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I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

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Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#531

Post by mixmastamyk »

nikanj wrote: post #257
hackyhacky wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a non-issue if your files are stored in a partition separate from your OS, and is infeasible otherwise. * If you have a separate partition, you can replace your OS and your file remain untouched. * If you don't have a separate partition, your OS and your files will be replaced by the Linux installation. The only way to preserve your files is to copy to some external media before installation. Even if the Linu…

> This is a non-issue if your files are stored in a partition separate from your OS, and is infeasible otherwise. That is one of the biggest ifs of 2026. I don't think any major PC laptop vendor has ever sold consumer laptops with anything but one-big-partition layout. For the average user, their files are not stored in any partition, they are stored "right there on my desktop, with a separate folder for photos and b…

EFI/ESP and a restore partition have been standard or at least common for a decade. Restore partition might be big enough to install to… my Linux system partition is only 30GB.

But yes, been using a /data partition since it was called D:\ under DOS.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#532

Post by zekrioca »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #271
nh2 wrote: post #226

I'm using Linux on the desktop for 15 years and I still sometimes cannot connect to Wifi. This is because the list of network refreshes (and disappears) before I can find and click the correct Wifi: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/network-manager-applet/-/issu... This completely breaks the Linux experience for anybody living in a reasonably populous area. The issue has 3 upvotes. I also put a 400 $ bounty on it, if an…

I've been recommending Mint/Cinnamon over Ubuntu for years now. Its wifi widget does not do this, nor does it use snap.

I was really surprised with how well polished Mint is. Everything worked out of the box very snappy.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#533

Post by mixmastamyk »

nikanj wrote: post #258
BoredPositron wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What desktop OS offers file migration from a different desktop OS during installation on the same machine? Windows and macOS definelty not...

Windows definitely keeps your files right there in your Desktop / Documents folder when you update from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Like it or not, Aunt Clara is going to expect the same when she "upgrades" to Ubuntu.

Aunt Clara can ask Samantha to make a backup first.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#534

Post by mixmastamyk »

AviationAtom wrote: post #514
mixmastamyk wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does this work compared to VirtualBox?

KVM/QEMU is the only logical and sane choice on Linux, unless some tooling you're using requires VirtualBox. The key is to optimize and tweak all your host and guest settings, installing the guest tools too. Once you have it optimized it purrs.

Been using VB twenty years and mostly happy, but ready to try something new.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#535

Post by conz »

mft_ wrote: post #376
lpcvoid wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps you could have checked if the firmware was installed? Most distros have non free firmware in their packages, it just needs to be installed.

Or maybe the operating system should just work reliably for (at least) the basics? Or if it can’t, at least give an indication why? Blaming a new user like this is one of the cultural reasons why the ‘year of the Linux desktop’ has always been n+1.

Re: "Or maybe the operating system should just work reliably for (at least) the basics?"

So, out of curiosity, if I tried installing MacOS on any of the 15+ computers I have at home, what are the likely chances that this "operating system should just work reliably for (at least) the basics?"

I can tell you that my success rate with Linux is 100%.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#536

Post by frm88 »

0xperke wrote: post #44

For all who switched to Linux: which distro did you choose and why? Fedora: wanted to have the newest kernel and updates due to new hardware - so far i am really satisfied; the only issue i have is that the printer does not work everytime… as a workaround i print with my iphone instead.

Nobara 43 with KDE Plasma, which is a Fedora variant. I switched in October as a lifelong Windows user and was looking for some distro that would make my transition smooth, I didn't want to start my Linux experience with double pain: learn new OS and have to deal with various kinks. It was more than smooth: Nvidia 5090 with no hitch except a new driver - no prob. My old Kyocera printer worked on first try (never did with Windows). Nobara has a really competent and supportive Discord Community where you can get instant help - which I needed for the upgrade from 42 to 43. It's a small community of 30K people but there's always someone online to help. I appreciate that very much. Best decision ever. Next step: degoogle.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#537

Post by meatjuice »

Lvl999Noob wrote: post #206

I recently switched to linux from windows. The only reason I was sticking with windows was because hoyoverse refuses to support linux. I finally decided I need some break from them anyways and took the plunge. First, I tried to install fedora atomic cosmic. It kind of worked but I could not get it to work with my dock + external monitors at all. Now that I am used to that setup, I can't go back. Not wanting to spend…

Not only you could escape from Windows, you are now free from Genshin dark patterns.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#538

Post by shimman »

zekrioca wrote: post #532
mixmastamyk wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been recommending Mint/Cinnamon over Ubuntu for years now. Its wifi widget does not do this, nor does it use snap.

I was really surprised with how well polished Mint is. Everything worked out of the box very snappy.

Mint is my preferred OS for my homelab. Nice to have a decent GUI to plug into when using a KVM switch.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#539

Post by jijijijij »

0xperke wrote: post #44

For all who switched to Linux: which distro did you choose and why? Fedora: wanted to have the newest kernel and updates due to new hardware - so far i am really satisfied; the only issue i have is that the printer does not work everytime… as a workaround i print with my iphone instead.

Fedora.

Best Linux experience I've ever had. Using it for a few years now, but wish I switched sooner (been using various distros since Ubuntu 8.04). Dnf is GOAT, upgrades don't break shit, moderately up-to-date, but not bleeding-edge, vanilla Gnome, no bloat, full systemd commitment, btrfs, few idiosyncrasies, RPMs are widely available, flatpak for the rest. (Don't have a printer tho...)

However, due to e.g. the need to install the Fusion repo for non-free software, I don't think it's suitable for total non-tech beginners, who don't want to touch the terminal at all. Don't get me wrong, Fedora is extremely hands-off, default is bliss experience, but because of their software license policies you likely have to install the Fusion repo at some point and that's not the most straight-forward thing to do.

Only negative for me: The GUI updater wants to install updates during shutdown frequently, which is mighty annoying with full-disk encryption. I live dangerously and do my updates live with dnf, which by the way can be configured to fetch packages in the background, making updating super fast, no need for permanent internet connection.

If you are annoyed by Ubuntu, not old enough for Debian, but already fed up with Arch, please, do try Fedora!

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