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Using Linux for the first time

I'm going to replace my host os on my shitty laptop with Linux specifically puppy Linux or alpine Linux from scratch and I need to know how will I get started and make it easier for myself, I use a HP notebook 540

27 comments
  • May I ask why you, as a beginner, specifically chose one of those distros instead of more "mainstream" ones?

    Puppy Linux's main use-case is to be a live ISO, that doesn't need to be installed to run. It doesn't mean it's not a good idea to install it, but I think if you want to use an Ubuntu derivative, there are better options for a beginner like Pop or Mint that would let you install a lightweight desktop environment like XFCE, LXDE, LXQt and so on.

    Alpine Linux is specifically designed to avoid all the core system tools that are pretty much universal on most other distros like glibc, systemd or GNU tools and libraries, which will make your life hell as a beginner if you need to troubleshoot anything as most "universal" documentation like the Arch wiki would be at best partially relevant, at worst useless.

  • It seems your machine has 4GB of RAM, in which case you can run KDE (for example) quite comfortably and don't necessarily need a lightweight-focused desktop environment. So I'd say to go with a popular distro, as the other comment suggested, and not a niche one. Then pick the DE you like from videos/screenshots.

  • Different distros are better for different things. For example, some require give you more control over the OS but are more difficult to learn, or require learning more things at once. Others will be easier to try out but may make choices on your behalf that you don't like - or distribute software in ways you don't like.

    Linux from Scratch will have a fairly steep learning curve. Nothing wrong with that, but you'd want to prepare yourself to be cool with things breaking or not making sense for a while.

    Puppy Linux is minimalist, which is something people usually only want after they've tried out something else that's not minimalist. I would recommend trying out something more general-purpose and try out different desktop environments and applications first.

  • If you go with Alpine, the general setup instructions should be OK and similar to other distros.

    Get the image on a USB, boot from USB, run setup-alpine and choose system-disk mode. Possibly encrypted if you think you need that.

    After install you'll be dropped to the terminal again.

    There are some post install notes here https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Installation#Post-Installation but you can run setup-desktop and get it to install a usable Xfce desktop, for example.

    The LXQt DE is a good choice for older devices. The wiki has a guide for it but needs a slight update. It should still work but may require switching to edge.

    Puppy Linux is a fine choice too if your computer is a little on the old side. Lite, Peppermint, Trisquel, antiX, and a slew of others are worth looking at.

27 comments