[Solved] Window 7 to Linux advice/sanity check take 2

Software & Operating Systems Linux
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21

Perhaps you misunderstand.

My point is that the worst supported areas for Linux (mobile, media consumption, gaming) can often (NOT ALWAYS) be “satisfied well enough” with another device that can be covered with the former windows software budget.

Your mileage may vary of course, but it is worth consideration.

Audio is probably the weakest point, agreed - but most end users are not doing audio production.

If you try and fail to get your workload running with Linux that is fair enough.

But again - you actually need to try.

The best way to actually give it a fair shake is to actually get OFF windows for a period of time and force yourself to do the legwork. No one here can positively say for anyone else that “your workload will be fine mate!”

The only person who can determine whether the trade-offs are worth it is the person making the switch. But the only way they can determine that is to actually put the legwork in and actually switch to see how it goes.

Keeping windows around as a crutch makes it all too easy to just give up early and not actually give linux a fair go. I know this first hand - i did it for years (in terms of desktop software).

Thats my point…

edit:
if you aren’t willing to take the plunge (and go single boot) for at least a few weeks, my advice would be don’t bother trying to switch. You’ll just end up maintaining both platforms, you’ll still have all the Windows concerns that make people want to switch in the first place, etc. - except now you’re carrying a whole extra OS around as well.

edit 2:

re: below - affording the time… if you’re using the machine for work - run the OS that your application vendor (you need to do your job) supports. if you are using the machine to make money, don’t fuck about wasting your (or your company’s time) unless you’re already sure of yourself.

If it is for home use, it is a hobby - you’re either willing to spend the time and effort or you aren’t.

22

Agreed 100%

Not necessarily. Not everyone can “afford” to “loose” days of weeks of doing certain stuff. Wiping Windows was a surefire way for me to wipe Linux the next day. Having the flexibility to do what i needed to on Windows while Having weeks and months at the same time to slowly work my way into Linux worked much better.
But, again, this only works if you actually WANT to use Linux. If you actually want windows, just without Closed source or Microsoft, this will fail. But not dualbooting won’t fix that.

And yes, if you don’t have a windows license already (who hasn’t?), you could safe the money if you’re starting fresh anyways.

23

Sure. Only you look at it from the perspective of a rather experienced user who is already using both systems and who is familiar with which system is useful for him and when he needs to use them.
However, I try to look at it through the prism of a novice user who not only changes from W7 to W10 but also adds linux to this equation.

Yes, the option of many bare metal systems is to be considered. I personally don’t like it but it’s just my opinion and I don’t force anyone to do the same. All issues must of course be taken into account. Like monitors, peripherals, second pc / lap or sbc, energy consumption etc. but at the same time it does not mean that these are categorically discouraging factors against this approach. It all depends on this particular person and his situation. I can only suggest according to my beliefs and preferences I am not able to remotely create someone’s ideal situation.

However, I know from experience that new users who are forced to switch from Windows to Linux are doing much better when they can do it more slowly and without stress or pressure. If something goes wrong or they can’t handle something and they have to do something, they can immediately reach for the lifebuoy in the form of the first / clean pc.
And thanks to physical separation, even if they remove absolutely all partitions, they are still safe. For this having a second machine if something goes very bad they can use to seek online help.

I realize that this approach can be seen as shooting a fly from a cannon but … At the end of the day it all depends on the specific user and his decision.

24

If you’ve never used Linux before, my best recommendation is to pace yourself. Linux is nothing like Windows. Therefore, the more that you know about Windows, the more you are likely to be frustrated by Linux, because it will not act like you expect. Dual booting, partitioning strategies, boot loaders, virtualization and gaming are a lot of complex issues to learn and deal with, all at once. This sounds like a recipe for frustration, to me.

Plan on keeping your existing machine for the time being. Sure, build a new machine, but just stick a single SSD in it and install Linux mint. Take your time, get your feet wet. Go ahead and experiment without the pressure of wrecking your primary box. Don’t be in a hurry, take your time and have fun!

In addition to Chris Titus’ channel, I suggest that you also check out Joe Collins.

25

Absolutely ! I’d throw in the ability to use a container to spawn a distro as well, so you don’t have to move into a VM, but explaining that at this moment might not be a good idea.

26

I want to thank you all for the ideas and information. So many valid points have been bought up that I will review/rethink my setup. For now I will mark this thread as [solved].

Thanks again!

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