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

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

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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

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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.

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[–] kabi@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

You needn't be. 99% of everything comes with Linux itself, no matter the distro. I guess your machine doesn't have a(n nvidia) GPU, so no need to think about it. You should forget about fingerprint readers, and some special/niche stuff like audio producing gear or weird controllers you might have to look up if they are supported at all by the company, Linux itself, or a third party.

I'll put in the obligatory recommendation for Mint. It's just slick and does most you'd want, how you'd want. I hear Pop OS (by system76) is great for beginners too, if you are considering buying a laptop of theirs, or just want to try that one out for whatever reason.

[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 22 hours ago

i'll look at that too! yeah pop os is on the system76 ones but you can also swap out to ubuntu. :)