Finally making the transition from Windows to a Linux. I’m pretty sure it’s been asked several times but which Linux OS would you recommend a beginner to use? I’ve seen Ubuntu and Mint as a good start. Not looking to do much. Game here and there (not too worried about Linux compatibility), streaming, editing videos. If I break any rules. I’m sorry.
Start with Mint. You can always try something else when you’re more comfortable with Linux.
Mint is also one of the biggest distros which is a factor in getting help. Any problem you may have, chances are, somebody already posted the solution.
I should really give mint a try. I like Ubuntu for both of these reasons, even if it does have snaps.
I agree, for a new user everything including installing nvidia drivers is in a GUI. And if you run into issue due to the size of both Mint and its base Ubuntu, searching for the problems usually results in a solution.
I have been using Mint for a long while now, and I’ve been very happy with it. Can’t say I’ve felt the need to try anything else…
Mint or Fedora. You’ll get tons of responses, and none of them are wrong, because no one can tell you what’s best for you, but those are the most popular choices among newbies, and they are very user friendly and approachable.
The best advice I can give you is try a bunch of different ones and see which one you like best. They’re free and easy to reinstall if you end up liking one over another.
Best of luck and I hope you find one that you truly love. :)
I started and ended with mint. Donknow about video editing, but it just worked. It’s like everything windows p should have been. No bs, easy interface, easy to fix. Do it
Do you know anyone in real life that has some experience with Linux, and is willing to help you out with it? If yes, use the same distribution (distro, or “OS”) as they do.
If not, as others said, Mint is a good start.
I use KDE neon, I’d never recommend it to my friends though because quirks pop up every now and then and disappear after a couple of weeks.
I’d tell them to use Kubuntu which is just much more stable and is the same thing without quirks.
I considering moving to Hyperland on Arch which I’d recommend even less.
Even then, I think “check nearby people for what they use” shouldn’t be underestimated. Of course you wouldn’t tell them to use Neon itself, but if they’re using Kubuntu you’d probably be abler to help them than if they were to use, say, Mint, right?
My point is, that people underestimate the power of offline help, and having acquaintances who know the system well enough to help you out. And that matters a lot when picking your starting distro.
I shifted from Neon to Kubuntu on my work machine. Figured that Neon was a good shout because it’s the official KDE distro, only to later discover that KDE now consider it to be end of life, and are working on a replacement.
Kubuntu is basically the same (from my perspective), but has continuing support.
Neon is still alive and well but there’s going to be another reference implementation of KDE coming soon so I’m getting worried.
I will be the black sheep that strongly recommend against Mint. I have had more hardware compatibility problems trying to run Mint than any other distro. This is anecdotal, but consistent enough that I would make bets on it. Secondly, I hate Cinnamon, the default desktop environment. There are better choices.
Instead, I’ll suggest Fedora KDE. It’s rock solid, reliable, and the KDE Plasma desktop is the best currently available whether you leave it stock or customize it.
If you want to try things out, set up a spare thumb drive with Ventoy, which will let you boot to any ISO you copy to it. Most distros have “live” versions that you can boot to from the thumb drive and try out before installing. That said, most linux distros install in 5 minutes, so don’t be afraid to try anything and everything you’re curious about.
Also, avoid Cachy or other Arch based distros for now. They are great, but a far more hands-on. Something for the future, when you are more comfortable with linux in general.
Fedora is a good option. I’m surprised to hear about hardware incompatibilities with Mint, though. Do you have obscure or bleeding-edge hardware?
I’ll +1 the Ventoy suggestion. Lets you try lots of things easily. Try at least Fedora KDE, Ubuntu, and Mint. Go with whichever feels good to you when you try them out.
You don’t really need to be bleeding edge to have some hardware issues or Cinnamon Mint. Their wayland transition is still ongoing so HDR, variable refresh rate, fractional scaling and maybe some bugs for specific hardware might be present. X11 has also seen a lot less love recently after the major distros stopped actively supporting it.
