1y ago

Beginner's Guides for Switching to Linux?

Hello!

I'm interested in moving my personal computer to running Linux but I'm not sure where to even begin. As background, I am a casual user and have a desktop with hardware from around 2014 running Windows. I am hoping to setup a NAS drive as a media server in the next year or so, offloading all of the files currently on the Windows desktop and have been interested in open source software such as Jellyfin. I also mostly game on an Xbox and Nintendo Switch, but have used the desktop in the past for gaming such as with an Oculus Rift Headset and some Steam games so not huge on getting games working on the computer. But, I do sometimes torrent using the computer so don't want to lose that capability (especially with upkeep for the media server).

With all of that said, I didn't know how to get started with choosing what Linux OS to use, setting it up, backing up my files to make sure I can use them with the new OS, etc. Making the switch seems to have great options for customization and "choosing a distro that works for you", but I don't know what would work for me or what will be user friendly for a beginner.

Any tips or pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

191 comments

I think my biggest tip is to manage your expectations. What you are attempting is not the same as simply moving to a new version of Windows -- literally everything will be different. You've spent a lifetime learning how to perform all these tasks until they became second-nature, but now you plan to move to a whole new system. Thing will be in different places, the way you tweak settings or access content will be different, and it's going to be very frustrating because hey, this task should be easy. Don't expect to cram all those years of experience into re-learning a new system in a few weeks.
The good news is that there's a huge support community, and just about anything you want to do has already been asked and can be found through a quick search. Stick with it, and you'll discover that linux actually gives you quite a lot more control over what you can do with your hardware (not to mention nearly all the software is free). It won't be long before you're asking how you ever survived without many of these tools.
- Okay thank you! Could you give some examples about tasks that "should be easy" but aren't? I've worked with MacOS casually and I thought it was based on Unix (maybe?), so I was at least aware that the way to maneuver through the desktop/settings/file searches are different from Windows of course. I am certainly not a power user, just getting frustrated with companies overstepping more and more and want to cut myself from their whims, if that makes sense.
  
  In the beginning it seemed like everything was a task -- how do I install new software, how do I set up the right display or printer driver, how do I upgrade the whole OS? Then it quickly got down to making things look and act in a way that made more sense to me, or even adding and moving things around on the start menu. Back when I started, setting up dual monitors required manually building an X11 startup file and upgrading the OS usually meant compiling a new display driver, but that was around 2005 so of course things are MUCH better now.
  Eventually you'll get down to the point of simply finding compatible software to reproduce something you did in Windows, which usually isn't difficult. A lot of this is going to depend on exactly how you use your computer and what you expect from it. I was already using Firefox and Thunderbird when I made the switch so that covered like half the things I needed at the time. Microsoft Office is (thankfully) gone although some parts of Libre Office still feel a bit rough. There's pretty much no remaining support for Adobe pdf files, so if your employer makes use of advanced features for filling out forms then you may run into trouble (of course standard PDFs are very well supported). You will find things along the way where some business has made a point of locking people in to their product and there's not much you can do except point out to your employer that they're buying licenses for something that is free and more widely supported in open source products, but mostly you'll just find your own solutions to work around these issues.
- Yeah that's what has made me apprehensive to be honest. I feel pretty comfortable in windows doing many things, and my wife has a MacBook that I'm also pretty comfortable using so learning a new, third OS does seem obtuse. I like the idea of having more control over the software, but don't want to lose the "it just works" feeling of an OS or software I am used to using.
  
  That mindset unfortunately leads you to being locked into vendor-specific ecosystems with no control about the software you're using. The big vendors (MS, Apple) know this and have already started extracting more value (in form of data) from their users. Next step will be to put more stuff into their clouds and sell you a subscription. You'll be renting software with included spyware then. With zero control yourself. Linux and FOSS gives you control back. It's also quite easy to use in 2023.
  
  It doesn't really take long to get the basic stuff figured out though, but there is definitely that initial feeling of being lost. As others have suggested, start out running something in a VM on your Windows desktop, then you can quickly go back and forth to practice doing things in linux as you have time (plus it's a huge benefit to have a working browser in Windows so you can do a search if something breaks).
  Linux has a number of different desktop environments to choose from, and what's cool is you can load up multiple types and select one at the login screen. If you want to start with something that is reasonably comfortable, try loading the 'Mate' desktop. Maybe I'm just used to old-school Windows (Win2K was the last one I used), but I've always thought Mate did a good job of putting all everything in logical places. As for the OS itself, there's also been a lot of suggestions so I'll throw mine in as well... I'm a die-hard Debian fan, both on my desktop and on my servers. It does NOT push bleeding-edge releases on you, so this means you won't have the very latest updates but to me it's more important to have a rock-solid system that I can always rely on. I've been using it for about 15 years now and it has never failed me.

