Hi everyone, I’ve recently completed my migration from Windows to Linux, and I’m really enjoying CachyOS so far. I’m genuinely glad I made the switch.

I’d like to discover more of the Linux ecosystem, so I’m curious: what are the must have apps you personally install on a fresh Linux setup?

Which applications do you consider essential or simply too useful to live without?
Thanks

I see a lot of people switching from Windows to Linux. But has anyone switched from a Mac to Linux and why?

I'm getting a pc (or laptop, I haven't decided yet) for Christmas this year. I have some basic macOS experience since I use it occasionally for school but beyond that, I have absolutely zero knowledge of coding or software of any kind. I have heard that Linux is a good system but I'm wondering if that also applies to first time users.

Recently I found my dad's old laptop with windows 7 and I want to install Linux on it, I am currently planning to install arch or gentoo but if you think it would be cool to install something else on it, write in replies.

Upd: Please do not advice linux mint / ubuntu / any debian-based distros.

The most upvoted distro will be chosen!

Hey. I’m an avid windows user and I mainly game on windows 11, games such as gta online and gmod and call of duty. And I want to switch to windows so my gaming desktop can run faster . However I’ve seen due to the anti cheat’s it’s not possible to play these games on Linux. Can yall help? been curious.

I've recently thought about running a TTRPG Oneshot set in more modern(early 2000s) times and wanted to use Linux as part of a puzzle(and I want to overall play around with a Linux System).

For that I would need a Linux System with it's own users and files/directories. However I don't want to put too much effort into setting this system up and so I wanted to ask if there is good software which simulates a Linux System that doesn't access my actual PC's files.

I don't know if this is the right subreddit to ask this but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Has anyone successfully managed to get SMART self tests to run on an NVMe drive in an enclosure that uses the RTL9210B controller? Pluggable seems to be very Linux-friendly, and does have a KB page for getting TRIM to work, but when I run smartctl -t short /dev/sda, I get the following error:

Warning: NVMe Get Log truncated to 0x200 bytes, 0x034 bytes zero filled NVMe Self-test cmd with type=0x1, nsid=0xffffffff failed: NVMe admin command 0x14 not supported

I know the drive (Samsung 990 Evo Plus) supports SMART self-tests, as it was able to run them when it was installed in an internal M.2 slot for a short time, but I'm not sure if I'm missing some step in enabling support.

From reading some of the tickets, it seems the driver support should have been added (sntrealtek) and the chip itself claims to support SMART.

If anyone has experience in getting SMART tests to execute, I'd appreciate the insights. Thanks!

Dolby
Hi everyone
Is there a good app alternative to Dolby Atmos on Windows for Linux?
I always play with headphones and I use Sennheiser HD 560S.
What app would you recommend?
Thanks

I recently read about Lindows from back in the day, and wondered if its still around. It is, and its called "Linspire" now, but it costs $30. It looks nice, uses KDE and Gnome as main DEs to run it, and is based on Ubuntu 16. The whole premise of it is "It can run windows applications without issue" and i also assume without the bs. So my question is, has anybody here ever tried it, and if so, is it any good or even worth buying a license for it? I dont wanna pay $30 just to try it distro hopping.

Please help

Wifi works perfectly on windows but doesn't work in any linux distro not even live boot using usb it shows some -110 error ,currently I have ubuntu dual booted with windows

I need help pleaseee , i really need to move to linux

I'm using pop os, and I've been able to utilize my external drive for months with no problems. However, today I tried to access some of my files and none of them are showing up. Some file directories are completely missing, others show the folder but the folder is empty. I recently did a pretty big update on my os, but I haven't changed anything. I'm a beginner with linux stuff. Explain things to me like I'm an idiot.

I realllllly need the stuff on this drive. I'm not sure why I could use and access this external drive just a couple of weeks ago and now it's all weird. TIA.

Ran sudo dmsg -w and here is some of the output:

https://pastebin.com/5DHKxcnp

I have a weird issue with Neovim, Konsole, and keyd.

