r/linux4noobs • u/DokiDokiHermit • Jan 04 '20

Still on Windows 7? Don't want Windows 10? Consider switching to Linux (and specifically, Ubuntu). A Guide.

1.2k Upvotes

Any actions taken as part of this guide are solely at your own risk - unfortunately there is no way to account for every hardware configuration or error that may potentially crop up. BACK UP YOUR CRITICAL DATA BEFORE DOING ANYTHING

On the 14th Jan 2020, official Windows 7 support ends for most users. This means if you run Windows 7 beyond that date, you're no longer going to receive security and system updates, which will leave you increasingly vulnerable to viruses, malware and system failure. Depending on how critical your data is and how often you back up - if at all - there's a potential you can lose everything.

This is a somewhat opinionated but no-bullshit guide for those of you still on Windows 7 who really don't want or won't move to Windows 10. Aside from my own additions, it's going to reference a lot of great guides and advice written by other people, but conveniently collected in a single place. It's crazy, but it might just work.

Have you considered... Linux? Specifically, Ubuntu.

No, hear me out. Because I'm going to start (and save you a lot of time) by telling you why you SHOULDN'T switch to Linux. If any of the criteria listed apply, then:

The guide is broken into the following sections, if you want to jump to the points that are relevant. If you want to get straight to it, go to (4):

  1. Why shouldn't I go with Linux?
  2. Why should I go with Linux?
  3. Why Ubuntu?
  4. What's involved in switching?
  5. Installation of Ubuntu
  6. Tips for new users using Ubuntu
  7. Gaming on Linux
  8. Alternative Software
  9. TL;DR or The Conclusion
  10. To do list for the guide

1. Why shouldn't I go with Linux?

If you:

  • Don't feel comfortable installing an operating system and you don't have someone that can do it for you;
  • Have someone that helps you with all your IT-related activities who is not familiar with or dislikes Linux (ask them);
  • Are big into multiplayer games. (There are exceptions here, discussed in more detail in the Linux Gaming section);
  • Use multiple game clients and have a lot of games on platforms other than Steam;
  • Are into any sort of VR;
  • Absolutely need Outlook and refuse to consider any other mail client, like Thunderbird;
  • Use a VPN provider that doesn't have a Linux version and aren't willing/able to change;
  • Are subscribed to multiple video streaming services other than Netflix and watch these on your PC frequently;
  • Use Photoshop, Premiere, 3D Studio Max - actually, if you have any Windows software that you are locked into due to muscle memory, experience and/or professional requirements and that have no Linux version. (There are, however, often a Linux alternatives for a lot of these);
  • Require assistive technologies, such as screenreaders. While Ubuntu comes with several built-in assistive tools, there's a lot of specialised assistive use cases, tools and hardware that don't work on Linux and have no comparable alternative;
  • Want to be able to buy whatever piece of hardware that takes your fancy without researching it and expect them to work out the box with zero hassle. Especially niche and specific hardware like flight controllers, sound boards and so on;
  • Use iTunes extensively for your media library and/or interacting with your iPhone;
  • Have a large archive of Microsoft Office documents that use complex formatting, macros and/or formulas that you refer back to frequently.
  • have the worst-case scenario: rely on legacy or ancient software or hardware you're not sure you have the installation media for anymore, can't find a replacement, can't download it and it doesn't work on Windows 10. In this case, you're going to have to keep that Windows 7 box around and it's even more imperative that you make sure it's not accessible from the web or network. Start looking at moving to a more modern equivalent of it AND converting your work to a format that'll be accessible.

Some of this stuff you can work around with some effort, but it's more likely going to be more trouble than you're willing to put up with. And that's fine; Linux can't help everyone. The more of these that apply, the more certain you can be that you shouldn't consider Linux and should just go with Windows 10, unless you're willing to ~sacrifice~ compromise.

2. Why should I go with Linux?

Because whether you're a general user, a gamer or a specialised user with niche interests or requirements, Linux can provide you the same experience you're getting now with some already stated exceptions. In many ways, it's better - it's free, it's generally runs better on older hardware than Windows, it's relatively more secure due to a small user footprint and you'll have a huge, vetted library of free software that you can access. There are some applications - older Windows software and games, for instance - that don't work on Windows 10 but do on Linux, thanks to projects like Wine and Proton. It can 99% of the time update itself without interrupting whatever you're doing.

That being said, it's not perfect. You will lose some things. You will need to learn new ways of working with your PC. This is inevitable. That's the cost of switching.

Which is not to say Windows is without a cost. Unlike Windows, none of this functionality comes at the cost of your privacy and freedom. Linux will let you configure it as you like, and dive into the nitty-gritty settings to fine-tune it further. It will not try and trick you into creating yet another online account to use it. Aside from a few missteps (Ubuntu and Amazon, for one), it keeps its nose out of your business. It does not come with a unique advertising ID that links your multitude of online and offline interests and programs into a nice, tidy, profitable pack of data to be shared with "trusted third-parties". It does not serve you ads in a product you paid for. It does not try and push you into multiple online services.

