Linux Mint is probably your best choice for the Windows like experience. I don’t necessarily like it but it has the “feel” of Windows.
You’ll need a program called Balena Etcher to write a bootable usb, download the version of Linux you want by going directly to the site. Most casual users like Ubuntu, smaller percentage use versions like Mint.
Balena Etcher will do all the work of getting the usb ready. Then back up all of your important files.
You can dual boot but there are some issues with that.
For gamers, last I checked Nobara is still one of the better distros for plug and play though any game with an anticheat will likely screw you over unless they explicitly whitelist Linux. Another option is what it is built off of, Fedora or Bazzite. Bazzite seems to be more up and coming in this space, as it seems to do a better job handling what Fedora sets out to do (as it is also built on Fedora).
All of these work for workstation use, although the inclusion of gaming related software (Steam, Lutris, etc.) would just be bloat if that's your main use case.
I'm not personally team Balena Etcher though, I tend to prefer Ventoy since I keep OS backups for Windows, Linux (especially SteamOS) etc. on it and Ventoy is a simple drag and drop process, and lets you use the stick for things outside of being a bootable disk.
For Mint vs Ubuntu though, a lot of prevailing opinion seems to generally be that Mint is flat out better for most average users. It's been a minute since I looked in on those conversations, but a quick search seems to yield basically the same sentiments.
I don't think average users can go wrong with Mint.
I can say that Mint, from a zero experience Linux person was really easy to kick off and install on an older Thinkpad. All drivers were there for every day functionality. I was able to load and specialty driver for one of my printers as well. Overall, mint for a newbie installed and functioned with ease, highly recommend. I have been on windows since the 3.0 / 3.11 days.
Note- this experience is solely based on a stand alone PC, no 3rd party apps other than a zebra driver.
Yeah, Mint and Bazzite in particular sound like some of the better installation experiences I've seen from Linux.
I had a few problems from Nobara, and Wayland always gave me problems on desktop that I couldn't successfully rid myself of and at the time IIRC Wayland was the only thing that worked properly with GSync/FreeSync, or it was driver related issues with the RTX 4090 which is not uncommon with Linux.
Hilariously, I think Thinkpads are probably still one of the favorites for installing Linux on when it comes to workstation / every day use.
I'm riding my Windows 7 key out until Microsoft finally tries to make me pay directly for it, and then I'll probably end up jumping to Bazzite for my personal PC personally. Provided that everything functions properly which is a hit or miss on high end components.
Linux is probably one of my favorite OS platforms to look at, KDE Plasma and Gnome are both pretty damn neat with so many options.
Cinnamon (the most popular desktop environment for Mint, apparently) also looks close enough to Windows that I would be inclined to agree that transition should be pretty smooth in terms of visual familiarity.
Yes I may be nerding out right now about Linux and I definitely don't have 20 different tabs open catching up on things that have changed since I last used it.
My friend installed Ubuntu on his Mac and thought it was alright, but then he tried Mint and liked it better. Mint is based on Ubuntu, but goes an extra step to win over converts.
I just have to add, almost any linux distro is good for gaming. I‘m gaming on Mint, with an nVidia GPU, and thanks to the in-built driver manager of Linux Mint, setting up the GPU was a breeze.
For windows games, just install Steam from the Repository, or Heroic for Epic and GoG games, and lutris for the rest.
And you can also run most (not all unfortunately) windows programs with WINE, a compatibilty layer that „translates“ between Linux and the programs. There‘s an application called „Bottles“ which makes setting up WINE pretty easy.
Yeah, you can make it work but if your express purpose is gaming, the distros I listed are more focused and also come bundled with necessary drivers and other software like Gamescope (Valve's micro compositor) and also makes it a breeze to update everything required.
Gaming on Linux is also better in 99% of instances if you have it working properly.
Linux is nowhere near as bloated as Windows, so that frame pacing yum.
As a previous SLES and Mint user I have been championing the HOLO iso steam OS for gaming PCs. It's an arch linux distro that steam uses for their steam deck and runs amazingly on PC hardware. It has a familiar windows feel to the desktop, full nvidia support built in and it's extremely easy to install from a thumb drive. I cannot recommend this enough.
