There are quite a few people still using Windows yet, and some that want to switch to Linux. People are comfortable with the look of Windows and dislike the Linux desktops.
Now, there is Winux that looks exactly like Windows 11.
NOTE: Winux 11 looks like Windows 11 or Windows 10, whichever style you choose.
Winux Requirements
Winux has more relaxed requirements than Windows for hardware. The Operating System requires:
Winux is built on Ubuntu Noble (24.04) with the 6.14 kernel. You can install Winux on either system with BIOS or UEFI.
The Winux OS uses KDE 5.27 and allows for Advanced Active Directory Group Policy Object Support, for those that use PowerTools Pro.
The system supports the Windows-style Control Panel and Settings.
Improved support for running '.exe' and '.msi' programs.
OneDrive is supported in File Explorer.
The OS has an Android Subsystem.
To get the Professional key is $35 for a lifetime.
Since Winux is based on Ubuntu 24.04, it is Long-Term Support (LTS) and has 5 years of support, which a user can extend to 12 years if they get 'PowerTools Pro'.
There is Wine to allow for the execution of 'EXE' and 'MSI' files. The limits of WINE may be limited to specific applications.
Winux Download
Winux can be found at 'www.winuxos.org'.
Here you can download the image for installation: 'https://sourceforge.net/projects/windows-linux/files/winux-11.25.09-noble-lts.iso/download'.
Installation - Initial Setup for VBox
For the article, I will be installing Winux in VirtualBox, but the process is the same whether a virtual system or on real hardware.
The beginning of this will be specific to VirtualBox, but I will cover the initial setup for running it on actual hardware.
For VirtualBox, create a new machine. Give it a name, such as 'Winux'. Set the 'ISO Image' to the ISO file you downloaded from the Internet. The 'Type' should automatically be 'Linux' and the 'Subtype' is 'Ubuntu'. The version is 'Ubuntu (64-bit)'.
For the 'Hardware' section, set the 'Base Memory' to a minimum of '2048', but more may be better. The 'Processors' should be '1', but you can make this more if needed.
You can check the 'Enable EFI' box if you want to emulate UEFI.
Next is the 'Hard Disk' section. The default should be 25 GB, but you can increase this if needed.
Click on 'Finish' to create the base part of the machine.
Now, open 'Settings' for the machine you created.
On the 'Display' tab, set the 'Video Memory' to 128 MB, or after you save the changes, you can set the value to 256 MB by clicking on the 'Video Memory' in the main window.
Go to the 'Network' tab and change the option 'Attached to' from 'NAT' to 'Bridged'. Click on 'OK' to save the changes. You can now 'Start' the machine and perform the actual installation.
Installation - Initial Setup for Hardware
Use software such as Balena Etcher, which can copy an ISO to a USB flash drive.
Once the image is on the flash drive, you can boot your hardware with the USB flash drive and start the installation process.
Installation of Winux
There are quite a few steps to get through before installing Winux. After the installation, we have a little configuration to perform to help speed up the system.
The first thing you need to worry about is the GRUB boot screen. It has four options:
You should then see a blue Windows icon with the moving circle below it to show it is loading. Once it finally loads, you’ll see a screen similar to Figure 1.
FIGURE 1
The second icon on the desktop is 'Install Winux 11 LTS'. Double-click the icon to start the installation.
Once the installation starts, as shown in Figure 2, it asks for the language to use.
FIGURE 2
You can see in the left pane, it lists the various steps:
After you set the language, you can click on 'Next' to go to step 2.
For the 'Location' settings, set your appropriate 'Region' and 'Zone', as in Figure 3. Click on 'Next' when you set your choices.
FIGURE 3
In Step 3, for the 'Keyboard', you can choose your keyboard style, as shown in Figure 4, then click 'Next'.
FIGURE 4
For the next setting, you'll be setting the partition on which to install Winux. Figure 5 shows mine, and you can see that the partition is a VirtualBox partition.
FIGURE 5
Here, you can specify whether to use a swap file as well as what disk format to use for the ROOT partition. The options for the partition format is:
When you are at the 'Users' step, as shown in Figure 6, you set up your initial user account.
FIGURE 6
After you enter all your user information, you can click 'Next'.
The 'Summary' page just shows all the choices you made and what changes are to be made to the system. After you look over the summary, you click on 'Install' to begin the installation.
You should see a small window appear to alert you that changes will be made. You need to click on 'Install Now' to approve the installation.
The system is now in the seventh step of 'Install' and you only need to wait for the installation to complete.
The last stage, 'Finish', just informs you that the installation is complete. You have the choice to 'Reboot Now' or continue to use the live system. Make your choice and click 'Done'.
Once the installation is complete, you will need to reboot the system and remove the installation media so the system does not restart from the installation media.
Configuration
After rebooting, you will need to sign in, as shown in Figure 7.
FIGURE 7
In Figure 8, you can see the initial customization screen that lets you choose between Windows 10 and 11 for your desktop.
