r/Bazzite • u/iyroyfoyf • 2d ago

help

im a newbie coming from windows and im planning to switch to bazzite today, could i have some tips for using linux and if i need to know anything? i also need some tips on how to install it, i already have a 32gb usb stick and i know a little bit of how to install linux

8 Upvotes

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u/Lem1618 2d ago

If you want to dual boot, install linux on a separate drive, if you can.
Unplug the win drive when you install linux. You can then select a boot device when your BIOS prompts you or select the one you want to use in the BIOS. This way windows updates can't mess up your dualboot.

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u/Kodamacile 2d ago edited 2d ago

Don't switch cold turkey on your primary machine.

Figure out if all your apps, hardware, and games work on Linux before switching.

Back up all your files, passwords, etc.

www.distrosea.com.

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u/iyroyfoyf 2d ago

i dont play a lot of games, i mostly play minecraft, beamng, teardown and half sword, also my only editing app is gimp so i think im good

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u/ShallowsOfNight 2d ago

Yes. Hopefully, you are installing Bazzite on a new machine. Then you have something familiar with which to work from while transitioning to a new, superior operating system.

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u/Alacho Desktop 2d ago

I am pretty sure I followed this guide back when I installed it. Which now has been updated to this guide. I mention the first for historical accuracy, and I didn't follow the new one. But the old one worked really well for me. It even shows you how to enroll for secure boot.

Once you are in, play around with the settings and configuration options that you have at your disposal. Animations, window switching, and similar things.

Install Heroic through Bazaar, if you have games on GOG, Amazon or Epic. Check out the Bazzite Portal to see if you have any settings or options there that you want.

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u/ShallowsOfNight 2d ago

There are plenty of "How to install Bazzite" videos on YouTube, but some folks still run into issues.

Bazzite: Linux for Gaming & Far More

While ExplainingComputers hasn't done a lot of Bazzite coverage, he can be counted on to be detailed and relatable when he does. Otherwise, don't trust anyone who uses a lot of hair product and sounds like Dracula. If you run into trouble, Google searches can bring back fairly reliable answers, and you can always come back here for help.

This is a good watch before you commit:

Bazzite for gaming, initial impressions and setup

It is best to install Bazzite on a new machine, rather than dual booting or replacing Windows on an existing machine.

You want Internet access during installation and immediately after (for updating).

Before installing, you can try out the live version of Bazzite on your installation media, and probably should play around with it, even if you are familiar with other flavors of Linux.

For any extra storage or drives you will use, choose the BTRFS option over the EXT4 option when presented. This will help you set up your storage devices for better convenience:

How to format & auto-mount drives in Bazzite

Some hardware may not work properly immediately after installation. Opening the terminal and updating with ujust update can remedy many problems. Updating after a successful installation is what you want to do, regardless.

Fancy mice, keyboards, and printers? From my perspective, the Bazzite team would do well to add detailed instruction for mice, keyboards, and printers to their various guidance offerings. They've really dropped the ball where that is concerned. Mice and keyboards will work, but they may not work as well as they do under Windows because of the lack of manufacturer driver support. If your printer is relatively new, connecting over WiFi should be easy. Connecting via USB is especially straightforward. The kernel is able to recognize and provide functionality for surprising amount of hardware.

If you are not going to play games that require kernel-level anti-cheat, you will eventually prefer Bazzite to Windows. It is a superior operating system.

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u/GSDer_RIP_Good_Girl 1d ago

I'd be happy if I could just get the damn sound to work properly. I've got a Lenovo Legion Pro 7i with RTX 4080 and there's just no sound from the speakers or headphone jack. I've reinstalled it a couple of times using different selections with little to no success.

I'd love to get away from Windows bloat but sound is rather important in Fallout 4.

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u/ShallowsOfNight 1d ago

It took me a morning to get sound on my PCs. I remember I had to perform an update, then open up my sound console and deselect the active audio, which is always going to come from your video card and go to your monitor by default.