KDE has nailed the Wayland transition so moving to Fedora KDE would have fixed Wayland/X11 bugs.
I guess I would classify features like variable refresh rates and fractional scaling as “advanced”, but that’s fair. I moved from Cinnamon to Gnome because wayland was working better for me, so fair point. I imagine it won’t be too long before Cinnamon catches up, though.
For now, I’m just using a handful of extensions to make Gnome feel more like Cinnamon. Can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of KDE, but that’s just me.
Quite frankly Linux mint and Cinnamon by extension is X11 software and I dont expect the transition to be completed anytime in the foreseeable future let alone acturally start for users. Even with their incredibly slow adoption of Wayland im shocked they’re going this fast, I thought they would wait another several years. Linux Mint is stable software and they’re significantly less willing to make any changes than even Debian.
(Btw its just testing atm, nothing exists for users yet)
Finally someone else said it.
Just adding that since they game Bazzite is maybe the better option but still fedora based.
But I’ve too seen compatibility issues recently with Ubuntu and Ubuntu based distros, but not really with Debian based ones (yes, even though Ubuntu is based on Debian). I don’t know why, but even MX has given me less troubles recently than Mint (not that I’d recommend base MX though - I just heavily customized it so that it’s elderly friendly, so people who basically barely can use a browser and have poor eyesight).
Its not that bad to start with arch it’s not as hard as it used to be. I started with endeavourOS approximately a year ago and most things just work out of the box and you don’t need to do much and honestly i find it easier than having to navigate layers of abstractions.
Most of my time went into configuring stuff like hyprland, nvim and other stuff and arch just worked.
I came with 0 linux knowledge, the only terminal commands i knew were cd and ls and if not for arch I don’t think I would have been hooked on linux. That being said, I get it and sometimes it is frustrating but just putting it out there that it’s doable.
I started with EndeavourOS also (earlier this year) and it has been amazing. Also only little bit of Linux knowledge beforehand. Honestly think using a terminal centric distro is helpful for learning.
I moved an older relative to Mint and I regret it. Weird lagging and display server crashes sometimes, probably because of X11. Plus it’s release cycle is very slow, so old packages. Ubuntu is far from my favorite distro, but at least it uses a DE with first class Wayland support.
@BlameTheAntifa @TheMilk same here, no mint, it is too messy
I have Mint on the 2014 Mac mini I use as a media and Home Assistant server. It was my first dabble with Linux, and I now wish it used Plasma instead of Cinnamon. My other Linux machines are running Kubuntu with Plasma, and they’re great, so logging into Cinnamon always feels like a step backwards somehow.
I could try changing the DE on it, but I’m not massively proficient, and don’t want to have to set everything back up again if I fuck it up.
Mint doesn’t officially support KDE and there are known issues if you do it yourself. You’d be better off switching distros if you like that desktop. Pure Debian + KDE might be a more comfortable move in that situation.
Yeah, which is part of what’s stopping me. I can’t really be bothered to spend the time putting everything back as it should be if I bugger it up. Which I will.
So for now it works and it works very well. And I guess I’ll leave it that way.
Also, avoid Cachy or other Arch based distros for now. They are great, but a far more hands-on. Something for the future, when you are more comfortable with linux in general.
Yeah, I recently switched from Mint to EndeavourOS which is Arch, and it breaks way more often. But I must admit, it’s more stable than Debian was 15 years ago, so I assume that Linux is getting friendlier in general
editing videos
What program will you use?
I have heard that DaVinci resolve is very hard to set up. as for Kdenlive, I have used it few times, and it felt very clunky.
I would go with mint if you have older hardware and bazzite if you have new hardware (especially nvidia graphics card). If you really want windows-like layout check zorin OS.
for actuall advice: I would try a bunch of them and stick with one where video editing works.
