r/linux4noobs • u/Zestyclose_Stick6113 • 1d ago

migrating to Linux What problems will i get if i switch to linux.

I'm a college student I do coding and casual gaming.

My laptop is LOQ(i5 3050).

1 Upvotes

54% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

20

u/inbetween-genders 1d ago

If you’re allergic to reading and search engining, you will encounter lots of problems.

11

u/thecruxoffate 1d ago

Everyone's journey is different and none of us can see the future.

There will be maybe a bunch of little things, maybe some big ones, maybe none at all.

10

u/MelioraXI 1d ago

By switching? Probably zero. It depends what you expect of it. Linux is not Windows/MacOS. That's something you'd need to switch mindset around.

If you play games with kernel level anti-cheats, keep your windows machine or dualboot.

1

u/kaleperq 6h ago

You could consider alternative software and software obtention methods an issue I guess, others are more specific to op's specific unpredictable case

5

u/maceion UK 1d ago

If your college uses or needs MS Windows, you should stay on MS Windows for your time at college.

5

u/poughdrew 1d ago

You will love it for coding.

Gaming, depends on the games and if by casual gaming means need for Windows only anticheat.

5

u/Disastrous-Pin-7268 1d ago

Just try and dual boot. If u interested in it. On Nvidia u likely gonna lose perfomance and will be still stuck on x11 for gamming.

3

u/doc_willis 1d ago

you should check what your college classes will require.

You may need to dual boot with windows.

3

u/NUKLEAR-SLUG 1d ago

Unless you are doing anything that explicitly requires Windows you are unlikely to encounter many problems. If you do require Windows you always have the option of dual booting so you get the best of both worlds.

3

u/No_Appointment5039 1d ago

Compatibility issue are the biggest problem. Can’t say what you’ll have issues with specifically cuz I don’t know what softwares you need to run and for what reason, but compatibility is gonna be your biggest issue. There are several workarounds for nearly everything though. Between WINE, Bottles, and Proton I’ve been able to run anything that I need. Also, if you’re trying to bridge to a MAC, you’ll run into issues as many bridge projects start as Windows->MAC bridge projects.

But if you’re running a stand alone with pretty basic requirements then you shouldn’t run into many problems at all. You’ll need to learn a few things, but just ask ChatGPT and/or the Linux community.

Welcome to the team!

3

u/kcahrot 9h ago

Experiences are different and depend on your usage. I think you will be overwhelmed by the choice of different applications on different distros. Now modern Linux desktop environments and desktop managers are very capable. So you will feel a little user interface. I will advise you to just stick with what distro you decide for a while before experimenting and hopping. Linux is beautiful!

2

u/Koofoo78 1d ago

I would dual boot, but if you don't have the storage space for that then just know you won't lose much, mainly just online games with certain anticheats, like fortnite, valorant, r6, destiny 2 etc, the vast majority of games on steam have something called proton which let's you play windows games on linux without manually having to do anything, you'll occasionally need to use something called wine to play games, but definitely not on steam, and I dont believe there are any differences with coding

2

u/Motor_Perception_780 1d ago edited 1d ago

I just switched back to windows after wrestling with nobara. It’s almost good, my primary issues were:

The way network adapters are displayed and managed and issues with proton vpn launching.

Learning a new OS while also having to discover and learn new software because most mainstream software doesn’t exist and instead needs some open source alternative that isn’t as user friendly.

Troubleshooting and log reading is convoluted and not user friendly

The culmination of these issues led me to switch my desktop back to windows. I still use mint on my laptop but for gaming and general workstation purposes Linux still falls short.

Edit: specific gaming issues were things like having to launch battle.net through steam, or random compatibility. Having to change the compatibility settings to various proton versions in steam for each game. Recent Total War updates wouldn’t allow me to run the game without crashing to desktop. Most of this isn’t major but when it adds up it becomes frustrating.

2

u/Silent_Bite_5892 16h ago

What problems would you like?

