Linux - easy or difficult to install?

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I need to buy a new desktop and my wife a new laptop.

At present I use a s/hand PC with Linux 4 installed, I bought it from an IT man. I don't like Windows 10, which is what my wife has. I can buy both an HP laptop for my wife and a desktop for myself without an OS installed

I really like how much easier Linux is to use for a non techie. The only beef I have is that there are so many downloads of stuff I will never use. If only a stripped down version of Linux was available for non techies like us.

So how easy or difficult is it to install Linux?
 
I use Linux Mint. I think it is one of the most friendly versions and is easy to install. It is based on Ubuntu so it is very well supported but is even more friendly.
All the variants of Linux are more efficient than Windoze so they will all be faster on your old PC. If your PC is very old you might need a "lighter" version.
What is your PC?
Download - Linux Mint

You can make a bootable USB stick or DVD with the Mint installer that you can boot your PC off to check it works ok with your hardware and that you like its interface before you install it. In fact, you can install it to a USB drive if you want and boot off the drive if your PC supports this. I keep Linux on a USB stick so I can boot any PC I like with it for maintenance purposes. For best performance, install it to your PC's hard drive.
 
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Installation is pretty much uniformized in various Linux variants. You can't fail with Ubuntu or its lightweight version Lubuntu. If you prefer a Windows-like user interface, try Zorin OS. You don't need to install Linux on the HDD/SSD, they can be used from a bootable USB pendrive. This is good to getting familiar with the particular version and trying it. If you like it, you can install the actual running Linux on the internal drive with a click. Installing Linux is user friendly.
 
Just to be clear, there isn't really anything called "Linux 4". There are multiple distributions (aka "distros") of Linux, each with its own numbering scheme. I seem to recall that there is/was a distro called CentOS which is based on RedHat, which is pretty good, and many Debian variants. I used to use Slackware, I don't even know what their current release number is, I think my last installation was 13-something.
There are also some nice "live CD's" (or DVDs) which you can use to run a complete installation without actually installing anything, Knoppix being one such beast. The installations are generally not difficult or particularly time consuming if you have pulled and burned a distro ISO image first. However, the packaging systems which track dependencies can be quite complex, so getting anything that isn't in the base install can send you into a cycle of installing dependencies on dependencies.
 
I am not a computer "wiz" and I use Linux Mint for several years. Installation is rather straight forward. It is surprisingly stable.
The only weakness I have noticed is if an application or a function does not work correctly and you ask help on the net. You are typically asked to open a terminal window and start trying to solve the problem with a plurality of more sophisticated commands of which not all do as expected. At that point the graphical interface is abandoned and it gets complicated.
Linux Mint is substantially free and let me here express my gratitude to those designing and preparing the distribution.
 
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Thanks for all the replies.some were a bit techie.

FauxFrench - you've nailed a problem I have right now. If I want to find a solution I find it difficult to establish a route to find the answer and a lot of the language is techie. So many downloads are for programmes i will never use.

Icsaszar I liked your suggestion. Traderbam - I'm buying a new desktop.

I shall definitely ask questions about suitability with both the laptop and the desktop. I think my wife will stay with the dev/Windows she knows (a little about).
 
I have used Linux for over 10 years now !! The actual installation is easy, Problems start when trying to install periphials such as printers ect,ect most drivers seem to offer only basic fuctionality if your hardware is supported at all !!Also,most open source free software (ie apps) fall far below the standard of commercial windows offerings for example:- gimp v photoshop. The command line beloved of linux gurus whilst powerfull is likely to give you repetitive strain injury However I think the biggest downer in recent years is that all the best developers seem to have their heads in the clouds or should I say the cloud and seem to have lost interest in desktop development. Linux is very secure though and YOU, not a corporation are in control. To sum up IF you are fluent in C or another programming language and have IN DEPTH knowledge of how computers actually work then 'go for it' !! else stick with win10 the ulcers in your stomach will thank you for it.
 
It really depends on what you want to do with the Linux system. If your existing one works well for you, then installing pretty much any of the current builds will be quite easy. If, on the other hand, you keep wishing for a particular package to run, and that package is not available for Linux, then that will be a problem.


I have (at last count), three (no, 4) linux systems. I run my mail and calendar on one, my spam trap on another, use a third one for storage with large drives, and the 4th one runs my audio system. Yes, there are Windows systems for my wife to use, because her CAD program only runs on Windows.... And I hear her cursing Microsoft daily.
 
Linux installs are a piece of cake. Not sure why this is even a concern in this day and age, even if you are not some sort of "techie". "Command Line" Linux is rarely, if ever, needed and you boot up into a nice GUI interface of one kind or another. Installing and uninstalling programs is easy, and they are by and large freeware.

