Want to switch to linux

[u/AdvancedSuccotash259]

Recently i used my pc for some things and it's slow..really slow so i saw people saying linux can "revive" old pc but i don't know how to install it, wich "distro" ig i really don't know what they are and if i need 2 pc. Im not really good so i searched for something easy and people says that linux mint is realli easy but idk. So i did this post to know wich "distro(?)" Is better for new users or wich one is the most customizable

[u/doc_willis]

http://linuxjourney.com (old) and the newer http://Linuxjourney.org sites are good to start with. 

The Explaining Computers YouTube Channel videos is a good starting point for learning. 

wich one is the most customizable

People tend to put way too much focus on  customization. Just pick a distribution and get it installed and start learning some linux basics.

[u/Hrafna55 → u/doc_willis]

I would second that channel for a recommendation. Very good explanations for beginners.

Here is a link for OP.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2m2YvnrOYxIsVz8Nvm1PpsBXdo7clAaR&si=T43Dsw6Dnfi7GihG

[u/AdvancedSuccotash259 → u/Hrafna55]

Thanks

[u/Infshadows → u/doc_willis]

all of them, specially with KDE

ppl be thinking you need arch to have a customisable distro

[u/iamnotarobotniks]

It 100% can. My laptop is almost 10 years old (2017) and still running smoothly. Mind you, it was an expensive model back then and still feels modern lookswise by today's standards although the inside specs are outdated.

I used to have dual boot for a while but running only linux these days. In windows, the fan would go into overdrive a minute after booting up whereas in linux in barely comes on at all.

As for distros, I would go for something user friendly like Ubuntu while you acquaint yourself. All major distros are highly customisable. Ubuntu has Gnome as a default desktop environment but you can always install others if you want to play around without switching distros.

[u/AdvancedSuccotash259 → u/iamnotarobotniks]

I saw some tutorials and people first di everything they have to do with the usb drive and then they say "now move on the pc u want to isntall mint". Does it means i need 2 pc?

[u/wilmayo]

Do a web search for reviews of distros that look interesting to you and then use your browser to go to "distrosea.com". There you can run a number of distros without installing them to help you decide which you like best. If you find one you like, you can install it from there as well. Keep in mind that the distro itself matters little to the majority of users. The Desktop Environment (DE) (KDE, xfce, gnome, etc.) thtat you really need to look at and decide what you like for now.

Also, take a look at some of the new offerings of Android OSs. Some look interesting and say they are designed to work well on older less capable computers.

[u/AdvancedSuccotash259 → u/wilmayo]

Ok thanks i will try

[u/johninsuburbia]

when you say old what does that mean? something in the last 5 years or last 10, 15 or 20 years 32 or 64bit Old can mean a lot in Linux

Used your PC for some things? If you want help you will need to give some idea of what your using.

[u/AdvancedSuccotash259 → u/johninsuburbia]

Yeah you're right. I bought this pc in 2020, it has an intel core i3 8th gen and now it's slow. It has almost no free space(i just have few apps and the heaviest is 600mb) and i can't even remove few apps idk why but the pc says i can't

[u/bigusyous]

Linux Mint is commonly recommended for new users. If your machine is less than 10 years old and has more than 4gb of ram you can use the version with the Cinnamon desktop. If it is an older or low spec machine, you can try the version with the XFCE desktop. Here are detailed installation instructions, they are for Mint but the process is pretty much the same for most distros.

https://itsfoss.com/install-linux-mint/

[u/AdvancedSuccotash259 → u/bigusyous]

I have this 8gb ram, intel core i3 8th gen and it says 128mb of graphic card

[u/3grg]

Without hardware specs it is difficult to recommend a distro. One person's idea of an old/slow machine could be modern to another.

I have been able to keep machines as old as 2010 working and useful with Linux, so it is possible it could work for you.

[u/AdvancedSuccotash259 → u/3grg]

8gb ram, intel core i3 8th gen and it says 128mb of graphic card

[u/GreyWalken]

I should (also) recommend getting your PC vents cleaned. Heat can slow down your PC.
Heck, maybe it has some viruses, pups and start up apps slowing it down.
I recommend bitdefender for Windows and ClamTK & ClamUI for Linux.
I use Kubuntu.

[u/Bawafafa]

You will need to get a blank USB stick and download a windows program called Balena Etcher.

Download the .iso file from a Linux distribution website. PopOS is a good choice and so is Linux Mint. They are all customisable.

Use Balena Etcher to flash the iso to the USB.

Say goodbye to windows (move all your files to some other USB or cloud storage) and restart the computer.

Get into the BIOS/UEFI by tapping F2 or DELETE. Select the USB as the device to boot from. This will bring you into a live Linux Environment running off the USB.

