I am interested into installing Linux on my main PC

[Deleted member 199143]

So, I have owned my PC for almost 2 years, I am thinking of installing Linux on it. I mean, the games I play are compatible with Linux, alot of them are. I do stuff on the web, and Linux has web browsers. I write Documents, sure thing you can do basic PC stuff on Linux!
About backing up, sure thing! I will just buy an external hard drive!
I may just stick with Windows. (I did that, just simplifying this.)

FAQs you don't have to ask
Q: Do you have Adobe Photoshop or video editors? A: Yes, but that should work on Wine!
Q: What do you really do on your computer? A: I like, surf the web, play Linux supported games, as well as online games, write documents, and do what else!
Q: What Linux OS will you install? A: Well, if compatibility is a concern, okay I will just use Debian or Debian based Linux oses!

 

[Danbor]

Not sure I can be of much help, but I'll share some thoughts.
First, and this depends on your own opinion of your competence level with hardware. You could, after creating a boot/install usb stick. Boot from said usb, see how your chosen distro works on both your computer and your personal experience with it.
If that goes well, replace your current fixed drive, hard drive or ssd, whichever your have. And install Linux on the new drive. If it doesn't work out, swap the drives and your right back where you started.
Second, I'm not a gamer so I don't have an opinion on game compatibility. I do know that I've seen a lot of posts about issues with wine, so I'm not sure you'd have a lot of luck going that route. I'm pretty sure Adobe Photoshop will not work through wine.
Having said that, I use GIMP in place of Photoshop and it works fine for me, ymmv.
As for web browsers and video editors, There are lots of choices in the Linux world for most of the "normal computer tasks" you may wish to delve into, though there will be a learning curve.
Which distro? All up to you. I prefer Mint Cinnamon myself, but I can't say it's "better" than any other I've tried.
If you don't feel comfortable swapping out hardware, try using a virtualization program to test run a few distros. I use VirtualBox and have 12 different distro's that I experiment with.
Or, and this is my lowest reccomendation, you could set up your computer to dual boot. That can be problimatic, but it is doable.

 

[Condobloke]

G'day kmskns, Welcome to linux.org.

All I just hope is you don't reply with rude, negative replies

That type of thing does not happen here. Other forums, perhaps. Here?, No

Before you dive in the deep end, acquaint yourself with a photoshop alternative

GIMP review

The most popular open source photo editor around – and for good reason

www.techradar.com

Write Documents....Libre Office has you covered

Games, someone else here will no doubt chip in here on that topic

Which Distro?...my choice would be Linux Mint, Cinnaom 22.1

An external Drive....top Idea !!....good for storing backups and especially for storing Timeshift snapshots

 

[The Duck]

@kmskns welcome to Linux.org forums.

An old article that hits the nail on the head.

Linux is NOT Windows

 

[Brickwizard]

Welcome,

Thread 'HOW DO I TRY LINUX'

May 16, 2023

I want to try Linux, What is the best way?

There are several ways to try Linux on your machine, to get the complete experience, it is always best to install your chosen distribution direct to the hard-drive. But this may frighten some newbies.

Options
Install to Hard-drive either as a clean installation [this will remove all your existing OS and associated files]

Install to the Hard-drive, in a duel/multiboot system . You then choose which OS you wish to use at the boot stage, using multi boot Linux can be used to access your windows folders [pictures, documents, &etc.] BUT...

• Brickwizard
• Replies: 31
• Forum: Getting Started

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Thread 'WHAT IS THE BEST LINUX DISTRIBUTION, WHICH SHOULD I USE ?'

Feb 8, 2023

This is the most asked question we receive, and the answer is, NO one distribution is better than any other, some may be a little easier for the newbie moving from Windows, some are designed for a specific task, and a few are for experienced Linux users only.
THE BEST DISTRIBUTION
Is the one that works best on your machine, The one you like the look and feel of, the one that lets you perform your daily tasks.
We recommend that you download around 6 different distributions with different desktops, and test them out "live" from a Pen-drive, You will not get a full speed experience, but...