I have heard that DaVinci resolve is very hard to set up.
On Bazzite (and probably the other ublue distros as well), you can run
ujust install-resolveon the terminal, and that’s it, you’re good to goAnd it works great when installed that way.
Besides almost everything availiable to try on Windows before the switch, I’ve seen Nobara writing on their page about their media-focus, mentioning DaVinci Resolve workarounds from out of the box. I’ve not tried it yet.
Mint is popular for beginners. I went with Debian KDE because I wanted something a little more minimalistic and boring. Fedora and OpenSUSE are also good options.
If you want to stick with a Windows-like desktop, pick a KDE distro over GNOME.
This question is probably as old as Linux itself. While many (me included) do not like Ubuntu anymore, I still think its a good operating system for newcomers to Linux. Not at last because of the community it has. Ubuntu is only by those dislike who are long enough in this game. There are also different variants with different user interfaces and such (like Kubuntu).
The community has been the secret sauce for me.
Go with Mint until you learn more about how Linux filesystems work and then you can go wherever you feel comfortable. Mint just has a really easy install.
What is there to learn about Linux filesystems? How is it different from a Windows filesystem, from the perspective of an average user?
Lesson one: files Lesson two: folders Here’s your diploma.
You will probably come across having to fiddle with rights, which isn’t really a thing on Windows
I use Arch BTW. Haven’t had to fiddle with rights in the last 10 years.
I’ve had to do it a bit on Mint. I have a couple of programs that only come as AppImages and need to be redownloaded everytime there is an uppdate, which means I have to set the rights again. It’s also been a thing when setting up qbittorrent and jellyfin.
Linux filesystems exam time:
section A basics
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what does CoW stand for?
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evaluate through pros and cons which you personally would pick: Btrfs, ZFS, F2FS, bcachefs, OverlayFS, aufs, Nilfs2, JFFS2, UBIFS
section B btefs
- what exactly happens when running this command, including how qgroups, compression, and recursion interact?
btrfs balance start -dusage=5 -musage=20 -c zstd \ --bg /srv/vms && \ btrfs qgroup limit 50G /srv/vms/guests/win10- explain the effect of the following command on device allocation, RAID reshaping, and metadsta distribution:
btrfs device add -f /dev/nvme2n1 /home && \ btrfs balance start -mconvert=raid1 -dconvert=raid1 -sconvert=dup /home- describe what this snapshotting pipeline does, including send stream structure, parent selection, and how receive-side overwrites are handled:
btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /opt/app /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) && \ btrfs send -c -p /opt/.snaps/last-full \ /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) \ | ssh backup 'btrfs receive -f /backup/opt/incoming'- what actions occur on the filesystem when this defrag call is executed, especially regarding extent sharing and how compression interacts?
btrfs filesystem defrag -r -v -czstd:15 \ /var/lib/docker/overlay2- analyze subvolume management sequence, including how default-subvolume selection influences mount behavior:
btrfs subvolume delete /mnt/root/@old && \ btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /mnt/root/@clean /mnt/root/@ && \ btrfs subvolume set-default 256 /mnt/root
section C zfs
[…]
/s
That’s for sysadmins.
These days I don’t even care what fs I use, I just let the distro choose its default, I simply make sure encryption is enabled.
It’s really touching that you consider me to be a sysadmin, because I use Linux and know how my fs works. I’m actually kinda proud of myself. My arch install has been working for many years.
Are you saying that you use arch btw?
I use arch btw. Do you also use arch btw?
I used to use arch btw, but then I grew old and moved to Fedora. Then I saw the light and installed Bazzite on everything, even my coffe machine. It’s got RGB now.
You should install Bazzite, save your soul.
Answer for all questions: the average user doesn’t care, won’t run any of those, won’t know what fs is on their system because they will choose the default what the installer suggests. Same as they have no idea about all the ntfs or exfat details of their windows system.
