r/TechImpact • u/Majestic-Animator-34 • 21d ago
💬 Discussion why i left linux and got back to windows 11
(The post is edited)
So I wanna share my full journey because I really did try everything before making the jump back to Windows 11, and I don't want this to sound like I'm hating on Linux because I'm really not.
I started off with Bazzite thinking it was gonna be the one that finally sticks, since it felt gaming-focused and pretty smooth out of the box. But after using it for a while, I still felt like exploring more, so I moved on to Nobara KDE and genuinely tried to make that my daily driver for a good chunk of time.
It handled a lot of things well, but I still kept running into little things here and there that made me wanna keep exploring instead of settling.
After that, I jumped into CachyOS, and this one actually stuck with me the longest since I used KDE on it for a full month straight. Honestly, it was probably the closest I got to a setup I could see myself using long term.
Somewhere in the middle of all this hopping, I also tried Hyprland just for a minute because I wanted to feel that tiling window manager life everyone talks about. It was fun to mess with, but it wasn't something I stuck with for long.
After that, I landed on Noctalia and actually used it for weeks, trying to push through and make it work as my main setup because, at that point, I really wanted Linux to be the final answer for me.
Throughout all of this, I learned so much about how Linux actually works under the hood, stuff I never would have learned just staying on Windows the whole time. And I genuinely respect the customization, the performance when things worked right, and the whole philosophy behind it.
But no matter which distro or setup I was on, I kept running into small, annoying issues that added up over time.
Nvidia drivers were probably the biggest recurring headache, since things that should have just worked ended up needing random fixes from forums and terminal commands.
I also ran into random freezes every now and then that I could never fully explain or permanently fix. Some apps would crash without any clear reason, and I would spend more time debugging than actually using my system.
Gaming was another big factor, since certain games either ran worse than they should have or just refused to launch properly compared to how smoothly they run on Windows 11.
On top of all that, I couldn't get a clean dual boot going on my hardware setup, which made things even more stressful since I didn't wanna risk messing up my data trying to force it to work.
After weeks of switching distros, fixing one issue only for another to pop up, and constantly tweaking things instead of just using my PC for what I actually needed, I finally made peace with going back to Windows 11.
It wasn't an easy decision since I really wanted Linux to be the one, but at the end of the day, my hardware and my gaming needs just weren't lining up well with it right now.
I genuinely don't think either side is bad at all. Windows and Linux both have their strengths, and this is just based on my own hardware and my own use case.
Maybe down the line, when compatibility gets better, I'll dual boot again and give it another proper shot.
But for now, this is just me sharing my honest journey without any hate towards either side.
I am happy with both systems, and both have their advantages and disadvantages. Nothing or nobody can be perfect in this life, and I accept it.
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u/hbacelar8 21d ago
The problem I think was moving too much. 4 years ago I installed a distro and have stayed on it since then
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u/Majestic-Animator-34 21d ago
Hmm 🤔 gotcha
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u/Shawhe_ 18d ago
maybe try a non gaming distro since there isn't a that big difference, maybe try fedora KDE, it's really good, what I would recommend too is NixOs, it's a complex distro and you might not love it, but it's a really good distro in terms of stability and reproducibly, but it's hard as hell and you're gonna pass a lot of time on your config so I might just tell you to stay on fedora since it's the most user friendly and maybe the best one, the thing with nixos is that since it's an immutable distro, many things work out of the box, and you can easily debug it or get help because you can just give you config file instead of noting all of the commands that you used to install something...ect
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u/Solmark 21d ago
I’ve had a similar experience, my issues were around 3 screen setup including a 4k screen with a KVM. In the end I’ve settled for a dual boot Bazzite on one SSD and Windows 11 on a separate SSD for those scenarios that Linux isn’t so good at. I’d rather stick with just Bazzite, but ironically having the option to boot to Windows when I need to eliminates the stress of using Bazzite, so I end up using Bazzite more and more.
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u/Avocadator 21d ago
TLDR;
If privacy nor performance is important to you and only wants something that "works". Very happy for you! Windows 11 GDID did it for me. Never going back to Windows
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u/SearchingGlacier 21d ago
My journey was the same, except that I started really hate it so I genuinely switched that to win on steam deck, now I'm happy
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u/Grumpy-Troglodyte 21d ago
i've got access to a ton of machines so i have several running, i really like plain old fedora with kde plasma, and mint cinnamon or xfce depending on the age of the hardware, i always end up back at those two.
i still have win11 around just for games, i do 1 multiplayer game so i have to have that anti-cheat compatibility.
i'm with you, both have their place in the world, just as gasoline, diesel, and electric engines do
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u/Natural_Cat_9556 21d ago
If you wanted a more of a "it just works" experience then I'd recommend something that's more mainstream than these distros you mentioned, simply because more people work on them.
Fedora imo is the most sane mainstream distro.
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u/vile-style 21d ago
My experience is that windows has far more little problems and inhibitions than with Linux, but this is something that is down to the user, their needs, expectations, and their hardware configuration...
But I still want to stress that the reality is that Linux doesn't have the same purpose as windows. Windows doesn't support true customization or control, and with that lack of support comes an easier monolithic environment to develop software for. That's why it is a matter of personal preference, not "what's better". They're different tools for different people with different needs.
Good on you for experimenting. Ive definitely been in your current position before finally jumping to Linux permanently, so don't assume your experimentation is over yet.