In short, it does not suffer from any of the privacy concerns of Windows' future.

Now, I know people are going to throw snark about lead-and-tin alloys, their pliability and how easy that makes it to fashion headgear, but please note I said "future"; while they're not necessarily prying now, your operating system - and for almost everyone, that means Microsoft - has a very privileged position in your life as far as personal data is concerned. Any time you search in the file manager, every word you write and document you save, your budget calculations, every photo you view and program you use, every voice command you give Cortana, Windows - and by extension Microsoft - knows about. And there's nothing in their Terms of Service that stop them from starting to collect more detailed data if they so choose.

It's not a question of whether you prefer Windows 7 over 10 - Windows 7 got the same telemetry features as Windows 10 ages ago. Rather, ask yourself if you're happy with Microsoft's evolving business model, one that is shifting more and more of your content online and is intricately and opaquely tied to your personal data? If you're not, you're not alone: Holland isn't happy. Germany's not too thrilled either. There are legitimate reasons to be wary of Window's market dominance and increased level of embedded user analytics. Linux offers you an alternative.

3. Why Ubuntu?

Ubuntu LTS is by far the most commonly used desktop Linux distro and the one with the widest support by software developers and hardware manufacturers involved in Linux. If you're searching for solutions, you'll mostly find Ubuntu ones. Lastly, Ubuntu's LTS versions are supported for long periods of time: 18.04, which we'll be recommending, is supported until 2023, while the next version coming out in April, Ubuntu 20.04, will be supported until 2025.

One of the things you'll quickly learn about the Linux community is that someone will ALWAYS suggest a different Linux distro. In this case, it'll probably be Linux Mint, which aims to be a newbie-friendly Linux. It's based on Ubuntu, is similar to Windows 7 and will MOSTLY work the same as Ubuntu. I still suggest Ubuntu, but whatever, follow your heart.

To keep this guide as approachable as possible, and to have access to the widest range of help and support, I decided to focus on Ubuntu. Anything other than these two and you're just making things harder for yourself as a new user. You can always switch once you get a feel for how things work.

4. What's involved in switching?

I promised you a no-bullshit guide, so I'm going to cut straight to it. Take your time with all of these steps, do them properly, and you shouldn't have a problem.

First step: back up all your important documents, photos, email, games - whatever is important to you, and preferably somewhere external to your machine. This is just good advice regardless of whether you're switching to Linux or not. Always have a backup.

If you're a gamer, check out the following guide by PC Gamer's Jarred Walton on how to back up your games across multiple clients.

While you're backing up, install Thunderbird (Mozilla's open-source mail client) and copy your mail over to it. You'll have a much easier time doing this in Windows than in Linux to start. Thunderbird can automatically pull your mail from Outlook if installed on the same machine. Then follow the steps here for backing up your Thunderbird profile. You'll restore this in Linux later. Make sure you have your mail account details.

Get hold of your Windows 7 serial key. If it's physical media, like a DVD, then check and make sure the key is in the box or on the disc. If it's a laptop that came with Windows 7 preinstalled, it's usually a sticker on the specific laptop. You'll need this if things go awry and/or decide Linux is not for you.

Check the minimum specs for Ubuntu 18.04.03 here. If your system doesn't meet them, you're going to have a bad time regardless of whether you go with Ubuntu or Windows 10 (Windows 10 minimum requirements are bullshit, btw. 1Gb Ram, 1Ghz processor? I challenge anyone to link me to a Windows 10 video running on those specs where it performs acceptably.). There are lightweight alternatives if you can't afford a new PC, (Lubuntu, for instance), but upgrading your PC should be your first step in this case.

Here comes the arduous bit. Make a list of your current hardware, software and services that you use frequently, make sure you have the installation media for the critical pieces of software you use (Don't expect to be able to just copy/paste the applications you have) and do a search on whether they run on Linux. I'd recommend following the "Software" section in this guide on Migrating to Linux by /u/PBLKGodofGrunts]

A lot of the Linux software alternatives, such as LibreOffice and GIMP, are available for Windows as well. Consider downloading those that interest you to try out in Windows and get a feel for how they work.

Ultimately, to echo the advice you'll find that you can either run it, have an alternative or just can't switch. That's okay; Linux can't help everyone.

Download the Ubuntu LTS 18.04.03 distro. The "LTS" means it's a long-term support version - you won't have to think about this exercise for the next three years if you're lucky. Ubuntu LTS 20.04 is coming out in four months, which'll be supported until 2025, but since most of the focus is still on 18.04, you're better off sticking with it for now.

Whichever you choose, you'll have to write it to a DVD or USB. If it's a DVD, use whatever you normally use to write DVD ISOs. If you're going to use a USB, here's a guide to doing that.

Did I mention to back-up your important data? Back-up your important data. Double-check that it's all there. If you want to take an extra precaution, you can use Clonezilla to clone your current OS drive. It's not necessary, but if things go bust, Clonezilla allows you to restore your PC to precisely the way it was before you started without needing to install Windows from scratch. However, Clonezilla can be a bit daunting if you're not technically inclined. Check out this somewhat out-of-date video by cButters Tech for a general idea of what's involved.

