Finally making the transition from Windows to a Linux. I’m pretty sure it’s been asked several times but which Linux OS would you recommend a beginner to use? I’ve seen Ubuntu and Mint as a good start. Not looking to do much. Game here and there (not too worried about Linux compatibility), streaming, editing videos. If I break any rules. I’m sorry.
Generally you should be considering which desktop environment(DE) you want to use as well, cause it’s the main thing you’ll be looking at.
Mint is a good beginner, no fuss distro that runs the Cinnamon DE by default. It’s also based on Ubuntu, built on top of the normal version of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu has several different options for DEs distributed as ‘flavors’ - Ubuntu itself comes with GNOME, but there’s also Kubuntu which has KDE, and multiple other options available.
If you’ve got the time and a free USB drive, I’d recommend making bootable media for a few options to try them out - both Mint and Ubuntu(as well as many other different distros) have live environments to play around in when you go to install them, and it’s worth trying out a few different DEs to see which one you like.
Mint, cinnamon.
Seems like Mint is the consensus and I don’t disagree. Just some things to consider when choosing:
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Desktop Environment/Window Manager (DE/WM) this is the software responsible for displaying your desktop and managing the opening and closing of graphical windows. Window managers are very bare-bones and might offer an experience significantly different than Windows. (See tiling WMs). Desktop environments do the same and more, and are often bundled with launchers and useful default programs like terminals and editors.
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Package manager. Package managers are responsible for managing your installed software. There are a variety of options, and distros typically will choose one as their default. Pacman for Arch, Aptitude for Debian, RPM for RedHat, and others. These are mostly interchangeable for the end user, but each has slightly different commands and frontends. So just be aware there will be a bit of an extra learning curve moving from a distro that uses one to a distro that uses another.
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Release cycle. Different distros offer different styles of releasing updates. Ubuntu and Debian periodically release updates in a cycle with major and minor releases. Some releases are marked for long term support and others marked as short term. Upgrading releases has been hit or miss for me, so I prefer rolling release distros. These distros don’t distinguish major releases and simply upgrade in place. Each has it’s own advantages, just be mindful of how often you will have to upgrade.
Package manager. Package managers are responsible for managing your installed software. There are a variety of options, and distros typically will choose one as their default. Pacman for Arch, Aptitude for Debian, RPM for RedHat, and others. These are mostly interchangeable for the end user, but each has slightly different commands and frontends. So just be aware there will be a bit of an extra learning curve moving from a distro that uses one to a distro that uses another.
RedHat uses dnf, RPM is the package format.
Apt sucks, pacman is ok, dnf is the best, history and rollback are great.
based
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CachyOS?
I am a cachy user, and this is the worst possible advice. Arch based distros are not for brand new Linux users.
You’re wrong. Proof by counter example: SteamOS
Uh yeah that’s a bad example as most users will just use SteamOSes Big Picture?
“Your example proved me wrong so it is a bad example!” LOL
steamos users on the deck will rarely if ever interact with what arch linux makes arch linux, so yeah it is a bad example.
If someone has the competency to format a bootable USB Drive, potentially go into BIOS and change boot order and turn off SecureBoot, there is a basic level of computer literacy that exists. Pair that with KDE which is basically just the windows interface, Octopi and Cachy Update, where do don’t even need to run any console commands and just input your password. The ideas that Arch is scary and too complex are dated at this point with how some of these modern distros are packaged.
I guess I just don’t expect most beginners to want to read the breaking changes. Like when firmware packages recently changed, pacman paru yay and octopi don’t tell you about those breaking changes. You just get an error when you try to update. If you read the notes, you know to uninstall the old package, install the new ones, problem solved. What about using meld to merge pacnew? I don’t expect someone in their first week of Linux to figure it out. Even if they can learn it, I don’t expect a lot of users to want to.
Maybe I need to have more faith in people? I stuck to Ubuntu derived distros for about a year before I took on Fedora, and then eventually EndeavourOS where I learned the ins and outs of managing an Arch based system. I learned a lot, and I learned it gradually, which worked well for me, so I don’t try to throw other new users in the deep end of the pool.
The ideas that Arch is scary and too complex are dated at this point with how some of these modern distros are packaged.
I get where you’re hinting at and its difficulty is definitely overblown in the sense that some newbies may actually thrive on Arch. Thus, if anything, I’d propose that (very) eager-to-learn newbies should perhaps even consider Arch.
However, as long as this convoluted mess continues to be the expected ‘workflow’ for updates[1], Arch can not be considered beginner-friendly.
By contrast, a distro like Bazzite just defaults to care-free[2] auto-updates in the background; a pattern every noob recognizes from their phones.
