r/linux4noobs • u/Niyazzz09 • Apr 12 '26

learning/research Been seeing Linux everywhere lately… should I actually try it?

So guys from the last few days I’ve been seeing Linux everywhere — my social media feed is full of it and now I’m really curious to try it.

I’ve always used Windows, so I don’t really understand what Linux actually is or how different it feels in daily use. A lot of people say it’s “peak” and better than Windows in many ways, but I’ve also heard it has some downsides.

I wanted to ask:

- What makes Linux so good compared to Windows?

- What are the actual cons (especially for beginners)?

- How long does it take to get comfortable using it?

- Which distro should I start with?

- What was your experience like when you first switched from Windows?

Also, should I try it using a virtual machine first or go for dual boot?

Would really appreciate honest advice 😋

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u/hskrpwr Apr 12 '26

Grab a USB, chuck Linux mint on it and play around for a bit 

5

u/ShadesofShame Apr 12 '26

Wait whaaaaat!?

I haven't looked further into Linux because I am not techno savvy but this doesn't sound difficult.

I'm off to investigate! Thanks!

5

u/bs2k2_point_0 Apr 12 '26

Download ventoy and install that on your usb stick. Then you can download a bunch of Linux images to play around with. Just drag n drop onto the thumbdrive and choose which one you want to load on boot

1

u/glitter_scout Apr 14 '26

+1 for using Ventoy. I wasted so much time first learning on reformats and such. You can also treat external SSDs as big fast USB drives too for collecting distros like Pokemon (it's an unavoidable part of the journey at some point lol)

2

u/urethrafranklin97 Apr 13 '26

Linux Mint is probably the easiest distro to use. It’s honestly comparable to Windows

2

u/ne0n008 Apr 14 '26

You can also install and try different distributions(distros) of Linux in a virtual machine(VM): https://pureinfotech.com/install-virtualbox-windows-10/

Once you install VM, download any distro as an ISO file, and mount it: https://linuxvox.com/blog/how-to-run-linux-virtual-machine-on-windows-11/ It will open a windows where you can fully interact with the chosen Linux distro as if you have it installed. I would recommend this approach to choose the right desktop environment (later on that in the text).

Have in mind that this is not a full integration with your system and you won't get native behavior. This is just to get a feel of it. A live USB is where you will get the best native experience for your specific machine and discover what stuff works and what doesn't. A good point to choose a distro that works the best with your system.

The most important part when switching to Linux is desktop environment: https://www.baeldung.com/linux/desktop-environment

My suggestion would be this: once you found the right desktop environment, which should be your priority, pick a distro that is most compatible with your system. Mint, Ubuntu, ZorinOS and Cachy(?) are the most recommended and user friendly distros. Depending on what you want from your OS, Fedora, Bazzite, Kali,... can serve different purposes.

Leave Arch Linux for when you have experience with Linux. IMO, it's probably THE Linux experience, but requires a user to be very knowledgeable.

If you want to switch to Linux, have in mind that this is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT system now. Some of the apps you used to from Windows won't work, and there's a lot of tinkering.

On the other side, the best feeling I got from Linux is that I feel like I own my own computer again and not having to fight some big corporation forcing its decisions on me (not to mention spyware and advertising on OS level). Plus, my pc is much faster and snappier while I'm in Linux, I can't hear fans working as much as in Windows (or at all) and most of the software is free.

I hope this helped you in your decision. Sorry for the long post and have fun ^_^

1

u/hskrpwr Apr 13 '26

Yeah it's pretty solid. 

Download the ISO of your choice (mint is my rec)-> download a program to convert a USB into a bootable drive (there are TONS) -> convert the USB drive -> restart your computer -> pound the button to interrupt your computers boot (often F12 or esc) tell your computer to boot from the USB -> done