HoloISO is also an immutable OS, which does make it easier for the end user to ensure that updating the OS retains its functionality. Although some people prefer not to go down that route, it's probably one of the best things for newbies.
Mint Ubuntu Etcher Ventoy Bezzite Fedora Nobara....Call me cynical, but I'm thinking yah really are going to lose most the public that has a hard time understanding the difference between USB-A and USB-C. Although it does sound like a good time to rework my network & passwords right now for some reason, no matter how bad I cringe at the thought.
XFCE (Mate's window manager) is nice if one wants to dig in and customize. I use it on my Debian 12 install (13" Macbook Pro from 2010). I only mention it because that's another beauty of Linux- the freedom to do what you want to your OS. I built mine from a basic install, piece by piece, and it's blazingly fast on that old machine. Definitely not something new Linux users will do (and vanilla Debian is probably not the best distro to start with for them), but just an example of what they could eventually do.
That's true about XFCE on Debian, however Mate on Ubuntu isn't something you have to fiddle with. I used to run Debian with the Mate desktop, but I kept having issues with USB devices not working unless I updated permissions and decided to switch to Ubuntu.
It's the same with secondary hard drives as well, with Debian, as I found out. Not for those new to Linux, as I stated, but I just wanted to mention the possibilities for those who like to get their hands dirty. I always suggest Manjaro, Mint, or Ubuntu to those who want to try Linux out, and suggest that they stick to vanilla installs.
I use POP_OS! -- yes, weird name, but a really nice Linux distribution. And for all of us out there that are tech support for their family: I switched my Mom from Windows to Linux with almost zero learning issues, because the POP_OS! experience is very user friendly.
Use some search-fu for clear directions - it's not as hard as you think to switch out your machine. (Example article)
How do you fo this?
I am not real computer savvy.
Linux Mint is probably your best choice for the Windows like experience. I don’t necessarily like it but it has the “feel” of Windows.
You’ll need a program called Balena Etcher to write a bootable usb, download the version of Linux you want by going directly to the site. Most casual users like Ubuntu, smaller percentage use versions like Mint.
Balena Etcher will do all the work of getting the usb ready. Then back up all of your important files.
You can dual boot but there are some issues with that.
Linux Mint is pretty mint for sure.
For gamers, last I checked Nobara is still one of the better distros for plug and play though any game with an anticheat will likely screw you over unless they explicitly whitelist Linux. Another option is what it is built off of, Fedora or Bazzite. Bazzite seems to be more up and coming in this space, as it seems to do a better job handling what Fedora sets out to do (as it is also built on Fedora).
All of these work for workstation use, although the inclusion of gaming related software (Steam, Lutris, etc.) would just be bloat if that's your main use case.
I'm not personally team Balena Etcher though, I tend to prefer Ventoy since I keep OS backups for Windows, Linux (especially SteamOS) etc. on it and Ventoy is a simple drag and drop process, and lets you use the stick for things outside of being a bootable disk.
For Mint vs Ubuntu though, a lot of prevailing opinion seems to generally be that Mint is flat out better for most average users. It's been a minute since I looked in on those conversations, but a quick search seems to yield basically the same sentiments.
I don't think average users can go wrong with Mint.
I can say that Mint, from a zero experience Linux person was really easy to kick off and install on an older Thinkpad. All drivers were there for every day functionality. I was able to load and specialty driver for one of my printers as well. Overall, mint for a newbie installed and functioned with ease, highly recommend. I have been on windows since the 3.0 / 3.11 days.
Note- this experience is solely based on a stand alone PC, no 3rd party apps other than a zebra driver.
Yeah, Mint and Bazzite in particular sound like some of the better installation experiences I've seen from Linux.
I had a few problems from Nobara, and Wayland always gave me problems on desktop that I couldn't successfully rid myself of and at the time IIRC Wayland was the only thing that worked properly with GSync/FreeSync, or it was driver related issues with the RTX 4090 which is not uncommon with Linux.
Hilariously, I think Thinkpads are probably still one of the favorites for installing Linux on when it comes to workstation / every day use.
I'm riding my Windows 7 key out until Microsoft finally tries to make me pay directly for it, and then I'll probably end up jumping to Bazzite for my personal PC personally. Provided that everything functions properly which is a hit or miss on high end components.
