Make sure you do this right. Do not abandon or wipe your old system yet.
Write a live version of whatever distro you choose (I recommend Linux Mint) to a USB stick and boot from that so that you have time to adjust to the learning curve.
You can use an external hard drive to do this as well. That way you can go back to Windows etc if you need to for a specific reason whilst you are learning about how much better Linux is.
A bootable USB is easy but persistence (retains changes after reboot) is a bit more complicated.
You will need two USB sticks to do this, but it is worth the fucking around. (One to burn a live version without persistence, then to install MK-USB on and then use that to install a live version with persistence to the other USB.)
Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu and this method will work for Mint. Do not use Ubuntu as their company has been subverted.
This OS works so well off the USB stick I am able to use a 12 year old PC as a home entertainment system that runs 4k video like charm (with RX 570 video upgrade).
You can just totally leave windows where it is for now and dip your toes risk free.
I was about to write a new top-level comment about Live CDs/bootable USBs, but then I found this comment. I would absolutely recommend going this route, as you can really experiment with a distro until you feel comfortable or try out several different distros until you find one you like.
Another great use for Live CDs/bootable USBs is to load some with an assortment of tools for diagnostics/recovery, or if you want to be able to borrow nearly any computer from a friend or family member and have a consistent desktop experience and be less worried about any malware that might have been installed on their system.
Yeah, that is true. System recovery is another good use for these live installations, I have one myself with a desktop and system recovery and partitioning tools etc.
Make sure you do this right. Do not abandon or wipe your old system yet. Write a live version of whatever distro you choose (I recommend Linux Mint) to a USB stick and boot from that so that you have time to adjust to the learning curve.
You can use an external hard drive to do this as well. That way you can go back to Windows etc if you need to for a specific reason whilst you are learning about how much better Linux is.
A bootable USB is easy but persistence (retains changes after reboot) is a bit more complicated.
You could do this the hard way:- https://learnlinuxandlibreoffice.org/2-linux-to-the-rescue/2-3-create-a-usb-stick-with-persistent-storage
Or you could just use a linux program called MK-USB which will do it all for you.
https://www.linuxfordevices.com/tutorials/ubuntu/ubuntu-persistence-mkusb
You will need two USB sticks to do this, but it is worth the fucking around. (One to burn a live version without persistence, then to install MK-USB on and then use that to install a live version with persistence to the other USB.)
Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu and this method will work for Mint. Do not use Ubuntu as their company has been subverted.
This OS works so well off the USB stick I am able to use a 12 year old PC as a home entertainment system that runs 4k video like charm (with RX 570 video upgrade).
You can just totally leave windows where it is for now and dip your toes risk free.
I was about to write a new top-level comment about Live CDs/bootable USBs, but then I found this comment. I would absolutely recommend going this route, as you can really experiment with a distro until you feel comfortable or try out several different distros until you find one you like.
Another great use for Live CDs/bootable USBs is to load some with an assortment of tools for diagnostics/recovery, or if you want to be able to borrow nearly any computer from a friend or family member and have a consistent desktop experience and be less worried about any malware that might have been installed on their system.
Yeah, that is true. System recovery is another good use for these live installations, I have one myself with a desktop and system recovery and partitioning tools etc.