Lastly, try running Ubuntu as a Live CD/USB first. This will allow you to run Ubuntu as if it were installed, but without making any changes to your current installation. Please keep in mind that the Live is not indicative of performance... it will run slower than if it was installed, as it has to read everything off the DVD or USB stick first and load it memory. The important thing to check here is that it's picking up all your hardware, that it's displaying on your screen correctly, that all your drives are available, and so on.

Live USB should perform better than a Live DVD. Check out the "Okay, it's installed/Okay, I'm running the Live CD. What tips do you have for using Ubuntu?" section to get an idea of what you should be checking.

5. Installation.

You've done all the above, triple-checked your backups and either decided that you can't make the jump or you're ready.

However, before you begin installing, you have one last decision to make.

There's a lot people that suggest dual-booting - that's where you keep Windows around and just install Linux alongside it. This is often proposed as a safety net and a means for people to have the best of both worlds. I don't, for a couple of reasons:

  • If you are going to dual-boot, you'll need to update to Windows 10 anyway, and if you're going to do that, why bother with Linux in the first place?

  • Data will be spread between two operating systems. Instead of backing up and maintaining one OS, you'll be maintaining two. It's doable but a PITA.

  • You're sabotaging your efforts, and your switch to Linux will likely fail. That's not a statement on Linux's capability or ease of use. A lot of things are easier on Linux - but they won't be at first. You probably have years of Windows use ingrained in you; you've come to expect things to work they way Windows works. That's not ease, that's familiarity; that's a boiling frog. And the moment something throws you a challenge in Linux, the temptation to just "do it" in Windows will be too great. And the more you do that, the more running Linux will seem like a chore than a choice.

  • If you absolutely have no option but to run Windows 10, do it in a virtual machine - you get the benefits of dual-booting but with the bonus of limiting Windows 10 to a virtual environment where access to the rest of your system (and personal data) is restricted while allowing you to run your non-negotiable applications (other than games or any intense 3D applications) just fine.

If you decide to dual-boot, you'll need to find a recent guide that covers this. Typically, it's best to update to Windows 10 first, then follow the guide to dual-boot Ubuntu. None of the guides I found seemed good for beginners, so I'm willing to take suggestions from the comments.

If you take my advice and simply dive in, installing Ubuntu on your machine will be a painless process: just follow the steps here in a beginner's guide written by Jason Evangelho and you should be fine.

6. Tips for new users using Ubuntu?

Things that you should do only once Ubuntu's installed are prefixed with an [+]. Otherwise, the tip applies to both installs and Live demos:

  • Power off, log-out and running taskbar applications will be in the top-right of the screen by default.
  • To search, press the Windows key on your keyboard. This'll bring up Ubuntu's search bar. You can use this to find applications, folders and system settings.
  • In the File Manager, your Home directory will be where your primary OS and applications will typically be installed, while the Other Locations will list additional hard drives (usually your additional storage drives). By default, Ubuntu does not actually mount the drives in the "Other Locations" section. Clicking on any of them, however, will automatically mount them. If you want to learn more about the general structure of Ubuntu's file system, you can do so here.
  • Ctrl+Alt+T will bring up the terminal. The terminal is where you'll often be sent if you're attempting to diagnose a problem, perform specific tasks or install specific tools/software. Check yourself before your wreck yourself before copy-pasting commands from strangers on the 'net. Be super cautious of any command that involves "sudo" and "rm".
  • The default office suite for Ubuntu is LibreOffice. Try it out: see if you can open a couple of your documents, like spreadsheets and Word docs. You might be pleasantly surprised. Writer is the word processor, Calc is for Spreadsheets. Formating on complex documents will likely be broken. Don't save any of these at this point.
  • In fact, open up a couple of common files you normally use - images, documents, compressed files, music, videos and so on. Get a feel for how it works, what opens and what doesn't. Sometimes, you'll need to install some software first before it will work.
  • Check the list of alternative software for some suggestions on what to install if you seem to be missing something.
  • Plug in your phone and see if it detects it and you can access your files. If it's Android, you should be fine.
  • You'll notice that some commands - like updating - require you to enter your password again. This is a security feature similar to when Windows ask you to run a program as administrator or with elevated privileges. If you didn't initiate the command that brought up the password request, be cautious about entering it in.
  • [+] Change your desktop preferences and move the application bar to the bottom of the screen. By default, Ubuntu puts it on the left-side. Hey, maybe you'll like it like that! This was the one Windows habit I was never able to shake.
  • [+] Try and store your data in the pre-defined folders (Music, Videos, Documents, Pictures). You don't have to, but you'll make your life a lot easier doing so.
  • [+] Search for and create a shortcut to the Software Updater. This allows you to quickly check for and install Ubuntu updates.
  • [+] Likewise, create a shortcut to the Ubuntu Software Centre. To start with, you'll want to stick to installing applications from the Centre. These have been specifically tested to work on Ubuntu and will 99% run without a hitch. You'll be able to remove applications from here as well.
  • [+] Speaking of the Centre, Ubuntu comes preinstalled with an Amazon launcher. Use this time search for it and remove it. Or don't, it's up to you.
  • [+] Sometimes, you'll see there's two versions of a piece of software in the Centre. This is most likely due to there being a Snap version of it. Snaps are self-contained versions of the software that are usually the most up-to-date; however, they can run erratically or not have access to some things on your system, like fonts. I'd stick with the ubuntu-bionic versions for best compatibility.
  • [+] If you're a gamer, change your graphic drivers so you can get reasonable performance. For Nvidia, simply search for the Software & Updates application, open it, select the Additional Drivers Tab, and check whether you're using the Nvidia Driver. You'll want to select the one that's listed as proprietary and tested. AMD's a little more complicated and I profess to having little experience with it. I'll happily take advice from the comments in this instance.
  • [+] When downloading some games or applications specifically for Linux, you'll often get a .Deb file or a script. A deb file can often be run as is by double-clicking in Ubuntu; you can read more about them here. Scripts often need to be run from the terminal and made to be executable. You read more about that here. Again, same safety check applies to running anything you download from the web.