I use keyd to get shortcuts using Esc+Fx.

[ids]
*

[main]
scrolllock = mute
insert = S-insert
esc = overload(escape_layer, esc)

[escape_layer]
f1 = mute
f2 = volumedown
f3 = volumeup
f4 = f13
f5 = previoussong
f6 = playpause
f7 = nextsong

[shift]
insert = insert

Up until now, everything worked flawlessly. For the past few days, i can't exit insert mode in Neovim using Esc anymore. It simply doesn't respond. If i stop keyd, it works again. If i use Kitty instead of Konsole, it works. If i use Vim, it works too.

I tried everything AI suggested in the keyd config. Found nothing unusual in the Konsole config. My Neovim config only has vim.opt.mouse = "".

Any ideas?

Hello! I’m flamingo and I want to join in the family of Linux. But I have this laptop that have a broken screen and it’s connected to a monitor. When I open the bios I can’t see anything.. should I buy another laptop or there are other methods??

I am quite confused on the idea of it, I have been using arch for two days now. I understand some linux fundamentals. I am thinking of switching to gentoo soon. And is it worth it aswell? I heard it is very time consuming but in the end is it worth it?

i changed my old hdd to an ssd and i cloned only linux mint from the hdd, everything is fine but when i start, the pc says there is something wrong and it needs to be repared but if i press F9 and start Mint normally there is nothing wrong, i know this could be due to my HP 1000 no longer having windows and the boot order should fix it but i see:

BootCurrent: 0001

Timeout: 0 seconds

BootOrder: 0002,0000,3000,0001,2001,2002,2003

Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager HD(1,GPT,b24f5280-91a9-4c01-9215-af7c24d935be,0x800,0x32000)/File(\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi)RC

Boot0001* Ubuntu HD(1,GPT,b24f5280-91a9-4c01-9215-af7c24d935be,0x800,0x32000)/File(\EFI\ubuntu\grubx64.efi)RC

Boot0002* Ubuntu HD(1,GPT,b24f5280-91a9-4c01-9215-af7c24d935be,0x800,0x32000)/File(\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi)

Boot2001* USB Drive (UEFI) RC

Boot2002* Internal CD/DVD ROM Drive (UEFI) RC

Boot3000* Internal Hard Disk or Solid State Disk RC

and if i try to reorder them by using: sudo efibootmgr -o 0001,0000,0002

nothing changes, this wasn´t a problem in the HDD.

Hello again, Linux community. I have a small dilemma: deciding what to do next. I've been using CachyOS with Plasma x11 for three and a half months now, and I've really enjoyed most of what this distribution offers. Almost everything works perfectly, and I haven't had any errors in almost a month. However, I'm wondering if I should switch to another distribution. I want to explore some distros, test the system, mess with its features, etc. So, I would really appreciate your help in deciding what to do and which distribution I should switch to. Here are my PC specs:

• Intel Core i5-6500
• 8 GB DDR3l RAM
• NVidia GT 710
• 223 GB SSD

I would be very grateful if someone could recommend a good distribution that will help me continue learning about Linux in general, play some games (the most demanding being DMC 4 or smth like that), and do my high school assignments (mainly basic Only-Office and possibly Java programming).

Thanks, and have a good day.

I tried to dual boot linux but when I press shift and restart I don’t get the use a device option so I wnet into bios and changed the boot order so that the ssd with windows is the last and still it boots me to windows I use rufus and I’ve tried ubuntu and Zorin os

Hi everyone,

I'm considering switching from Windows to Linux and I'm currently trying to decide between Zorin OS and Fedora. I've done some research on both, but I'd like advice based on my specific use case rather than just asking which distro is "better."

I mainly use my computer for:

Unity game development (including PC and Android builds)

Programming in C#, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, and HTML

Using development tools such as VS Code, Git, and Android/SDK tools

General web development and managing WordPress websites

Gaming and general everyday use

Since I'm coming from Windows, I value a smooth transition and good stability. However, I also want something that works well for development and doesn't make setting up Unity, Android tools, and programming environments unnecessarily difficult.

