Bump for people who are having difficulties with the second bot protection. It's not actually a puzzle, it's not cryptic in any way, you don't need to overthink. I've used monospace so the both lines can be aligned correctly. The second line is your key.
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What do you think about draugerOS as a solely gaming oriented OS (dual boot with windows).
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Haven't heard of it but just checked. It's Ubuntu-based and uses XFCE as desktop environment. So expect something closer to WinXP UI. However they said that they added gaming specific optimizations, so I guess it's a fine choice from outside. I would check video reviews though.
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I misread "help needed" but I see you got it under control, lol.
I'd add, for practice, you can try VirtualBOX, it's free and works really well on modern computers with VTX tech.
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Haha, help might be needed depending on the comments though. :)
Nice advice. Adding this as to-do for now, I'll edit the thread tomorrow probably.
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I have a VirtualBox image of Kali Linux for competitions and class. Easier for me than switching to Linux at this point as all my school work is on Windows.
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Benchmarks of CachyOS look good https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/179cec8/big_performance_difference_bw_popos_and_cachy_os/
Gonna try it soon
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CachyOS looks nice. Though they didn't need to bash Windows on that Reddit thread. I think that really depends on your hardware, if you're lucky Linux will run faster than Windows.
Disclaimer for others: CachyOS is not a beginner distro.
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I wouldn't say that it's difficult to manage, there is a wizard panel with checkboxes which allows to install everything with couple of clicks, it also has more options to install different DE. I run it with Openbox environment. It runs perfectly well on my low end celeron pc with intel hd graphics and it works much faster than pop os which was previously installed. I've also found benchmarks with nobara https://www.reddit.com/r/Fedora/comments/198plpx/cachyos_kernel_vs_zen_kernel/ , there is no actual difference with performance, but I like Arch more, than Fedora.
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I solely wrote that because CachyOS is Arch-based. There is nothing wrong for beginners to use it but they cannot handle if something goes wrong. I'm on EndeavourOS for quite some time and it only caused me problems a couple times (all of them are Nvidia related), and it's been perfectly fine from the last year at least. But still, I wouldn't want this to happen some beginner user. It's rare but even that one time is huge for beginners. Otherwise, Arch is great.
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You can simply add the x86_64-v3 repository or even the CachyOS repository to any Arch-based distro.
I'm using ALHP https://github.com/an0nfunc/ALHP
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My experience in gaming with Linux is bad enough I ended up dual boot my Steamdeck with Windows and has been satisfied since then.
And you can turn off the update to Windows 11 pop-ups easily in the Update setting.
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Well, that depends on the games so it doesn't work for some people as intended (So a reason to dual-boot). Most of them are games with anti-cheat, yet again most of those games can run on Linux if the developers activate the Linux version of their anti-cheat (Easy Anti Cheat and BattlEye has Linux verisons and works nicely for a lot games).
I suggest Shutup10 to people for that, since Windows' own settings might revert after a system update.
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I've been intending to make the jump to Linux for my daily driver PC for a while, so it's nice to see a thread like this here. Really haven't liked the direction Windows has been heading.
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Yeah, I've been seen a lot of people who are uncomfortable with the latest Windows updates and they go worse with every new one. So I decided it would be nice to help people who are already on the battlefield. This thread only addresses those people, I would love to introduce Linux to every other user here but sadly I don't have that much willpower nor time.
You can bump any time if you make / decide to make the jump. :)
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I've been dual-booting for the few times I might need something in windows or for HDR since linux right now does not support HDR.
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Yeah, HDR support is still experimental on Linux and you can only have it on Wayland, which is not quite ready for gaming in my opinion. Steam also doesn't have a direct support for it but they are working on it. Also because of Nvidia's closed nature, Wayland experience on Nvidia is worse than AMD. They recently opened the code for kernel parts so I expect an improvement soon, but yeah, not convenient for Nvidia users yet.
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Usually I am advocate for windows - I have win10 on my work laptop and win11 on my personal. And frankly it has worked fine and I've never understood the complaints. But most of all I have never understood the stubbornness on holding to Win7.
But one thing lately started to bug me tremendously - the god damned onedrive. As the fucking plague. Cant get rid of it without cutting off your arm, yet it fills up automatically with every little shit in your pc and prompts you to buy more storage. Windows went true apple here. I've been on the edge about windows defender as well.
Frankly might eventually switch to Linux as well. But I am still quite dependent from outlook, teams and office, power BI. So I will have to see.
Thanks for the thread anyway.