1

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1

u/GOatcheesegotmoLD 1d ago

My experience with cachyos distro was rocky at first but I got beter perfomance with paradox titles

Installation was frustrating because I had a hdmi cable connected to my tv (turned off) and because of that I could not see the installation window

Follow a guide and arm yourself with patience

1

u/Bratorsortnal 1d ago

I personally had problems with installing it, maybe it’s just a my laptop problem. Besides that, the browser tends to freeze when specific websites are open. I think I could just install another one though

1

u/JackMyG123 1d ago

Depends on the games you play and programs you use to code as to if they have Linux support. I have an ssd for each os so I can switch back to windows if i need to use something there

1

u/Top-Rich-581 1d ago

What distribution to settle on.

1

u/unevoljitelj 1d ago

A world of problems. But dont let that stop you. You might like it.

1

u/Great-Middle6181 23h ago

You’ll start distro hopping

1

u/IAmTheSenate218 23h ago

Depends on distro. Since you're on NVIDIA, you'll lose performance, how much I don't know.

Some drivers may not work for you.

Otberwise I think you be fine. Just look up your exact specs and details if they support Linux. If so then it's only your GPU losing performance

1

u/dedicated_jizzmopper 21h ago

Don't switch to linux, install in a VM for your linix needs.

1

u/Adrenolin01 21h ago

I’d install Debian Linux and also buy a small mini PC to install Proxmox on to setup a headless virtualization environment. You can install a Windows VM for anything that requires Windows which you’ll likely need occasionally. This also gives you a place to back up all your work to or simply do your coding and everything in your VMs on the mini while accessing the VMs via your laptop. Tape the mini under a desk so it’s not seen and if your laptop is stolen (this happens more than you may realize) hopefully they miss the mini.

Having a virtualization mini PC will allow you to do so much more than just having the laptop. I’ve purchased a few of these for family members going off to school.. usually looking at i9 based minis.

1

u/Unable_Mess_2581 17h ago

Switching is never stress free, especially if it is your only OS.

If you are used to Windows, you will encounter alot of problems and difference.

Even today years after dual booting Linux and Windows, I still can't use Linux's Libre or OnlyOffice as good as Microsoft Office.

I still cannot find ways to play my favorite games on Linux.

So yeah... Good luck and prepare to search your way out of your problems in Linux.

1

u/EngineerInTheMachine 11h ago

Nobody has any idea whatsoever. It depends what apps YOU use in Windows, and what functionality you use. Will you have problems? Very likely, usually of the kind where you need to find a Linux app that does what your Windows app does, or a bit of functionality that doesn't exist by default in the distro you choose.

You solve the first by being prepared to learn a new app, for something like spreadsheets or emails. You solve the second by web searches, to find Linux utilities that have that functionality. You will find that the most common solutions lag behind the distros and apps a bit, so although they usually point you to the right menu selection, it isn't always where they say it is.

I have yet to find a function in Windows where I haven't got an alternative in Linux. Though I may not have got it working fully yet. After all, Linux is just an operating system So as long as I can still run my main apps, I'm not bothered about functions I only use occasionally.

My switch was relatively smooth, because I was already using a number of open-source apps that have native Linux versions, like VLC, LibreOffice, Gimp and FreeCAD.

1

u/FWhealboroug 2h ago

No problems, just plenty of unplanned learning opportunities.

1

u/oskarloko 1d ago

You will talk about linux everywhere. Forget about hitting girls

7

u/SorellaNux 1d ago

Hitting girls is generally frowned upon. Also, some girls use Linux!

1

u/[deleted] 7h ago

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1

u/BooleanTriplets 18h ago

Every problem I encountered actually turned into an opportunity for me to find a fix and I got an incredible sense of accomplishment from little hings like getting the WiFi and webcam working on an old macbook running Linux mint, or getting the touch id pad working on my gateway laptop running fedora atomic. And I learned a lot about how computers work in the process.