this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2025
14 points (100.0% liked)

Linux 101 stuff. Questions are encouraged, noobs are welcome!

1154 readers
10 users here now

Linux introductions, tips and tutorials. Questions are encouraged. Any distro, any platform! Explicitly noob-friendly.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
gyro@lemmy.world
Guenther_Amanita@feddit.de
14
what's the best way to get started with a desktop (laptop) linux? (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 1 day ago by cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/linux4noobs@lemmy.world
16 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

caveat; i've used linux in the best from debian to fedora to ubuntu to redhat on servers but this is the first time i want to actually switch to using it on my laptop because win11 is increasingly bad but also because i love it.

i'm just lost as to where to start. i'm currently looking at laptopwithlinux.com, system76.com, and thinkbooks. a lot of them come with specific distros, though i'm much more partial to debian than ubuntu. is it generally able to switch between a different one without too much hassle?

i also have an hp envy; https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/compare/5818425?baseline=5818425 is it wise to get rid of windows and just install linux on it?

i know some hardware but i'm not an EXPERT (with drivers and such)

any thoughts? hopefully this is an alright community for this question; it was the closest community when searching that i could find that seemed like it fit.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] CubitOom@infosec.pub 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

i also have an hp envy; https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/compare/5818425?baseline=5818425 is it wise to get rid of windows and just install linux on it?

Yes, this is the preferred way as dual booting will lead to windows eventually messing up something on your Linux Partitions, and linux dosent need special hardware. However if you load up a USB stick with live images you can boot into Linux from the USB and test out the distros on your hardware to be sure it's working before installing.

I recommend the following

  • backup your data on any disk connected to the PC you want to install on.
  • install ventoy as it will allow you to make a multiboot USB that supports UEFI. Then all you need to do is load the USB with isos and boot into it either through your BIOS or a boot menu before windows starts.
  • just incase, you can also try to clone your windows install with clonezilla so if you need it you can just load it back up.
  • download any distributions you wish to test. The ones you listed are fine but i would also recommend an arch based distro like EndeavorOS
    • to try out distros without downloading, putting them on a USB and booting into them, you can try distrosea to try them in a browser.
[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

thanks! i keep most of my important things in google drive (for now) just for convenience purposes so i can sync back and forth so really the only things i need to do is reinstall all my apps. i do web development and right now i have wsl ubuntu so obviously that is easy to convert. i'm gonna get a usb this week and try this!

[–] CubitOom@infosec.pub 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

That's awesome. Although I can't recommend Ubuntu for noobs anymore

[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 21 hours ago

oh i don't like it either anymore :^