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Maybe I am just illiterate in using it, but years ago I could myself control what I deem to be trustworthy - now if there is anything defender does not like, quarantine and automatic delete. I had the issue mainly with torrent trackers - defender simply blocks any possible installer and deletes it outright. Yet at the same time the windows market or whatever it is called is filled with ad-filled crap trackers which probably have more viruses than Malaysan hooker.
In the end I somewhat got a web version of bittorrent running, but I was still not pleased I could not manually say that a file is okay.
Defender itself is working fine. I definitely prefer that over some third party antivirus systems, but in the end the defender is becoming a bit over intrusive. At least I tried looking for ways to actually green light something which defender quarantines, but didn't find anything.
Sure - this is not something majority should be able to do, but there at least should be the possibility with admin access at least.
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sorry for the late reply, i can feel you. i excluded a folder just for files that i know would trigger defender. its a shame for not being able to whitelist a file but i guess thats how MS wants to handle their product and users!
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No problem!
I remember removing OneDrive was hard but didn't know it was almost impossible now. I guess it's harder to get rid of it if you're using Windows with a Microsoft account. I recall that it was quite devious to create a local account on new installs.
Cannot say anything about Outlook vs Thunderbird since I use neither. However Microsoft Teams has a Linux version for some time. MS Office is tricky though. There are some workarounds like this but even there Outlook and Access don't work. And switching to LibreOffice or OnlyOffice doesn't work alone unless your whole organization makes the switch. It's fine for personal usage however.
But most of all I have never understood the stubbornness on holding to Win7.
Standard users who use internet daily should keep an un-to-date system. It's fine to use Windows 7 on local machines with no internet connection though.
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I've seen people talk about Wubuntu a lot before, so if you want to use linux , but your familiar with windows maybe give that a look
https://www.wubuntu.org/
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Heh, that KDE theme is actually impressive. I've seen a lot of Windows mock-up themes and this should be one of the best.
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As someone who jumped a few years ago, this thread resonates a lot with my experience. :D
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When I say to people I've had more problems with Windows than Linux, they don't fully believe me. There are lots of petty issues everywhere that bugged me I didn't even mention here, when I talk about those problems specifically they acknowledge them. People just got used to them and kinda fix them unconsciously.
Even Microsoft subliminally tells you you don't own your OS (My Computer became This PC). :)
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I can do the same on ma machine without their crap.
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I'm not surprised but Microsoft really has endless shenanigans.
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Luckily they usually give up on the idea and make 180 after ~2 years of pushing it really hard.
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Yeah, they do that for some features but I don't think they ever give up on a telemetry feature. They were really determined about Copilot too. Maybe those won't be in an enterprise version but they don't sell it to individuals. It either requires an organization or sailing in the seven seas.
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Telemetry is not a feature for users, it's a core mechanic for earning from a "free" OS.
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Indeed (I should've used quotation marks as well). Worst part is, it's not even technically free. People pay for the OS, yet Windows still sends their data away.
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Gaming on linux is soooo nice compared to 10 years ago. (I switched before Steam had a native linux client, and I was part of the beta)
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I agree. I also started experimenting with Dota 2 around 2013-2014, it was enjoyable to participate.
(It's nice to see a Suzumiya Haruhi fan. <3 )
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While gaming on Linux is becoming quite enjoyable, VR gaming is not quite there yet. If on cutting edge or using not-so-mainstream hardware, stick with Windows or whatever OS it was intended for.
My favorite distros are currently Linux Mint and Ubuntu Server.
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Well, VR users have no choice really. I guess only Valve Index and maybe HTC have Linux support. HL Alyx had an experimental Linux build if I remember correctly but never made it official. Only 1.92% of Steam users have a VR headset, imagine the Linux users with a VR headset. That's probably why it still isn't there. Of course things might change if some company write an actual VR driver for Linux for their headset. However I don't think anyone would do it without a market share. :/
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The VR market is mostly on standalone devices right now unfortunately, and the wireless software for these devices is Windows only at the moment. I had hoped OpenVR and OpenXR standards would mean better Linux support, but that wasn't the case.
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Usually new and relatively rare technologies develop slowly on Linux side, especially when there is no support from corporations and the community tries to write things from scratch. Though Valve probably will make it work but Valve time is an entirely different space-time.
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Bump.
(I don't really have anything to add to the discussion. ^_^' )
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I've been gaming on Linux for 3 years now, with certain tweaks you can get more FPS than on win11. Of course some anticheat don't work.
