Begin your journey with Linux today.
Begin your journey with Linux today.
Support the earlier comment. With recent hardware, Ubuntu 18.04LTS makes a solid choice for beginners as a Linux distro. It offers a well-refined interface and handles most technical details automatically. Although it has some extra features compared to its base system Debian, removing unnecessary components is simple via the GUI "Software Center." Installing specific proprietary drivers like Nvidia is also straightforward. Online resources provide plenty of help for troubleshooting any problems you encounter. Good luck!
My usual suggestion is to avoid settling for your first distribution. Explore VirtualBox, install several different operating systems each with various desktop environments, and experiment in each one. Try Ubuntu with Gnome, Mint with Cinnamon, Manjaro with KDE, or ElementaryOS. Each has unique features worth discovering. If you're eager to dive into Linux, consider getting a Raspberry Pi. Even if you plan to dual boot, having a separate device offers more chances to learn practical skills like SSH. It also provides a safe space where you don’t worry about damaging anything important. On your primary machine, you might feel hesitant to make changes. But using a Pi or similar device lets you test things freely, breaking the OS if needed. You can gain valuable insights simply by observing how systems fail.
It’s best to simply set up Linux Mint or the top choice on Distro Watch. The differences won’t be obvious right away. Just proceed with caution when pairing it with Windows 10, as updates can sometimes cause issues.
He mentioned wanting to dual boot and get familiar with Linux, but that won’t work in a live setup. These tools are meant to check if you’re just browsing a distro before committing, not for actual installation. They’re slow and don’t reflect the real experience—changes made will be lost when you restart. Regarding the command line, there’s essentially no distinction between using apt and Software Center; it’s still a single click process. Using the software center often hides errors without clear guidance. If someone is installing for a family member, they likely don’t need to worry about the command line at all—just focus on getting hands-on with Linux.
I began with Linux and immediately went all-in on Arch Linux. Back then, there wasn’t an automagic installer available, which made things a bit confusing. I found that learning a lot along the way was actually beneficial. I strongly suggest choosing any distribution and using it as your primary operating system whenever possible. Simply install Linux on another hard drive or SSD. It’s not about dual-booting in the traditional sense, but you can pick the boot device and run Windows alongside other OSes without dealing with complicated updates or unstable bootloaders.
Snap is an excellent choice for any distribution. It installs everything in a single location, eliminating the need for disorganized apps and settings.
Mostly identical options available with straightforward installation tools for Arch-based systems