This is a guide for people who have MIcrosoft Windows 10, and who love their precious Windows 10 Software, but seriously want to be free from the cost, licensing, and hassle of owning the Windows Operating system. You have already made the decision that Windows has to go, and just need the right push, the right endorsement, or anything short of the "right disaster" to make you hop the fence.
Hopefully, this article will give you a roadmap and hopefully more information than you need to not just jump that fence, but somersault over it, set it on fire in mid-air, and land on both feet in a striking pose.
Most people don't need to switch. If you're happy using Windows, then keep it. Being a Linux user requires a little more attention, a little more learning, and a little more do-it-yourself-ing. It's not for everyone.
My reasons for switching to Linux are:
- Windows licenses cost money. Sometimes, when you perform surgery on a system, and you change out the main board, Microsoft wants to check your license, and make sure that you have a legit one. Sometimes their own internal processes to check the license forces you to have to call them up and waste time trying to prove your license is real and legit. It's an inconvenience. Linux is 100% free in most cases. It's reliable, secure, and everything that Windows ain't.
- Windows has always had issues with bugs. Often times, they will have updates that screw up your system. Sometimes, you will get thse blue screens for inexplicable reasons, and troubleshooting them is such a pain that you often just end up reinstalling it. Thankfully, since Windows 10, I haven't had to re-install Windows on my system, but I know plenty of people who have. There are some updates that may freeze up your system, and many users often wait a long time and give up, rebooting their PC only to brick it -- ruin the partition on the Hard drive so that it needs to be reformatted or just have Windows reinstalled.
- Windows is constantly getting hacked and attacked by viruses and malware. There are so many viruses and pieces of malware out there on the internet, that you really need to purchase anti-virus/anti-malware solutions. With Linux, and to a lesser extent, Macintosh computers, this generally doesn't happen. Linux is a secure operating system, and it's difficult to write viruses or malware for it that can break through it.
- Windows has a strong tendency to include bloatware and spyware in their updates. The last couple of large updates to WIndows 10 filled it up with all sorts of advertising-enablement features that were automatically turned on, and had to be shut down if you didn't want to see ads on your start menu or in your notification area. At my job, where I am a PC/Windows tech, plenty of the ads delivered to user as a direct result of that update, were PHONY VIRUS WARNINGS -- ads which inform the user that "Microsoft has detected a virus in your computer, and you need to call microsoft ASAP to remedy the situation." The ads were fake, and some user would follow the link, only to be asked for a credit card number. I have a growing list of settings to shut off whenever I have a ticket for this issue.
- Linux has evolved to the point where it is as easy, if not easier to use than Windows.
- Linux is faster. It has low overhead, and without dozens of background processes running, programs run faster. The user interface is not so different from Mac OSX or Windows, so it's easy to figure out. Best of all, it rarely crashes with such catastrophic results, or indeciferable error messages, like Windows.
- Linux takes up far less space on your hard drive than Windows. A default install of Windows take 15GB or more of storage on your HDD. Most Linux installs take up 512MB to 4GB of space on your hard drive -- the larger installs of course, are ones that come with a lot of applications pre-installed. Most Linux distributions I've seen come with complimentary LibreOffice, and a few other apps which you can easily remove.
I could go on, but the bottom line is that LInux is a much smaller, more powerful, more secure, and generally non-buggy operating system than Windows, and it's free -- you are not bound by a license agreement, and are free to do what you want without a corporation bugging you about your license key or preventing you from making changes that you want.
The single most important advice in all of this is that you start learning how to use Linux. The more familiar you are with it, it's desktop interfaces (there are choices of different desktop environments, but don't worry), and the control panels, the easier your transition will be -- just like learning a foreign language to make traveling to a foreign country easier, learning Linux before you start installing it will let you do everything more smoothly.
The Terminal, which is Linux's version of the Command Prompt in Windows, is also important to become familiar with. You may not need to use it right away, but at least know how to find it so you can run it when you need it. Some fixes and applications need you to type in a bunch of command lines -- and cutting and pasting them into the command line will make it go quicker.
You may want to set up an old computer with Linux to play with, or buy a $35 Raspberry Pi, which is a super-cheap, and super-popular pocket-sized computer that runs on Linux, and you can select many different Distributions of Linux that will work on it. If you don't use the official "Raspberry Pi OS", which is a variantion of Debian Linux, I recommend Ubuntu Mate, which is one of the more widely used distributions that works on practically any computer. Of course, after you have created the bootable USB drive with Linux on it, you can just use that until you get all of your Windows software moved over.