I've been using EndeavourOS for 2 years no major issues. But I can recommend Nobara and Cachy OS for gaming, both are optimized for performance. Maybe Garuda too. With these you will always get the latest software, but Pop_os is behind with the versions.
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Me too. It's been 4 years for me now and gaming part is getting better every day. Nvidia recently released a Wayland fix and opened the kernel part of their driver, currently in beta but will hit soon with 555. If that goes well, only thing we need left is probably native Wayland version of Steam. It already works fine on Xorg but Wayland is way smoother.
Well, I wrote Mint and Pop for daily general usage with some gaming aspect and they're good for beginners. But yeah, usually cutting edge stuff is better for gaming. I guess Nobara and CachyOS fill that space. I heard about Garuda being bloated but still works nicely for gaming.
EndeavourOS is my favourite too. Though I've been eyeing Void for some time but haven't made the switch yet.
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Windows is deteriorating day by day
Wholeheartedly agree! It's been going down hill since Windows 3.11 ...
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In my experience Intel WiFi chips and their Chinese knock-off designs aren't supported out of the box which sucks and prevents me from wanting to try out those 2% market share OSes. Even if chips are recognized there are problems reported with data throughput.
Don't get me wrong I'm not agitating against open software but experience shows that companies aren't to forthcoming in sharing their design secrets publicly and thus driver development is hampered. May I cite Linus Torvald's famous "Nvidia fuck yourself" to illustrate what I mean.
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Actually Intel Wi-Fi chips are pretty good supported with the latest kernels, you just need to use a new distro. Doesn't even have to be cutting edge either. However Chinese knock-offs usually don't work at all, and I don't think that would change unless they also write their Linux drivers.
While that statement is still valid, Nvidia recently released a kernel part of their Linux driver as open source. And one of their developers helps the open source Nvidia driver as well. Maybe this is a start of some change, maybe not. But these are nice developments.
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The Intel Wigig chipset didn't work on Ubuntu the last time I tried it (last year), and I doubt it's improved since then. Too few people use them.
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I just checked and yeah, that particular chipset indeed isn't well supported. All I can find from Intel is "We're working on it.".
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The wigig cards barely run on AMD hardware for that matter. If it runs, it tends not to run as well as it would on an Intel-driven setup. I think they're keen to keep it that way.
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Hello from Nobara Linux :) I've installed MacOS theme i really like how it looks but had to change Apple logo from top left felt like using knock off Balenciaga or something hehe :p Well about OS i've been happily using it for a while without any issues. All of my games and stuff works same as Windows only games with kernel level anticheat software doesn't work but i've stopped playing those anyway no more COD or Fortnite for me :D I'm happy with what i've got atm.
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Hi ;)
Nobara is nice, isn't it? GloriousEggroll sure knows his stuff well. Some games still doesn't support anti-cheat on Linux but a lot of them added Linux support. Even Hell Let Loose works just fine now. Though there is nothing to do for kernel level anti-cheats but at least both of us don't care.
Nice rice by the way. :)
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I would also recommend using Google Doc / Office 365
Also, for the more experienced users, I would recommend trying to use tiling window managers like Hyprland.
It's incredibly comfy and fast (Hyprland is also pretty), I can't imagine how you can use a computer now, dragging / resizing those windows with a mouse and alt-tabbing :D
(I use Arch, btw)
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They might not be fully compatible with all the documents but they work fine most of the time.
I recently tried Hyprland and really loved it. Though had to switch back to Bspwm because of Nvidia. Now I'm waiting for the new Wayland improvements. When 555 is available for stable, I'll give it another shot. Generally I found it really smooth and straightforward. I felt like Xorg is really primitive.
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i also would love to move to wayland, but i've had a lot of visual glitches (strobe effects in particular). older nvidia gpu's (gtx 970 in my case) seem to still struggle a little.
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Looking at the release notes we both are on clear and this driver will support GTX 970 as well. Just need to wait a little more, Fedora is hasty with these updates so you should be able to use it soon.
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bumpo for great thread! although i have windows installed on a separate ssd, ever since i moved to nobara a year ago or so, i haven't even thought of going back.
some software doesn't and won't work on linux, but it's so minimal and has alternatives readily available. besides, i can just use a VM for that anyway.