Let’s not ignore that Arch expects you to update regularly. ↩︎
To be fair, if you’ve layered anything, then that might have compromised the integrity of upgrades. That being said, it’s a minor concern that mostly seems to be affect major system updates only. So that would mean you’d have to pay a bit more attention once every 6 months or so. Which, at least IMO, is very sane. And -again- only applies if you’ve actually layered stuff. It’s smooth sailing otherwise ↩︎
+1 for cachy
Cachy user here. Nope.
Anyone who says Cachy is good for a newcomer is taking their knowledge for granted. Most people getting into Linux for the first time are climbing several learning curves all at once. There are simpler distros that allow you to learn at a more reasonable pace.
The only time I would recommend CachyOS to a newcomer is if they have bleeding-edge hardware and aren’t afraid of a challenge.
Start with Mint. You can always try something else when you’re more comfortable with Linux.
I have been using Mint for a long while now, and I’ve been very happy with it. Can’t say I’ve felt the need to try anything else…
Mint is also one of the biggest distros which is a factor in getting help. Any problem you may have, chances are, somebody already posted the solution.
I should really give mint a try. I like Ubuntu for both of these reasons, even if it does have snaps.
I agree, for a new user everything including installing nvidia drivers is in a GUI. And if you run into issue due to the size of both Mint and its base Ubuntu, searching for the problems usually results in a solution.
Mint but only bevase thays what i did 2 did two years aho and had no issues.
I habe since changed to LMDE bevase why use Mint which is based on Ubuntu whic nis based on Debian, just cut oit the middle.man…plenty of supoort in their forums as well for the few issues I had.
PopOs and Zorin I’ve also seen mentioned
LMDE does seem to have keyboard issues though it seems.
Mint is popular for beginners. I went with Debian KDE because I wanted something a little more minimalistic and boring. Fedora and OpenSUSE are also good options.
If you want to stick with a Windows-like desktop, pick a KDE distro over GNOME.
If you want to stick with a Windows-like desktop, pick a KDE distro over GNOME.
I like KDE Plasma, too. Thankfully, most desktop distros have it in their repositories, so even if they use GNOME or some other desktop by default, you can install and switch to KDE after the initial OS install. I’m pretty sure this includes Linux Mint.
Switching desktop environments can be tricky, it’s better to do a clean install - especially for dotfiles which can cause bugs, and get the distro spin that you want from the get-go.
@imecth @TheMilk @salacious_coaster @who This #linux bot which boosts everything linux is its own worst enemy, isn’t it?
I have no idea what you’re talking about.
I’ve never had logging in with a different desktop environment cause problems. (And I wouldn’t expect to. The desktop session selector on the login screen is there for a reason, after all.) Your comment makes me wonder what desktops you tried that stepped on each other, and what bugs you’re referring to.
In any case, if I had an experience like what you describe, I would simply re-create my user account and its home directory. Going through a whole OS install as you suggest would burn a lot more time with no advantage, which doesn’t seem “better” to me. To each their own, I guess.
Remember as well that your “distro spin” approach is only possible if such a spin exists. Example: If someone wants Linux Mint for its beginner-friendly community support, but also wants to try KDE Plasma, they can. But they’re going to have to install Plasma after the base OS, and switch.
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=297558. this is just the first thing that came up, i’m sure there are hundreds of similar bugs. bottom line is when you install two things next to each other that aren’t being actively tested together, you’re bound to run into issues.
My recommendation is that if there are no spin with your favorite DE, you simply do not use that distribution as it’s not being tested against.
Sorry you had bad luck there.
My recommendation is that if there are no spin with your favorite DE, you simply do not use that distribution
I guess that’s one way to be sure, but to me it seems excessively limiting. I have switched desktops on Debian-based distros, and the only tidying up I remember being needed was removal of the old desktop’s packages (to de-clutter my application menus) and a reboot (to launch the new display manager).
My recommendation to a new user would be to try whatever distro/desktop combo is appealing, and if it doesn’t work out, either do some troubleshooting or just move on to another one. It might not be a path as well tread as the distro’s default, but it might work fine. You’ll never know if you don’t try.
as it’s not being tested against.
That’s untrue in at least some cases. Of course, different distros have different policies and people maintaining their desktop packages, so YMMV.
Mint or Fedora. You’ll get tons of responses, and none of them are wrong, because no one can tell you what’s best for you, but those are the most popular choices among newbies, and they are very user friendly and approachable.
The best advice I can give you is try a bunch of different ones and see which one you like best. They’re free and easy to reinstall if you end up liking one over another.
