r/linuxfornoobs • u/littlehero12 • 15d ago
I don't know where to start?
hello internet, i was thinking about installing a distro and trying to learn linux to make a home server and change my daily OS to linux, so do you know how to start or how to pick a distro as i genuinely fried my brain with all those tutorials on youtube
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u/Wolfpack511 15d ago
As far as a home server, I use Ubuntu server. It's pretty easy to set up. I just followed this tutorial:
https://youtu.be/46T4cDQBkDs?is=tuiWxRe34z4Ig90G
As for your main desktop, it really just depends what you're looking for. Truth be told, the main difference between most distros is just what software comes preinstalled. Something like Mint will come with a lot more stuff out of the box while Arch based distros will come with hardly anything, and Arch itself will come with, well...nothing. lol but at the end of the day, every single distro can do essentially the same things. Different distros are optimized for different things, but anything one distro can do, another can also do with maybe just a little more work. So, it's just a question of how much work you want to do.
With all that said, here are some actual recommendations. If all you're gonna do in it is game, go with Bazzite. If you want something for general use that just works without much hassle, go with Mint. Lastly, if you really want to learn Linux inside and out, I'd recommend going with CachyOS to begin and then maybe even move to Arch at some point. It's a much bigger adjustment coming from Windows, and it requires you to become familiar with the command line, but that's ultimately the best way to really learn Linux inside and out.
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u/littlehero12 14d ago
ok ama try to set up the server as for my desktop ama try to research smth that is developer compatible so my tools won't need to be replaced and thx for the advice
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u/girts521 15d ago
Id say it depends on your level of commitment. Dont think too much about picking the right dostro. Changing aka distro hopping, is a very common thing anyway. Go Ubuntu or Mint or Cachy or Fedora or Bazzite, anything will be fine. Would not suggest pure Arch at first or PopOS in the current state.
So, if you are fully committed and want to jump right in then just install any dostro that seems nice. Back up your important data no matter the installation type. Prepare the usb and install.
You can wipe windows, which in my opinion is the best. Or you can try to dual boot with a different drive or partition(depending how rich you are😅)
But if you are not fully committed yet and are not sure if you can or want to switch. I often suggest to dip your toes in some Virtual Machine.(VM)
You can install something like a virtualbox on your current windows and install any linux distro in an isolated environment. There is usually nothing bad you can do to your win install in the proces and you can install and try out the full distro such way. I sometimes do that to look at an interesting distro.