Some Ways to Get Started with Linux

[raymac46]

I happily use both Windows 11 and Linux at home, and I have a fair bit of Linux experience as a desktop user. I thought I might discuss a few ways a new user to Linux might get started:
1. You can run Linux natively in Windows with WSL but it looks a bit too technical for a new user so I won't go there.
2. You can install Linux in a virtual machine using VMware or VirtualBox software. This isn't too bad a method but it does take a bit of know-how, especially if you want to run full screen.
3. A good way is to choose your favorite distro - say Linux Mint - and download an ISO image which you can then put on a USB flash drive. You can set up your Windows PC to boot from the drive into Linux, explore the desktop and check out if all your hardware works. You won't do anything to mess up your Windows installation, and the flash drive is portable.
4. My personal preference would be to get an old laptop or desktop system that doesn't run the latest Windows, or that you are ready to recycle. Then you can reformat its hard drive and install Linux as a backup or testing machine. I have done this many times, and my favorite PC for this is an old Thinkpad.
If any of this is of interest to you I can flesh out the options in more detail.

[Corrine]

Since I understand from my (limited) reading, Linux Mint is often recommended for beginners.  I gather the same iso can be used to boot from a flash drive on a Windows PC or used for installing on an old laptop/desktop.  If that is the case, it wouldn't hurt to provide a link to the latest Linux Mint iso.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

The Linux Mint Installation Guide

Have FUN!  :)

[raymac46]

Eric's link is excellent and should answer most questions.
If you have a machine that is 6 years of age or newer, and has 4GB or more RAM, I would choose Cinnamon as my desktop. It is very slick and easy to use. For older machines with less RAM the Xfce desktop would be good.

[Corrine]

For that situation, why would you choose Cinnamon instead of Linux Mint?

[raymac46]

Cinnamon is the Linux Mint default desktop environment.

https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=281

[xrobwx71]

Mint is very good for beginners especially people coming from Windows. It's a more comfortable introduction to Linux and its Terminal. (It was for me anyway)

[Hedon James]

Agree with everyone else here, regarding Mint for new users to Linux.

Most Windows users are just that....."users"; folks who want to use their operating system (OS) to get something done, while the OS stays "out of the way".  Unfortunately, Windows has historically pestered the user to update fairly often, and most Win users I know will ignore those notices until the system crashes.  Win10 kinda sorta addressed this by downloading updates automatically, installing automatically, then warning the user it was going to shut down and install updates at a pre-determined interval.  Not much user interaction, or cooperation, required; just awareness.  But most users will still try to delay that install/restart sequence, because Windows seems to have a knack for forcing that issue in the middle of the user's most pressing moment of computer use....the middle of filling out an online form, or halfway through a Quicken check run, or the last paragraph of that research paper.

Linux Mint is probably the least intrusive Linux OS for new users, which seldom requires updating; and almost never crashes even when the updates are ignored.  I've only installed Mint on 1 machine, when I first started on my Linux exploration, although I still fire it up occasionally in a VM to keep tabs on it.  Not sure if it's still the same, but in my experience, Mint seldom requires updates, and nothing bad happens when the updates are ignored.  Even better, Mint almost never upgrades the kernel, so a shutdown/restart is never required; which seems to be the reason most Windows users avoid updates?!!!

So if any Windows user is curious to try Linux, I'd suggest Mint and I'd teach them to monitor the update tool, or to pull up a terminal once a month (i'd suggest the 1st day of every month, so it's easy to remember....but if you forget, just do it whenever you remember) and type

Code Select Expand

sudo apt update
to see if there are any updates available, and if there are, install them with

Code Select Expand

sudo apt upgrade
they'll probably install in 1-2 minutes and a reboot is almost NEVER required.

That is why Linux Mint is ideal for new users to Linux, and does the best job of addressing most users' issues with Windows (shutdowns from updates) while simultaneously addressing the issues associated with ignoring those updates (crashes and restarts).  Give it a try and see if Linux Mint isn't the most maintenance free OS a former Windows user can possibly experience?  JMO...

[raymac46]

I am probably an atypical Linux user because I have a couple of relatively new machines that run Windows 11. However, I always have some old hardware around which may struggle with Windows, or cannot get Windows updates. I got into Linux to fix these problems.
Right now I am typing this post on a 2013 Thinkpad T430. It would probably run Windows 10 OK - although Lenovo does not officially support it. It runs Debian GNOME beautifully.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

That's one of the wonderful things about GNU/Linux users, actually...

We're ALL pretty much "atypical". :)

[wa4chq]

I think for a rookie the best way to get started is with a Live Version, whether on a disk or flash drive.  They didn't have that option when I got into Linux.  I also was not a computer person... I mean I could turn it on and off, navigate around etc but my background was not computers.  After messing up many times, I finally learned how to format the hard drive so I had Windows 98 and Slack together on the one drive.  Now with Linux on a thumb with persistence, I think the biggest threat for someone new is loosing the thumb drive... :-\ :-[ :( :'(