• Brickwizard
• Replies: 16
• Forum: Getting Started

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D

Thread 'NEW TO LINUX? THIS IS A MUST READ'

Jan 8, 2019

Good reads for prospective Linux Users.

https://www.linux.com/what-is-linux

http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

• Deleted member 58530
• Replies: 3
• Forum: Getting Started

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14 Most Used Windows Alternatives for Linux

In many cases, people hesitate to switch from Windows to Linux because they fear that they won’t get the appropriate programs to perform their day-to-day tasks.

www.tecmint.com

 

[MikeWalsh]

@kmskns :-

Welcome to Linux.org.....the friendliest, most non-judgemental & 'neutral' general Linux forum online! Nobody will criticise your choices here, 'cos all we like to do is help......and we have some very knowledgeable individuals among our ranks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

As far as WINE is concerned, increasing numbers of AAA games will run under it these days.....especially this last couple of years. It seemed to take ages - 15 years or more - for WINE to reach the 3-series/early 4 -series. From what I understand, the WINE dev team were rejuvenated in the early days of COVID with an infusion of new devs who brought not only a lot of new ideas with them, but also some fairly in-depth knowledge of many of M$'s proprietary APIs.....since when, WINE development has been surging ahead at almost breakneck speed. In just 3 years, we've gone from the 4-series to the current 10-series.

WINE-based gaming is still not perfect, but it's infinitely better than it was even just a few years ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

As for Photoshop, mm.....it's still very hit-and-miss. Many of the older, 'standalone' CS releases will run under it almost 100% perfectly.....but do NOT expect the newer, cloud subscription-based variants to behave themselves. From what I've been able to gather, Adobe have a couple of highly-customised & extremely specialist network APIs that guard access to the cloud servers, and these are kept tightly under wraps. Adobe will not let these out of their sight, and they're guarded almost like the British Crown Jewels.

I've used CS2 and the GIMP alongside each other for many years. They're both raster graphic editors, and they basically both do the same things. PS has a few tricks up its sleeve not available to the GIMP, but the GIMP can say the same. Workflow is different, sure, but it's only down to things being in a different place, or perhaps being grouped differently with other things.....even as basic as stuff being carried out in a different order. Nothing insurmountable.

I've got so handy with the pair of 'em over the years that I can switch apps mid-project & carry on without missing a beat. They really are that similar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

My advice, same as I would give anyone, is to use whatever works best for YOU. If that means Windows apps that you simply cannot do without, then run Windows in a VM under Linux. Don't dismiss Linux out-of-hand just because you don't see a bunch of familiar-sounding names. As far as multimedia stuff is concerned, the sheer variety of quality software that's available is bigger now than at any time in the past. Linux applications will do everything you could possibly want.....and THEN some.

Let your hair down. Live a little!


Mike.

 

[Mike-W0BTU]

... I am planning on installing Linux on it. I know, it shouldn't be a concern, I don't know why I am concerned. ... So why am I hesitating? I don't know, it is not going to harm your computer... If you think it is about backing up, Sure thing, I will just buy an external hard drive!

No need to be nervous or concerned about losing data or harming anything; as you say, back it up first to an external hard drive (or two!) first.

I do that using Foxclone. It's very intuitive!

Foxclone

foxclone.org

I run Foxclone on a Ventoy USB stick.

Ventoy

Ventoy is an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO files. With ventoy, you don't need to format the disk again and again, you just need to copy the iso file to the USB drive and boot it.

www.ventoy.net

Change your UEFI settings to boot from the Ventoy stick, and run Foxclone from the boot menu. It is very intuitive and runs in a GUI, rather than in a terminal window.

After backing up your internal drive, Ventoy even has an option to verify the backup.

Others prefer Clonezilla, but I haven't used that in many years. Perhaps it's better now; but when I used it, it ran in a terminal and was rather confusing to me.

Regardless, once you have backed up your hard drive to an external drive, if you should make a mistake then you're able to restore your computer to the very same condition as it was before you tried installing Linux! No worries, and no harm done.

 

[Terminal Velocity]

There are no rude people in this forum, that's why I'm still around so no worry. In my experience using Linux for 5 years I can tell you not to count on Wine for Windows programs. You may need to learn some alternative ways to do your thing in Linux, instead of Photoshop you may need to learn some GIMP for example, not equal programs but Gimp can get the job done if you manage to understand it a little bit

If you are happy with the native Linux programs you will never miss a thing about Windows and you will never look back

For distribution suggestion it is Debian from me with the Cinnamon Desktop, it is way better desktop than Windows and being Debian it way more stable

 

[Fanboi]

I'm going to take a philosophical approach here first...

So, I have owned my PC for almost 2 years, I am planning on installing Linux on it.

