I'm at the point where I actually don't want to reinstall anymore, because it's a pain in the ass. I'm still on Ubuntu 20.04, even though the new LTS version has been out for more than a year by now. Ubuntu's current direction doesn't exactly give me an incentive to update, either, but to actually rectify that situation I'd need to reinstall as well.
Backup all your config files, reinstall OS, restore config files. Done. When I do it, the whole process takes a half hour tops. Let me know if you need help with that.
I've reinstalled OSs before, there's generally a lot more to it to get it running like before. For starters, half the config files don't work properly on the new OS because the application versions are different, unless you're just switching between Ubuntu flavors.
Me after my fifth dkstro hop
I'm on the verge of switching my gaming PC to Linux, the bloat of windows is becoming too much. I'm fairly PC literate but don't know anything about Linux or distros. It is intimidating to commit to a platform where I know so little. Does anyone have any tips regarding distros or learning the basics?
Look at ProtonDB to see what games you own will run on Linux.
Pop OS: is a good Ubuntu based distro.
The Nobara Project: is a Fedora based gaming distro.
Drauger OS: is another good gaming specific distro.
Each of these has their own pros and cons depending on your needs and hardware. Google is your best friends here. You will have issues with a game not working like you want. Again Google will be your best friend here.
My biggest suggestion is to embrace the challenges. Understand that in the last two years alone gaming on Linux has improved dramatically. Stay with it Linux is always maybe a better experience overall even if some of our games don't work right now.
With Redhat going kinda closed-source, will its derivatives like Fedora remain viable?
Don't remember how Canonical shit the bed, but I'm wary of using Ubuntu derivatives.
What would you recommend for a distro that keeps on top of security updates and is at least acceptable in terms of running games like AoE2 DE or The Outer Worlds?
As a Linux home user that uses windows for work, I recommend you start by debloating your windows. I prefer the Powershell script found here. There are multiple options for debloating windows on github, some also include tools to disable telemetry. I prefer more control over what telemetry gets disabled, and use O&O Shutup to manage that separately.
Then install a few Linux distros in a free hypervisor (Hyper-V/VirtualBox/VMware Player) on your lean windows. Note, Hyper-V is only avaliable on Pro versions of windows. Experiment until you find a Linux distro you are comfortable with. Build your confidence before you take that jump, and you'll be more likely to stick with it.
If you still find you may occasionally need windows, you can always dual boot, or run windows inside a hypervisor on Linux.
Rolling release means I never have to reinstall linux. Unless it breaks and I don't know how to fix it. So far It's been 1 year on Arch.
Spending more time making an install script to put everything in the right place than using Linux itself
installing something goes slightly awry
system still runs fine but there are a couple empty read-only folders on the drive
"Oh no! My perfect system is BORKED!"
reinstall the os
If it doesn't feel clean I need to redo everything!
Because my laptop has no screen, thus I'm blind until the Nvidia driver loads.
Accurate, distrohopping is quite the hobby
I had a perfectly working Debian desktop a year ago but I still wanted to try out fedora. I thought I found the perfect distro. Fast forward 3 different distros later. I'm now on MicroOS. I promise this will stay for a while. (Will it?)
I have been going through this dance for the last year, and I swear if not for clip studio I would have already dumped windows a long time ago. I have found an alternative for almost everything else (OneNote, Premiere, etc) but dammit, those vector layers are like a lifeline for me.
Blender's grease pencil is looking very appealing, but it's sheer scale e scaring the shit out of me lol
I've been thinking of going back to linux off and on again. The last time I did it, the games I wanted didn't work on Linux but that was, primarily Halo Infinite, but at this point most of those games suck. I'll have to check if Diablo will work and I'll especially be upset if Started doesn't work, but Linux is very enticing again.
The other issue I had last time was seeing fan curves was a nightmare, so I'll just have to find a good tool for that.
Since switching to Arch Linux distros I've never felt the need to re-install. Arch has also been the most reliable distro for me which flies in the face of convention that rolling distros can be unreliable.
Ughh this is me , I'm going to do it. It's been since 2016 I've had Linux installed. Why not again
Sounds about right, especially with AMD drivers. Windows 10 messes them up and nukes the os, leaving linux as the only thing that works on my PC lol
Every time I've tried a regular Linux distro lately networking has been absolute trash. It technically works but the delay between request and resolution is at least a minute long. But somehow, it magically works if I use ping from a command prompt? Pinging a site such as google.com comes right back and ping looks great, meanwhile I type in google.com and it won't pull up in a browser for a minute or longer. No proxy set, no weirdness, both wired and wireless. This is on any distro (Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, Pop!, Fedora, etc) and even separate PCs. My network? Well, it seems like Windows (on the same PCs), ChromeOS (Linux!), and Android (Linux!) just works somehow.
Linux has begun to become an absolute mess. I had used it since around 2000 and have dropped it lately because it's become so convoluted that I can't even use it effectively. Don't even get me started on the laughable disaster that is Wayland. Oh, look, it works on our expensive computers, must work on everyone's. "But not mine, it's not even nvidia--" INVALID BUG, WAYLAND IS PERFECT.
Pfft.
I've wanted to like Linux for such a long time.
But I don't want to have to troubleshoot simple things when I'm at home just trying to enjoy myself. I don't want to have to figure out why this or that won't install or why the instructions for this piece of software aren't working like they say it should.
I use Windows because it's just easy. Not great, but at least I can install applications with zero issues.
The idea of Linux is awesome, but the execution is so messy.
Well, honestly, most things in Linux these days have become very easy to do and running a typical desktop where you don't have a lot of advanced stuff going on is just as easy as Windows. The problem for me is Linux has dipped down in quality so much that I can't use it any more. They don't seem to care about extensively testing everything on all use cases and rejecting anyone who says that it doesn't work for them as "it works fine here, not a bug".
yeah, linux, famous for being bloated and slow on old laptops, especially old thinkpads