FIGURE 8
Set your preferred look on this screen. Keep in mind that you can change it later if you wish.
Configuration
There are two points in configuring the Operating System. Both are for VirtualBox, while one should be set up when installed on regular hardware.
The one configuration is the screen resolution. This is important on VirtualBox since you do not have an easy way to fill the desktop and keep the menu bars from the main Operating System.
To do this, I added the '.xprofile' script from this article. I made the file executable and added as a startup application.
Now, the main configuration is that when you go to perform an update, the default repositories were very slow. The download speed was in the kilobytes range and would have taken hours to complete the initial upgrade.
So, I tried changing all the different settings for the network, but I ended up finding that the best repositories were not the ones being used.
To change these, we need to install a 'snap' application with:
Once you install it, you need to run the following command to get a list of the best repositories for speed:
Be sure to specify your country code after the parameter '-c'. The distro release is Ubuntu 24.04, or 'noble'.
Figure 9 shows my output.
FIGURE 9
Now that I have a list of repositories that have a low latency and should be quick, I can update the repository list. You'll need to edit the file '/etc/apt/sources.list~', with elevated privileges and add one or more of the sites listed to the list. Save the file and exit the editor.
The format of the 'sources.list' file is:
You can remove the 'universe' and/or 'multiverse' parameter. Remember that the 'universe' parameter is the part of the repository that holds the 'free' software, while the 'multiverse' is not free software.
When you perform an update of the repository lists, you should hopefully get no errors, but if a specific repository causes an error, then comment out the line or remove the repository name.
Perform the update and upgrade when your list is the way you want it and an update causes no errors.
The update should download files faster than in kilobytes.
Conclusion
The Winux Operating System has a lot of items that look similar to real Windows. There are the 'System Settings', 'Device Manager' and of course 'Microsoft Edge Browser'.
There are more similarities, but these are the main utilities.
I would think that for a user who is used to Windows, but wants to do something different on their system, this might be the way to go.
With October 2025 being the end of support for Windows 10, this could be an option for systems that cannot be updated to Windows 11. Granted, any Windows programs need to be compatible with Wine, or use a Linux variant.
Now, there is Winux that looks exactly like Windows 11.
NOTE: Winux 11 looks like Windows 11 or Windows 10, whichever style you choose.
Winux Requirements
Winux has more relaxed requirements than Windows for hardware. The Operating System requires:
- 3 GB of RAM (4 GB is preferred)
- Intel or AMD 64-bit processor
- 25 GB of hard disk space (recommended is 50 GB and an SSD for speed)
- 3D Acceleration
- Guest Additions
Winux is built on Ubuntu Noble (24.04) with the 6.14 kernel. You can install Winux on either system with BIOS or UEFI.
The Winux OS uses KDE 5.27 and allows for Advanced Active Directory Group Policy Object Support, for those that use PowerTools Pro.
The system supports the Windows-style Control Panel and Settings.
Improved support for running '.exe' and '.msi' programs.
OneDrive is supported in File Explorer.
The OS has an Android Subsystem.
To get the Professional key is $35 for a lifetime.
Since Winux is based on Ubuntu 24.04, it is Long-Term Support (LTS) and has 5 years of support, which a user can extend to 12 years if they get 'PowerTools Pro'.
There is Wine to allow for the execution of 'EXE' and 'MSI' files. The limits of WINE may be limited to specific applications.
Winux Download
Winux can be found at 'www.winuxos.org'.
Here you can download the image for installation: 'https://sourceforge.net/projects/windows-linux/files/winux-11.25.09-noble-lts.iso/download'.
Installation - Initial Setup for VBox
For the article, I will be installing Winux in VirtualBox, but the process is the same whether a virtual system or on real hardware.
The beginning of this will be specific to VirtualBox, but I will cover the initial setup for running it on actual hardware.
For VirtualBox, create a new machine. Give it a name, such as 'Winux'. Set the 'ISO Image' to the ISO file you downloaded from the Internet. The 'Type' should automatically be 'Linux' and the 'Subtype' is 'Ubuntu'. The version is 'Ubuntu (64-bit)'.
For the 'Hardware' section, set the 'Base Memory' to a minimum of '2048', but more may be better. The 'Processors' should be '1', but you can make this more if needed.
You can check the 'Enable EFI' box if you want to emulate UEFI.
Next is the 'Hard Disk' section. The default should be 25 GB, but you can increase this if needed.
Click on 'Finish' to create the base part of the machine.
Now, open 'Settings' for the machine you created.
On the 'Display' tab, set the 'Video Memory' to 128 MB, or after you save the changes, you can set the value to 256 MB by clicking on the 'Video Memory' in the main window.
Go to the 'Network' tab and change the option 'Attached to' from 'NAT' to 'Bridged'. Click on 'OK' to save the changes. You can now 'Start' the machine and perform the actual installation.
