“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…
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 do a full install on your PC, make sure to backup all important files and write a Windows install usb as well so if it doesn’t go well you can easily get back to a working pc
I second this. Been using a few distros in the last 20 years, going back and forth between windows and Linux, but I’ve been using Mint in the last year and I don’t feel like switching anymore. Teams, office and outlook all have a web app so no need for a native office installation anymore, and most Windows games on steam work well with proton.
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 do a full install on your PC, make sure to backup all important files and write a Windows install usb as well so if it doesn’t go well you can easily get back to a working pc
I second this. Been using a few distros in the last 20 years, going back and forth between windows and Linux, but I’ve been using Mint in the last year and I don’t feel like switching anymore. Teams, office and outlook all have a web app so no need for a native office installation anymore, and most Windows games on steam work well with proton.
Agree. Just try Mint. It’s a solid choice.
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.