Linux mint is in my opinion the best distro for a new user, but you may personally not be fond of the UI.
I don't know how to write a guide for you, but if you have more specific questions feel free to ask them, best of luck!
- I like Mint a lot, and have it running on one of my computers, even though it's not my daily driver.
  However, I recently tried Zorin just to see what the fuss is about and honestly I can't see many reasons to recommend Mint above Zorin to new users. Both are based on Ubuntu LTS and have a bunch of tools to allow purely graphical management and Zorin has several windows-like layouts (both 10 and 7) that are more polished in my view, but Zorin also has the benefit of a more modern compositor and DE base with Wayland support, being based on gnome and mutter.
  I'd be interested in your perspective, as from my end the only reason now to recommend mint (until muffin gets sufficiently modernised) would be if you knew a user would prefer cinnamon's slightly more traditional feel (almost XP), or if in the future LMDE became more of an important feature.
- LMDE is great.
- Thank you for the suggestion!
- Why do you suggest it for a new user? Is it just more user friendly?
  
  Distros based on Ubuntu, such as Ubuntu itself, Mint, Pop!_OS, Zorin, etc. are targeted toward new and casual users. They automate a lot of things that other distros assume their users want to do on their own.
  Mint is a popular choice because it’s non-corporate and has a very Windows-like default UI. But you’d be fine on any of the ones I listed.

Most people just use a browser these days, and they behave the same in every OS.
Steam has proton to run non native games on Linux, and works well enough for most things.
Try a few live images before making the switch.
- That's true, most of what I do would be in a browser as a casual user. My work laptop would still be running Windows and doing what I "need" (Excel, SolidWorks, etc.) Although I want to keep the ability to torrent and manage my media files nicely, I'm open to using different softwares than I'm used to for those.

I'd say don't over think it. Just pick a distribution and try to stick with it. The vast choices is also a curse for newcomers. It definitely delayed my journey by years going back to Windows.
Start with something well supported, I'd pick Mint.
Get games or whatever you use the computer for the most to work OK. Nvidia don't like Linux, pick AMD.
Be prepared to give up some old habits instead of forcing windows software on Linux. For example I had to give up Lightroom and as a photography hobbyist it was hard at first. Now I use Darktable and the switch back to Lightroom today seems equally hard.
So in short. Install a beginner friendly distro and get the most important stuff working and begin using the computer as much as possible.
- Lots of suggestions for Mint so it seems that's a good choice for me! Thank you!
  
  No problem. It probably won't be the one you end up with if you stick to Linux for a couple of years but as I said don't distro-hop. The big jump is the one to Linux. The difference between distributions isn't that important. Good luck!
- I forget what GPU I currently have but I may be upgrading soon anyway so I'll be sure to keep that in mind for the purchase. That's the first big step: finding software to fit my needs as they come up but that can be piece by piece!

I've been using linux for over 30 years, from Linux from Scratch to Mint. Dont' pick a distro that makes you seem 1337 or anything. I must say, that for the not-so terminal-savvy user, linux Mint is a great pick, most stuff (if not all) can be done with the GUI, and the installer is a breeze.
Picking a distro is one thing, picking a desktop environment is, in my opinion, more important. With default Mint, you get Cinnamon, which is a great pick, a balance between saving resources and eye candy. You also have XFCE which is very light, but some integrations are lacking, and it's lightness shows in the basic appearance. Gnome is another beast, can almost look as slick as MacOS, but is very resource hungry. And then there's KDE. This is something your either love or hate, no inbetween.
And for every task you want to perform, you'll need to have a little selection process, since there's a lot of choices.
Steam works most of the time. I only know about NVidia cards, but with the right drivers (for which Mint has a nice tool) it works well.
As said, I've used a lot of different Linux flavours, from very hacky and compily ones to very UX oriented ones. In the end, the UX one did it for me, I just wanted something that worked. So I do recommend Mint with cinnamon.
- Okay great! An interesting tea combination: Mint with Cinnamon :) do most desktop environments work with most distros, or is there a list per each distro?
  