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Unlike what most people think, having control over everything is pretty refreshing. While overwhelming for some people, having endless options is also great. Once you discover what you like, you can settle there and can live like that for years without changing anything. I mean, you can use this with modern software and I think that's pretty neat. :)
Well, people need to understand that every operating system has their own tools so of course there will have to be some changes. Though one of the best parts of the open source, you can find the same software on every other system too. I remember the times KDE as a desktop environment can be used on Windows, replacement of explorer.exe if I'm not wrong. Nowadays it's only their programs though.
WINE is impressive as well. It can run many Windows software without a fuss. Though I recently noticed that I stopped installing it on my system long time ago. Alternatives just work for me.
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once i started having to remove all the microsoft spyware crap after every windows install and using open source software on windows just to make it somewhat usable, i started wondering just why bother when, indeed, linux gives me way more control over what i want or don't want to do. using windows nowadays is akin to using a virtual machine within the microsoft infrastructure. it's scary how people just see this and are ok with it because they'd just rather not learn something new.
and i won't pretend like linux is the easiest thing in the world. i experienced a lot of frustration when i moved for the first time, and especially when my first exposure to it was a debian-based server OS (the interface is entirely terminal-based). i think there's still a lot to do especially in terms of newbie usability, but it's so so so much more user-friendly than it used to be and it's absolutely worth a shot given the payoff you'll get in the end.
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It can be really tiring isn't it? And doing some of these after every update is also irksome. Let the users decide what they want, but no. They force you to have an account, they force their programs on you, they don't even give you a chance about telemetry. No privacy at all.
I guess it's mostly about people's comfort zone. They don't want to leave what's easy for them and that's understandable. However leaving this comfort zone in your term is better than you're being forced to. What Microsoft does is basically forcing people out of their comfort zone by nagging about upgrades. If my system is working without problems, why should I upgrade? The very same system works just fine with Linux and still getting up-to-date software.
I think people should think about the time when they first learned about Windows. It can be not easy to learn Linux, but it's not harder than learning a second foreign language once you learn one. You already know how to use a computer with one operating system, you can at least transfer some of your knowledge, add some more and you would be fine. When people are mentally ready, they can do anything. Some people just need a little spark.
when my first exposure to it was a debian-based server OS
You started tough :) Debian server is lovely though.
Yeah, comparing to 10 years ago it's much more newbie friendly now. There are even Linux system where you don't need terminal now, they kinda work like Android.
it's absolutely worth a shot given the payoff you'll get in the end.
100% agree with this. There is no going back once you taste freedom.
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exactly, that analogy with the second language is perfect. it is fairly fun once you get the hang of it, too!
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Recently had a Chrome update that once again made me question things. Previously I've only used Linux to rescue HDDs when windows broke - which worked like a charm. Apart from that all of that command line stuff just is not my thing. Admittedly, last I checked into Linux is also likely at least 5 years ago and much had changed from 5 years before that and 5 years before that. But considering Windows 7 and 10 are just working so nÃce... you know, never change a running system. So for me I guess the time has not come, yet.
Make Windows XY have an obligatory AI assistant (spy) on your system and that's probably the time I'll move on...
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never change a running system
I agree, if it works for you that's great. They're tools for making our lives easier in the end, shouldn't be the other way.
Sadly both Google and Microsoft do a lot of questionable things and it doesn't get any better. They even make their users feel that they have no respect for them.
Previously I've only used Linux to rescue HDDs when windows broke
Haha, I have a friend who exactly does the same thing. Well, it's nice to have a backup plan. :)
I would say a lot has changed in the last 5 years as you can guess. Nowadays there are distros called as "immutable", which means user doesn't have access to the root file system so they cannot break it. Something like Android, everything works on GUI as well. Their update system is a bit slow though but that's an acceptable price. Bazzite and MicroOS are examples.
Today I helped my sister to configure her laptop which has Windows 11 and I saw Copilot on the menu. It seems it's currently optional but your time might be closer than you think, considering Windows 10 has like 1 year left.
(Also it was kinda funny and frustrating that I couldn't change the system to local language, only half of the system changed. On Microsoft forums they suggest a reinstall of the whole OS. The worst part, I saw a lot of threads about this.)
Also, that's a cute bump. :3
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I've tried Linux in dual boot several times, but ended up coming back to W10/11 each time because there's always something that doesn't work like I want. And I've got too much programs I can't use on Linux at all (MAO software and plugins, simracing stuff, Playnite to manage my game library, ...).
Too bad as I own a Steam Deck and it's incredible to use and most games works really great..