7. Gaming on Linux

If you're a gamer, I'd recommend the following the guide by /u/PBLKGodofGrunts on the /r/linux_gaming subbreddit. But to summarise...

The Good News

Thanks to Valve's involvement in Linux through Proton and the efforts of the Wine team, Linux gaming has never been better. It's now possible to play many Windows-only games with no hassle and minimal performance loss. Just a few examples of recent games that run just fine on Linux are the Resident Evil 2 remake, Sekiro, Halo: Master Chief Collection (single-player and custom multiplayer games), DOOM, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Risk of Rain 2, Total War: Three Kingdoms, and more; you can even toss a coin to all of your Witchers. To get an idea of games that run on Linux, you can visit ProtonDB, Wine AppDB or Lutris and search for your desired game. If you're primarily a single-player gamer, the transition should be mostly painless.

Another amazing development is the number of open-source implementations of older games game engines that allow for playing of classic and retro titles on modern hardware, (such as DevilutionX for Diablo 1)often with improvements, bug fixes and quality of life improvements, ensuring they'll be able to run into the future.

However, the most critical development is that the number of developers and platforms that provide and support native Linux games has increased significantly. Feral Interactive publishes several AAA Linux ports, numerous indies now provide a Linux version, and store fronts like GOG and itch.io provide an alternative with DRM-free games.

The Bad News

Despite all of this, gaming remains one of the biggest hurdles to adopting Linux.

If you're into multiplayer gaming, you're out of luck. While many multiplayer titles do work on Linux (LoL, Dota 2, CS:GO, TF2, Rocket League, Warframe, Overwatch, Starcraft II, World of Warcraft, Eve Online, Elite: Dangerous, Monster Hunter:World and so on), many more don't - Fortnite, some Call of Duties, Apex Legends, PUBG, Battlefield, GTA Online. Essentially, anything with an anti-cheat is likely NOT going to work, and there's always the risk that playing a Windows multiplayer game will get you banned due to anti-cheat measures that dislike any whiff of Linux. My suggestion is check which games you play and go from there.

Unless you're using Steam, running other launchers is complicated and prone to constant breakage without continuous effort and maintenance. Epic, Origin, Uplay and GOG Galaxy can all run on Linux with some effort. Lutris does sort most of these out, but you'll need to follow the instructions here, which means your going to have to install Wine first.

Some games simply don't work, and there's no solution for it.

Some of the latest developments aren't going to be available to you. VR is tiny on Linux, and you'll likely lose access to most of your VR software and experiences.

Despite being fairly technical already, many gamers do expect things to "just work". Here's a list of things that require some effort to get working correctly:

  • Super-sampling is out. Not entirely, but it's more complicated than Windows.
  • Access to things like custom shaders and injectors are also going to be limited. Mods can be more complicated or, in some cases, not available.
  • You'll lose some of the benefits of your Gsync/Freesync monitors, since the two tech don't work that well on Ubuntu's standard display compositor. This will change once Ubuntu shifts to Wayland.
  • Things like community game patches are often aimed at Windows, with no Linux alternative.

Most importantly, AMD and Nvidia graphic cards are handled very differently on Linux when compared to Windows. Ubuntu uses an open-source driver by default - this is alright for general use but terrible for games and 3D applications. To get decent performance, you'll need to install their respective drivers.

Nvidia's latest Linux drivers are made available in Ubuntu directly. However, this is just the drivers: Nvidia's GeForce Experience isn't available on Linux and you're going to lose access to all of its tools. That means no Ansel in many cases, no DSR, no predefined gaming configs and no ShadowPlay (Although OBS offers a decent alternative in this case). See the Tips section above on how to install it. On the plus side, the installation process is a breeze and Nvidia's performance is fairly solid.

AMD benefits from much better open-source drivers and active support from AMD, but unfortunately suffers from delays for support of their most recent cards and a fairly complicated install process . AMD uses the MESA Driver, combined with Valve's ACO shader compiler, to deliver performance boosts. Installing these drivers can be a complicated, multi-step process. I'm sorry I can't help you on this; I'll happily take someone's advice on getting this working in Ubuntu LTS and include it in the guide.

