Abstract: Use Linux Mint.
Welcome to the Linux community! I say that so often I’ve bound it to an autokey macro, I run it for every newcomer I greet.
First bit of advice: Don’t wait until Windows 10 is unsupported and you’re FORCED to a new OS to start learning Linux. Simple reason: Linux is a very different system. There will be culture shocks. An example I cite a lot is Linux doesn’t call them “shortcuts.” What Windows calls Shortcuts, Linux calls Links or Launchers, depending on exactly what it does. A shortcut to a document is a Link, a shortcut to a program is a Launcher. Makes perfect sense…and is different than Windows. And those culture shocks will spend months throwing you around.
I switched to Linux because I HATED Windows 8.1…and I kept a copy of Win 8.1 on that computer for that wretched products’ entire lifespan. In case I found something I didn’t know how to do in Linux. There were times when I had…let’s say an essay or something I had to turn in on a deadline, and this required a task that I knew how to do in Windows, but that’s not how Linux works…I found it best to just do it in Windows, turn it in, then when I had plenty of time and no pressure, I could easily learn how to do it later. Eventually that kind of stopped, and then reversed. Nowadays Windows feels foreign to me and Linux feels like home.
I also suggest starting to use FOSS software applications like LibreOffice as soon as you can, because honestly the OS isn’t the thing that causes the real problems, it’s the software library.
As for which distro: It honestly doesn’t matter all that much, They honestly have more in common than they have differences. The major component that you’ll really feel the difference in at first is the desktop environment, and that’s a personal and kind of visceral choice. There are people that absolutely adore GNOME. I absolutely despise it; this is no hyperbole, if given a choice between using GNOME and using no GUI at all just the terminal, I’m using the terminal. A lot of people really like KDE. I can’t put my finger on why, but KDE feels dead to me. There’s some uncanny vacant quality to KDE, it gives me the same feeling as a website that is still on the internet but hasn’t been updated since 2006. Cinnamon feels like home to me, I’m very comfortable with it, other people can’t stand it for reasons I don’t comprehend.
This is why we have choices.
I do generally steer folks away from distros that are, basically “Forks of Kubuntu with our own non-specific special sauce that makes it good for [beginners/gamers/trout/Anglicans/veterans of the Falklands war/cellists/hackers].” Because their own special sauce is going to be a skin for the settings menu that’s 10% jankier, and a different color scheme. I would stick to top level distros like Debian or Red Hat, MAJOR forks like Ubuntu or Fedora (though Ubuntu is going so corporate these days I actually try to steer folks away) or DE flagship distros like Mint, Pop!_OS or Neon.
This is my tenth year of using Linux Mint. It stands the test of time, it doesn’t Just Break the way the memetastic rolling release distros do, the GUI feels complete but not bloated, and…to me it’s home.
MintLinux and Pop!OS are normally the two front-runners for new users. Basically, if you use Steam and you don’t play online-only games with bad implementations of anti-cheat software, you are good to game on either.
Make a USB that you can “live boot” from, so you can test out how they work with your hardware. Generally spearking, Mint works better with AMD, and Pop! works better with Nvidea.
Here’s the official basic guide for Mint:
https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/And here’s the official basic guide for Pop!:
https://support.system76.com/articles/install-pop/Do Pop!_OS AND Linux Mint have KDE Plasma variants, for newcomers who don’t know how to swap desktop environments?
I don’t think they do. But once you’ve already started looking into swapping the desktop environment from whichever is the default, I don’t think you can call yourself a newcomer anymore.
Well, yes, that’s why I asked. Some newcomers to linux find Plasma more familiar than GNOME et al. Having it preinstalled can help them get comfortable faster, with less effort.
Wanting a windows-like environment makes sense. It’s not specifically Plasma, but Mint has Cinamon which is very Windows-like.
I was a Win XP/7 user that bought a laptop with Windows 8.1, emigrated to Linux, and found that Cinnamon felt more like Windows to me than Windows did.
I was using Mint with my Nvidia GPU for a while but found that games felt very laggy. Not sure what was going on but I switched to Kubuntu and that seemed to resolve the issue. (I assume the problem was something to do with cinnamon).
I like KDE and feel like the tools are more mature than they are in gnome or cinnamon anyway. Snaps are annoying but are fairly easy to avoid.
My vote is for Kubuntu for new users.
Don’t wait. Experiment now in a VM to learn the basics.
If I go this route, is there a way to take that VM I’ve created and just roll straight into it? Just install it on the boot drive?
I’ve got a Pop!_OS VM going already.
I think there is a way technically with something like trueimage or clonezilla, but I’ve never used it. Always thought of my VM as a learning tool, and then used what I learnt to fresh install on real hardware
Oh I never though of running those!
Clonezilla inside the VM to clone the “drive” and then clone that to the actual SSD
Or alternatively, make a live USB and boot it natively.
I’d suggest Debian Stable with KDE Plasma.
Debian is the grandparent of most distros today, instructions for it are everywhere, and it’s got a large userbase.
If you do not have a friend to help you along the way, use the Linux Mint Cinnamon edition first. Download it now and use it in a VM to get used to it.
If you’re feeling confident and would like to explore further, install Debian with GNOME or KDE. I suggest Debian because it’s a large and independent distribution, community-built, rock solid stability, convenient or powerful as needed, and stays true to “the standards” (like the stock GNOME) and free software, but doesn’t prevent you from installing proprietary software as needed. I moved all my friends who were willing to switch to Linux with zero experience to Debian (3 in total), but they had me to help and I didn’t have to do anything after assisting the installation and the first day configuration. Now they’re all independent, using it daily and never ask me for help.
Fedora is also a good option, but every release has only 1 year of support while Debian has at least 3 years and Mint has 5.
Fedora or debian stable. I would recommend the KDE desktop environment as it closely reaembles what you’re using now. try somw distro’s and stick with what you like. I would not wait though. Just do it. welcome to the family
All the suggestions here are good, but actually Puppy Linux is also a good start. Try their latest BookwormPup64 release, it is very polished, solidly build, and most importantly small enough to install on you usb pendrive. Puppy linux runs in your ram, so it is super fast even on old basic hardware.
Give it a try… I start using puppy after my pc crashed… Never look back to windoz since then…
Fedora. In my personal experience it has been much more sane and stable compared to ubuntu or tumbleweed, and my friends have preferred it over arch or kde neon, often for stability. The packages are up to date, games work great (even on nvidia) and it runs great on laptop
I’ve also heard good things about Pop!_os and mint, but I haven’t used either
Please see username
Sorry. Now my breath is fresh, which version of Linux should I use?
“Tips Fedora”