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Mount points instead of drives
“What’s a mount point? I just click on the disk icon on my desktop, it shows up when I plug in the USB thingy.”
- Average user
mint
Just adding to the numbers recommending Linux Mint. Once it’s set up you don’t really need to fiddle with it much/at all. Software manager is easy to use to find what you need for your tasks.
Bazzite if you want gaming working well without adding packages manually.
Aurora is the desktop/workstation version of Bazzite, btw.
Mint is the OS of choice for beginners. It’s hassle free and it just works. Ubuntu is good, but its snap package got a bad rap when it was launched. It’s not that bad. But it gets confusing since you end up with 3 different software packaging systems. (Apt with .deb files, Flatpak and Snap)
Personally I use Kubuntu, the KDE Plasma desktop version because it’s so much more like Windows and has many more features. I don’t mind the Snap packages, but I avoid them if I can if I can use Flatpak instead. Snap and Flatpak are essentially the same thing: it installs and runs software in a sandboxed environment which makes it safer to use.
Same. Kubuntu for its familiar Windows-like interface.
Generally you should be considering which desktop environment(DE) you want to use as well, cause it’s the main thing you’ll be looking at.
Mint is a good beginner, no fuss distro that runs the Cinnamon DE by default. It’s also based on Ubuntu, built on top of the normal version of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu has several different options for DEs distributed as ‘flavors’ - Ubuntu itself comes with GNOME, but there’s also Kubuntu which has KDE, and multiple other options available.
If you’ve got the time and a free USB drive, I’d recommend making bootable media for a few options to try them out - both Mint and Ubuntu(as well as many other different distros) have live environments to play around in when you go to install them, and it’s worth trying out a few different DEs to see which one you like.
OpenSUSE, Fedora, maybe Ubuntu. I’d avoid immutable style distros like bazzite. They make things easier at the beginning but have other downsides where “normal” solutions need additional steps.
It’s been asked a million times, and it’ll be answered every time, and the answers will mostly be “Mint, Fedora, FedoraKDE, and if you wanna game Bazzite.”
The real advice that gets posted less, regardless of distro:
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Back up your important files to an external drive, often. It’s entirely possible you’ll fuck up an install beyond repair (or beyond what you know how to do at the time) and you end up reinstalling. If you can just put your important files back and be up and running, nothing of value is lost.
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Don’t be scared of the terminal, it’s incredibly useful. Look up a few YT vids like “bash basics” or “linux terminal for beginners” or something and follow along like it’s a class, you’ll soon be comfortable enough to use it when you need it, and you will, and you may come to love it. It’s not as bad as windows cmd! Be careful when using sudo or su, that’s when you could really screw up the system (but mostly it’ll be fine just be careful.
And most importantly, have fun!
Here’s an absolute classic unix koan about the terminal:
One evening, Master Foo and Nubi attended a gathering of programmers who had met to learn from each other. One of the programmers asked Nubi to what school he and his master belonged. Upon being told they were followers of the Great Way of Unix, the programmer grew scornful.
“The command-line tools of Unix are crude and backward,” he scoffed. “Modern, properly designed operating systems do everything through a graphical user interface.”
Master Foo said nothing, but pointed at the moon. A nearby dog began to bark at the master’s hand.
“I don’t understand you!” said the programmer.
Master Foo remained silent, and pointed at an image of the Buddha. Then he pointed at a window.
“What are you trying to tell me?” asked the programmer.
Master Foo pointed at the programmer’s head. Then he pointed at a rock.
“Why can’t you make yourself clear?” demanded the programmer.
Master Foo frowned thoughtfully, tapped the programmer twice on the nose, and dropped him in a nearby trashcan.
As the programmer was attempting to extricate himself from the garbage, the dog wandered over and piddled on him.
At that moment, the programmer achieved enlightenment
Source: https://catb.org/~esr/writings/unix-koans/gui-programmer.html
I need Peter Griffin to explain this one
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