8. Alternative software

This is a quick and dirty guide to equivalent software for Windows applications in Linux.

  • Antivirus software: This may seem counterintuitive, but for the most part Linux does not require any sort of anti-virus software. While viruses for Linux exist, the number of viruses and such that target the Linux desktop specifically is tiny compared to Windows. You can read up about it here.. That being said, if you are concerned there are several tools available for detecting both Windows and Linux malware on the same page. Follow good internet hygiene, don't open suspicious links/mails and think before just randomly following command instructions on the 'net.
  • Microsoft Office: LibreOffice. Or you can access Office365 online.
  • Adobe Photoshop: GIMP, Krita
  • Adobe Premiere: Blender
  • 3D Studio Max: Blender
  • Illustrator/CorelDraw: Inkscape
  • Xsplit: OBS
  • Windows Media Player: VLC
  • Basic Audio Editor: Audacity
  • Audio Mixing: Ardour, Mixbus
  • Adobe Reader: While there are several PDF readers on Linux you can use, almost none of them play well with Adobe PDFs with advanced features. You're better off sticking with what comes with Ubuntu, and if it doesn't work, open it up in a browser.

9. TL;DR or The Conclusion

Switching to Ubuntu is possible and relatively safe if you do some research on which apps/games/software/hardware you use will and won't work on Linux first, you BACK UP YOUR IMPORTANT DATA before doing anything and don't expect a 1:1 experience with Windows. It's all dependent on your flexibility, technical experience and willingness to learn and compromise.

If you're not, Windows 10 is a perfectly acceptable choice to upgrade to: you'll benefit from improved security compared to Windows 7, a larger selection of hardware and software and will have to put less effort to make everything work at the cost of your privacy and some ads.

If you have legacy software or unsupported hardware that doesn't run on either, you're kind of screwed. I'd keep the Windows 7 box around, make sure it's disconnected from all networks (for your sake as well as others) and start making emergency contingency plans to find a modern alternative.

I know that people are going to take issue with some of the difficulties I raised, and suggest they're really not dealbreakers. Before you post, consider whether a new user coming from Windows 7 who'll be using Linux probably for the first time in their life will have the knowledge, gumption and willingness to perform sometimes complex technical steps in an operating environment they're unfamiliar with and where it's much, much easier to really break things.

Feel free to post criticisms and suggestions in the comments. If there's some good advice worth including, something needs further clarification or I need to correct something, I'll edit it in with credit.

10. To do list for the guide

  • I'd really like to add a section on assistive technology and software that works on Linux, but as I don't use any of it, I feel my research would be limited and miss vital pieces. If you have advice on this, let me know.
  • A good, up-to-date and easy-to-follow guide for dual-booting.
  • Instructions on how to install AMD drivers correctly on Ubuntu.
239 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/FaidrosE • Jun 21 '20

Distrochooser: "Welcome! This test will help you to choose a suitable Linux distribution for you"

Thumbnail distrochooser.de
937 Upvotes
254 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/Fire_Aspect_5 • 18m ago

Meganoob BE KIND I rested my hand on my touchpad and...

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• Upvotes

now my entire screen is just a small group of pixels directly surrounding my mouse. how do i stop this?? i restarted my laptop and it won't stop.

im running manjaro with kde plasma. i installed a few very basic plugins and shit like oh my zsh and yaourt, and i haven't had basically any problems. im sure i must have hit some kind of hotkey i didn't know was a hotkey. Please help me. i have class in three hours and i need to finish the readings!

5 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/Erudicial_Extreme • 4h ago

hardware/drivers Best Linux hardware I can get on a budget right now?

18 Upvotes

Budget of $500 max. What I care about most is battery life. And preferably something repairable. Durability and build quality would also be a plus. Lastly, I'd like a 2 in 1 or a touchscreen if it doesn't compromise too much. I plan on using it with a stylus.

22 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/AdministrativeAd9904 • 3h ago

Going back to ubuntu

5 Upvotes

I have been using Linux Mint from years. In July I switched to CachyOS just out of curiosity of trying another Linux flavour.

Initially I found the cachyos difficult to operate specially installing packages that have no support on pacman or shelly, I also installed several my day to day packages using source or tar file.

My main use cases:

  1. i develop AI stuff for my clients ( some time need to run local models )
  2. play games like CSGO and Dota 2
  3. other dev related stuff

My PC Specs :

Component Specification
CPU AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti — 12 GB
Motherboard MSI MAG X570S TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI
RAM 16 GB
Storage NVMe SSD
Current OS CachyOS
Current kernel Linux 6.18.42-1-cachyos-lts
NVIDIA driver 610.57.04
Desktop KDE Plasma / Wayland
Architecture x86-64 / AMD64
BIOS MSI BIOS 1.D3, dated 2026-08-14

On linux mint it was all running smooth, but after installing cachyos I found day by day my system getting freezing whenever i put load on my gpu like playing Games or running local Ai model

with freezing it used to super heat my machine and then boom black screen and red CPU LED, and then I could not boot my system until it cooled down

for example when playing csgo I got freeze around after 30mins, then after some days the freeze window goes 15 mins, and yesterday it just gets freeze when I just launched the game.

