Linux... how do i get it?

[CH-Nils]

Hi people i currently have the following issues: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/410106-factory-reset-gone-wrong/

I was wondering if windows fails me... how do i get Linux working on that laptop? 

Which version should i choose? which are best for transitioning from windows?

Can i create a usb boot drive aswell?

Will Google chrome work on linux (it's the one my mom knows how to use )

[flibberdipper]

Xubuntu is my favorite, Ubuntu is second, and then Linux Mint (which is the most Windows-looking).

[404-USER-NOT-FOUND-ERROR]

ubuntu, my favourite: http://www.ubuntu.com/download

[Guest]

I made a poll for ltt's favorite distro: http://strawpoll.me/4518443/r

 

Surprisingly I thought ElementaryOS would get a few more votes.

[FaZe Booce]

Ubuntu and SteamOS are my favorites. I used to use Linux as a main os at one point because I didn't like Windows Vista. It is a good os, just driver support isn't the best.

 

If you want to use a usb drive, use pendrive linux to make the usb bootable onto linux.

[dlf]

Zorin OS is the most Windows like distro I think.

[Sumsar]

Get Mageia. Its nice for people who are not very comfortable with the terminal.

[Oskar94a]

I love Gentoo but I'm currently running Xubuntu on my laptop and it's great.

ZorinOS is very "Windowsish", I ran it as a daily driver 2010-11 until Skyrim was released.

[Norman_the_Owl]

Ubuntu is basically really over rated.

 

I'd say fedora, it's my personal favorite. I don't actually have it installed on anything anymore, seeing as i only have a desktop now...

[Arty]

MINT!

[TetraSky]

Another vote for Mint. Easy to use and look the most like Windows without having to "mod" it.

 

And yes, Chrome will work on Linux.

[paprikman]

Just download unetbootin, select a distro u want and let it make a live-cd of your usb-stick.

[Sauron]

Getting it to work depends on which version you choose. For a first timer I'd recommend a version of ubuntu or mint; for the desktop environment I'd recommend xfce, MATE or kde plasma 5. For these distros, the built in intealler will take care of everything for you.

 

If however you feel adventurous, there are benefits to choosing something like arch, which has to be installed manually via command line (don't worry, there are lots of tutorials on yt) and has all the new software all the time, as well as not having any unnecessary software that would bloat your pc.

[CH-Nils]

Another vote for Mint. Easy to use and look the most like Windows without having to "mod" it.

 

And yes, Chrome will work on Linux.

Mint seems like the obvious choice here as it is the most similar to win but what is the difference between cinnamon and mate desktop?

[N3rot0xin]

Or if you're super hardcore, you can run ArchLinux.

 (my opinion here is not valid, the last distro I ran was Xubuntu and that was several years ago.. im a bit outdated)

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

Mint seems like the obvious choice here as it is the most similar to win but what is the difference between cinnamon and mate desktop?

MATE gives you more customizing options.  You can customize Cinnamon, but it's a bit more work. 

 

I use Cinnamon myself, mostly because my muscle memory from Windows just works in Cinnamon.  I barely ever need to think "right, how do I do this again?".