  I second the Mint recommendation, but with your older hardware, I suggest using the version with Xfce instead of Cinnamon, as it's lighter weight
  
  is it possible? yeah, it's linux, you can do whatever you want. but as a newcomer, I'd pick a distro + DE combo that you can install all at once as switching may not be the most straightforward process. when you want more control so you can set things up exactly the way you like them, there's more DIY distros that make the process easier (because you don't first have to remove the configuration that made the existing DE work the way it's set up to work).
  
  Most desktop enviornments work with most distros. There will be a selection of linux users that say it doesnt matter because though its true you can make any distro look like each other. The navigations can change depending on the distro you use. I agree with most of the comments here, since you are starting out, mint is a solid choice. You get the backings of ubuntu, + its very user frienldy. A gui for packages/drivers and good sweep of software for daily usage. Im using it now since my arc 380 gpu is supported on it to use as the host for my virtual machines. ( i virtualize other distros/BSD and windows [for those pesky windows only games/programs])
  
  Yes, most desktop environments work with most distros. And it is quite easy to switch between them.
  Something I didn't think about when my Linux journey started: A new desktop environment is exactly that. By installing a second environment you will end up with two different programs to open pictures, two different programs to open your files,.. Not a problem, just very bloaty. So chosing the prefered desktop environment in the beginning is the easiest way.
  More experienced users don't choose a distro based on the desktop environments they come with but because of other factors.. For me release cycle, package manager, stability and software philosophy were important and I installed Debian.

Install Linux, get frustrated with it, reinstall windows and live with it - repeat for over a decade until you realise the last time you installed Linux you didn't get frustrated and have been using it for the past two years.
- Optionally, dual-boot until you can't remember when you last booted into Windows.
  
  Yes dual booting seems to be the way to go for a while so I've got my toes in the water but not lost the safety net just yet!

My main tips are: get the live ISOs of a few of the most used Linux distributions, I'd recommend in particular: Debian (my current one), Mint, Fedora and OpenSUSE.
For Debian and Fedora, get both the KDE and GNOME editions. OpenSUSE is mainly only KDE, and Mint uses Cinnamon. Those are the "desktop types".
Try each live system on a virtual machine and see which one you like best. Your main choice tbh is the desktop environment you like the best (mine is KDE, also called Plasma), each distribution has it's own way of doing a few things as well.
Then pick the one you enjoy the most. All of those are long-lived, stable and well-supported and documented.
Source: me, I've used Linux since 2003 and introduced all my family it and they have been using it for years with no issue.
- What are the main differences between fedora and Debian?
  Fedora with gnome is usually my go to distro, but I have been playing around with endeavor and arch.
  
  Technical differences:
  Fedora uses RPM for package format, and is made to work with the latest versions of software, so it's almost a rolling release, and receives VERY constant updates (but it's still solid). The only other release model is the SilverBlue/Kinoite which is all about having an immutable base system and managing your applications through Flatpak.
  Debian OTOH uses the DEB package format, and comes in 3 update models:
  unstable (bleeding edge software, breaks may occur) with constant updates
  testing, or Sid (with actively tested software, more akin to Fedora's main model. Stuff rarely goes wrong)
  stable (receives mostly security updates, focus on using battle-tested software versions. Ideal for servers and people who want their system to absolutely not go wrong. It's my current pick)
  Project differences:
  Fedora is on paper "community driven" but it's actually backed and steered on by RedHat. There's also a current proposal about implementing telemetry (turned on by default).
  Debian is entirely community-made and driven, with no big corporation being its owner and/or main sponsor, and it has a stronger focus on FOSS. It's about as old as RedHat (both have their origins in the early 90s), so you can bet they'll both be around basically forever.
  Edit: both are great distros, mature, stable and easy to use. Fedora was previously my most beloved, but my relationship with it soured over RedHat's leadership decisions. Don't let my current salt take away from the review :')
- I agree with this 100%. I've actually found that one distro can work out the box with my hardware, and another distro is impossible to use. I think it's important to try out a few and see what appeals to you. Example, elementary os is pretty nice, but it almost seems vacant because it tries to mimic Mac. Zorin os is also really nice, but there's something about it that just feels off. I recently installed endeavor os on a tablet PC, and everything is working out the box. I can't believe how easy it was, and I've been using Linux on and off since 2004.
- Okay I'll try out a few and keep notes on which ones I prefer until I make that "final" decision.
  