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Well, it should be convenient for individuals to make the jump. If you're depending on many proprietary software (and they don't really have alternatives), it wouldn't be convenient for you sadly. Would be kinda funny if you game on Linux and use other programs on Windows though, since most dual-boot people do the opposite. :P
Heh, you already do this with Steam Deck though. :)
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While Windows is deteriorating day by day, Linux has become a viable option even for people who have never used an operating system other than Windows before. If you miss Windows 7, are tired of incessant pop-ups urging you to update to Windows 11, weary of uninstalling Candy Crush after every update, occasionally find yourself meddling with regedit, or simply want to use your choice of browser without being disturbed by the default one and don't know what to do, this might be your chance to discover that everything is possible in the world of FOSS (freE and open-source software).
You don't need Windows, unless you require specific software (I'll address that later). Since we're on SteamGifts, you're here because of gaming, and the Steam Deck has demonstrated that you can game without Windows (Thanks GabeN). My goal here is to create a simple guide about what you should expect and answer your questions if you have any, even help with your problems if you decide to pass the river. SG has many Linux users and the ones I personally know are quite helpful, if not me you might get your answers from some other fellow penguin. :)
1. You want to install Linux but there are too many options
If you checked before or simply searched the internet for beginner's Linux, it is possible that you came upon to the articles where they mention ten different Linux operating systems. There is a reason for that. The main reason is the code is open source and everyone can make their own distro (short term for distribution), and of course every distro has a certain use case. Some of them are similar and there are very specific builds like where you can use your machine as a retro gaming device, a home multimedia server or a hacking tool. If you can imagine a use case, it's probably already exists.
Anyway, I'm going to focus more on gaming related distros here but I'll also mention real beginner-friendly distros.
2. You cannot leave Windows entirely because of a specific program
This is possible and may happen to some of us. Yes, there are many alternative software to what you use daily, most of them are free and you can even use Windows programs on Linux (that's how Steam Deck mostly works too). However some programs do not run well, or do not run at all. In this case, if you are unsure about Linux, you can install it alongside Windows. Your PC will ask which OS you want to use at the boot and you can select either one from the list.
3. Practice makes perfect
Before installing Linux to your computer, practice it somewhere else if you can. Most of the installation medias can run on your PC when you plug it in and choose it from BIOS so you can test what that distro is about before installing. But what I'm talking about is, if you have an old laptop (or a spare one), install Linux there first and try to get familiar. You may not need this, it's just a precaution for beginners. Another precaution before starting your installation is, disconnect your other disks and only leave the one you're gonna install. AgaiN, you don't need this either if you follow a guide without haste but sometimes mistakes can happen so it's better to eliminate them before the possibility.
You can also try a lot of distros with VirtualBox before deciding which one to use.
4. Finally you have installed Linux. The journey starts
It's time to taste the freshness of your new operating system. It's like a new machine.
I tried to keep the steps pretty short and simple and now let's get more details:
I'll try to be objective but obviously I have some favourites so I cannot be 100% unbiased. Though I'm sure you'll read many other alternatives in the comments that you may want to check.
Distro to choose for beginners >> Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, Nobara, (also check Bazzite)
There are many user interface options too if you want to jump into the rabbit hole, but I'll try to explain them simply: These are called desktop environments (DE). KDE >> Windows 11 / 10 like, GNOME >> Somewhat unique but closer to MacOS, Cinnamon >> Windows 7 like, XFCE >> Windows XP like, and many more...
After downloading the ISO file you want from your preffered distro's website, you can use Rufus to install it on your USB flash drive (Alternative >> Balena Etcher). Installation process is easy and quite straightforward.
Note that the software you use might already have a Linux version. Steam, Discord, OBS, VLC, Blender etc. Also note that you'll most likely find your software in your distro's package manager (kinda like app store).
Office >> LibreOffice, OnlyOffice
Digital Audio Workstation >> Ardour, Audacity
Image editor >> GIMP, Krita, Inkscape
Video editor >> DaVinci Resolve, Kdenlive, Shotcut
Password manager >> Bitwarden, KeepassXC
Stuff like PDF viewier, calendar, torrent client, video player will be already installed. You can choose whatever you want as well.
3) This step is optional but recommended.
4) Check your games on ProtonDB.
You don't have to use terminal. However you'll find many guides that will use exclusively terminal. That's because it's faster, more responsive and you can immediately see what's happening. CopY-pasting usually works alone though.
Customizing Linux is another world. You can find a lot of different customizations here. Also optional.
(I'll expand this thread later but I think this is enough for now. I also feel like I forgot to add something.)
There is also something "special" hidden in this thread. (LV3+)
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