Windows to Linux¿

[Wictorian]

I am not sure if this is the right subforum.

 

So I use Win 10 and I'm fed up. I kinda want to change to linux. Do you think this is a sane idea? Which distro should I use if so? Is there an easy way to recreate my current pc (transfer the files and apps)?

[Senzelian]

If you start with "I kinda want to change to Linux", then it's probably not a good idea to change to Linux.

Why don't you run a VM first and see if you can get your stuff to work and go from there. It's a lot easier to just get rid of a VM in case you don't like it.

 

Also why are you fed up with Windows 10? If you're having issues with that, then it's likely because of a misconfigured system, which won't get any better on Linux. Have you tried Win 11 yet? Maybe that solves some of the issues you're having.

[RollyShed]

8 minutes ago, Wictorian said:

I am not sure if this is the right subforum.

 

So I use Win 10 and I'm fed up. I kinda want to change to linux. Do you think this is a sane idea? Which distro should I use if so? Is there an easy way to recreate my current pc (transfer the files and apps)?

Do I think it a sane idea?

I think it insane if you don't.

 

Download the iso file to your computer and then burn (note "burn" not copy) the Linux iso file to a USB stick, probably using Rufus on the Windows computer.

 

As for people using Linux here, another one went out the door on Wednesday and his wife's one the Saturday previously. My partner's computer running Win10 got wiped by MS back in 2018 so she has been using Linux since. I've been running Linux for near a decade. I've also installed over 50 Linux systems.

 

OK?

 

My suggestion is Linux Mint Cinnamon 20.3 or 21. It comes with an office suite, web browser and a mass of other FREE apps available.

 

I'd suggest getting an SSD possibly 250GB, installing the system on that and then copying all your data and files across from the Windows disk. You could put the Windows disk on the shelf as backup. To connect the Windows disk for file transfer, a SATA to USB cable adaptor is a good way of doing it and very simple.

[Wictorian]

8 minutes ago, Senzelian said:

If you start with "I kinda want to change to Linux", then it's probably not a good idea to change to Linux.

Why don't you run a VM first and see if you can get your stuff to work and go from there. It's a lot easier to just get rid of a VM in case you don't like it.

 

Also why are you fed up with Windows 10? If you're having issues with that, then it's likely because of a misconfigured system, which won't get any better on Linux. Have you tried Win 11 yet? Maybe that solves some of the issues you're having.

my system isnt powerful enough for win 11

[Wictorian]

5 minutes ago, RollyShed said:

Do I think it a sane idea?

I think it insane if you don't.

 

Download the iso file to your computer and then burn (note "burn" not copy) the Linux iso file to a USB stick, probably using Rufus on the Windows computer.

 

As for people using Linux here, another one went out the door on Wednesday and his wife's one the Saturday previously. My partner's computer running Win10 got wiped by MS back in 2018 so she has been using Linux since. I've been running Linux for near a decade. I've also installed over 50 Linux systems.

 

OK?

 

My suggestion is Linux Mint Cinnamon 20.3 or 21. It comes with an office suite, web browser and a mass of other FREE apps available.

 

I'd suggest getting an SSD possibly 250GB, installing the system on that and then copying all your data and files across from the Windows disk. You could put the Windows disk on the shelf as backup. To connect the Windows disk for file transfer, a SATA to USB cable adaptor is a good way of doing it and very simple.

I have two disks in the pc so I am planning to use them

[OhioYJ]

What do you want to do in Linux? As mentioned just switching entirely may not be a great idea depending on what you do. Linux has been my primary operating system for a very long time. I use it for most everything, in fact I prefer doing everything in Linux at this point, I think it's easier. With the exception of gaming.That's still the only time I boot up a Windows, machine.

 

I've also had the same experience as @RollyShed has. I've set up many Linux machines for other people, and had good experiences. It usually leads to more people wanting Linux boxes, as they don't have problems with them.  So the transition is pretty straight forward.

 

That being said, usually to ease the transition, I'd still recommend a dual boot, keep your data files on the Windows drive, or a separate drive all together. This way Linux can access the files, but you aren't messing up anything. This also means you can boot back up into Windows if you really need to do something in Windows.

[OhioYJ]

Just now, Wictorian said:

I have two disks in the pc so I am planning to use them

 

This seems ideal, leave Windows as is, make a partition on the second, and install Linux. Linux doesn't need a lot of space. As mentioned above 120-250 GB is a ton of space generally for a Linux install. A Linux distro like Mint (a good one to start with, I also recommend it) will setup all the dual boot stuff for you.

[tikker]

42 minutes ago, Wictorian said:

Which distro should I use if so?

Linux Mint is a nice one since it's close to Windows' look and feel with Cinnamon. I daily drive Fedora Workstation, because I work on it and it's a solid just-works most of the time distro in my experience. The chaos of switching to Wayland and Pipewire a few releases back has now mostly settled as well, so that should be much less of an issue now.

42 minutes ago, Wictorian said:

transfer the files

Obligatory "back them up before attempting any installs". After that it should be a simple copy-paste to get them where you want them.

42 minutes ago, Wictorian said:

apps

Depends on whether those apps have linux support. Which ones do you need?

[Wictorian]

1 hour ago, tikker said:

Depends on whether those apps have linux support. Which ones do you need?

I dont really need apps. I can replace things like browsers and text editors.

[tikker]

12 minutes ago, Wictorian said:

I dont really need apps. I can replace things like browsers and text editors.

If there's nothing particular then I'd say just try it out. Sometimes people have requirements like Adobe's suite, for example, and since those have no linux support certain programs can be an immediate show stopper.