  Have fun, I believe one of those will fit your needs just fine ✨
- Okay great! I'll give those each a try. Thank you!

Be prepared to take a temporary hit in productivity as you learn. There will also be a degree of learning curve. Don't get discouraged. When you do, take the advice that someone else pointed out of having a dual boot system so you can switch back to Windows. This way you won't be tempted to nuke it and go back just to have a temporary break.
Good luck!
- Thank you!
- Thank you!

The biggest advice I can give is to start with something like, as has been mentioned, Linux Mint, but also, don't buy into the idea that you eventually need to move to a more "advanced" distro. If Mint, or wherever you wind up, works for you, and you have no compelling reason to switch, then don't. All Linux is Linux, so to speak, the only things that distinguish distros are packages/package managers, default settings/configurations, and pre-installed programs. There's nothing preventing you from eventually becoming a power-user on a "noob-friendly" distro, if that's something you desire in the first place.
- Okay that's good to know! Stick with one to get more comfortable until it doesn't do something I need, basically?
  
  Choosing a distro is sort of like driving a car. If you’re not a car person, you probably don’t particularly care what your vehicle’s 0-60 is, or how much torque your engine gets, or something else. You probably just want something that’s comfortable and looks nice.
  As you learn about linux, you may become very interested in it, to the degree that you care about things like init systems and package management. In that case, there will be distros that suit your tastes. But if you don’t care, it’s perfectly ok to just something that feels comfortable and looks nice.
  The people who are passionate about linux will have the loudest voices, and will make their favorite distro sound really good, because they are passionate. You don’t have to be that passionate, though. And if at some point you do become that passionate, you will likely be motivated to learn all the fine details on your own so you can make an informed decision that suits your own tastes, so you really won’t have to worry about matching someone else’s.
  It’s good that people get excited about linux, but under the hood the distros are more alike than they are different. Don’t feel you need to have some specific distro experience to be part of the discussion: just use what you like, and if at some point you become dissatisfied, then consider changing.
  
  Yep, pretty much. If your system works, no need to change it.

I personally started on Linux Mint and after 6 months jumped to Artix. Mint is a very good base to learn and I recommend to just jump in and search everything you dont know how to do and eventually you will know enough to be comfortable using Mint.
- Did you also hate systemd or something?
- Okay great! What made you make that jump?

I started using Linux with a dual-boot and always booted back into Windows because it worked better since I set it up right and was confortable with it. Only booting Linux and taking the time to understand how to do whatever I want to do finally made me comfortable enough to wipe that partition.
So my recommendation is don't be discouraged if things seem hard or annoying, it will definitely get better over time.
Chew
- Okay I appreciate that advice!

The best way to switch imo is to first to switch some of your currently installed app on windows with others that have a linux version, so you will not be entirely lost when you switch os.
For example Microsoft Office is not available on linux so maybe try libreoffice or onlyoffice, another example Photoshop doesn't have a linux version too.
Then maybe try to familiarize with the os on a vm or on a live usb, especially on a live usb so you know what works out of the box and with your hardware.
If you want to game look for you games on protondb if they work or not, for online games instead watch areweanticheatyeat to see if the anticheat work.
Last tip is to go with a know distro not something obscure like steamos or kali linux, they are not meant to be used as daily drivers especially kali and can give you problems that will not occurre in other distro!
- Thank you for the tips!
  
  No problem!
- Okay thank you! Do you know of a good list of Linux compatible alternatives to Windows software? I'm sure I can track some down but may want to get familiar before making the jump like you said.
  
  Tell me a software you use usually, and I'll tell you the Linux equivalent
  
  Dunno any, but if you maybe tell me the software you want to switch I can tell you the alternative available on both Linux and Windows if available.
  
  I would check out AlternativeTo. You can search for programs you use (and filter by OS).

Step 1: Make a list of the software you use, and search online to see if they work on Linux.
Step 2: For the ones that don't work on Linux, find alternatives and use them for a few days.
Step 3: Download a linux distribution's iso into a pen drive, and boot from that. See how everything feels. (Don't install it yet.)
Step 4: Install a linux alongside your Windows (i.e. dual-booting).
Step 5: When you realise that you are no longer using Windows, you can think of removing it, particularly if you're short of disk space.
As for which distribution to use, I would suggest Linux Mint, but Pop OS and Ubuntu are also fairly beginner-friendly.
- I second number 4.
  Since Microsoft does what Microsoft does you might run into trouble with not being able to boot Linux after the first time you bored into windows again. It's not a biggie. Google solutions and you will be able to restore Grub easily.
  I run dual boot and I've been doing it for over 10 years. Best of two worlds.
  
