what is Linux?

Linux is an operating system like Windows or mac, except its fully open sourced so many groups and companies have build upon it. We call those variations "distributions" (or distros) and there are hundreds of them. They're different in many ways - some made to run in really old computers, some made with programmers in mind, some created for particular applications like medical systems, some made to emulate old games, some made for regular users. You can (and should!!) search for some distros that are fun or suit you in particular, but for new users i recommend UBUNTU or POP!_OS, because they're easy to use and hard to break.

Be honest, Should I change to Linux?

I don't know. Truth to be told, some programs are pretty tied to Windows or Mac and work worse on Linux - if you need them for work, you probably are better of sticking to windows, at least during work hours. And any distro in Linux is less user friendly than windows - you will probably need to google "[program name] linux" once or twice to check why its not working. Maybe even lose your fear of the terminal and learn a few command lines.

but here comes the beauty of Linux: You can try it without changing anything in your pc.

You can download the distro you want on a pendrive and run it from the pendrive. Nothing will be download to your computer. There are no risks. You can test how things run on it, how it looks, you can even tweak it around and change stuff. And if you like it, you can install it as a dual boot.

what is dual boot?

With dual boot you separate part of your hard drive so windows doesn't have access to it and install a second operating system on it, while keeping the old one unaffected. Whenever you turn on your computer you can choose if you want to use Windows or Linux. In the old days, this was done by deleting the whole hardrive first, but today this doesn't happen anymore.

I would recommend backing up your files just to be safe, but I've never seen anyone lose anything while dual booting. If you have some space in your hardrive (anything over 10gb is fine, but I Would suggest at least 50gb for some wiggle room) you can take that away from Windows and install Linux on it. Linux isn't stupid like Windows so it will have access to the files you have saved on windows (as long as you remember your password) so don't worry about that: you're free to write your fanfic on Linux, save it, and the next day continue writing it on Windows.

I've kept a windows/Linux dual boot for about 8 years before I decided to get rid of windows and I can't recommend it enough. The only downside is that you have 50gb less on your windows side, which does not matter.

OK, but why the fuck should i do that?

Good question. Right now Window sucks balls more than it has ever sucked before. It sucks very bad. It runs about a thousand background process for no reason other than fuck you, it shoves ads and AI into everything you do and it's using your data to train more AI and send you more ads. Linux does nothing of the sort: everything is in your control. No program is running on the background without your consent, you can delete anything, uninstall anything, change whatever you want. Yes with great powers come great responsibilities, but unless you plan on deleting big files named "System" you're going to be fine.

it's true that Linux takes a little while to get used to. Even the most user friendly of distros are more complex than windows because it wants to be good FOR YOU, and it can only do that if you put the effort to make it so. If you don't want anything particular, in 30 minutes you can make it great. I honestly think that the average tumblr user would love linux: the trial and error, spending hours customizing everything, adding weird little extensions on your browser so every time you close something it explodes. and again, you can do ALL THAT without risking losing what you have on windows.

Also, don't you miss having fun with your computer? Don't you miss when it worked as you wanted and had silly little games and you didn't feel like you were being used all the time? You can have that back. for free.

I suck at computer! I can't do that

Look deep into my eyes now. computer is a skill you can acquire. the worse (the WORSE) thing that can happen while installing Linux is that you delete your files. That's IT. Anything else can be fixed by plugin in USB drive and trying again. Backup your files and all the risk is null. Don't let Microsoft and Google convince you to eat garbage while they tell you its as good as it gets.

ok but does it look ugly?

it can look ugly. Some distros are horrendous, some look like 90's computers, but most of them look modern and way prettier than windows, plus you can edit anything you don't like. Here is how mine currently looks with VERY little tweaking (this is POP! OS 24.04). I also show myself downloading GIMP so you can see how easy it is.

can it run [thing]?

probably yes. Again, if you need a very particular program for work you should google it. The only thing I used to run on windows and can't on Linux is League of legends and Valorant, because riot games has a stupid anti-cheat system. Any other game and program I use runs perfectly fine.

Cool, I want to try, what do I need?