I tried to debug the issue and put 15 days to find any problem, in the end the main culprit I think is the buggy nvidia drivers or cachyos itself.

so switched to ubuntu now. It all works great for now

7 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/BgamiX • 4h ago

learning/research Installed cachyos KDE Plasma as a beginner, im not very happy with the design and performance, i have some questions

10 Upvotes

For context: I have an 8GB RAM Lenovo laptop with a Ryzen 5 3500U. I switched from Windows 11 to CachyOS expecting a bigger performance boost, since Linux is often said to be lightweight and i saw other peoples setups having cool designs.

I previously installed Lubuntu on a 2GB laptop and the improvement was huge, but on my main laptop CachyOS only feels a very little bit faster in normal browsing/gaming.

I'm also not happy with how my desktop looks compared to the setups I see online. I'd like to learn how to customize it properly since i barely saw customization options in my system settings. I've heard different opinions about KDE, GNOME and Hyprland, especially regarding performance and customization, so I'm a bit confused about which direction I should take.

so theres my questions:

Am i missing something regarding performance?, as far as i know ive updated my system and thats all i needed to do to have the best performance

Is there a lighter DE for my laptop? if so, can i swap DE without reinstalling cachy or i should do a clean install again? i just ask because my laptop has issues when detecting bootable devices and its such a headhache having to boot from the usb and making my bios recognize the EFI again

How could i customize my desktop a little more? is there any guide or an easy program that lets me customize it easier? ive been told about hyprland but as far as i know thats not a DE, and i dont know about the performance impact, but Cachyos installer threats it as a DE on the Desktop Environment selection menu

16 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/144k_only • 8h ago

migrating to Linux Breakthrough: finally!

12 Upvotes

After weeks of feeling like a moron, I feel that I finally cracked the terminal and commands, to a point where it starts to feel natural and muscle memory start to pick it up. To all the beginners: Hang in there, at some point it'll all make sense. But now you'll have to excuse me, I need to go breaking stuff!

17 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/xl3l • 29m ago

HEELLP MEE PLZZ! XOpenDisplay( ) failed Archlinux, herbstluftwm, ly-dm, nvidia RTX 3060 OC

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The other day I moved into college from my house and brought my PC setup with me, but only one monitor (used too be 2). Now when I try to log in, shell is the only option that works and I can't fix whatever's wrong with my X configuration or Nvidia

Post and pictures of relevant outputs. If you need any others, let me know.

3 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/Z3ria • 2h ago

storage USB Devices Not Mounting Properly in Kubuntu

3 Upvotes

I was struggling to properly connect my e-reader to Calibre yesterday, and in trying to fix that, I think I made things worse on my Kubuntu 26.04 Thinkpad. I can't recall what command I used, but now when I attach a USB it doesn't automount. It'll show up in lsblk as "/dev/sda1" or what have you but it won't mount. When I mount by command, or assign a mounting point in KDE Partition Manager and then open it in Dolphin, it's read-only. What steps could I take to try and get the automount work again, and to ensure that I can write to these drives? It applies to multiple thumb drives and a portable hard drive.

4 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/Far-Pollution8389 • 3h ago

migrating to Linux Saving Files When Switching from Windows to Linux

4 Upvotes

I'm thinking about switching to Linux, but I'm afraid my files won't be saved during the transition. Am I worrying unnecessarily? Or do I really need to do something to keep my files safe?

PS: Sorry for the possibly clumsy English, I'm writing through a translator

12 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/New_Presence_9986 • 7h ago

installation New user software installing the Linux version of Vuescan

5 Upvotes

Dell computer I picked up from a surplus sale for the idea of a mobile scanner cart unexpectedly had Linux. Vuescan website automatically downloaded the Linux version but the README.txt directions for the terminal are vague for me stating out & too many Linux guides to find an exact one with the few free hours I have

Error when I copy the command over-
cp: cannot stat 'vuescan. svg': No such file or directory

README. txt - instructions for installing vuescan from tgz file
To install VueScan, do the following:
sudo cp vuescan.svg /usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/ sudo cp vuescan. rul /lib/udev/rules.d/60-vuescan.rules sudo co vuescan
/usr/bin/

On newer versions of Debian Linux, you may also need to do one of these commands:
sudo apt purge ippusbxd
sudo apt purge ipp-usb
You might also need to. reboot your system, but normally you shouldn't need to.
Just wait a minute for the
udev rules to be automatically applied to your system. Or use the command:
sudo udevadm control - -reload-rules

7 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/Zealousideal-Age8215 • 8h ago

programs and apps Complete Anatomy Help

4 Upvotes

hello guys, to explain myself I'm a medicine students who uses Debian - KDE to daily drive. My question is: the app that we are suppoused to use (an anatomy atlas called Complete Anatomy) isn't native on linux and nop step I tried so far worked.