  Thank you! What does Grub mean?
- I appreciate the advice! Thank you!

You should dual boot windows and linux if you want to keep using the Oculus Rift because there is no chance to getting it working on linux.
In my opinion its better to first test out some distros in virtual box and use them for the tasks that you would usually use your computer for. I'd recommend trying out Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, Debian, and Pop OS. These are solid distros that work.
Once you find a distro that you like, you should start dual booting it. I got a second drive for that, before eventually copying all the files I needed over to the second drive and wiping the first drive to be my main after a year. (you can still access your windows files this way without losing any storage to linux) (steam games do not work when on windows partitions so you'll still have to redownload games)
- Oh, why would the Rift not work? Just no compatibility? I've used it with some Steam games which I thought I understood to work fine in Linux.
  
  Yeah its not compatible, but also even with compatible headsets VR barely works. I have never gotten VR to work on linux myself.

Install Linux Mint, whatever flavor you like the look of
Figure out how to install whatever you need
Enjoy!
Don't worry about customization, just figure out how to get your stuff installed and go from there. Once everything is working as you want, then try customizing.
- How do y'all get past the Nvidia Optimus issues? All the Windows machines in my house have Nvidia graphics, which means at least the laptops have Optimus. I would love to move my wife's laptop over to Linux when Windows 10 goes EOL, but I had a work laptop with Optimus that ran Ubuntu, and the thing was a nightmare. I didn't really mind because it was a work laptop. But it caused so many issues coming in and out of sleep that I just disabled sleep altogether. I had horrible screen tearing issues. The GPU performance was bad (probably because I had to use the open source driver to fix the screen tearing issues). It was just a horrible experience that I could look past, but my wife can't.
  
  Linux Mint has the Additional Driver section on Settings. It'll provide you with options. For your graphic driver, select the recommended one, which would most likely be the proprietary driver for nvidia. Hit OK, and restart.
- Thank you! When people say "customizing" (throughout this thread and others) what are they referencing? For instance, just the desktop layout/formatting, or the way the files are structured, or the kinds of software they are using for tasks?
  
  The answer to that varies by person. But when I say it, I mean doing large changes, like switching your desktop environment (e.g. GNOME -> KDE or a tiling window manager) or trying out custom kernels (e.g. using a different scheduler, like linux-ck, linux-clear, etc). So I guess a little of the first and a little of the last.

My method was easy.
Completely removed and eradicated windows, and forced myself to adapt and learn Linux.
Used it for gaming and everything. No regrets.
- How good is linux gaming nowadays on the desktop? I have a steamdeck but I mainly use it for emulation and rarely play pc games. Gaming is the last percieved hurdle for me to flip.
  
  I use NVIDIA on Wayland with the kernel-open module and... It's pretty much bloody bulletproof. I don't play anything with anti-cheat but outside of that I've less of my Steam library fail on Linux than on Win10.
  
  Well, my wife's gaming PC ran linux for the last few years. And, as a non-technical person, she never noticed, nor had issues playing games.
- I suppose trial by fire can be a fast method of learning! Thanks for the response!
  
  It's very effective.
  Just try not to mess up your xorg.conf.
  That typically ends in pain.

Please pick a rolling distro with KDE Plasma. I would recommend Endeavour OS.
A rolling distro is the most similar thing to keeping a Windows installation in terms of updates if you don't change the big version. You get constant updates, sure, but it's also really more compatible because software is not frozen until the next OS release.
In contrast, a standard release distro is more akin to macOS. You install the OS, but every X (6? 9? 12?) months, you must upgrade to the next big thing. This presents 2 problems IMHO: you have to wait that long for updates you might need, and the upgrade might break a lot of things.
And KDE is a Desktop Environment. This is the look and feel of the desktop. In my experience, I tried Gnome, Cinnamon, and XFCE, thinking they might be more aligned with the FOSS philosophy. Then I tried KDE because I bought a Steam Deck, and I immediatly loved it and haven't looked back. It's that good.
- Okay great! What are the improvements/benefits of KDE that make you say that?
  
  Customization doesn’t break as often, and you opt out of features already built in, rather than installing third party extensions that might bug out with every update.
  You feel like you can change KDE to your workflow, rather than feel the DE force you into a specific way of working.

