So im a noob as some say, theirs certain games and software i use on windows that wont work on linux. ive tried linux but i found myself switching back to windows. I really do want to stay with linux but im not sure how or if i should duel boot or something? also what flavor of line do you enjoy or would suggest?
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If you have the luxury of access to multiple computers, or the expertise to dual boot, those are what worked for me.
I ran Linux and Windows side by side for years.
Over time, returning to the Windows shifted from “Ah, nice and familiar” to “oh, not this bullshit, again”.
Once I was comfortable with both, all the corporate bullshit became very noticable on Windows.
It doesn’t even need to be that luxury. Look at online mp. EBay even, for old business systems. You can often get a complete 2010s ewaste business tower for around 100 USD. Though spend a bit more for a solid i7 and avoid SFF. Spend a bit more and pick up a cheap RX 580. Can all be done for under 200.
Then just use and learn the system. The other will still be there stable for games etc if you need it. Chances are, barring odd/exotic hardware. Most things will just work. And between that, new features, customizability, and less nagging. You might find it a more pleasant experience to gravitate to.
No more nagging about installing or updating shit you don’t want, but are tricky to uninstall. (One Drive, Copilot, Teams) You can remove anything and everything you want (till enough vital bits are gone). Because the system is yours and yours alone. It will do what you want and only that.
Though spend a bit more for a solid i7 and avoid SFF.
The SFF’s can be great for just browsing, office use, light photo editing, etc. Obviously nothing too demanding, but they save a lot of power for their intended purpose. I picked up a USFF Lenovo ThinkCentre about the size of a Mac Mini for $100 a couple years back.
Definitely. Though the original post war with regards to some gaming. It’s much much header with SFF. But their still absolutely solid for many uses.
I just put my friends 80+ year old parents on Linux Mint with no issues so far. you can do it!! … why are you switching back ?
If you can stand Windows a bit longer maybe learn FOSS alternatives tp the programs you use on Windows that are also available on Linux before switching. I did that, replaced almost everything I used with open source variants and then switching to Linux wasn’t hard anymore. I distrohopped a little but have settled on Bazzite. I’m not that much of a gamer but having NVDIA drivers and lots of other nice stuff included paired with an immutable distro is perfect for me. No fear of borked updates anymore (haven’t had one for years on other distros as well but updating was still always a bit scary. With Bazzite that happens in the background anyway, most of the time I don’t notice it)
I’d say dual booting would be best, as much as Windows will try to break it. Then you can stay in Linux as much as you can, only switching to Windows when you need to. And then, if you’re like me, you get annoyed at Windows lacking features and find alternatives that work under Linux.
For distro selection, I’d recommend Linux Mint. It just works well out of the box and most instructions online that apply to Ubuntu should work with it.
Can you name the programs to get a better idea of the context?
I started with Ubuntu (dual-booted with Windows) and it was the same, for some months I did exactly that: “First I use Ubuntu but if for some reason something not work as I want, I switch back to Window”.
I don’t really remember how I “stay” on Linux and when I stopped dual-booting, but I believe it was because there was so good open source programs and I really liked that, that I stay. One of this programs was Freetube for example.
a few tips for you:
- try open source software in windows too, like libreoffice, inkscape, etc, depending on your needs. It will help the transition to be easier
- if you have a spare machine, try linux on that instead of dual booting, because windows tend to mess with the bootloader in dual boot
- don’t be harsh on yourself. It’s normal to have difficulty to adapt to things. You can do that in steps as small as you feel comfortable with
- try distros like linux mint, because they tend to be easier for new users
- experiment wine or winboat for software you need from windows, if there aren’t alternatives
I agree with all of this except maybe the wine suggestion. Wine on its own, imo, is too complicated for new linux users.
I would instead recommend looking at lutris (yes I know it is mostly games but it does have some software too) or bottles. Since these abstract away the manual management of wine prefixes.
Makes sense. Do you know a more user-friendly alternative? Maybe something like bottles?
First step is to figure out if you have hard requirements i.e. specific software that you rely on your studies or work and cannot be replaced.
If there is no such requirements, or your requirements have Linux versions, best thing to do is do the jump and accept the struggle until you figure out the new way of working. A lot of games run fantastic. Heroic Launcher for GoG and Epic games, Steam for Steam.
You need to edit a video, just search for “Linux video editor”, same for whatever task you want to achieve.
I wouldn’t recommend dual booting anything with Windows, especially if you’re not familiar with installing multiple operating systems. Windows will pretty frequently fuck up your boot settings when it updates because it doesn’t respect not being the only OS on your system and will cause way more problems than it solves.