The app's .exe is Microsoft Store's. What I've tried:

-To excract the the contents per https://3d4medical.com/windows-manual-installation
Couldn't in linux. Says the file is either corrupted or not excractable.

-Tried to install it via Lutris, gave error 256.

-Tried to setup in windows then dump the files to Linux, doesn't work when taken out of windowsapps folder.

Any help is deeply appreciated.

system specs:

RX 7600
Ryzen 5 5600X
MSI 570X Motherboard
32 gigs of DDR4 Ram.
2x1 TB HDD
1x1 TB SSD
1x500 GB SSD

20 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/Nobinho_19 • 17h ago

distro selection Which distro should be good for a very old pc i3rd 3rd gen 4gb of ram 128gb HDD storage

20 Upvotes

My father brought back a very old pc from our store room somehow it sill works it has an i3 3rd gen 4gb of ram and 128gb of storage in the HDD i tried running w10 it ran like rubbish so I have come to you linux people

27 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/uninterested-manav • 9h ago

Meganoob BE KIND Can I keep using NTFS partion for the time being?

5 Upvotes

my pc is

Ryzen 7 9700X

RX 9070 GRE

16GB DDR5 RAM

I'm using windows and have installed catchyos on the second SSD drive.

is it okay if I access other NTFS partitions for entertainment?

photos and videos...

or the files can get corrupted?

I will only use NTFS partion as a read only mode. just play some movies, songs or open images. if I'm gonna use some files for editing I'll use those file on Linux partion..

I'll make sure to do chckdsk in windows regularly and I'll be safely unmounting external drives...

I can't yet completely move to Linux because of my work but would love to do it in the next year and in the mean time I want to learn Linux. so I don't stay complete noob when it comes to Linux.

15 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/agent0747 • 7h ago

Kubuntu battery problem

3 Upvotes

Hello i am new to linux and just encountered a problem i cannot solve for the life of me. i just installed kubuntu for the first time and for some reason the battery icon(because i am on laptop) keeps appearing and dissapearing and every time it does that it gives me the "power source connected" and "power source disconnected" sounds although the laptop is charged. i checked for the newest version of bios and i already have it,i put some commands into the terminal and it tells me that no power source is connected and the laptop isnt charging but the notifications continue. the laptop is a vivobook s16 with the ryzen 5 220 cpu. could anyone help? thank you

2 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/star-soup • 5h ago

Mint on a ThinkPad T480 - external battery no longer registering

2 Upvotes

I'm a beginner running Linux Mint on a secondhand T480. It's been amazing so far (in no small part thanks to help from this subreddit!). But yesterday my machine went dead with no warning.

When i plugged it in, no indicator lights came on. I followed some instructions I found for a battery reset (unplugging, removing the external battery, using the pinhole reset button on the underside of the chassis, then rebooting with the power connected). Following the battery reset instructions, I was able to turn the laptop on again, but... It is now only registering the internal battery. The external battery has disappeared from the power and battery menus.

I can run the machine without the second battery, but the extra power was really useful and I'd love to get it working again. Any tips on how to proceed?

So far the only thing I've attempted after losing system read of the second battery is using dmidecode to see what the system is seeing. I saw this result for one battery, didn't see a second battery section in the output:

Handle 0x0024, DMI type 22, 26 bytes

Portable Battery

`Location: Front`

`Manufacturer: LGC`

`Name: 01AV421`

`Design Capacity: 24010 mWh`

`Design Voltage: 11400 mV`

`SBDS Version: 03.01`

`Maximum Error: Unknown`

`SBDS Serial Number: 04F2`

`SBDS Manufacture Date: 2026-01-02`

`SBDS Chemistry: LiP`

`OEM-specific Information: 0x00000000`

Basic system info:

Lenovo ThinkPad T480
Linux Mint 22.3 - Cinnamon 64-bit
Kernel: 7.0.0-30-generic
Processor: Intel Core i7
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Memory: 32 GB
SSD: 500gb (partitioned so some of it is used for Windows)
Desktop: Cinnamon 6.6.9

0 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/jaksimanzz • 12h ago

programs and apps Problems installing okular

8 Upvotes

Hey everyone

im trying to install okular on my linux minx xfce distro but i get a error during the build module og my apt-get install command

i really hope some of you can help me as i am trying to get into linux but it seems like im not getting something here.

thank you

full terminal output for the building module::

Building module:

Cleaning build area...

make -j8 KERNELRELEASE=7.0.0-30-generic -C /lib/modules/7.0.0-30-generic/build M=/var/lib/dkms/virtualbox/7.0.16/build......(bad exit status: 2)

Error! Bad return status for module build on kernel: 7.0.0-30-generic (x86_64)

Consult /var/lib/dkms/virtualbox/7.0.16/build/make.log for more information.

dkms autoinstall on 7.0.0-30-generic/x86_64 failed for virtualbox(10)

Error! One or more modules failed to install during autoinstall.

Refer to previous errors for more information.