I have developed a method for doing this migration that will keep you safe and free from worry. It involves buying a new SSD for your computer to replace the one in your computer that has Windows on it. You will want to keep that around for weeks or months after you're all switched over, in case you forget something, or if you have difficulty with an important app that just doesn't want to run in Linux, or if you decide that it's not for you and you want to go back to Windows 10. It's a safety feature that will prevent you from going insane. Make sure you get an external USB for your Linux SSD. Whether you are using a 2.5" SATA SSD or a tiny NVME SSD, USB enclosures are available and cheap.
Essentially, you're going to install Linux on this external SSD, and boot off ot it while you're in the process of transitioning and getting your software straightened out. Your computer will have a keyboard combo to press during the POST and startup. Usually it's the F2 key, Del, F12 or something else -- most computers have a brief message telling you which key to press for the boot menu. Basically, once Linux is installed on it, you turn on the computer, and hit the key that brings it to the boot menu. Select the USB drive Linux is on, and it will boot from it. If you don't hit the key to go into the Boot menu, it'll simply boot into Windows. Only when you are all set, and certain you don't have anything left on your Windows drive that you need to move, you will then open up your PC, and swap out the Linux SSD for your Windows SSD -- put the Windows SSD into the External case, and the Linux SSD onto the Main board of the computer (or connect it to the SATA cable).
So as I mentioned above, you will need an SSD and external USB 3.0 case for it.
You will also need a 16GB USB memory stick. This will be used to put the Linux Setup image onto. You boot off of it, install Linux onto the SSD, then hang on to it for emergencies or if you want to install it onto more computers. You will also need to download either Rufus or Balena Etcher so that you can burn the image onto the USB Stick.
Click here to download Balena Etcher
Note: I am only going to cover using Balena Etcher in my instructions. If you're using Rufus, I'll assume you know more of less how to use it.
Click Here to download Ubuntu 20.4
Pay close attention to where you save your downloaded *.img files. They tend to go into your Downloads folder (C:\users\your name\downloads). Just make sure you know what their names are for the next few steps.
What you're going to do is make sure you have your 16GB USB stick ready, and the location of your Linux distribution's downloaded *.img file. In some cases, instead of a *.img file, it may be a *.zip, *.7zip, *.arc, or other compressed format. If you can't open it and see the contents of the compressed file, you may be looking for another program. Generally, though, Winzip or other popular, and hopefully free applications will unzip whatever format it's in. You may want to save the *.img file to your desktop to make it easy to find.
Open up Balena Etcher or Rufus. Balena is pretty easy and straightforward, where Rufus is a bit more flexible and has more expert features, but we don't need to worry about those for now.
Balena is a 3-step process -- 3 clicks and you're done.
Step 1: Click the button that says "Select Image". Browse to where you saved the Ubuntu or Zorin image file. Click OK.
Step 2: Select Target. Click on the Select Target button. If your 16GB USB Stick is not selected, Select it from what is available. If you don't see your USB stick, try another.
Step 3: Flash the image! Click the Flash! button, and watch the progress. It will do 2 passes -- one write pass and one verification pass.
Turn off your computer.
Insert your newly flashed Unbuntu or Zorin installer into a USB port.
Insert the external SSD that you are installing Linux on into a USB 3.0 port. You need to use USB 3.0 because it is as fast as an internal SSD.
Turn on your computer, and keep tapping the key that will let you select which drive to boot off of.
Follow the online prompts and make sure that you select the full version. You want to install, not try. Make sure you select the empty SSD that you got for this. You want to make sure you don't over-write Windows.
Here is a link to the official, updated, install process for Zorin, curtesy of Zorin. I'd have taken the screen shots and done it myself, but each time there is a a major revision to anything, and it chages the install process, my page will be out of date, and Zorin's won't be. Just remember the following selections:
- Select "Try or Install Zorin OS".
- Select "Install Zorin OS".
- For purposes of using my external SSD method, select "Erase Disk and install Zorin".
If you's prefer a video of the install process, CLICK HERE
When you're done installing Zorin, skip ahead to the "Welcome to Linux" section. Ubuntu is a little trickier to install. I can't detail much of it here, but I'll provide a link to it and a video.
CLICK HERE for an HTML guide to installing Ubuntu.
CLICK HERE for a video detailing how to install Ubuntu.