Part 1: testing it on a pendrive (no risk at all)

You need a empty USB drive. That's it. But you also need to lose the fear of using your computer - its yours, don't let Microsoft tell you otherwise. Search for the distro you want to try and download the .ISO file. I recommend starting with POP_OS right now because it's pretty easy to use and is made with gaming in mind, so it comes with some video drivers preinstalled, but you can (and should!!) google "linux distros" and see what comes up. remember: you can use it directly from the pendrive - no installation needed, so you can just try some out.

After you chose a distro and download the ISO file from their website, download RUFUS. it will look like this

plug in your pendrive and don't worry about anything that isn't boot selection (they're just information on the format of your pendrive and the default is fine). Put your .iso file, name it something cool and click start and bang, there you have it.

Next, find out how to access your computer BIOS. Usually you need to hold an F10 key while it turns on or something, but each brand comes with a particular key so just google "[name of your computer] bios key". Mine is a Lenovo laptop and it has a little hole next on the side you need to press with a paper clip. Shut Down your computer and turn it on again pressing whatever you need to press. Now, this is the scariest part of this whole thing, which isn't very scary at all, but you will se something like this:

First, go over to security (over there, at the top) and turn OFF secure booting. It sounds bad but that's just windows being stupid. You can google about it if you feel unsure (i am in fact a stranger online) but on the wikipedia page for secure boot you have the following quote "[Microsoft] was accused by critics and free-software/open-source advocates (including the Free Software Foundation) of trying to use the Secure Boot functionality of UEFI to hinder or outright prevent the installation of alternative operating systems such as Linux." So. You know.

Then, move over to BOOT (right next to security, also on the top) and change the order of priority so your pendrive is the first option. If you feel unsure, you can have a step by step guide (like this one) opened on your phone.

Don't change anything else. Move to exit (last option on the top) and click to save and exit. your computer will reboot and you will be taken to the Linux that now lives in your pendrive.

Part 1 done! hell yeah!

You're now using Linux! test it around, maybe write a bit of fanfic on it. open tumblr and tell me about it. I don't know. sky is the limit. It will probably be a bit slow because it's running on a USB drive, but that's life.

part 2: If you want to dual-boot (back up your files to be sure)

From the USB driver linux, there will be an installer and you can just click install with no additional steps - most installers now will allow you do edit your memory hard drive so you can partition it (select a section off of it to be dedicated to Linux). just continue the installation and it will ask where you want to install it. If the installer DOESN'T let you partition your hardrive, you just have to go back to windows (see how bellow) and do it through disk management. If the installer allows you, but you're scared, disk management will probably make you feel safer (even if there is no difference from doing it from the Linux installation manager or windows disk management). Everything you might need is on this website and is not hard at all. Windows will guide you through it too:

Remember, 50gb of volume size is more than enough (i think they'll ask you to input the size in mb for some reason, so 50.000 mb = 50 gb). If you will download a lot of programs/games you might want to put 100gb-200gb, but you can always try again if you decide you want more space.

this is the part where you might lose your files - the disk manager will delete any files saved on the end of your hard drive to create that partition. USUALLY there are no files saved on the end of your hard drive so nothing gets deleted, but again, back up your shit to be safe.

To go back to windows, you need to turn off your computer, go to BIOS again, then BOOT, and change the order again so Windows is on top. You don't need to turn secure boot on (unless you play any riot games, bc their anti cheat fucking sucks). If that's annoying for you to do it every time you want to change systems, you can make it so that as soon as you turn you computer it asks you which one to boot (check out how here) but honestly i never bothered.

AAAAND that's it. Pick up a day you're bored and try to do it. try it out! learn something new! Sure, it's a more dramatic change than going from google chrome to firefox (and honestly right now you should consider going from firefox to Zen Browser or Libre Wolf), but it's not as hard or as dangerous as people think it. And if you don't want to use it daily, at least you can download a retro gaming distro so you can play old games in style.

If you decide to use Linux, i would recommend not losing that pendrive. If anything happens, you can plug it back and re-install it. and if you decide you're ready to leave windows for good, you'll want to reinstall linux on the part of your hard drive that windows now lives. Doing that uses exactly the same steps as above, but chose the other partition instead. in that case back those files up because its possible this time it will delete all your files (some installers allow you to chose which folders to keep, but some don't).