Learn by doing is my best advice. Most distributions have a willing volunteer support team, but my personal favourite is Gentoo who has users that will spend hours walking newbies through pretty much anything as long as they're willing to meet them even partway.
It's a good way to learn a lot about Linux and how it works (and how to solve your own problems) but I'd recommend it mostly if you're the type that enjoys jumping in the deep end to learn!
- Okay thanks for the response!

There are a lot of "linux for beginners" blogs/videos/whatever. They're a good way to get an overview and learn the first steps. Don't get into a rabbit hole, though. Watch a couple and start trying it out.
You can try out Linux distros in a virtual machine (VM). You'll have to use your web-searching-skills to find a program that can run a VM as i can't recommend one that runs on Windows.
That program runs the operating system on top of the one you have now, so you don't need to reinstall over and over again while you find a distribution that works for you.
A distribution is what we call "a linux". "Linux" is just a part of the OS, and a distribution combines it with other software to make something your computer can boot. If this is a bit confusing, don't worry, it's not important, you just have to remember the word "distribution" (or distro)
I use a distro called Fedora, but between that and Ubuntu and Linux Mint you should find one that works for you. Don't overthink it. They all do the same job in slightly different ways, so just pick one and start using it for the stuff you usually use your computer for. Ubuntu is the easiest to search for help for, and Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, so 99.9% of solutions will be the same for Mint. Distros not based on Ubuntu works with the same instructions 90% of the time, but that might be too annoying when you are justvgetting your feet wet.
Note that a lot of distros have multiple "editions", "spins" or whatever they decided to call it. They mostly differ in the way your "desktop" is presented. Just look at some Youtube videos and some screenshot and try them out.
Now go use your computer with Linux. A lot of the initial friction is from having to learn stuff over again. Search the web for solutions and if you don't find them ask for help.
Your distrobution's forums are usually a good place to start, so is places like this. Try to give information you think might be relevant when asking for help and and help people help you by following their instructions and providing the information they ask for. Finding solutions to problems is like a seperate skill you need to train, so if it's confusing or you feel dumb for not understanding something, don't get discouraged, you're just getting better.
Welcome to the Linix community, we hope you like it.
- Thank you! I'll look into them. Why did you decide to choose Fedora over the others you mentioned?
  
  I'm not them, but I'll give my reasons. Compared to Ubuntu or Linux Mint, Fedora is more up-to-date, I like the default desktop more, and it uses a method of installing applications called "Flatpak," which I like more than Ubuntu's "Snap." (Snap can be removed on Ubuntu, but Fedora's default setup is closer to what I want.) Compared to other distros, it is more polished and consistent, largely due to it being backed by a large company. Fedora is really good for both power users and beginners, but being up-to-date can sometimes lead to bugs or incompatibilities, and the default desktop (GNOME) can be hard to adjust to. As a result, I would recommend Linux Mint as a good option for you.
  
  By circumstance.
  It was hard for me initially to switch over because i kept either creating or running into problems i couldn't figure out how to solve.
  This overlapped with the Snowden leaks and i got really interested in privacy and security which lead to me running Qubes OS[1] for a short while. It was a slow and almost painful experience since i didn't actually have anything worth that effort to protect - but it got me over the edge and i wiped Qubes and reinstalled Fedora 23.
  At the time i just liked the package manager better, for reasons that are no longer relevant.
  Today i like it because it forces me into good habits of: figuring out what exactly is misbehaving > finding the official documentation or issue tracker for it > finding a solution or reporting the it to the developers.
  Don't tire yourself out with that in the beginning. Just do stuff you need or stuff that seems fun.
  Protip: Learn how to use Toolbx or Distrobox to create a "sandbox", (that's both the technical term and a very descriptive one) that will make it easier to get back to a working state if you mess something up. Learn about and understand what it can't get back to a working state. This will help keep you sane if you like to tinker.
  1 A Linux-like operating system that only runs VMs and everything you do happens inside one of these. This way you can isolate you virtual "work computer" from your virtual "personal computer", making it harder for malicious programs to access the rest if your data.

Learn by doing. Just make the switch and fix every problem you run into. Google is your friend.
- The "fixing every problem I run into" is what is making me apprehensive in the first place. I don't really have the time or energy to troubleshoot at home, especially being a pretty light user. Given enough time I feel I could figure things out, but I don't think they would be worth the effort since what I have now does work for me. I was just looking for the most convenient way to slide into it as opposed to making a switch and hitting a break wall if that makes sense.

