Windows to Linux
Windows to Linux
For me, more than ten years ago, I had a compelling Linux Mint disk paired with the Australian APC magazine. I set it up on an extra machine. After a year, I noticed I was restarting Windows on a quicker system roughly twice as often, so I swapped the disks and avoided Windows again. My partner had her disk wiped in October 2018—her and countless others. Backups were stored elsewhere, also featuring Linux Mint. I changed the disk cables and she’d used Windows one night and Linux the next, continuing as if nothing changed. Still, monthly, Microsoft reported no issues. We’re part of an organization that installed SSDs (to speed up slow hard drives) on laptops for members and the community. All of them run Linux Mint. More than fifty have been set up. We also received desktops—initially a dozen, but we ended up with three dozen. Each has an SSD and Linux Mint installed.
Yeah, a second PC really cuts down on the fuss compared to dual booting. In my situation, the likelihood of using Linux every day is only about 5%. I have three distros running in Hyper-V that I haven’t even started using yet. I’m pretty quick at picking things up, but realizing how rare it is made me too lazy to bother learning. Plus, it seems like a GPU pass-through would be necessary if I want to truly test "using" it. I usually stick to their website when allowed, especially since some banks or companies here have unreliable or confusing mobile apps. For local shopping, I’m stuck using the app because they only let you use vouchers and free shipping after checking out through it. Why? I don’t know, it really frustrates me since I hate scrolling around on mobile. Their 2FA usually sends me an OTP via SMS, so I’m thinking about getting a simple Nokia phone just to get those codes.
I overlooked another phase where I attempted GPU passthrough to maintain Windows functionality within Linux. There were a couple of problems: 1) My Intel iGPU caused screen tearing, so switching to the NVIDIA card on Linux helped. 2) Restricting CPU cores to only the Windows VM led to significant delays in Windows performance. Overall, I found it difficult to have both systems fully utilize their capabilities. Regarding mobile devices, it’s surprising how many people rely solely on web browsing on their phones—it’s a frustrating experience.
I left windows because of frustration and focus on what I own versus what I don’t. For instance, if you pay for internet, the company can misuse it for their needs instead of compensating you. Security depends on handling many sources, which weakens protection—I’d rather they handle bandwidth instead. Windows tends to run anything when scanning or fixing files; even accidental downloads can trigger it without user input. USB devices can auto-run, even if the feature is disabled, and malware can exploit this. During fresh installs I’ve noticed how much bloat Windows 10 and 11 contain, and I often prefer wiping my HDD for faster installation of software. I’ve never been impressed and have always complained about long wait times until it’s ready. Linux has been way more enjoyable to experiment with and troubleshoot, and the waiting periods are now much shorter.