this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2026
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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should i switch to linux? (programming.dev)
submitted 1 day ago by steam@programming.dev to c/linux@lemmy.ml
69 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

i like gaming,browsing(brave),im open to using open source software like gimp,libreoffice,qbittorrent etc i don't really care about specific software other than brave.

i don't use steam,i use pirated games so they should work on whatever distro i will use.

i have no problems with learning more,searching,or posting about linux to learn. and im open to using terminal i already like it somewhat on windows.

my laptop that i will install linux on is msi gf63 with gtx 1650,i5-10500h,16gb ram,1tb ssd sata and 256gb ssd nvme.

so should i switch to linux? i feel like i don't exactly like where microsoft is taking windows to,but im not sure if my games will work on linux.

you can ask me more questions to see if my usage is supported or not by linux. im open to any easy distro. i don't relay on microsoft office or adobe apps or any of these things. my usage is pretty generic.

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[–] TruePe4rl@lemmy.ml 4 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

The switch or dual boot is up to you. I can lay out some general steps in case you want to have an overview. Please do not be scared off by it. Depending on the distro, most things work out of the box or with very little effort.

  1. familiarize
    • look up some distros, I personally like to go Arch-based, but feel free to use whatever seems good and popular enough (please no Ubuntu)
    • try virtual machine and then live ISO
  2. verify compatibility
    • this one is a bit more work, basically try all functionality in the live ISO, or at least things like display, mouse, keyboard, touchpad, Wi-Fi, storage
  3. install
    • you probably won't need to look into this super deep, default installers handle this pretty well
    • formatting and partitioning (look into ArchWiki guide, you probably don't need swap partition)
    • if you are going to be reinstalling look into using efibootmgr to possibly clear up old and fix existing boot entries (i had to enable boot flag after setting up dualboot, because macOS installer overwrote the previous settings, thanks Apple :-) )
  4. configure missing/not working OS stuff
    • look for missing drivers and system management software for either your specific hardware or some more general ones
    • best sources are wikis like ArchWiki (even if you don't use Arch), forums and some software search sites like AlternativeTo
    • in some cases the software does not meet the requirements for a wiki page to be up (Xlibre being notable example - feel free to look up the whole story)
    • you may have to put some time into getting GPU fully working, since nvidia has several driver options depending on the GPU
    • I personally had to fix USB autosuspend config, only look into it if devices plugged in after boot are not being detected
  5. use
    • installs and updates are done using package manager (windows has winget, btw)
    • for windows games use Wine or rather some of its forks
    • most people here already shared their recommendations for this part

edited