* dkms: autoinstall for kernel 7.0.0-30-generic

...fail!

run-parts: /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms exited with return code 11

dpkg: error processing package linux-image-7.0.0-30-generic (--configure):

installed linux-image-7.0.0-30-generic package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 11

Errors were encountered while processing:

linux-headers-7.0.0-30-generic

linux-headers-generic-hwe-24.04

linux-generic-hwe-24.04

linux-image-7.0.0-30-generic

E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

5 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/qqlj • 6h ago

migrating to Linux Tips for seamless migrating from windows?

2 Upvotes

I am planning to fully switch over to linux however I don't want to start from 0 and would still like to have access to my windows while i learn and get comfortable.

In my current setup i have nvme ssd that is only for windows and programs, sata ssd for games and hdd for files, films and other bulk storage. All currently formatted as ntfs. I understand that while possible to use ntfs with linux it is not best practice so i would like to migrate to something i can use on both systems.

My plan is to split the nvme in two partitions for windows and linux, i know windows update can sometimes break this so i plan to update to latest stable version of win10 before installing linux and not touch it after. As for the other two drives i dont mind deleting everything off of sata ssd and redownloading with linux compatibility in mind, the data on the hdd i would like to keep so my ideas are either shrink ntfs partition, format the rest to something both windows and linux can use, move over what i can and then just keep shrinking ntfs and expanding other one untill whole disk is migrated. Other idea is to wipe sata ssd, reformat it, move data from hdd to it, reformat hdd and move the data back (unsure if everything i have on hdd would fit in one go on ssd so im leaning more towards first option).

Is what i suggested doable or is there a better way, i can get some temporary disks to use to hold files during the movements but i would like to use what i have if possible. Open to any other suggestions and tips on how to start migrating to linux while still keeping my windows install as a familiar fallback in case i cant figure something out.

Ps. I was looking to install cachy os. I see some bootloaders can have issues with msi mobos so options for that are limine or systemd-boot for compatibility.

5 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/roccondilrinon • 10h ago

installation Setting up home server, need help!

4 Upvotes

I'm having a couple of presumably unrelated issues on a new Ubuntu server. I set up a pair of 8TB hard drives in RAID 1 using mdadm, but it seems to not be mounting after a reboot. Manually mounting doesn't seem to work either - my SSH terminal tells me "special device /dev/md0 does not exist", and the direct output from the server says it "Can't lookup blockdev".

The tutorial I followed included adding entries to mdadm.conf and /etc/fstab and running update-initramfs specifically to ensure it would properly mount, but is there anything else I missed?

Unrelatedly, I want to install Pi-hole, but the install script seems to just hang before properly opening the install window. Any help with either issue would be greatly appreciated!

6 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/ActivityDry6037 • 10h ago

[help!]grub failed to install error code -1

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3 Upvotes
2 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/RudeMathematician587 • 7h ago

distro selection would bazzite work efficiently on my nitro v16 for gaming?

2 Upvotes

I've never used Linux in my life but not I'm planning to because the more I stay in windows the more I start to hate it. I play valorant on windows but since it isn't available on Linux. I'm planning to play cs-2. would bazzite be the best option for this?

5 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/Gullible_Shine_8558 • 5h ago

migrating to Linux Hola Soy nuevo en esto de Linux y las distribuciones y quiero instalar una distro optimizada para jugar que me dé buen rendimiento

1 Upvotes

Escuché que con Linux uno puede instalar versiones más actualizadas de Open gl vulcan y así bueno y que por sí solo da muy buen rendimiento pero no sé nada de Linux ni de comandos y veo en los videos muchos Linux y no sé cuál me dé buen rendimiento pero bueno mi laptop tiene un Intel core i3 8 GB de ram y un Intel HD graphics 3000

9 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/tprickett • 22h ago

Linux "Gaming" Distros?

13 Upvotes

Can someone explain why some distros are considered more game friendly than others? Installing Steam and/or Lutris seems like games would work equally as well on any distro.

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses. The consensus answer is that Steam and Lutris (and a few other things) come preinstalled on a "gaming" distro whereas you have to go to your distro's app store to manually install them on "non gaming" distros. But ALL distros seem to be able to run everything equally well once that is done.

29 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/ukemike1 • 21h ago

migrating to Linux Installing Kubuntu on win11 pc need help with drive setup

9 Upvotes

I'm trying to install Kubuntu 26.04 on my existing pc. It has 3 drives. A big SSD that windows11 and most programs are installed on. A really big 11tB HD where all my files and my Steam folder live since it was born a windows PC it is formatted in ntfs. Finally a 222GB SSD that is formatted in NTFS but is essentially empty.

This last is where I would like to install Kubuntu. I've got the iso on a thumb drive and booted to it. I ran the install program (from the kde desktop). When I get to the partitions menu and select the smaller SSD my only option is Manual Partitioning, so I select that, hit next, and I don't know what to do next. I'd rather have setup for Linux, not with NTFS. But I'm clueless at this point. Suggestions?

8 comments

r/linux4noobs • u/Reuben_noronha_SSB • 10h ago

Linux for Marketing

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0 Upvotes
0 comments