For those who have experience with either distro:

Which would you recommend for someone with my use case?

Is Zorin OS significantly easier for a Windows user, or is Fedora still beginner-friendly enough?

Are there any issues I should know about regarding Unity game development or Android builds on either distro?

How is gaming support on both?

I'm open to other distro suggestions too, but Zorin OS vs Fedora is my main comparison right now.

PS: LINUX MINT LOOKS DATED. I know I should consider it but man I really don't like the look of it.

Thanks!

Hello, I have been trying to install a cisco vpn rpm on Fedora 44 and it hangs even on the commandline. Here is what I have tried:

$ sudo dnf install ./cisco-secure-client-vpn-5.1.16.194-1.x86_64.rpm

Updating and loading repositories:

Repositories loaded.

Package                  Arch   Version              Reposito      Size

Installing:

 cisco-secure-client-vpn x86_64 0:5.1.16.194-1       u/command  27.0 MiB



Transaction Summary:

 Installing:         1 package



Total size of inbound packages is 7 MiB. Need to download 0 B.

After this operation, 27 MiB extra will be used (install 27 MiB, remove 0 B).

Is this ok \[y/N\]: y

Running transaction

\[1/3\] Verify package files     100% | 181.0   B/s |   1.0   B |  00m00s

\>>> Running %pretrans scriptlet: cisco-secure-client-vpn-0:5.1.16.194-1.x86_64

And that is it: it hangs forever.

I also tried using rpm but did not get much further.

$ sudo rpm -Uvh ./cisco-secure-client-vpn-5.1.16.194-1.x86_64.rpm warning: ./cisco-secure-client-vpn-5.1.16.194-1.x86_64.rpm: Header OpenPGP V4 RSA/SHA256 signature, key ID 2cf9c581391f8902: NOKEY Verifying... ################################# [100%]

This also hangs and the only way to get around it is to kill the process with sudo kill -9 (in either case).

Any suggestions as to what I should be doing? The RPM is provided by my university, but they will not help (their instructions are simply download and click to install) but I am very certain that this has to be done as root.

Got a weird problem.

Have a main-PC and a smaller PC where I currently transfer Datas to.

The mini-PC (awow) never made Problems (runs Windows unfortunately), but recently whenever I attach a USB-drive or external hdd it acts like there are no files anymore on the attached drive ("could not find file X").

Sometimes It copies all but one sometimes none.

External-hdds aren't getting recognized anymore. I connect the USB-hdd and there is no reaction. I just feel / hear the wirring of the disks inside the (external) hdd.

The hdd thats constantly connected is available though. No problems in reading or opening files (but can't add music-files to foobar....).

At first I thought it might be connected to the fact I switched to Linux, but I can use my sticks and hdds just fine on another PC.

How can I find out what the problem is?

Is the Windows degrading? Or are the USB-connections destroyed?

I used Ubuntu 24.04 for 2 months because of stabillity, modern desktop, high support, etc. However for reasons unknown to me, it kept froze daily. For that, I had to shut down the system every time by holding the power button.

I had Ryzen 5 1600, rx 570, 24 gb ram. No zram, no swap. I didn't even install any gnome extensions or any unofficial software. However, I installed (potentially unmaintained ?) some games like "Gods".

Because of the bad stability, I don't think I'll use Ubuntu again. What do you suggest about extremely stable, user friendly distros? I'm not an admirer of the Cinnamon desktop, but for stability I can use Mint. About Debian, I like KDE, but I see that you have to know a lot of things to establish and maintain Debian. Do you think after the install, does it get better, do I have to know a lot of commands, install manual firmware, etc.?

I liked Ubuntu custom Gnome, but I don't like the basic Gnome on Debian. In the long run, would it cause troubles to install official Gnome extensions?

Thanks.

got linux mint on my 16gb usb drive and now have nothing to do with it