You should probably try Linux Mint, or if you have an NVIDIA card, Pop!_OS
- Thanks! Why specifically an NVIDIA card?
  
  Because Pop OS comes with nvidia driver preinstalled! On Linux mint you can install the nvidia driver pretty easly but not as easly with them being preinstalled for you.

I just moved from Windows to Linux (currently, PopOS) this year around.
You can try out beginner friendly distributions like PopOS, Linux Mint, ZorinOS which are Ubuntu-Debian based or Fedora. Like others have mentioned, applications made on Linux are expected to be cross-compatible with all distributions so your choice will mainly come down to what desktop environment you like as there are many with different feel to the user experience.
To know what works for you try these out in a VM if possible before biting the bullet so you know what all packages are present in Linux, and what all of your usecase will need to be managed through WINE/Proton compatibility layers.
You would want to avoid Ubuntu, and installing anything through Snap or PPA repositories if it ever comes up in your searches.
- Thank you for the response! Those you said are getting a lot of mentions so I think Mint will be a good first choice to make the swap.
  
  No problem mate !
  Once you're on Mint's page, just have a look over the other desktop environments (DE) offered. Screenshots will not tell you the entire picture, but at least you can have a look at what you don't find appealing.
  But remember not to really worry about the DE, you can always install another one and remove the one you don't like.
- @curiousgoo @WR5 "You would want to avoid Ubuntu, and installing anything through Snap or PPA repositories if it ever comes up in your searches."
  Snaps have improved greatly and there's nothing to stop people from using Flatpak instead. Also, it's not clear why you suggested not using PPA repositories, there are risks, but there are advantages too. Ubuntu has a huge support community, I've been using Ubuntu happily since 2007, tried many other distros, but always go back.
  
  Mainly from a security standpoint PPAs are something I would want to avoid.
  I've not used Snap since I tried it out a couple of years ago, it wasn't as good as Flatpak in terms of performance, and there were concerns which got highlighted like it's entirely proprietary and hosted by Canonical only, I heard Snap was being forced even when you would want through system packages, and something about forced updates.
  I get why Flatpak is better in terms of sandboxing each application, but I personally prefer to use system packages wherever I can.
  
  Why would you recommend Canonical/Ubuntu to new users when there are better distros without proprietary snap stores you have to work around.
  Ubuntu is a good and stable distro, the community is great and it's good that you feel at home with it. But that doesn't make it an obvious choice for beginners when there are simply better alternatives for them - talking mainly about Mint.

Scan through some YouTube videos of each of these recommended distros and see which one you like the look of best; They are all good recommendations.
I'd like to throw Zorin in the pot, I use it on all my devices (and servers) since it's just smooth and works without fuss or tinkering. There's a Gnome version and an XFCE version, both are very nice. XFCE is a little lighter in weight of course, which you may like or need.
- What do the "versions" represent? From what I understand elsewhere, Gnome is the desktop styling correct?
  
  Kinda like that, but a bit more. Those are desktop environments, which differ in more than just styling. Most popular ones are gnome, KDE, xfce, but there are dozens of others. Most distributions come with one directly supported, but you can install others usually and pick at login.

I did the same and moved to kubuntu. You can play Xbox game on the cloud really good on Linux. And you have heroic games launcher for the main non steam launchers. I game and work in Linux and couldn't be happier honestly, ask me anything you want
- Okay that's good to know. What made you choose kubuntu specifically?
  
  Not OP, but I've been running Kubuntu since 2017 since it's desktop environment looks and works very similar to Windows 7 (desktop with icons, taskbar, launcher, search, options, etc) which is what I was used to after running Windows for two decades before. It's also stable and sees a lot of mainstream apps being ported to it.
  
  Kubuntu is like an enhanced windows. You can make it with exactly in the same way, and even add loads of customisation. I have scripts that set up my work environment, or game environment in terms of screens. Ubuntu is really nice too, but I found kde Ubuntu was easier to tweak

So far my main struggle with any flavor of Linux has been battery drain and ram usage. I haven’t been able to get laptops to suspend properly, they only turn the screen off.
- That's an interesting problem. I'm no expert so can't help you, but I'm just replying to say it does work for me.
  It may be laptop specific. I have a Framework laptop, and they provide official guides for Linux including setting up for minimal battery drain, so I'm very lucky that way.
- I'm hoping to keep it on desktop (not allowed to edit my work laptop), so hopefully that won't be an issue but will keep it in mind for power usage. Thank you!

