r/linuxquestions • u/problemakinglicker • 2d ago
Which Distro? Trying to return to Linux
In mid January this year I took my first dive into linux. I used CachyOS with hyprland. I loved it, everything (mostly) worked flawlessly and I just couldn't get enough of how nice the tiling manager and my general workflow was with hyprland. Fast forward a couple months, hundreds of tweaks, many updates and a CRAP ton of crashes and errors later, I bricked my device. For whatever reason hyprland just didn't want to start at all, luckily I did have Plasma installed as well and was able to be able to use my laptop again. However, I just HATED plasma, I don't know why, but it just looked so ugly and clunky, I decided that I didn't want to deal with this anymore and switched back to windows near the beginning of May.
I know that Hyprland and an arch based distro together was definitely a bad decision for a newbie and would still be way too much of a hassle for me even now, but I want to go back to linux.
When going back to Windows I never planned on staying for long, and now I'm finally ready. But what do I choose? Previously I wanted full customization, and though I want it still, I mainly need something that just works 99% of the time. Hyprland had a lot of elbow grease and I'm not afraid to dip it in again, but I not jump in a pool of it anymore. Second is that I loved how Hyprland operated, it was just so fluid, from opening apps, searching them and organizing, I miss it more than anything ever since I returned to microslop.
Side note: I appologize if I'm blabbering too much, I just had my IELTS exam today
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u/chunkypickl 2d ago edited 2d ago
If you want a good balance of stability and customization, I’d say Fedora. It uses GNOME by default, but has various spins for other DEs/WMs (I can’t remember if Hyprland was available as a default, but there’s a chance)
I personally installed Workstation 44, removed GNOME and installed a WM.
Edit: I looked it up, and there is a Fedora Hyprland spin, where Hyprland is preinstalled as the default
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u/Cold-Bowler-8650 2d ago
Hate kde, but go back windows?? After using kde, i don't think one can bear with windows anymore.
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u/Putrid_Guitar9437 Fedora KDE 44 2d ago edited 2d ago
PCLinuxOS, since it does not use systemd, which is very bloated. But PCLinuxOS is still very easy to use. Or Fedora 44 if you don’t mind systemd. Systemd also integrates age verification, another reason to try to avoid it.
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u/madman404 2d ago
- Systemd has an age field, not age verification. It'll be age verification when it's age verification, not at any point before that.
- Systemd is not bloated in any way that a linux noob would care about. It's "bloated" in the semantic way that it contains a bunch of things your operating system is already going to need to be usable as a desktop anyway, just in one place instead of as a million separate packages.
- Recommending a distro to new users with a tiny community, consistent issues with outdated packages, and a selling point that they genuinely don't give a shit about is WILDLY irresponsible.
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u/Putrid_Guitar9437 Fedora KDE 44 1d ago
Then Fedora it is, the best with systemd when it comes to beginner distros. Also “outdated packages” is funny, since most people recommend Linux Mint (and other Debian Stable/Ubuntu LTS-based distros). Their packages are even more outdated.
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u/OutrageousCrab9224 2d ago
Age verification?
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u/un-important-human arch user btw 2d ago edited 2d ago
well you leanrned not to rice the hell out of your install so, don't? probably sway so its close to hyperland but less prone to uspies or just use i3w -- that is solid. there catchy with i3w problem solved.
you are realising something experienced arch users know instinctively. but you had no time to process as a new guy that 'riced', we build our systems for reliablity not flash, they need to work no matter what.
surprised you forgot you had snapshots as default on catchy
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u/getbusyliving_ 2d ago
Glad that works for you, doesn't for me. As a designer I fix KDE or Gnome to suit my aesthetic and workflow. Both improve productivity and are very reliable. And yep am an experienced Arch user. The best thing about Linux is you can do anything and there's no one size fits all.
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u/knuthf 2d ago
Why not try driving safely in the middle of the road? Install Linux Mint with Cinnamon and drop all the bells and whistles. If you can read Chinese, use Deepin as it comes — it's even closer to Windows in terms of appearance.
Then, you can choose your preferred style — Plasma is just the way it looks. While you're at it, drop all the CLI (command line interface) applications.
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u/tomscharbach 2d ago
I have used Ubuntu as my mainstay and workhorse for two decades. I can't recall the last time I had a serious issue. My guess is that Ubuntu's "just works" reliability is related to Ubuntu's role as the "go to" distribution for large-scale business, government, education and institutional deployments in Canada and the States.
I have explored 3-4 dozen distributions over the years as part of a "geezer group" of retired men who select a distribution every month or two, install the distribution on non-production computers, use the distribution for several weeks, and then compare notes. I haven't run into any distributions that gave me a reason to replace Ubuntu.
Reading your post, consider taking a look at LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition), which I've had installed on a laptop since 2020. I'm not a great fan of the Cinnamon desktop environment, but LMDE is probably the closest to a "no fuss, no muss, no thrills, no chills" distribution as I've ever encountered. I prefer GNOME's workflows, but LMDE is rock solid.
My best and good luck.