Why? Why do you want to run Linux? It's an important question because if you can answer that, it's address the entirety of the rest of your post...

I know, it shouldn't be a concern, I don't know why I am concerned.

You're concerned because it's something new and you don't know why you want it. If you did, you would not be nervous. Examples:
"I don't want to be forced to have Copilot on my computer come October." -- then there's no need to be nervous, it's better than Copilot, yes?
"My machine has slowed down. A fresh install of Win10 works but the moment it updates... " -- then you have nothing to lose. You machine has already started becoming a paperweight.
"I want to try something new. I'm kind of 'The Scientist' type." -- then just do it. Fortune favours the bold. When Newton published his works on mass, he didn't care if other thought he was right or wrong, he knew he was right.

I mean, the games I play are compatible with Linux, alot of them are. I do stuff on the web, and Linux has web browsers. I write Documents, sure thing you can do basic PC stuff on Linux! So why am I hesitating? I don't know, it is not going to harm your computer...

If you have a specific reason for running Linux, you won't care if it will "mess" your computer up. You want to get to Point B (for which the solution is Linux, thus the reason you want to run Linux), so it shouldn't matter the distance or complexity between that and Point A (where you are). Thus knowing why, you will strive to overcome any obstacles in your path. You will read documents, ask for help, etc.

If you think it is about backing up, Sure thing, I will just buy an external hard drive!
If you think you know the reason, I will respond. I may just stick with Windows. You can give me a good reason why!

Why should we give you a reason? It's your PC, your life, your decision... If you don't have a good reason, why are you here? Why ask us to convince you? Linux is not an organised religion (well, okay, for some). Visiting this forum to ask us to convince you why you need to use Linux is not the same as going into a church and saying, "Convince me to believe in God." We use Linux because it suits us. We like it. We're here to help people who already want to use Linux.

Edit: splitting this into two posts...

 

[Fanboi]

Okay, I am prepared to be of some use...

I know, it shouldn't be a concern, I don't know why I am concerned.

Worst case you hate it. Most distros have a live CD. Download the iso and give it a try, no need to install. In fact distros like antiX, Puppy, and co. are happy to permenantly live on a flashdrive and never be installed to the main hdd/ssd. Solved.

FAQs you don't have to ask

No, but you should...

Q: Do you have Adobe Photoshop or video editors? A: Yes, but that should work on Wine!

Ah, "should" being the operative word... Research it. This person here: https://duck.ai S/he will answer your questions but not perfectly. You need to double-check that info.

Q: What Linux OS will you install? A: Even though I am not a Linux noob... Well, if compatibility is a concern, okay I will just use Debian or Debian based Linux oses!

Actually, that's a common misconception. By "stable", Debian (and children, who are mostly from unstable/testing) mean the OS and its packages are stable from a non-conflict POV. I don't want to get too technical, so I'll leave it there... Now on hardware support, pretty much any mainstream distro provides good hardware support. Linux is long out the dark ages and that stereotype is tiring. You'll find the odd issue with something here and there but it's rememdied when someone has a moment (though, "my <hardware thing> doesn't work" is usually down to the user.

Alright, I am sorry if my post was weirdly written. All I just hope is you don't reply with rude, negative replies, that's all! And if you do not want to reply here, that is fine!

Um... Yeah... Because we're all going to reply:
GTFO noob!
RTFM!
...
I mentioned stereotypes a minute ago... Linux users are not like that... well, until you go bashing our OS or saying, "Why don't it work like Windows", "The Linux GUI sucks" (there is no "Linux GUI", I'm referencing someone who actually said that), "The programmers are lazy" (referencing that person)... Yeah, then we'll probs tell you to go back to Windows land.

We're actually a pretty decent bunch, myself excluded. We're all, very happy to answer intelligent questions and help you along your journey, provided you know why you're going on it.

All that said,

Welcome to Linux.org
- Linux.org ni Youkoso -​

 

[Tomedi]

You've stated that you want to install Linux on your main machine, so am I right to asume that you have more than one computer? If yes then I would probably install Linux on something else than your main PC, first. Also, do you use this computer for work, uni etc? Getting rid of Windows in that case could be risky.

The distribution you should go for is Mint. Mainly, because it has great support.

 

[Brickwizard]

did m you not read my link HOW DO I TRY LINUX there are options that do not involve installing to your hard-drive directly, and will not affect your Windows.