to you completely , but keep in mind all distros generally use different kernals and different packages, so some distros may lack hardware support for certain things.
Personally, I would start with Manjaro, ubuntu, fedora, POPOS, or Linux Mint.
Those have been the ones that have worked great and stable for me on my little linux adventure.
I still distro hop to check others out years later. As long as you dont worry about installing a few different distros to check them out, have a few USB sticks pre made with a few different distros before you install linux the first time, to ensure that if one doesnt support your hardware you can try another......
I will say Linux Mint is the best beginner distro that cares a bit more about privacy (ubuntu constantly pings amazon servers and has netflix etc on their home page, most linux guys hate ubuntu for reasons like this)

Very helpful. Yes, Mint or Manjaro is also what I'd recommend. Ubuntu should be avoided, it's gotten way too bloated. It's like the Windows OS of the Linux world.

Ubuntu has a minimal install option, then it will only install the desktop and basic apps (browser, terminal, control panel etc..).

The main reason to not use Ubuntu and Ubuntu derivatives are SNAP packages, they are slow, commonly cause issues and are forced on the user. And the back-end is proprietary if you care about that.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Forced onto the user... yup its the Win10 of the Linux world alright... lmao

Linux was meant to not be exactly what Ubuntu has become over recent years. So yea, don't waste your time with that Distro

[[N]ebsun]

Take a look and some youtube videos, there are many many distros to choose from.

Tried Ubuntu and Kubunto long ago, but I don't like those. Mint is ok.

I personally love Debian + Mate

Since a lot of stuff comes from Debian anyway, I have ended up there... it's behind on updates (purposely) but as a result is very stable and reliable.
Used it for 6+ years and still love it.

[Electric Cupcake]

I got my training on OpenSuse and we were forbidden from using a desktop environment or GUI.

The Debian/*buntu family are the most popular for general-use. I prefer Lubuntu or Xubuntu.

Mint and ZorinOS are also often mentioned as the most Windows-like and beginner-friendly.

And, of course, the Debian-based RaspianOS is specifically meant for learning.