Switch to linux from windows

How to Make the Switch From Windows to Linux

If you’re sick of Windows 10 or don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11, you can install Linux instead. Here’s how to make the switch to an open-source operating system and install apps.

Microsoft is getting closer to replacing Windows 10 with the sleeker Windows 11, but if you’re sick of embedded advertisements, constant updates, data collection, software lock-ins, and rising hardware requirements, we don’t blame you. The good news is you have options.

If you’ve been thinking about making the jump to a different operating system, now is the perfect time. But you aren’t stuck with the Windows-macOS binary, and don’t have to settle for the browser-based Chrome OS. Instead, you can turn to the world of Linux.

Choose Your Distribution

Unlike Windows and macOS, there isn’t just one version of Linux. Instead, Linux is packaged into many different distributions, or «distros,» each with their own interface and set of features. One may use a Mac-like interface with a dock and an «app store,» while others may use a more minimalist interface and require installing apps from the command line.

Exploring the bevy of Linux distributions out there is a fun part of the hobby, but for your first installation, you will likely want something popular and beginner-friendly, so it’s easy to get help when you need it. That’s why I recommend starting with Linux Mint.

There are a lot of distributions that aim to mimic Windows in layout and functionality, like Zorin OS, but they’re on the smaller side, and you won’t have as big a community to tap as you learn your way around. Ubuntu, on the other hand, is arguably the most popular distro on desktop PCs, but it isn’t very Windows-like at all these days.

Linux Mint is a perfect in-between option: it’s designed for beginners, offers a familiar desktop environment, and it’s based on Ubuntu, so you can make use of the enormous Ubuntu/Mint community when you need help.

You’re free to check out other distros instead, but I’ll be using Mint for the purposes of this guide, and I recommend you do too. It’s not my personal distro of choice, but it’s great for new Windows migrants, and it’s easier to explore other distros once you’ve nailed down the basics on a beginner-friendly system.

Create Your Installation Drive

Head to Mint’s download page and choose the 64-bit «Cinnamon» version. Cinnamon is the desktop environment I recommend for former Windows users, though MATE is also pretty Windows-like, even though it’s a bit less modern. XFCE is ideal for old or low-powered PCs, thanks to its light resource usage. Mint’s download page provides a number of links depending on where you live. If you use BitTorrent, I recommend grabbing the torrent file, which will download much faster.

The installer will come as an ISO, or disc image file. To install it on your system, you’ll need to burn the file to a DVD or USB flash drive. We’re going to do the latter using a tool called Rufus. Install Rufus, open it up, and insert a flash drive that’s 2GB or larger. (If you have a fast USB 3.0 or 3.1 drive, all the better.) You should see it appear in the Device drop-down at the top of Rufus’ main window.

Next, click the Select button next to Disk or ISO image, and choose the Linux Mint ISO you just downloaded. Press the Start button, and if prompted to download new versions of Syslinux, click Yes. Note that this will erase your flash drive, so make sure there isn’t anything important on there before continuing. When it’s finished, you’ll see a success message and your flash drive will be named LINUX MINT.

Now it’s time to back up your data and reboot your computer. Buckle your seat belts because it’s time to install Linux.

Install Linux on Your PC

As your computer reboots, you should see a message telling you to press a certain key to access the Boot Menu (usually something like F12). If not, you’ll see a key to enter Setup (often Delete). Press one of those keys, and look for the option to boot from the inserted USB drive. (If you enter the full setup menu, it’ll be in a Boot settings menu somewhere, and you’ll have to exit the menu to reboot again when you’re done.)

You will then be greeted by GRUB, Linux Mint’s boot menu, where you can choose to boot into Linux Mint. If you run into any errors, you may need to Google around for a fix. I had to enable the nomodeset option for my graphics card, for example. Others may have to tweak or disable Secure Boot in the BIOS.

This installer is what we call a Live CD, where you can actually poke around and use the Linux Mint desktop before installing it. This will give you a chance to see if this particular distro appeals to you without it actually touching your system drive. Once you’re satisfied, double-click the Install Linux Mint icon and go through the wizard.

Be sure to check the box next to Install third-party software, since it contains useful drivers and codecs you almost certainly want. From here, you can wipe your hard drive entirely, erasing all traces of Windows and using Linux as your only operating system. (Make double sure you’ve backed up your data before doing this.)

Alternatively, you can divide your drive up into two partitions and dual boot Linux alongside Windows. This will allow you to reboot into one or the other whenever you want. If nothing else, it’s comforting to know you have that safety net during the transition before you remove Windows entirely.

