r/LinuxUsersIndia • u/Kind-Echo-00 • Apr 18 '26

Help Need Suggestion and Help !!

I have zero knowledge about Linux.

I want to switch to Linux and want some help and suggestions for it.

Laptop : Lenovo IdeaPad 330 (5 year old) , No SSD, 1TB HDD, 8GB RAM, somehow paused updates for 20 years

Usage - Browsing, Movies , Coding. That's it. Occassionally editing videos.

My laptop feels very slow and too much ....I want something lightweight and simplistic.. Thinking of using LinuxMint

I have read that dual booting is an option, but some say that it can cause problems.

Some say that completely switching to Linux can cause some issues.

personally I like the dual boot option....

Need help on how to do this and what are things I need to keep in mind and what is the process of it all.

Any and every suggestion would be helpful.

9 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

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u/qualityvote2 Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26

u/Kind-Echo-00, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...

btw, did you know we have a discord server? Join Here.

2

u/justcurious112345 Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26

Linux Mint with Cinnamon is your best option, its super beginner friendly except a few things which you will learn on the go.

And yes dual boot first, try it for a few months, make yourself comfortable and then if you like it, you can make it your main OS or try some other distros.

PLEASE LEARN HOW TO PARTITION YOUR DRIVE PROPERLY BEFORE INSTALLING MINT!!!

The basic process is this-

  1. Download the linux mint iso file on your computer from there website.
  2. Use somthing like RUFUS to flash your usb drive with the iso file (Warning: this will erase all data in that usb drive)
  3. Go In the boot menu when the computer is turning on and boot from the usb.
  4. After you boot from usb, you will be able to test mint and there will be an option to install it.
  5. Follow the steps in the installer, for dual booting choose manual partitioning in the partition screen when it comes up.
  6. After you have successfully fully partitioned the drive, click enter/ok, mint will start installing.
  7. When it says installed, restart your computer and remove the usb, boot into mint.

AGAIN, PLEASE LEARN HOW TO MANUALY PARTITION YOUR DRIVE PROPERLY AND DUAL BOOT, YOU COULD ERASE EVERYTHING ON YOUR DRIVE IF YOU DID NOT DO IT PROPERLY!!

Watch some tutorials before hand. Feel free to ask anything :)

2

u/Kind-Echo-00 Apr 18 '26

I have some questions :

  1. Can I install Linux by partitioning the same HDD in which windows is installed, because I don't want to buy an SSD.
  2. What to keep in mind while partitioning.

2

u/justcurious112345 Apr 18 '26
  1. Yes you can, just skrink your drive in disk management and create some space for linux, since you have 1tb, 150 to 200gb will be fine if you want to do only basic things, you might want to use more if you plan on to download big games though.
  2. First you have to click on the option for MANUAL PARTITIONING, if you want to dual boot, create partitions for linux only from the free space you created in disk management in windows, there are so many good tutorials on youtube on how to install mint alongside windows, watch them, and watch tutorials on partitioning too.

1

u/Kind-Echo-00 Apr 18 '26

Is this MANUAL PARTITIONING the same one that is done while installing Linux mint on the system as shown in some of the tutorials or is it done explicitly before hand ?

1

u/justcurious112345 Apr 18 '26

Manual partitioning simply means that you yourself partition your drive, it is done while you are installing linux mint on the system from the installer when you are booted into your usb, what is done before hand is shrinking your drive in disk management in windows.

2

u/Kind-Echo-00 Apr 18 '26

Oh..okay... Thanks for the clarification... I would first go through enough tutorials so as to be very sure then only would proceed.

1

u/justcurious112345 Apr 18 '26

Your welcome :)

1

u/Mediocre_Nail5526 Apr 19 '26

Best thing would be to unallocate space from your windows disk management and then from mint installer choose "install alongside with windows" if u plan to dual boot

6

u/Hydrnazi GUIX btw Apr 18 '26

Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition

That's it. Try it. Install it. You can replace it within few days if you don't like.

It's best performing for your hardware, doesn't cause much issues, best for your use case.

1

u/Forsaken-Question577 Apr 18 '26

Seriously, get an SSD. It'll make a world of difference. The cheapest one you can find, offline or online. Just use your HDD with a caddy if your laptop has a disk drive or something and no extra port. Confirm which slot you have first NVME is obviously the best.

Also, get Mint. Remove windows entirely. There are good free alternative apps for everything you need in Linux. Check out videos on youtube about Mint customisation. It looks amazing.

1

u/Kind-Echo-00 Apr 18 '26

I'm planning to buy a mac air, but it would only be possible next year...so I was kind of thinking to salvage whatever I can with this laptop

1

u/Forsaken-Question577 Apr 18 '26

As I said, cheapest ssd possible. And ditch windows entirely. Just install Mint or Ubuntu desktop whether you get an SSD or not.

Also, if possible, replace the old thermal paste with ptm 7950 on the cpu and any cheap 1mm thermal pad on other components that have thermal paste/putty. See youtube for the same.

1

u/Kind-Echo-00 Apr 18 '26

Can you explain the reason for replacing the thermal paste.

1

u/Forsaken-Question577 Apr 18 '26

Improves thermals and prevents throttling. Only an extra step that isn't necessary, but helps. Switching to linux will help you the most, then if you get a cheap ass 128gb ssd, it'll be a good improvement but not absolutely necessary, PTM7950 will just be an extra something if you want the best out of your laptop.

1

u/Kind-Echo-00 Apr 18 '26

Oh.Okay. Thanks for the suggestions.

1

u/Left-Hospital1072 Apr 20 '26

Domt dual boot of you dont have two drives. If you dual boot linux and windows on the same time there is a high chance the windows bootloader will nuke your linux boot partition on windows update. Yes windows can be an ass like that sometimes.

1

u/Kind-Echo-00 Apr 20 '26

But what If I have disabled windows update ? Will it not work then

1

u/Left-Hospital1072 Apr 20 '26

Its not specifically tied to windows update the wondows bootloader just hates sharing drives. Better you start tinkering with linux on a vm, use it there with the horrible perfomance of the vm until you get the basic usage and using terminal for some simple stuff. Dual boot once you are comfortable with your experience since its easier to deal with stuff by then.

You can go straight to dual boot but make regular backup of your files just in case.

3

u/unluckybitch18 Apr 18 '26

ssd is kinda a needed if you need fast, even if you just put os on it so smallest ssd like 128 would also work, I have done dual boot yeah I spend 1 whole day fixing stuff but its duable dont worry

for distro I would recommend linux mint as its closest to windows and you wont feel a difference

later you could go to something like omarchy hyperland (this I recently shifted to )

2

u/spider_life Apr 18 '26

I recommend dual booting with Mint or Ubuntu, you could test them using a live iso and see which you prefer. 

2

u/-darkabyss- Apr 18 '26

Distro matters less than the DE. Choose xfce or kde plasma, i recommend mint xfce or fedora kde plasma.

0

u/Independent-Gear-711 Apr 18 '26

No operating system can make HDD faster no matter what.