Support for "peripherals" is another thing altogether. Windows has a huge MFG driver delivery system and MFGs target their products for this environment. Linux does not garner that kind of support but does have established standards for many interfaces. But when the MFG comes up with some non standard feature for their new product you are out of luck since it probably will not be supported under Linux soon, if ever, although core features will probably work out of the box. Take USB audio devices, for example. I can get most to play audio, but there won't do direct monitoring or have a fancy mixer, etc. These are part of a MFG's software/driver and they usually do not provide that for the Linux environment. But I can find out info about these issues using a few internet searches and these limitations are not a problem for my particular wants and needs. YMMV.

I have 5 or 6 small form factor Linux machines (plus multiple Raspberry Pi SBCs) in my collection. My worst experiences have been with ARM boards and now I avoid them (R-Pi is great, however, it has rather limited computing power). Intel (and probably AMD) systems have excellent OS support under Linux.
 
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Thanks for all the replies.some were a bit techie.

FauxFrench - you've nailed a problem I have right now. If I want to find a solution I find it difficult to establish a route to find the answer and a lot of the language is techie. So many downloads are for programmes i will never use.

Icsaszar I liked your suggestion. Traderbam - I'm buying a new desktop.

I shall definitely ask questions about suitability with both the laptop and the desktop. I think my wife will stay with the dev/Windows she knows (a little about).


If you intend to use Linux I recommend NOT to use a new PC. You may run into problems as the linux community takes some time to create appropriate drivers. We had such a problem at our company with a brandnew Lenovo laptop: problems with graphic adapter, LAN was not working at all. Two years later everything was fixed.
 
Just an addendum to my earlier post if your computer is new you might run into problems with the EFI boot system (Microsofts latest wheeze to lock you in) It all depends on the maufacturer of your hardware !! However you may be able to try before you buy by testing linux by running from a LIVE dvd or usb stick this approach is the safest. Also Linux can read/write windows hard drives but windows cant recognise linux drives mind you I am not certain if this applies to the latest win10 os??? As I said earlier security is the linux strong point and software/hardware compatibility the windows strong point. Good luck any way Best regards John
 
Yatsushiro,
Manjaro is the Linux I'm using now and i find it really difficult to access info, the language is really techie. I used to get so many updates which were completely irrelevant for me. strangely the last few months - no updates, I look daily.

I'm looking to buy an Azulle Byte 3 which is Linux compatible. From experience all those who warned about compatibility with hardware - they are right. I had to use an expensive professional to connect my printer. Apparently only about 1% use Linux in France.
 
To sum up IF you are fluent in C or another programming language and have IN DEPTH knowledge of how computers actually work then 'go for it' !!

I've used Linux as my primary desktop since Red Hat 5 and don' know a stitch of C. Typical popular distros cover the bulk of normal user requirements with no muss or fuss. Gimp is a great example. I've lost track of how many chumps... er users I've seen buy Photo$hop to resize and colour correct smartphone pictures. In some cases Linux has been plug and play with peripherals, like >96/24 USB audio devices, that never worked under Win 7, or required disabling driver signatures, or didn't work in Win 10 until long after it launched.
Each path has it's advantage depending on use case but 2018 Linux in no way requires deep programming chops for normal daily use.
 
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I've used Linux as my primary desktop since Red Hat 5 and don' know a stitch of C. Typical popular distros cover the bulk of normal user requirements with no muss or fuss. Gimp is a great example. I've lost track of how many chumps... er users I've seen buy Photo$hop to resize and colour correct smartphone pictures. In some cases Linux has been plug and play with peripherals, like >96/24 USB audio devices, that never worked under Win 7, or required disabling driver signatures, or didn't work in Win 10 until long after it launched.
Each path has it's advantage depending on use case but 2018 Linux in no way requires deep programming chops for normal daily use.
agreed
Privately I use linux since SUSE 4.2, on work Win10.
Meanwhile I can say the most hassle in real life occurs with Windows - not with Linux.
 
The reason I mentioned C in my previous posts is that the 'correct' way to install software is to compile from source using the gcc compiler and C make otherwise software becomes VERY version specific, Knowledge of programming is very usefull in this regard.Now Ubuntu and a few other distros DO maintain a huge collection of programs that are pre-compiled can be installed 'windows style' with a few mouse clicks. But the origional questioner has seen these and pronounced them 'of not much interest' (same as me) many packages are half-baked prototypes and are also riddled with bugs (just look at the user comments and star ratings!!) Interestingly the best of these Open source packages and some are very very good, have been ported to other OS's ie windows. To me the greatest plus of linux is freedom from spyware,viruses and other malware as there is NO secret code going on in the background nor is there any ''Political'' reasons to nobble the system. But I think it's time for me to close now before our audio forum is turned into a computing forum.
 
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