Best of luck and I hope you find one that you truly love. :)
I started and ended with mint. Donknow about video editing, but it just worked. It’s like everything windows p should have been. No bs, easy interface, easy to fix. Do it
Go with Mint until you learn more about how Linux filesystems work and then you can go wherever you feel comfortable. Mint just has a really easy install.
What is there to learn about Linux filesystems? How is it different from a Windows filesystem, from the perspective of an average user?
Lesson one: files Lesson two: folders Here’s your diploma.
Linux filesystems exam time:
section A basics
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what does CoW stand for?
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evaluate through pros and cons which you personally would pick: Btrfs, ZFS, F2FS, bcachefs, OverlayFS, aufs, Nilfs2, JFFS2, UBIFS
section B btefs
- what exactly happens when running this command, including how qgroups, compression, and recursion interact?
btrfs balance start -dusage=5 -musage=20 -c zstd \ --bg /srv/vms && \ btrfs qgroup limit 50G /srv/vms/guests/win10- explain the effect of the following command on device allocation, RAID reshaping, and metadsta distribution:
btrfs device add -f /dev/nvme2n1 /home && \ btrfs balance start -mconvert=raid1 -dconvert=raid1 -sconvert=dup /home- describe what this snapshotting pipeline does, including send stream structure, parent selection, and how receive-side overwrites are handled:
btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /opt/app /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) && \ btrfs send -c -p /opt/.snaps/last-full \ /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) \ | ssh backup 'btrfs receive -f /backup/opt/incoming'- what actions occur on the filesystem when this defrag call is executed, especially regarding extent sharing and how compression interacts?
btrfs filesystem defrag -r -v -czstd:15 \ /var/lib/docker/overlay2- analyze subvolume management sequence, including how default-subvolume selection influences mount behavior:
btrfs subvolume delete /mnt/root/@old && \ btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /mnt/root/@clean /mnt/root/@ && \ btrfs subvolume set-default 256 /mnt/root
section C zfs
[…]
/s
That’s for sysadmins.
These days I don’t even care what fs I use, I just let the distro choose its default, I simply make sure encryption is enabled.
It’s really touching that you consider me to be a sysadmin, because I use Linux and know how my fs works. I’m actually kinda proud of myself. My arch install has been working for many years.
Are you saying that you use arch btw?
I use arch btw. Do you also use arch btw?
I used to use arch btw, but then I grew old and moved to Fedora. Then I saw the light and installed Bazzite on everything, even my coffe machine. It’s got RGB now.
You should install Bazzite, save your soul.
Answer for all questions: the average user doesn’t care, won’t run any of those, won’t know what fs is on their system because they will choose the default what the installer suggests. Same as they have no idea about all the ntfs or exfat details of their windows system.
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Mount points instead of drives
“What’s a mount point? I just click on the disk icon on my desktop, it shows up when I plug in the USB thingy.”
- Average user
You will probably come across having to fiddle with rights, which isn’t really a thing on Windows
I use Arch BTW. Haven’t had to fiddle with rights in the last 10 years.
I’ve had to do it a bit on Mint. I have a couple of programs that only come as AppImages and need to be redownloaded everytime there is an uppdate, which means I have to set the rights again. It’s also been a thing when setting up qbittorrent and jellyfin.
Arch Linux
Yeah I said it. I never used Mint or Ubuntu, I jumped straight into Arch and then Gentoo and it’s completely possible
If you stick to beginner friendly distros, you’ll never really learn Linux because they don’t challenge you. Just keep Windows on another drive as a reliable backup OS until you figure things out in Linux
Ubuntu
I will be the black sheep that strongly recommend against Mint. I have had more hardware compatibility problems trying to run Mint than any other distro. This is anecdotal, but consistent enough that I would make bets on it. Secondly, I hate Cinnamon, the default desktop environment. There are better choices.
Instead, I’ll suggest Fedora KDE. It’s rock solid, reliable, and the KDE Plasma desktop is the best currently available whether you leave it stock or customize it.
If you want to try things out, set up a spare thumb drive with Ventoy, which will let you boot to any ISO you copy to it. Most distros have “live” versions that you can boot to from the thumb drive and try out before installing. That said, most linux distros install in 5 minutes, so don’t be afraid to try anything and everything you’re curious about.
Also, avoid Cachy or other Arch based distros for now. They are great, but a far more hands-on. Something for the future, when you are more comfortable with linux in general.
I moved an older relative to Mint and I regret it. Weird lagging and display server crashes sometimes, probably because of X11. Plus it’s release cycle is very slow, so old packages. Ubuntu is far from my favorite distro, but at least it uses a DE with first class Wayland support.
Finally someone else said it.
Just adding that since they game Bazzite is maybe the better option but still fedora based.