Choose the relevant option from the Installation Type menu, and click Install Now. The process may take a little while, but when it’s done, you’ll get a success message. Click the Restart Now button to boot into Linux Mint and start getting acquainted with your new OS.

Get Acquainted With Linux and Install Some Apps

When you reboot, you’ll be dropped into the Linux Mint desktop once again—only this time, it’s installed on your PC. The basics are pretty familiar: click the button in the lower-left corner to see applications, manage windows from the bottom taskbar, and so on. There are, however, a few things in Linux that work differently than in Windows, with apps being the biggest.

In Linux, it’s less common to download apps from the web. Instead, each distro has its own repository—kind of like a free app store, with a directory of popular apps. You can install an app from the repositories in one of two ways: from a graphical software manager (again, which looks like an app store) or from the command line.

To open Linux Mint’s Software Manager, click the menu button in the lower-left corner and head to Administration > Software Manager (or just start typing «software manager,» like you would in Windows). From here, you can download plenty of free, open-source apps.

Some are Linux versions of their Windows counterparts, like Steam and Spotify, while others are open-source alternatives to common apps (Banshee is a music player similar to iTunes, Gimp is an image editor akin to Photoshop). You can browse here or search for apps using the bar at the top.

How to Install and Uninstall Apps

If you know what you’re looking for, it’s generally faster to install apps from the command line. And while it may seem intimidating at first, Linux relies on the command line for various tasks, so it might behoove you to get comfortable with it. To install an app—let’s say the open-source media player VLC—open a Terminal window and run:

Sudo apt update

sudo apt install vlc

Let’s break that down: «sudo» tells the system to run the command as root (or, as it might be called in Windows, as an administrator), «apt» is the name of Linux Mint’s package manager, and «update» ensures the list of available apps is up to date.

The second command, which includes «install vlc,» is self-explanatory. You should run «sudo apt update» before installing any app, and you can replace «vlc» with the name of any app you want to install. If you aren’t sure what the repository calls it, you can run:

sudo apt cache search vlc

To uninstall an app, just run:

sudo apt remove vlc

This will remove the app, but not your configuration files, so if you decide to reinstall it later, your settings will still be there.

If you want to remove configuration files too, you can instead run:

sudo apt purge vlc

How to Update Apps

You’ll also want to periodically update those apps, so you have the latest versions. You can do this, again, in two ways: from the graphical tool or from the command line.

For the graphical tool, click the shield icon in the lower-right corner to open the Update Manager app. You can then click the Install Updates button to update all your software.

Alternatively, you can open a Terminal and run two commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

Again, the «update» command checks for new versions of your software, and the «upgrade» command actually upgrades all your apps. You’ll want to run these two together, just like you do for installing new apps.

Those are the most crucial things to know right now, but take some time to browse around Mint’s interface and its settings to see what it has to offer. The Welcome window that appears at startup can be a big help—its First Steps area will show you how to choose different desktop layouts, install multimedia codecs you might want, and install necessary drivers for your hardware.

You’ll get the hang of the basics pretty quickly, but the Mint and Ubuntu forums are always there to help if you get stuck. Just be sure to search around, since there’s a good chance someone before you has had the same question.

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How to switch an old Windows laptop to Linux

Don’t toss the old technology — give it a new OS

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Photo: Linux Mint

By the federal government’s Digital Analytics Program (DAP) count in October 2020, 3.2 percent of computer users still are on Windows 7 — even though Microsoft no longer supports it for free. If you have an older system but are worried that it won’t support Windows 10 — or if you simply don’t want to deal with Windows anymore — I have a suggestion: Switch to desktop Linux.

Desktop Linux can run on your Windows 7 (and older) laptops and desktops. Machines that would bend and break under the load of Windows 10 will run like a charm. And today’s desktop Linux distributions are as easy to use as Windows or macOS.

And if you’re worried about being able to run Windows applications — don’t. For instance, you can run the free Office Online, which comes with limited versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on Linux. Teams now runs on Linux. Skype has long been available on Linux. And Microsoft’s exporting its new Edge web browser to Linux. The full Office 365 suite will be coming to Linux soon — it’s only a matter of when.

For all your other desktop software needs, there’s usually a free, open-source program that can do just as good a job. Gimp, for example, instead of Photoshop. Or Thunderbird for email instead of Outlook. For a full-fledged office suite, I highly recommend LibreOffice.

