Linux 101:
- Part 1 – Why you should switch to Linux.
- Part 2 – (this article) [Guide] Switching from Windows to Linux.
Okay! So you want to make the switch to Linux, but not sure how? You’ve come to the right place. This guide will get you started quick & easy.
For this guide, we will be focusing on Ubuntu or Arch-based distros.
I. What Desktop Environment (DE) do you want?
A Desktop Environment (DE) is simply what your desktop & GUI looks like. There are infinte combinations but at it’s core, they all run Linux. An analogy would be a very powerful engine (Linux kernel) that can go into many different cars, trucks, vans, etc (the DE) — no matter what the outside looks like, it’ll still run the same.
This list is not all-encompassing and there are many more DEs to choose from: i3, awesome, openbox, budgie, deepin, etc…
- Windows 7 feel (simple, practical, minimalistic, lightweight):
- XFCE -> Manjaro XFCE, EndeavourOS, Xubuntu, Linux Mint XFCE,
- LXDE/LXQT -> Manjaro LXDE, Manjaro LXQT, EndeavourOS, Lubuntu,
- MATE -> Manjaro MATE, EndeavourOS,
- Mac OS feel (flashy graphics, dock, customization, heavier CPU/GPU usage):
- KDE Plasma -> Manjaro KDE Plasma, EndeavourOS, Kubuntu,
- Cinnamon -> Manjaro Cinnamon, EndeavourOS,
- Gnome -> Manjaro Gnome, Pop!_OS, EndeavourOS, or default Ubuntu
II. Needed Items:
- Your computer
- A backup drive with enough space to backup all of your data. Rule of thumb = If you think you need 1 TB, buy the next size up (2 TB)
- A separate (empty) USB drive to act as your install media (need at least a 4GB USB drive)
- A download of your Linux distro of choice (it will be a .ISO file, \~2GB)
- Etcher, a simple way to create a Linux Install USB from a .ISO file
- Enable booting from a USB drive in your UEFI/BIOS (on some computers, this may be automatic) on the target computer (the computer that you are going to install Linux onto).
III. How to access the BIOS boot menu:
If you don’t know how to get into your BIOS, try any of these key combos for your computer manufacturer or motherboard manufacturer if you built your own PC. This list is not 100% accurate for all models/manufacturers, so either Google your computer model number or try any of the keys listed below to see if one works:
HP = ESC, F9 (boot menu) — F10, F2, F6 (BIOS)
Dell = F12 (boot menu) — F2, DEL (BIOS)
Acer = F12, ESC (boot menu) — F2, DEL (BIOS)
ASUS = ESC, F8 (boot menu) — F9, DEL, F2 (BIOS)
ASRock = F8, F11, F12 (boot menu) — F2, DEL (BIOS)
Gigabyte = F12 (boot menu) — DEL (BIOS)
MSI = F11 (boot menu) — DEL (BIOS)
This website is helpful = Booting to the Boot Menu and BIOS – University of Wisconsin-Madison Knowledgebase
IV. Steps:
- Download your Linux distro
- Backup all of your files from Windows before you install another OS (Desktop files, My Documents folders for game-saves, & other partitions on your main drive unless you know what you are doing)
- Double-check all your files with all your backup files!
- Safely remove your backup media, and make sure no other removable media is inserted
- Insert the USB flash drive that you want to use as you Linux install media
- Start up Etcher, select the Linux Distro image (.ISO), select the USB drive, click “Flash” to start
- Etcher will finish creating your new Linux Live USB on your flash drive
- If you’re installing Linux on the same computer, leave the new flash drive in
- If not, then safely remove your flash drive and put it in the target computer
- Reboot your target computer, and get into it’s boot menu
- See the previous section for help: (III. How to access the BIOS boot menu)
- Select “USB Drive” (or equivalent) from the boot menu
- Wait until the Linux live environment loads up, and select “Install” (or equivalent) from the menu
- Walk-through the guided installer…
* Select your keyboard layout
* Select “Install third party software/drivers/applications” (or equivalent)
* Either erase the whole HDD/SSD and install Linux (default), or choose to partition your drive (advanced)
* Select your timezone
* Enter your name, computer name (generally “yourname-pc”), and your username (can be the same as your username)
* Create a secure, yet memorable, password (Example = https://xkcd.com/936/ ) - When it’s done installing, it should ask you to remove your installation media (USB drive), and then reboot!
- Congrats!
V. Appendix:
Helpful Tips/Tricks:
- Linux is case-sensitive (“New Folder” =/= “new folder”, “filename” =/= “FiLeNaMe”)
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Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts (“Super/Meta Key” = “Windows Key”):
- Ctrl+Alt+T (or Super+T)= Opens a Terminal
- Super+E = Opens the Text Editor
- Super+F = Opens the File Manager
- Super+W = Opens the Web Browser
Helpful Programs:
- conky & conkyman = tool for desktop gadgets
- gparted = very handy partition editor
- gnome-disk-utility = very handy disk utility/mount editor
- grub-customizer = tool to customize the grub boot loader
- gtkhash = utility to verify hashes/checksums, great for checking the data integrity of your .ISO files
- kolourpaint-4 = it’s the closest to MS-Paint you can find
- neofetch = cool system info page
- notepadqq = a notepad++ clone
- peazip = a better archive manager, like a 7zip clone
- psensor = tool to monitor CPU, GPU, HDD/SSD temperatures
- qdirstat = a directory tree analyzer (like windirstat without the Pac-Man progress bar)
- ukuu = great utility to switch and upgrade Linux kernels
- blender = good 3D rendering program
- handbrake = good video encoder
- vlc = multi-platform video player
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<Original work by BenBRockN. Feel free to reblog, ONLY if you give credit to the original author (me). Thanks!>