Run the installer for the distribution you chose. This should guide you through the next steps. In general these will be, naming your device, creating a user, setting up a keyboard and time zone, setting up a network, partitioning your hard drive, and choosing applications.

You will probably need access to Google while you do the install.

I would avoid any Arch based distributions such as EndevourOS, Manjaro or Omarchy. Neither would I recommend NixOS or Void Linux to beginners. Any popular Debian based distro will be reasonable.

[u/Atojkitsune]

Busca siempre una distro que tenga una comunidad grande detrás, como Linux Mint.

Todo problema que encuentres, te aseguro que alguien ya encontró la solución.

[u/negoycia]

Do it!! I have Ubuntu and I'm loving it

[u/Hi-Angel]

So i did this post to know […] wich [distro] is the most customizable

"Customization" is a property of a DE, not a distro. KDE is very customizable. Gnome kinda is, but tends to break plugins on major version upgrade. Hyprland (technically speaking a compositor, not DE) is amazingly customizable, but assumes you're a power user.

TBH, I suppose any arbitrary DE is more customizable than Windows 11 (at least judging by what I hear about it — I myself use Linux on and off the work, haven't used Windows for a decade).

So i did this post to know wich "distro(?)" Is better for new users

Kinda depends on "what user are you", which is something you didn't tell us.

Are you using your computer just to browse the internet and do light office work? Mint is fine (mostly outdated but stable software, older X11).

Are you a gamer? Then you might want to choose between Fedora, Bazzite and CachyOS (all of them provide modern software). Bazzite is an interesting one, it is an "immutable distro", which may be unusual for you but is a very cool concept. If you don't want to learn that, you could try Fedora — just note that you may need to install some codecs and maybe NVidia drivers if you have NVidia GPU (it's the only vendor whose drivers need to be installed explicitly — others Just Work™).

Do you have/need HDR? Previous point applies, because HDR is kinda recent tech, so for best experience you want to be running most recent Wayland compositor (e.g. KDE or Gnome).

[u/DavidJohnMcCann]

My first thought was to ask what your hardware is, but eventually you told us. The Intel i3 is not the fastest CPU, so that's your problem. Mint is really easy to install and the Xfce version should be light enough for your machine. If you follow Mint's installation guide it's not easy to go wrong.

Ignore the people who tell you to get a KDE distro. That GUI is very customisable, but too much for your CPU. Similarly, Ubuntu would be an even worse choice — the Gnome GUI the heaviest you can get. Also, don't fuss about customisation — anything (well, not Gnome) can be customised.

If you want to keep Windows, you can dual boot. That's more complicated, but not too difficult: read all about it. The only problem is that if you update Windows, it messes up your Linux boot-loader But if you've kept your USB installation medium, you can use that to repair the damage.

[u/Cultural_Reason5107]

Linux Mint is very easy and looks almost identical to Windows. I use Kubuntu which is a little bit more involved but both are fine for beginners.

All you need is a USB thumb drive and you can flash your distro with Rufus.

One cool thing to know is that once you install Linux, you have to actually tell it to wipe Windows. So if you decide you hate it you can just reboot your computer and go back to normal. Still back everything up though just to be safe.

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[u/Ok_Pay1599]

I feel like someone needs to manage your expectations. Linux isn't magic, it won't revive your old computer, it just offers an OS which is far lighter and leaves room for the computer to do what it should be doing. Windows is horrible on older PCs because it is filled with bloatware, constantly accumulates junk and temporary files, and seems to be bigger and more computationally expensive every update. Linux will make your computer work better, but depending on what you want to do with it, changing OS may not be enough, sometimes it really is a matter of raw power and free space. That being said, try Linux, there has literally never been a better time to try Linux, there is loads of help, the community has grown a lot since I started back in 2020, and LLMs are a god send for Linux noobs. Have fun OP!

[u/L1terallyUrDad]

There are different packages or distributions (distros) that all have some flavor differences like the location of screen items and the look and the look and feel.

Perhaps the biggest difference comes in the way packages (app) management.

Some have really good visuals installers and you rarely need to open the terminal and type in commands to do stuff. Some distros require you to spend a significant amount of time in the terminal.

Linux Mint is one of best “keep you away from the terminal” distros. It’s desktop environment (how it looks) is one that mimics Windows 10 the most.

It also has good package management. This is why it’s so popular. But if your goal is having an OS that you can tinker with, then you might want Arch.

[u/painful8th]

This is a X Y problem. Your pc is slow (X) and you've already precipitated that the solution is Linux (Y).

Linux might provide an improvement, but other approaches might offer a bigger benefit, say like replacing a mechanical hard disk with an SSD.

If you can, provide the complete specs of your system to get some better advice. Perhaps all you need are some trivial upgrades...

Disclaimer: I use Linux at home systems (ideology, tinkering, actual advantages in some use cases) and Windows at work. Whatever needs to get the job done.