So this is where you need to use the Ubuntu Terminal. I'm assuming that you sort of know what a program launcher is. It's the big menu on the side that has all the icons on it for various programs. You need to click on it and look for an icon that looks like one of these.
In the terminal, you'll need to type the following commands, and wait for them to finish processing. So your first trick to learn, because you really should not have to do all that typing, is copy the text of the commands, then paste them into the terminal window. TO copy the text, Click on the first character in the text, and drag the mouse to the end until the last character on the line is highlighted, and press the CTRL + C keys. To passte it into the terminal window, click on the terminal window, and press SHIFT+CTRL+V. This is only slightly different from how it's done in Windows.
The commands to run are:
You may want to check the software store in Ubuntu, to see if there is a less complicated way to install Wine. You need to familiarize yourself with the software Center. It's icon looks like this
It's located on the launch bar with the other programs. By default, it should be on it.
Tons of software can be installed using the software center. After you're done, you may want to check out some Linux apps, to see what's out there. For now, though, we want just want to install the last few apps we need for Windows compatibility. Type the following names into the search bar when you've opened the software center. When you find it, Click on Install, and it should install it.
If there were no errors, and you're done, you are now more or less ready to install Windows apps!
A brief word on applications, first. It is always preferable to search for and install native Linux versions of your Windows software. If there is a native Linux version of it, and you don't have to pay for a new version, favor that over the pure Windows app. It can avoid issues that may be inconvenient, like having to edit a configuration file or just having it run a little slower. Besides -- native Linux appas are optimized to run in Linux, and there is generally less overhead which can affect performance.
Before installing Windows apps, there is a convenient website you may want to visit.
The WineHQ user's guide will let you search for a specific Windows app's compatibility. Thousands of applications have been tested, and information on tweaking (changing a few settings) them to work best for you is located there. I think it's best to consult this site before installing a Windows app, because if one doesn't work, or works, but is buggy, solutions will be here.
For installing Windows applications, in many cases, you can just start installing them once you have them on USB memory sticks or you have downloaded them. Wine, if installed properly, should notice the *exe file, and lanch, then it will guide you through installing the Windows apps. Each time you install one, check it out. Most will work just fine, but some may require tweaking.
Look at your list of purchased games, and browse them one at a time. When you click on one, and see that the "install" button is green, that means that the game is available in a Linux version! You can just install it without extra steps, and it will work. For other games, however, you will see that the install button is greyed out. Don't worry!
Save this link: Wine HQ User's Guide. You will visit this link to check each of your Steam Apps. Using the search feature, look up each of your Steam apps, and see what the site assesses. You should find that the vast majority will be gold and platinum, which means they work out of the box, right after install, with little or no settings. When you find one of your games, and it gets Gold or Platinum, or says that it will play with a few settings changes, this is what you need to do to install it:
You should see that the app you just changed the settings for now has a gree INSTALL button. You can now install it, and it will essentially be the same download and install process that, as a Steam user, you should already be familiar with. After it installs, you will be able to play it, and in most cases, it will work the same or better than it did in Windows.
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! You can now run Windows games in Linux, and have no reason to go back to Windows again!
Here is another useful link: ProtonDB
ProtonDB, used in conjunction with WineHQ (from above) are useful resources that will help you find out ahead of time if any given app or game has issues. They also offer tweaks, advice, info, and news. They are useful, and will be as you continue the transition away from Windows.
Here are some more useful links:
Here are some great videos showing all of this stuff in action, so you can see what the future holds for you.
Since I switched, it's been one great thing after another. One of the most fun things about Linux are some of the tools you can download to customize the desktop to look more or less the way you'd like it to look. In a few of my previous blog postings, I give instructions on downloading and using some of them. Read some of the earlier posts and try out things like Variety, Videolan's VLC Media Player, Kodi, and more.
So, one of the truly easy things for me about switching to Linux was that so many programs I rely on for my daily usage are already available in Linux. The following programs are what I use on a daily basis on my own computers:
Other programs I use that are not really availabvle in Linux have Free alternatives that are essentially good clones that work just their commercial counterparts:
The switch was easy, because I had to give up so few applications, and the alternative ones didn't have much of a learning curve, and had most, if not all of the features I needed. The only hurdle was getting modern PC Games, which were all written for Windows, to work. Thankfully, these didn't really pose any obstacles at all, thanks to the combination of Zorin already having all the required software pre-installed, but because all of the games I was really concerned with were in my Steam account, and Steam has been working hard to make Windows unnecessary for games.
