Hello! Brand new to Linux though I've known of it for a little while. (This is actually the first forum I've ever participated in too.)
Long-term overview, I've generally only heard good things and have been considering switching to Linux for a while. I've become married to the idea now since I want to eventually set-up my own server/website farther down the line. Unfortunately, I have zero idea as to what I'm doing as I have never experimented with OS related things but more on that later.
Getting to the point of right now, I would really appreciate some help with converting my mother from Windows to Linux. It feels like the way to go since all of her files have already been destroyed by repeated crashes and impromptu updates or resets. I'm sick of Windows abusing my poor mum. We don't have money to be buying a new laptop or secondhand laptop so I've decided to use it as a guinea pig in the hopes it might extend it's life span. However, I've never wiped an HDD clean or changed an OS willingly and have some questions about the process and what I should choose for her. So..
Her computer is a TOSHIBA Satellite C675 that's x64-based. It's over 5 years old.
0) I've already decided to just go all in and completely remove Windows; I have my laptop and a desktop for the internet she can use if it goes poorly.
1) Which distros would be best? My mom isn't even close to being computer savvy (I've had to explain that having a home page set does not make it "installed" on her computer). So it's very important it has a GUI and that shell commands be 100% avoidable. I'm really concerned with space and compatibility since her laptop is older, but she doesn't do a lot on her computer either. Mostly just the internet to pay bills online, Netflix, read MSN articles, etc. The only other activities are watching DVDs and I recently got her hooked on playing the different Solitaire card games. It would be fantastic if it were easy to find things similar to the card games and add them as desired and not be force fed ads like with Windows. =D Ubuntu and Linux Mint are the two that I was thinking about. Which one should I go with? Or is there another one that would be better considering my description of her skill level?
2) Which GUI? I know this is kind of the same question since a lot of distros seem to have a preset, but I want to make sure she's able to interact with it even if it's extra work to change it. She's used to Windows 10 right now and change really confuses her. I know there's not going to be a 100% match here but the key is I need it to be functional and simple, not flashy. If it's too modern, that might even be bad. If it has anything like "oh swipe from the right side of the mouse pad to open this-" I guarantee she will do it by accident constantly and will be clicking things she doesn't mean to be and ending up in all kinds of odd places. At face-value the ones that looked to be popular good matches for this were: Cinnamon, MATE, Unity, and LXQt. I don't expect my first pick to be the right pick, but the less I have to switch her the better. Which one sounds like it would be the right track for her or am I off base with my choices?
3) We have an HP printer her laptop has been refusing to connect to for reasons I could never determine, could I possibly get this reconnected after the Linux switch? Surely there's drivers available to be compatible between Linux and different sorts of printers, right?
4) Does it have to be installed through a DVD/CD or flash/thumb drive? Can it be some other storage device? This one isn't a big deal... mostly just curious because my flash drive is only 2 GB. I'm assuming that's not big enough and the less money spent the better. What kind of size should I roughly be expecting to use?
5) Directions to somewhere that tells me exactly how to remove Windows and what's going to happen at each step as I install Linux would be great. Or when I go to download the distros will it tell me? I'm really confused about the entire process. Really basic questions. (If it doesn't have an OS how does it do anything let alone install a new OS or does the new OS migrate itself? xD Or am I just dumb about the order in which things happen?)
6) Is this even a good idea or am I beating a dead horse? Or am I throwing my mom under the bus...
I think that's finally all I can think of... for now. Any help would be appreciated.
Long-term overview, I've generally only heard good things and have been considering switching to Linux for a while. I've become married to the idea now since I want to eventually set-up my own server/website farther down the line. Unfortunately, I have zero idea as to what I'm doing as I have never experimented with OS related things but more on that later.
Getting to the point of right now, I would really appreciate some help with converting my mother from Windows to Linux. It feels like the way to go since all of her files have already been destroyed by repeated crashes and impromptu updates or resets. I'm sick of Windows abusing my poor mum. We don't have money to be buying a new laptop or secondhand laptop so I've decided to use it as a guinea pig in the hopes it might extend it's life span. However, I've never wiped an HDD clean or changed an OS willingly and have some questions about the process and what I should choose for her. So..
Her computer is a TOSHIBA Satellite C675 that's x64-based. It's over 5 years old.
0) I've already decided to just go all in and completely remove Windows; I have my laptop and a desktop for the internet she can use if it goes poorly.
1) Which distros would be best? My mom isn't even close to being computer savvy (I've had to explain that having a home page set does not make it "installed" on her computer). So it's very important it has a GUI and that shell commands be 100% avoidable. I'm really concerned with space and compatibility since her laptop is older, but she doesn't do a lot on her computer either. Mostly just the internet to pay bills online, Netflix, read MSN articles, etc. The only other activities are watching DVDs and I recently got her hooked on playing the different Solitaire card games. It would be fantastic if it were easy to find things similar to the card games and add them as desired and not be force fed ads like with Windows. =D Ubuntu and Linux Mint are the two that I was thinking about. Which one should I go with? Or is there another one that would be better considering my description of her skill level?
2) Which GUI? I know this is kind of the same question since a lot of distros seem to have a preset, but I want to make sure she's able to interact with it even if it's extra work to change it. She's used to Windows 10 right now and change really confuses her. I know there's not going to be a 100% match here but the key is I need it to be functional and simple, not flashy. If it's too modern, that might even be bad. If it has anything like "oh swipe from the right side of the mouse pad to open this-" I guarantee she will do it by accident constantly and will be clicking things she doesn't mean to be and ending up in all kinds of odd places. At face-value the ones that looked to be popular good matches for this were: Cinnamon, MATE, Unity, and LXQt. I don't expect my first pick to be the right pick, but the less I have to switch her the better. Which one sounds like it would be the right track for her or am I off base with my choices?
3) We have an HP printer her laptop has been refusing to connect to for reasons I could never determine, could I possibly get this reconnected after the Linux switch? Surely there's drivers available to be compatible between Linux and different sorts of printers, right?
4) Does it have to be installed through a DVD/CD or flash/thumb drive? Can it be some other storage device? This one isn't a big deal... mostly just curious because my flash drive is only 2 GB. I'm assuming that's not big enough and the less money spent the better. What kind of size should I roughly be expecting to use?
5) Directions to somewhere that tells me exactly how to remove Windows and what's going to happen at each step as I install Linux would be great. Or when I go to download the distros will it tell me? I'm really confused about the entire process. Really basic questions. (If it doesn't have an OS how does it do anything let alone install a new OS or does the new OS migrate itself? xD Or am I just dumb about the order in which things happen?)
6) Is this even a good idea or am I beating a dead horse? Or am I throwing my mom under the bus...
I think that's finally all I can think of... for now. Any help would be appreciated.