You can run many native Windows programs on Linux using Wine. This can be hard to set up, but its commercial brother, CodeWeaver’s Crossover Linux, makes it easy to set up many proprietary programs, including games.

If that doesn’t work for your office’s Windows-only programs, you can always keep running Windows 7, with a lot less danger, on a virtual machine (VM) on Linux. For this job, I recommend Oracle’s great free VirtualBox VM program.

Which Linux?

There are hundreds of Linux desktop distributions (known as distros) out there. The best-known include such distros as Debian, openSUSE, and Ubuntu. But for our purposes, I’m going to tell you how to install Linux Mint.

Mint’s default Cinnamon interface looks and works a lot like Windows 7.

Besides being my personal desktop Linux favorite, it works well for Windows users. That’s because Mint’s default Cinnamon interface looks and works a lot like Windows 7’s Aero interface. Sure, there’s a learning curve, but I found it easier to pick up than Windows 10’s desktop.

Another advantage, which Mint shares with other Linux distros, is it runs on low-power hardware. You can run Mint on any of your Windows 7 PCs. All Linux Mint needs to run is an x86 processor, 1GB of RAM (you’ll be happier with 2GB or 4GB), 15GB of disk space, a graphics card that works at 1024 x 768 resolution, and a CD/DVD drive or USB port. That’s it. Heck, you can run Mint on pretty much any Windows XP PC, if you have one around.

Mint, like the other Linux desktops, is totally free. It won’t cost you a penny.

But what if you don’t like it? That’s not a worry either. You can try Mint, and if it’s not your cup of tea, you just reboot back to Windows, and you’re done. No harm, no foul.

So let’s get started. First, I’ll show you how to try Mint out, then how to install it on your machine.

Try Mint out

Download Mint

First, download the Mint ISO file. This is an image of the Mint operating system which you can use to run or install the operating system. It’s about 1.8 GB, so it may take a while to download.

First, download Linux Mint.

You’re given a choice of desktops. For your first Linux desktop, I recommend going with the popular Cinnamon desktop. Once you know more about Linux, and if you want to explore, you can try one of the others.

Burn the Mint ISO file to a DVD or USB drive

You’re going to need an ISO burner program. I recommend freeware programs ImgBurn for DVDs or LinuxLive USB Creator for USB drives. Other good choices are Yumi for Windows or UNetbootin.

You’re going to need an ISO burner program such as Linux Live USB Creator Screenshot: Linux Live USB Creator

Once you’ve installed the burner program on your Windows system along with the Linux Mint ISO file, use that to burn the image to a USB drive. Note: while you can install Mint on older systems using a DVD, it’s really slow. And if you need to use a DVD, first check your newly burned disc for errors.

When you create a USB drive, you’ll be given the option to set it up with persistent storage. With this option, you can allocate up to half of your storage for a persistent overlay file. This lets you store new programs, files, settings, or whatever, just if that overlay file was a mini-hard drive. This way, you can kick Mint’s tires without installing a thing or changing anything on your PC. If you don’t like it, you’ll have lost nothing but some time.

Another handy thing about this method is that if it turns out you like Mint, you can use the USB drive as a handy pocket computer. Besides Mint, you can also use it to store your own programs, files, and desktop setup. This way, you’ve got Mint with you wherever you go and you can easily use any public computer safely with your own operating system and program.

Set up your PC for an alternative bootup

Now you’re going to reboot your system, but stop the boot-up process before Windows comes up so you can get to your PC’s UEFI or BIOS settings. How you do this depends on your system.

The best thing is to do a Google search for your specific PC or laptop brand and “UEFI” (or, with older PCs, your computer brand and “BIOS”). For example, with Dell PCs, you tap the F2 key to enter system setup; with HP, you tap on the Escape key once a second; and on Lenovo systems, you tap (Fn+) F2 or (Fn+) F1 key five to 10 times after the power-on button is pressed to get to system setup.

Once you get to the BIOS or UEFI, look for a menu choice labeled “Boot,” “Boot Options,” or “Boot Order.” If you don’t see anything with the word “boot” in it, check other menu choices, such as “Advanced Options,” “Advanced BIOS Features,” or “Other Options.” Once you find it, set the boot order so that, instead of booting from the hard drive first, you boot from either the optical drive or from a USB drive.

Boot up Linux Mint

After your PC is set to boot from an alternative drive, insert your DVD or USB drive, reboot, and select “Start Linux Mint” from the first menu. In a minute or so, you’ll be running Linux Mint.

You can run Mint from an external USB drive.

Give Mint a try

Take a few days if you like. Windows is still there. Anytime you reboot without the drive, it will go right back to Windows.