My recommendation if you really want to stay on Linux is to run Linux as your only OS and then run Windows from a VM for the apps you absolutely need to use. VirtualBox or GNOME Boxes are good options if you want a regular Windows VM with little to no integration with the host Linux instance. There are also software that will create an experience like Parallels on Mac with Windows apps that appear as regular windows in your Linux desktop (I’ve heard about WinBoat but don’t personally use it so can’t say if I recommend it or not). For most games, Proton should have you covered.
If you want distro recommendations, I’d say Fedora or Linux Mint are good options for general users getting into Linux. If you do a lot of gaming, I’ve heard good things about Bazzite.
I have one machine in Linux and another in Windows. I’ve also made bootable persistent thumb drives to save myself any accidents creating a dual boot. That way I can run Linux for daily stuff, and Windows when I’m too incompetent to figure out a workaround for a game or whatever.
Windows needs to be rebooted all the time anyway, so it’s not really that big of a deal to boot into something else now and then. Plus it gives you a little change of pace.
Simply put – you’ve got to realize a couple things:
1- Linux is not Windows.
2- Use Linux like a brand new type of software you never heard about – do not make any pre-assumptions.
3- Use Google to search for the most simple things, including “How do I install something on (Linux distro name you’ve chosen)”?
4- Have some patience – you won’t learn (everything) on day one. There will be mistakes, there will be problems you will not solve em today. But you will solve em tomorrow.
And here’s a little “cheat sheet” of mine on how to use (and get used with) linux:
1- Get used how to use the package manager. (Where you will search and install stuff.)
2- Learn what are your audio and graphic packages (The “drivers”) are. (See 3- above.)
3- Learn how to run the stuff you installed.
4- Learn how you configure the distro to your liking.
Learn all these four steps, and you can consider yourself a linux “pro” user.
My issue has been with #1 on your cheat sheet. My first modern (post 2014) migration attempt was with Manjaro, but every time I would install updates it would break secure boot. Then 2 weeks ago it just flat out killed grub.
I decided to take the advice of many people on the Linux side of Lemmy and nuked Manjaro in favor of CachyOS. I like it quite a bit more than Manjaro, and limine kicks grub’s ass, but I keep running into more limitations with the package manager. I look for windows software alternatives, find they should be available on the AUR, but then have problems getting an installation.
There is a lack of good documentation for using AUR on Cachy, and things aren’t intuitive for a long time Windows power user. That doesn’t even get into flat pack or AppImage. It’s a very steep learning curve.
What games can’t you play on linux? Some apps can’t be run natively in linux, but use an emulation for them. That will work…
I’d say. Try and figure out if the softwares you use have Linux alternatives, most do. Learn how to use those and you won’t depend on windows.
As for games. Some just won’t run on Linux and there is nothing you can do about it. If that’s a dealbreaker then you are unfortunately stuck with windows. That being said, many games work!
I don’t recommend dual booting. Sure it’s nice on the surface but in reality you’ll just be on what ever OS is most convenient, which by the sound of it will probably be windows and you won’t find a reason to boot into Linux.
To further discourage you from dual booting: there’s a long tradition by this point about your windows OS swallowing your Linux OS or taking over your bootloader and not giving it back. This has only gotten worse with time and there’s basically no surefire solution.
Another approach is always a VM but for graphically intense applications or things like music production, you’ll spend lots of time making passthrough of your audio or devices work. That said, it is a great solution for these oddball apps that you just can’t get to work in Linux.
Just accept shit won’t work and drop it cold turkey. Nuke the fuck out of the windows drive and force your self to move on.
If you don’t need to to make a living then fuck it and move on.
You learned to use a computer once you can do it again. When you didn’t know how to do something in the past you looked it up. When you needed an application you churned though options till one worked.
Shit breaks or is half assed on windows. Your just use to what you know that works. Your use to having your apps your use to.
Learn to get over the fact you gotta relearn things, find new options, and will be frustrated.
After like a month you will be fine Basically git gud. You were gud growing up and got bad. Time to return to your childhood and have fun learning and exploring again.
Also plain ass normal fedora is going to be your best middle ground if you want the widest possiable support of software. Arch if you don’t mind a bit more leg work with the aur.
If the software you need to use isn’t very demanding, you can run windows in a virtual machine (VM) inside of Linux – the exception is games that have kernel-level anti-cheat, those will probably never work on Linux in any way, and you’ll have to dual boot to run them. Most other games will run easily if you just install them with Steam, but I’ve come across a few that I use a VM for.
What software and games do you need to run? I might be able to help.
Also, the distro you should go for is called Linux Mint.
Mint has the perfect balance of stability, support and up-to-date-ness for beginners - and honestly for a lot of experienced users as well.