Linux is probably one of my favorite OS platforms to look at, KDE Plasma and Gnome are both pretty damn neat with so many options.
Cinnamon (the most popular desktop environment for Mint, apparently) also looks close enough to Windows that I would be inclined to agree that transition should be pretty smooth in terms of visual familiarity.
Yes I may be nerding out right now about Linux and I definitely don't have 20 different tabs open catching up on things that have changed since I last used it.
My friend installed Ubuntu on his Mac and thought it was alright, but then he tried Mint and liked it better. Mint is based on Ubuntu, but goes an extra step to win over converts.
I just have to add, almost any linux distro is good for gaming. I‘m gaming on Mint, with an nVidia GPU, and thanks to the in-built driver manager of Linux Mint, setting up the GPU was a breeze.
For windows games, just install Steam from the Repository, or Heroic for Epic and GoG games, and lutris for the rest.
And you can also run most (not all unfortunately) windows programs with WINE, a compatibilty layer that „translates“ between Linux and the programs. There‘s an application called „Bottles“ which makes setting up WINE pretty easy.
Yeah, you can make it work but if your express purpose is gaming, the distros I listed are more focused and also come bundled with necessary drivers and other software like Gamescope (Valve's micro compositor) and also makes it a breeze to update everything required.
Gaming on Linux is also better in 99% of instances if you have it working properly.
Linux is nowhere near as bloated as Windows, so that frame pacing yum.
As a previous SLES and Mint user I have been championing the HOLO iso steam OS for gaming PCs. It's an arch linux distro that steam uses for their steam deck and runs amazingly on PC hardware. It has a familiar windows feel to the desktop, full nvidia support built in and it's extremely easy to install from a thumb drive. I cannot recommend this enough.
HoloISO is also an immutable OS, which does make it easier for the end user to ensure that updating the OS retains its functionality. Although some people prefer not to go down that route, it's probably one of the best things for newbies.
I forgot to include HoloISO for sure!
Mint Ubuntu Etcher Ventoy Bezzite Fedora Nobara....Call me cynical, but I'm thinking yah really are going to lose most the public that has a hard time understanding the difference between USB-A and USB-C. Although it does sound like a good time to rework my network & passwords right now for some reason, no matter how bad I cringe at the thought.
Some people like to go deeper into it or have a more focused use case 😂
It's never a bad time to verify your security though!
Thank you.
This is way over my pay grade.
I am friends with our IT guy at work. I asked him to navigate through this with me.
I use Ubuntu with the Mate desktop. Mate is more of an "old school" desktop. https://ubuntu-mate.org
XFCE (Mate's window manager) is nice if one wants to dig in and customize. I use it on my Debian 12 install (13" Macbook Pro from 2010). I only mention it because that's another beauty of Linux- the freedom to do what you want to your OS. I built mine from a basic install, piece by piece, and it's blazingly fast on that old machine. Definitely not something new Linux users will do (and vanilla Debian is probably not the best distro to start with for them), but just an example of what they could eventually do.
That's true about XFCE on Debian, however Mate on Ubuntu isn't something you have to fiddle with. I used to run Debian with the Mate desktop, but I kept having issues with USB devices not working unless I updated permissions and decided to switch to Ubuntu.
It's the same with secondary hard drives as well, with Debian, as I found out. Not for those new to Linux, as I stated, but I just wanted to mention the possibilities for those who like to get their hands dirty. I always suggest Manjaro, Mint, or Ubuntu to those who want to try Linux out, and suggest that they stick to vanilla installs.
Thank you.
I am learning so much.
https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
One way to do it.
Thank you.
linux is a great way to learn more about how computers work too. you will eventually get comfortable using the terminal and never want to go back
Thank you.
I am friends with our work IT guy.
I asked him to help me navigate through this.
I use POP_OS! -- yes, weird name, but a really nice Linux distribution. And for all of us out there that are tech support for their family: I switched my Mom from Windows to Linux with almost zero learning issues, because the POP_OS! experience is very user friendly.
Use some search-fu for clear directions - it's not as hard as you think to switch out your machine. (Example article)
Thank you.
I didn't know this.