Like what you see? Then let’s install Mint on your PC.

Install Linux Mint

Like any serious upgrade, start with making a complete backup of your Windows system. Installing Linux shouldn’t hurt your Windows setup in the least, but I don’t believe in taking chances.

It used to be that installing Linux on Windows PCs that were loaded with UEFI and Secure Boot (a standard that makes sure you only boot approved software) was a major pain. These days it’s a non-issue. But if for some reason, you can’t install Mint with Secure Boot running on your PC, you can always turn off Secure Boot. There are many ways to switch Secure Boot off. All involve going to the UEFI control panel during the boot process and turning it off.

Now, let’s get on with the actual installation.

Make sure your PC is plugged in

This may sound elementary, but installing an operating system will give your computer a real workout, and the last thing you want is to run out of battery power in the middle of installing Linux Mint. You’ll also need an internet connection (the faster the better) and at least 8GB of free disk space.

Set up a partition for Linux Mint from Windows

To make sure you have enough space, you may want to head back into Windows, log in as the administrator, and use its disk manager to shrink the main C: disk partition to make room for a Linux partition. You can get by with as little as 15GBs but I prefer to give Linux at least 100 GBs. Then I reboot into Linux.

Use the Windows disk manager to make sure you have at least 15GB (more is better) for your Linux partition.

Boot into Linux

Once you have the Mint display up, one of your icon choices on the left will be to install Mint. Double-click it, and you’ll be on your way.

Name your system, your user ID, and set up your password

On your setup journey, you’ll be asked to choose a keyboard layout, give your system a name, pick out a username for yourself, and come up with a password. You can also choose to encrypt your home directory to keep files relatively safe from prying eyes.

Most of these decisions are simple. The one critical option can be how to partition your hard drive. This can be a real pain. But since we’ve done that in Windows earlier, you don’t need to worry about it here. In this case, pick the first option on the Installation Type menu that reads: “Install Linux Mint alongside them.”

That done, you’ll see a screen like the one below.

Select your Linux partition.

Next, you must choose which file system to use for Linux. The most popular choice is Ext 4. You also have to pick a mount point, the root directory Linux will start from. Here, I suggest you do as I do and select the common “/” for your mount point.

Set up a system snapshot

Mint 20’s setup menu enables you to set up a system snapshot with Timeshift. This way, if something goes wrong, you can restore your system files and get back a working system. I highly recommend doing this. While you’re at it, set up a regular Timeshift schedule. I set mine up on a weekly schedule.

Check for additional drivers

Next, check to see if your computer needs any additional drivers. To do this, open the applications menu, search for “Driver Manager,” and run the program. This will examine your system and search for any new or missing hardware drivers — usually, these are for graphic cards or Wi-Fi chipsets. It’s a good idea to do this even if you have a completely vanilla, generic laptop. If Driver Manager finds an appropriate update, just go ahead and install it.

You can also install proprietary multimedia codecs such as drivers to watch videos. I recommend you do this as well.

Update Mint to the latest version

You should also set it to update your system to the latest version of Mint. Unlike Windows, when you update Mint, you’re updating not just your operating system but all of your installed programs. This includes your web browser, office suite, and any other programs you’ve installed with Mint’s easy-to-use Software Manager.

To get your system current, click on the menu bar’s shield icon. By default, you’ll find the menu bar on the bottom of the screen, with the shield update icon on the right. Once clicked, it will ask you for your password and ask if you really want to update your system. Enter your password, say yes, and after it updates, you’ll be ready to put your new up-to-date Mint system to work.

The setup routine also offers to let you look at system settings and find new programs with the Software Manager, but since you’re probably a new user, you can skip those for now.

Reset your computer to boot from your main drive

Finally, go back to the beginning and reset your system to boot from your hard drive. Then, the next time you boot up, you’ll be given a choice as to which operating system you want to boot from. No matter which one you pick, you’ll get a few seconds to switch to the other operating system.

And, that’s it. You’re ready to go. I’ve installed Linux hundreds of times, and it takes me about an hour from starting my download (the blessings of a 400Mbps internet connection) to go from a Windows PC to running Mint on my computer. If you’ve never done it before, allow yourself several hours for the job, just in case.

I run Windows, multiple Linux distros, and macOS. But I spend almost all of my desktop time on Linux Mint. You may not fall in love with Linux as quickly as I did when I switched from Windows 3.1 in 1993, but if you give it a chance, I think you’ll find you’ll like Linux nearly as much as I do.

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