It had Windows installed and it was taking up 3 partitions or something so i destroyed its recovery drive and i probably need to start fresh with just Linux
Is there a way to just reset and do everything over like by repartitioning and installing something like Fedora or Ubuntu? I tried to jnstall PopOS and i think i settled on the ZorinOS or something but I can’t get Ethernet or my VPN working and I want to be able to download “app” “installers” like you do with PC or MacOS.
Baby steps
Edit: fucked up the pc is way harsh. ZorinOS is technically stable-y-ish installed, its just Windows is gone but maybe thats the opposite of fucked 🤔
Edit: so i checked and its ZorinOS. What do y’all think of Zorin, should I still migrate to something more ubiquitous and longer-running?
Choose a distro, follow their installation guide.
Use mint. Every Linux first timer should just use mint. It’s easy AF and it works
unless your cpu etc is new, then mint is the worst advice you will ever receive (been there)
Why?
On my desktop I use cachyOS but my laptop (2021 dell xps, I think 8th gen Intel) is running mintEdit: I’ve misread your post. I thought you said that mint was horrible on newer CPUs and was confused
2021 8th gen intel isn’t “new cpu” by any standards Mint and most Debian flavors are horribly out of date
Mint can be horrible on newer systems, because mint is backwards.
My 1st ever install of linux was on a mini pc with an amd 5700U apu. It was a disaster with massive, very dramatic visual and audio issues.
I went on to distrohop approx 30 other distros, not a single one of them replicated the mint issues.
Its super old but isnt Mint more windows flavored? Kinda want more Mac flavored or Linux flavored
The DE (desktop environment) is what you interact with.
2 of the most popular: gnome = apple kde plasma = windows
There are other desktop environments as well.
In short, yes, Fedora, Ubuntu, or whatever will be able to install on your laptop just fine. Since you seem relatively new, I would suggest Mint as it is aimed at new users.
App installers, the way you are accustomed to from Windows, aren’t really a thing in Linux. Most applications are installed by your distro’s package manager. For those that aren’t, there is often a choice of either downloading a package for your distro ( debs in the case of Debian-derived distros like Ubuntu and Mint, rpms for Fedora and friends ) or using something like Flatpack. But really your package manager will handle most things you are looking for.
Whichever distro you decide on (the current top comment is correct in implying that it really doesn’t matter), just look up how its program manager works. It’s usually not hard to use, but it does vary from distro to distro.
Unlike Windows, you usually want to install Linux programs from the distro’s “app store” instead of downloading each program from its website. However, what’s called “app image files” do exist. I want to emphasize, though, that these should be your last resort.
You shouldn’t use installers like you do on windows.
You either rely on the disteo repo to have an up to date version, you rely on a community repo to not get compromised again, or you hope the application devs have a repo you can add to your package manager.
well, then there are Flatpaks, which are fairly easy to install, cross-distro etc. But essentially above is correct installing “random sh#t” on Linux is possible but WHY would you want to bring really bad security practices into environment where it a lot easier to implement good security?
older computer
What are the specs?
Is there a way to just reset and do everything over like by repartitioning and installing something like Fedora or Ubuntu?
You mean wipe everything on your HDD/SSD and install something that can make use of all of its storage capacity? That’s basically included on every distro installer.
I can’t get Ethernet or my VPN working
That’s definitely not expected behaviour.
I want to be able to download “app” “installers” like you do with PC or MacOS.
What do you mean? Is it either one of the following? (Perhaps both are fine with ya?)
- Download software from a website and install it?
- Use a app/software store application in which you can find and install apps/software? This is basically what’s found on modern phones.
What do y’all think of Zorin, should I still migrate to something more ubiquitous and longer-running?
Zorin OS should be fine~ish. The problem with asking the community is that they’re often more interested in laying out their favorites rather than what would be closest to the objectively best option 😅. If, however, your problems with ethernet persist on Zorin OS while another distro’s live ISO doesn’t have that problem, then I suppose it would only make sense to switch.