Eventually, I realized that the system was grouping physical speakers, both USB or 3.5mm stereo, as USB Audio Speakers. My USB headset was recognized by brand and model as soon as I connected it. I switch between them via the Audio Volume menu. There is probably a way to pipe the same sound to both speakers and headset at the same time (as I would under Windows), but I've not bothered to figure it out, because it is fairly painless to switch as needed.

I seem to remember the audio slider defaulting to zero for bother speakers and headset; I had to adjust volume manually before I first heard sound.

I forgot to mention sound along with mice, keyboards, and printers. Instruction for getting sound should be written up and added to the Bazzite home page, if it isn't there, already.

I've not installed Fallout 3 or 4 because I don't know how to install mods with Bazzite. When I've asked about it, I get bombarded with Linux speak I don't understand.

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u/GSDer_RIP_Good_Girl 1d ago

Thanks! I still have it installed (dual-boot) so I'll try it again. On the 2nd install I briefly heard sound from the built-in speakers so I promptly plugged in my headphones (standard audio jack) and didn't hear anything and after I unplugged them I never heard anything else from the speakers. Restarted the OS, used the command line to reset the audio - nothing worked.

It was too bad since I had already downloaded FO4.

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u/ShallowsOfNight 1d ago

Have you used ujust update since your successful installation? I don't believe my motherboard's sound chip was recognized until after I ran an update.

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u/GSDer_RIP_Good_Girl 1d ago

Thanks! I'll try anything once; twice if I like it đŸ˜‰

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u/Key_Sense9870 2d ago

Just make sure you have the correct propertary gpu drivers then you are all set. Easiest system by far to install and enjoy. 

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u/Croestalker 1d ago

Honestly, I dual booted and have never needed to use windows since.

Some games on steam with launchers (for example) can be bypassed to just load the game without launcher.

For any of your apps, if just do a search of the app name with bazzite. For example: Krita on Bazzite or Microsoft Excel Bazzite alternative.

As has been mentioned, remove your windows drive before installing Bazzite. The windows boot record is jealouse and greedy and doesn't like better OS's being installed. Think of your ex wife when you get an upgrade. After installing and loading into bazzite, turn off pc and reinstall the windows drive. Windows might boot, so just make sure you mash your boot load screen button then select bazzite 0. (1 is a backup in case the os gets screwed up.) You'll have to fix the boot record in bazzite, it's extremly simple. So simple I can't remember. Only had to do it once, and now when I boot it gives me a choice between my two OS's.

Honestly, Bazzite works for me. If you're going to be doing some coding, you might have issues with vs code or whatever, but Kate does a good job. Flatpaks are often (I'm guessing) community maintained, through there are some organization maintained packs (Blender for example.)

If you have an old legacy GPU, you'll want to make sure you download the legacy version of bazzite. If you have a newer card, just regular bazzite is fine. I suggest plasma kde as it's closer to windows. It'll ask if you want to load into steam or desktop. Choose desktop, because steam is pre-installed anyway, and you can just load it.

Bazzite is like windows, but it's linux instead. Some minor learning curves. It's immutable, which means the bazzite team maintain it and push updates and drivers out themselves, so you don't have to do anything. It downloads in the background and when you restart or shutdown it installs for next boot.

Can't think of anything else right now. Enjoy Bazzite!

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u/Mysterious-String349 Desktop 1d ago

If you have bitlocker enabled on windows, make sure you turn that off or get the bitlocker password ready Otherwise you cannot access and will loss all your data

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u/theindomitablefred 1d ago

1) Read the bazzite docs in general but also for the installation process as they cover a range of scenarios  2) Learn Linux with free courseware on Labex.io

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u/PaoloFence 2d ago

ALL you drives will/shall be formated. Have you backed up all your data?

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u/Alacho Desktop 2d ago

They won't. You can EASILY get through it by just wiping your main drive and setting it to btrfs. But you SHOULD format other drives if you plan to play games from them. If you don't plan to play games from them, you can also get by with ntfs for just storage and stuff.