What are some preparations you think people should know about in advance of migrating to Linux?

For example, I saw a post the other day detailing how to set up a Brother laser printer on Kinoite. That's not something I would have initially considered a potential problem to be solved. Another I ran into some years ago had to do with an Edimax WiFi dongle that used some weirdly specific Realtek 8812 radio, for which you had to set up the driver via dkms. A little prep and knowledge in advance would have saved days of searching online.

I've started a personal to-do list of things to research and make sure I have all my ducks in a row before I make the full-time switch on my main desktop, so besides the usual "back up your files" advice, I'm hoping y'all can point out some QoL things I and others may often miss!

southsamurai ,
@southsamurai@sh.itjust.works avatar

My one and only bit of advice is for a first timer to only use a live usb/disc for a week, doing the most common things.

That assumes they don't know anyone willing to put the time and effort into helping them migrate. If you have help, I don't believe you'd have to have as long a trial period. A day or two at most.

Reasoning is that you never notice everything that might need troubleshooting the first few days. Making sure of that is much better done before trying to install and jump in, even with a dual boot set up.

Hellmo_Luciferrari ,

Besides the usual back up your files advice, I have a few recommendations.

These recommendations are not in any particular order but:

  • Consider all of the applications you use on Windows, and research alternatives for those applications. Or if there isn't a replacement for it, investigate how to get the application you need working in Linux. For instance, I use a lot of audio production software and learned that there are a few that just do not work reliably or at all within Linux.

  • Depending on your needs be sure to research (or better yet, try) different Desktop Environments.
    (Note: for trying different environments I would recommend finding a distro that has a Live USB option and run those live to test them out)

  • As I mentioned in the above suggestion, try different distros you are considering using with a Live USB. This can help snuff out different hardware that you have that may or may not work on your system before committing.

  • Before choosing which OS you want to go with, consider the key beliefs of how to maintain an OS. For instance, there are many people that will blindly recommend a distro without knowing why one would use it. There are bleeding edge rolling release type distros such as Arch. I use Arch BTW, but I would not blindly tell someone who just wants a stable experience with little to no tinkering needed.

Most of my suggestions come down to please do your research, and make an educated decision on what you want to jump into. And I like to think that there are plenty of communities that can be friendly and welcoming that would help!

Telorand OP ,
  • Great advice. I had specific apps I have or was planning to research, but it would probably behoove me to double check everything.
  • A live USB is advice I hadn't considered. I've done that several times, and I've done a handful of VMs, but I never considered it might help sus out some potential hardware issues.
  • I've actually practiced setting up Arch in a VM, and while I got everything to work just fine, I think pure Arch is just not for me. Something Arch-based would be okay, like BlendOS, but I don't get that nice feeling of accomplishment in pure Arch from tinkering with every little system config file and dependency—just annoyance and exasperation.
Hellmo_Luciferrari ,

I actually suggest getting Ventoy which is a fantastic utility that allows you to copy bootable images to a folder, and when you boot the drive you can select from the ISO/Images available on the drive. Super handy!

The Live USB may not solve all HW issues, but it's a good jumping off point.

I can't blame anyone not going the pure arch route, and choosing an Arch based distro. Besides getting my GPU working as I wanted it, running and maintaining my Arch install is no work at all at this point. With Timeshift installed, as well as the grub hook, and pacman hook, it makes it a cake to revert if something breaks.

The other advice I have for Linux is an often overlooked. When switching to Linux you can't always approach fixing a problem or operating the machine the exact same ways one would on Windows. So being flexible, and learning to change habits helps.

Telorand OP ,

I'll have to give Ventoy another try, since they just had some updates. I had originally tried booting it on a spare laptop (multiple times), but it would never boot, as if the MBR was broken.

rah ,

You may have missed that the best approach is not to switch but to dual-boot.

DaddleDew ,

Treat yourself with a nice new fast SSD and install it on that. Dual booting on the same drive is asking for Windows update to "randomly" nuke your bootloader.

Telorand OP ,

I have two drives, but I don't really want to be part of the AI/Recall machine anymore. I'll install Windows in a VM for the rare times I absolutely need it and forget about it the rest of the time.

owenfromcanada ,
@owenfromcanada@lemmy.world avatar

If you still need both, it's an okay option, though it can be a little challenging to set up and maintain if you're not as tech savvy. But in that case, to address the original question: learning how to restore your bootloader would be helpful.

But if running Windows in a VM works for what you need, that's an option too (that's what I do).

Or if you want to play around with Linux before committing, running it from a USB drive is also fine.

Telorand OP ,

Windows VM is what I plan to do. I'm already running Bazzite full time on a spare laptop acting as an HTPC, and I've dabbled for the last several years and feel comfortable in the command line, so I don't really see a need to waste an entire drive or partition just for Windows.

That's good advice, though, to learn how to fix the bootloader. That's something I don't currently know how to do, so I'll get on that! Thanks!

owenfromcanada ,
@owenfromcanada@lemmy.world avatar

Bootloader stuff is less important if you're not dual booting. Windows has a tendency to attempt to rewrite the bootloader when it updates.

But if you're interested, it never hurts to learn about your BL!

TheV2 ,

I never dual-booted and I noticed I escaped a few traps. At best I'd base the decision on some research whether or not there is a way to run your irreplaceably essential software.

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