But I’ve too seen compatibility issues recently with Ubuntu and Ubuntu based distros, but not really with Debian based ones (yes, even though Ubuntu is based on Debian). I don’t know why, but even MX has given me less troubles recently than Mint (not that I’d recommend base MX though - I just heavily customized it so that it’s elderly friendly, so people who basically barely can use a browser and have poor eyesight).
I have Mint on the 2014 Mac mini I use as a media and Home Assistant server. It was my first dabble with Linux, and I now wish it used Plasma instead of Cinnamon. My other Linux machines are running Kubuntu with Plasma, and they’re great, so logging into Cinnamon always feels like a step backwards somehow.
I could try changing the DE on it, but I’m not massively proficient, and don’t want to have to set everything back up again if I fuck it up.
Mint doesn’t officially support KDE and there are known issues if you do it yourself. You’d be better off switching distros if you like that desktop. Pure Debian + KDE might be a more comfortable move in that situation.
Its not that bad to start with arch it’s not as hard as it used to be. I started with endeavourOS approximately a year ago and most things just work out of the box and you don’t need to do much and honestly i find it easier than having to navigate layers of abstractions.
Most of my time went into configuring stuff like hyprland, nvim and other stuff and arch just worked.
I came with 0 linux knowledge, the only terminal commands i knew were cd and ls and if not for arch I don’t think I would have been hooked on linux. That being said, I get it and sometimes it is frustrating but just putting it out there that it’s doable.
I started with EndeavourOS also (earlier this year) and it has been amazing. Also only little bit of Linux knowledge beforehand. Honestly think using a terminal centric distro is helpful for learning.
Also, avoid Cachy or other Arch based distros for now. They are great, but a far more hands-on. Something for the future, when you are more comfortable with linux in general.
Yeah, I recently switched from Mint to EndeavourOS which is Arch, and it breaks way more often. But I must admit, it’s more stable than Debian was 15 years ago, so I assume that Linux is getting friendlier in general
@BlameTheAntifa @TheMilk same here, no mint, it is too messy
Fedora is a good option. I’m surprised to hear about hardware incompatibilities with Mint, though. Do you have obscure or bleeding-edge hardware?
I’ll +1 the Ventoy suggestion. Lets you try lots of things easily. Try at least Fedora KDE, Ubuntu, and Mint. Go with whichever feels good to you when you try them out.
You don’t really need to be bleeding edge to have some hardware issues or Cinnamon Mint. Their wayland transition is still ongoing so HDR, variable refresh rate, fractional scaling and maybe some bugs for specific hardware might be present. X11 has also seen a lot less love recently after the major distros stopped actively supporting it.
KDE has nailed the Wayland transition so moving to Fedora KDE would have fixed Wayland/X11 bugs.
Quite frankly Linux mint and Cinnamon by extension is X11 software and I dont expect the transition to be completed anytime in the foreseeable future let alone acturally start for users. Even with their incredibly slow adoption of Wayland im shocked they’re going this fast, I thought they would wait another several years. Linux Mint is stable software and they’re significantly less willing to make any changes than even Debian.
(Btw its just testing atm, nothing exists for users yet)
I guess I would classify features like variable refresh rates and fractional scaling as “advanced”, but that’s fair. I moved from Cinnamon to Gnome because wayland was working better for me, so fair point. I imagine it won’t be too long before Cinnamon catches up, though.
For now, I’m just using a handful of extensions to make Gnome feel more like Cinnamon. Can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of KDE, but that’s just me.
Here are my recommendations from last time I saw this question asked: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/comment/17912220
This question is probably as old as Linux itself. While many (me included) do not like Ubuntu anymore, I still think its a good operating system for newcomers to Linux. Not at last because of the community it has. Ubuntu is only by those dislike who are long enough in this game. There are also different variants with different user interfaces and such (like Kubuntu).
The community has been the secret sauce for me.
editing videos
What program will you use?
I have heard that DaVinci resolve is very hard to set up. as for Kdenlive, I have used it few times, and it felt very clunky.
I would go with mint if you have older hardware and bazzite if you have new hardware (especially nvidia graphics card). If you really want windows-like layout check zorin OS.
for actuall advice: I would try a bunch of them and stick with one where video editing works.
I have heard that DaVinci resolve is very hard to set up.
On Bazzite (and probably the other ublue distros as well), you can run
ujust install-resolveon the terminal, and that’s it, you’re good to goAnd it works great when installed that way.
Besides almost everything availiable to try on Windows before the switch, I’ve seen Nobara writing on their page about their media-focus, mentioning DaVinci Resolve workarounds from out of the box. I’ve not tried it yet.