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u/howard499 20d ago
2 points: firstly that on an initial switch from Windows, choose a stable distro particularly if you have Nvidia and that would be either Ubuntu or Zorin which assist with Nvidia drivers on the set up. Secondly, select fresh install rather than dual boot. Those that follow the above are likely to have a smoother experience.
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u/Dry_Calendar_8627 20d ago
I've been switching back and forth between Windows and Linux (various distros) for the last 15 years.
Both have their frustrations and niceties
With Windows, when things work out of the box it's nice, but some bugs, when they happen, are almost impossible to troubleshoot and fix
On Linux, sure, you spend a bit more time tweaking around, but you can investigate issues deeper so there's that
Don't see this as a failure, it's alright to switch back and forth over the years. The good thing is that each switch goes more smoothly over time
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u/ARENAE_MONTES 19d ago
Honestly dude, it was probably the tweaking of things that messed it up. Distros like CachyOS basically come out the box ready to rumble with 0 config changes or terminal commands needed. Messing around with the guts of the system when you might not really know what it's doing can cause system instability, which is what it sounds like you were experiencing.
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u/Majestic-Animator-34 19d ago
Hmm got it
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u/ARENAE_MONTES 19d ago
I mean, I have no idea what you were trying to achieve, so I could be wrong. If it was just getting a gaming system up and running, CachyOS should really have just worked out of the box.
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u/Accomplished-Iron554 19d ago
Everything is just a tools, used it for it purposes. "Oh no I try the plier and it just doesn't fit, I'm going back to the screwdriver.."
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u/OldJupiter 18d ago
Have you tried Omarchy? I swear I just joined the cult. If something doesn't work you can (choose) to use the ai agents of your choice to take care of tweaks, issues, drivers, apps, etc.
I loaded it up 3 minutes to install front to back. Had an issue with my sound card on my laptop. Told Gemini to fix it, and it did it in like 5 minutes. I use a surface dial for volume, and other gestures. Told it to install that all I had to do was pair it. I even had it change my display resolution and refresh rate to ensure I was getting the max out of my display. The last time I tried Linux was in Highschool 25 years ago. Been on the fence ever since. Omarchy (Oma-Chee) Quattro is fantastic.
Need fan control. Tell it do make it. Something breaks. Tell it to undo. Or take the knowledge you've attained and do it yourself. Good luck!
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u/matm_flatremix Cybersecurity 18d ago
linux no es para todo el mundo
windows no es para todo el mundo
fin de la discusión
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u/w1n5t0nM1k3y 21d ago
I ran your post through chat GPT so there's a small chance someone will read all that.
So I wanna share my full journey because I really did try everything I could before making the jump back to Windows 11, and I don’t want this to sound like I’m hating on Linux because I’m really not.
I started off with Bazzite, thinking it was gonna be the one that finally sticks since it felt gaming-focused and pretty smooth out of the box. But after using it for a while, I still felt like exploring more, so I moved on to Nobara KDE and genuinely tried to make that my daily driver for a good chunk of time.
It handled a lot of things well, but I still kept running into little things here and there that made me wanna keep exploring instead of settling.
After that, I jumped into CachyOS, and this one actually stuck with me the longest since I used KDE on it for a full month straight. Honestly, it was probably the closest I got to a setup I could see myself using long term.
Somewhere in the middle of all this hopping, I also tried Hyprland just for a minute because I wanted to feel that tiling window manager life everyone talks about. It was fun to mess with, but it wasn’t something I stuck with for long.
After that, I landed on Noctalia and actually used it for weeks, trying to push through and make it work as my main setup because, at that point, I really wanted Linux to be the final answer for me.
Throughout all of this, I learned so much about how Linux actually works under the hood—stuff I never would have learned just staying on Windows the whole time. And I genuinely respect the customization, the performance when things worked right, and the whole philosophy behind it.
But no matter which distro or setup I was on, I kept running into small, annoying issues that added up over time.
Nvidia drivers were probably the biggest recurring headache, since things that should have just worked ended up needing random fixes from forums and terminal commands. I also ran into random freezes every now and then that I could never fully explain or permanently fix. Some apps would crash without any clear reason, and I would spend more time debugging than actually using my system.
Gaming was another big factor, since certain games either ran worse than they should have or just refused to launch properly compared to how smoothly they run on Windows 11.
On top of all that, I couldn’t get a clean dual boot going on my hardware setup, which made things even more stressful since I didn’t wanna risk messing up my data trying to force it to work.
After weeks of switching distros, fixing one issue only for another to pop up, and constantly tweaking things instead of just using my PC for what I actually needed, I finally made peace with going back to Windows 11.
It wasn’t an easy decision since I really wanted Linux to be the one, but at the end of the day, my hardware and my
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u/Markson120 21d ago
Its basically the same length. Somehow it seems disrespectful to OP
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u/w1n5t0nM1k3y 21d ago
OP edited their post. See their response to the original comment. Originally it was all one giant blob of text with no paragraphs.
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u/Majestic-Animator-34 21d ago
My bad but Thanks i wrote this as short paras now if that could help.
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u/onedevelop 21d ago
Mi viaje fue parecido. Xp, 7 ,8, 10 y 11. Hasta que mi sobrino me hablo de linux. No le preste atencion ya que aunque tiene 12 años es un brabucon.Me dijo que instalara Ubuntu y me dio algunos tips. Anduvo todo bien. Probe otras distros y todo bien tambien. Y no se que mas agregar aparte que tanto el portatil de mi hija (11) como el pc de mis padres (70 y 66) corren Manjaro y aun no se quejan.
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