The recommendations here aren't bad but I would highly recommend ZorinOS. It's familiar to Windows and does a lot to be beginner friendly.
- Okay great I'll add it to the list to research! Thank you.

Here's a tl;dr of my Linux learning curve -- from 0 (Windows pleb) to hero:
Start with a "user-friendly" distro (Linux Mint, ZorinOS) and get used to its package manager (i.e How to install, uninstall and remove stuff. Also, your best friend.).
Then go for a more "serious" distro like Debian. And from Debian... Arch. Keep at it until you've got the most interesting commands (and "whom is whom" regarding video graphics, audio, etc... the "basic" stuff) written on your forehead.
After that, "duckduckgo" about "Minimal linux installation" or "Baremetal linux installation". Follow the instructions closely and at heart. PS: You are gonna suffer a bit.... but that is perfectly fine. Once again, you are gonna have to get used to it and to witness "your own distro" booting up for the first time. Yes, the nerdgasm feels quite great.
At this point, there is nothing "much" to learn other than to add more "depth" to the stuff you learned by "duckduckgo" about "Linux how do I improve my network", "Linux how to improve performance", etc until you are used to all that.
Now, you've reached the "average user" status and there is nothing "strictly necessary" to learn -- so start your own github, send your .dotfiles/scripts in, and go take a break. Congrats, you are now a penguin.
- "duckduckgo" is a horrible verb holy moly. We have to give that credit to google, "google it" sounds way way better than "duckduckgo it" "bing it", "yandex it" etc
  
  Now that you mention it....yep. That was horrible.
  idk, how about "duck it"? Or "dduck it".
- I'm not wanting to dive into programming specifically (only dipped my toes in the past for school/work as needed but certainly not experienced) so I'm not interested in maintaining scripts and a GitHub if that is necessary for Arch or what you mentioned as "serious" distros. That's good information though, thank you!
  
  I think the above comment was a but of a joke but it’s not wrong. You will eventually develop the urge to customize your experience heavily and some scripts and dotfiles (these are just files that hold your configurations for various programs) will be necessary for that. But don’t worry about that right now. Just start small with the suggestion here like Mint or Ubuntu and enjoy. You will get frustrated, you will learn a bunch and you will have a fun time (eventually)

If you're not a techy person/power user, I would recommend staying with Kubuntu/Xubuntu (flavors of Ubuntu, that seem familiar to Windows users), or a more loved variant Linux Mint. You'll have everything you need there, and your gaming will do just fine using Steam thanks to Proton. My first time (~2014) I went with Ubuntu, since it has an easy to use installer (like most distributions), with relatively sane default settings. Nowadays I would recommend Linux Mint or anything Debian based for the stability.

Opensuse tumbleweed, kde variant
Switch to zypper, dnf or rpm over flatpak in the kde store thing
Set up snapper or timeshift for backups
Get playonlinux and heroic launcher for gaming(with built in wine managers)
- This comment seems like it would be basically incomprehensible to an actual Linux beginner.
  
  Yeah as a beginner I will agree with you! Haha
  
  True but it all makes sense when you have the window open
- Gaming is not a high priority for me on the desktop, but the others I will keep in mind!

Check out peppermint OS. Runs on most hardware , lightweight and easy. Debian based , stable and got most things you might need. Easy transfer from Windows since a bit prepared for using web-based stuff
- I'll add it to the list! Thank you!

Gentoo Linux. Into the deep end!
(Starting off with something like mint or pop!os is probably your best bet, EndeavourOS is a good choice too but it's a little bit more effort for a first distro)

https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/installmanual
- Thanks for the link!

https://www.oreilly.com/search/?q=beginning%20linux&type=*&rows=10

You really should pick PopOS, it's the best one with excellent desktop experience.
https://pop.system76.com/
- What makes it the best, in terms of distro and desktop experience?
- Best is subjective. As someone who has been using Linux exclusively for over 12 years now, I really don't like pop at all. I've tried it several time over the last couple years and just don't enjoy it.
  Preferred daily: Suse tumbleweed with plasma Secondary choice (and it's a close second): NixOS (not beginner friendly!!) Beginner recommendation: Mint Cinnamon or Mate.

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