Installation - Initial Setup for Hardware
Use software such as Balena Etcher, which can copy an ISO to a USB flash drive.
Once the image is on the flash drive, you can boot your hardware with the USB flash drive and start the installation process.
Installation of Winux
There are quite a few steps to get through before installing Winux. After the installation, we have a little configuration to perform to help speed up the system.
The first thing you need to worry about is the GRUB boot screen. It has four options:
- Windows Theme Over Linux
- Windows Theme Over Linux (safe graphics)
- Boot from next volume
- UEFI Firmware Settings
You should then see a blue Windows icon with the moving circle below it to show it is loading. Once it finally loads, you’ll see a screen similar to Figure 1.
FIGURE 1
The second icon on the desktop is 'Install Winux 11 LTS'. Double-click the icon to start the installation.
Once the installation starts, as shown in Figure 2, it asks for the language to use.
FIGURE 2
You can see in the left pane, it lists the various steps:
- Welcome
- Location
- Keyboard
- Partitions
- Users
- Summary
- Install
- Finish
After you set the language, you can click on 'Next' to go to step 2.
For the 'Location' settings, set your appropriate 'Region' and 'Zone', as in Figure 3. Click on 'Next' when you set your choices.
FIGURE 3
In Step 3, for the 'Keyboard', you can choose your keyboard style, as shown in Figure 4, then click 'Next'.
FIGURE 4
For the next setting, you'll be setting the partition on which to install Winux. Figure 5 shows mine, and you can see that the partition is a VirtualBox partition.
FIGURE 5
Here, you can specify whether to use a swap file as well as what disk format to use for the ROOT partition. The options for the partition format is:
- ext4
- btrfs
- xfs
When you are at the 'Users' step, as shown in Figure 6, you set up your initial user account.
FIGURE 6
After you enter all your user information, you can click 'Next'.
The 'Summary' page just shows all the choices you made and what changes are to be made to the system. After you look over the summary, you click on 'Install' to begin the installation.
You should see a small window appear to alert you that changes will be made. You need to click on 'Install Now' to approve the installation.
The system is now in the seventh step of 'Install' and you only need to wait for the installation to complete.
The last stage, 'Finish', just informs you that the installation is complete. You have the choice to 'Reboot Now' or continue to use the live system. Make your choice and click 'Done'.
Once the installation is complete, you will need to reboot the system and remove the installation media so the system does not restart from the installation media.
Configuration
After rebooting, you will need to sign in, as shown in Figure 7.
FIGURE 7
In Figure 8, you can see the initial customization screen that lets you choose between Windows 10 and 11 for your desktop.
FIGURE 8
Set your preferred look on this screen. Keep in mind that you can change it later if you wish.
Configuration
There are two points in configuring the Operating System. Both are for VirtualBox, while one should be set up when installed on regular hardware.
The one configuration is the screen resolution. This is important on VirtualBox since you do not have an easy way to fill the desktop and keep the menu bars from the main Operating System.
To do this, I added the '.xprofile' script from this article. I made the file executable and added as a startup application.
Now, the main configuration is that when you go to perform an update, the default repositories were very slow. The download speed was in the kilobytes range and would have taken hours to complete the initial upgrade.
So, I tried changing all the different settings for the network, but I ended up finding that the best repositories were not the ones being used.
To change these, we need to install a 'snap' application with:
Code:
sudo snap install mirrorselectOnce you install it, you need to run the following command to get a list of the best repositories for speed:
Code:
sudo mirrorselect -a amd64 -r noble -c USBe sure to specify your country code after the parameter '-c'. The distro release is Ubuntu 24.04, or 'noble'.
Figure 9 shows my output.
FIGURE 9
Now that I have a list of repositories that have a low latency and should be quick, I can update the repository list. You'll need to edit the file '/etc/apt/sources.list~', with elevated privileges and add one or more of the sites listed to the list. Save the file and exit the editor.
The format of the 'sources.list' file is:
Code:
deb <repository> noble main universe multiverseYou can remove the 'universe' and/or 'multiverse' parameter. Remember that the 'universe' parameter is the part of the repository that holds the 'free' software, while the 'multiverse' is not free software.
Code:
sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list~ /etc/apt/sources.listWhen you perform an update of the repository lists, you should hopefully get no errors, but if a specific repository causes an error, then comment out the line or remove the repository name.
Perform the update and upgrade when your list is the way you want it and an update causes no errors.
Code:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -yThe update should download files faster than in kilobytes.
Conclusion
The Winux Operating System has a lot of items that look similar to real Windows. There are the 'System Settings', 'Device Manager' and of course 'Microsoft Edge Browser'.
There are more similarities, but these are the main utilities.
I would think that for a user who is used to Windows, but wants to do something different on their system, this might be the way to go.
With October 2025 being the end of support for Windows 10, this could be an option for systems that cannot be updated to Windows 11. Granted, any Windows programs need to be compatible with Wine, or use a Linux variant.
better be good lmfao.