There are a lot of nice people here trying to help this guy out. Nice! I lurk with great interest as this autumn changing my old laptop from win 10 to unix is my project.
Uh, at least tell us what kind of computer it is, or what the spec is like.
I’m not a Linux expert, but I’ve had good luck making bootable Linux USB drives and testing whatever I want on those before making the actual install. It’s a fun way to switch flavors too.
I ran Puppy Linux off of a flash drive on my main rig for about a year years ago before I got around to replacing the hard drive that failed…
Nothing is more permanent than a temporary solution!
Ok ok we’re still relatively newish to Linux deep lore, what the hecc is puppy Linux?!
https://puppylinux-woof-ce.github.io/
Super small Linux distro made to run off a bootable flash drive. Typical size of the OS is under 2gb, so just about any flash drive you find these days is big enough to use.
Works great to get an old computer up and going again, quick and easy to setup since you don’t have to install anything on the computer. Perfect for light Internet usage, office/school work, etc. I wouldn’t try to run AAA games through it, but I used to play The Binding of Isaac and it handled it fine.
If you’re having issues with your ethernet, chances are your ethernet chip is Realtek or Broadcom. They will both work on any Linux distros, however, for most distros you’ll probably have to find alternative drivers or even kernels. If you share the controller model here, maybe some of us can help you figure our the beat path forward.
You can try:
lspci -nnk | grep -A3 -i ethernetThat should bring up the information on the PCI Ethernet controller.
If you want to compleetly start over you can write a new partition table. I usually boot a gparted live disk and prepare my partitions there.
https://gparted.org/livecd.php
For old PCs I can recommend Linux Mint. It’s easy to use and low on ressources.
Replying after your two edits. A couple of things
- Assuming you just want a working PC on hardware you are not sure works with Linux, I would try Ubuntu as a first step. The latest 26.04 LTS is up to date at the moment, and Ubuntu includes a bunch of proprietary drivers that should help not faffing around with that the first thing you do on a new install. Use the Live boot to try things out - things like network drivers should work in that environment before you install.
- Suggestions here suggest Mint or Fedora. Try the Live boot on those as well. Mint is based on a two year old Ubuntu release (24.04) and Fedora does not include non-open source drivers that might be the solution to an issue you may have.
- Zorin is also based on Ubuntu 24.04. Any driver issues you might have there has a high probability of being the same on Mint.
- You might also like to dip your toes into Bazzite. It is based on Fedora, but also includes a bunch of proprietary drivers ready to go.
Installation of apps works differently on Windows. Generally on Linux you install via the software tool that is included with your distro. Check out which one is used on the distro you choose. Sort of like the app stores on Windows or Mac but first-class citizens and without the bloat. There are exceptions to this rule (AppImages or packages not included in any distro’s repositories), but just in general use the default as far as you can. Your apps will automatically be kept up to date by the OS so there are tangible benefits.
End of the day - Linux is neither Windows or Mac. There is a learning curve, but it’s more of one getting to understand the workflows than anything being intrinsically more difficult nowadays.
What device is it? It’s unusual for Ethernet to not work .
Pc tower
It might sound stupid, but turn off your PC, switch off the power supply, remove the power cable, wait for about 30-40 seconds, then plug the cable back, switch it on and power on your desktop.
It might be an issue caused by Windows fast startup. Even though you completely removed Windows, the power state might still be ‘hanging’ around and causing issues.
I would add “press the power button for 10 sec with everything unplugged.” That should clear any remaining power storing problematic settings. That’s about as fresh as you can get!
either do linux mint or ironically arch (as a starting off point!)
linux mint is a simple to follow gui from a liveusb.
arch is trickier, but I actually find archinstall is really straightforward and fast. once you unfuck the computer, you can take your time to choose something more apt.Windows is gone
Sounds like secureboot shinanigans. Windows just needs to be on its own total drive.
I’d just use Kubuntu. Had to fix CachyOS twice this year.
