Got Linux Ubuntu installed on an old HP desktop about 9 months ago. so busy, now with the AI MS fascism I have taken most of my docs/files off both hardrives which use Windows and onto external hard drive, uninstalled OneDrive, and backed up to proton drive. Now is the time to learn Linux so I can use my desktop, and convert my surface pro 5. Once all that works, I can look into converting my new HP laptop - HATE windows 11!
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@IBLurkmore Me too. Shot Schnieder/Rodenstock 8x10 analog on a Cambo 9ā monostand! Converting terabytes from hfs+ to ext4 LoL!
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Welcome! Those Rasberry Pi are great on your new Linux network. Try an ad blocker and DNS replacement for you router are nice ways to #boycottbigtech on a Pi. Linux Mint Cinnamon seems to be very friendly with old laptops, quickly finding and setting up old wifi, printers etc.
sold my Horseman 4x5 years ago ā¦ still have a complete color lab in storage ā¦Omega enlargers Poormans package printer ā¦just waiting for some museum to contact me ā¦ 
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Hi, my name is Paul. Online Iām Paul TheCajun. This is my second attempt at learning about Linux. My motivation is the ever increasing assault on our privacy.
Iāve been a ālaptop userā since the 70ās. Back in school I wrote a couple of programs in Fortran and COBOL. Yea, Iām that old.
Honestly, I donāt know where to begin. Here are my thoughts. What should I learn first: which old computers should I use; how do I determine which Linux systems are best for me; and on and on.
Can you tell that Iām a bit perplexed?
Thanks
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Greetings Paul!
What hardware do you have? Perhaps we can help you āpick oneā.
As for Linuxā¦ there are a ton of versions out there, some with more specific interests than others. In the end, they are all similar. To start, pick one of the main distributions (Ubuntu, Mint, Debian to name a few). Load up your computer (which is a learning process), and play about some. Then maybe reload it again with something else. One of the reasons I love the Raspberry Pi is that the OS is on a chip, so I can create a bunch of chips, and swap the OS in seconds.
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@Sunflower I grew up in the Willamette Valley! 
I also live in an RV and split my year between WA and AZ. Iām learning the Linux lingo, but I have yet to dive in. Iām greatly encouraged by this community, however. I need my laptop for work and I have yet to get some things switched over to FOSS so I can cut loose from Big Tech. My laptop is not doing well with Windows. I hope to switch to Linux soon as I expect it will do much better based on what Iāve read.
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Hello yāall.
Just embarking on my learning.
Just watching videos and some additional to Jeff.Pro on YouTube.
Ready for an installā¦
Great to be part of the gaggleā¦
Does anyone have a strong suggestion on which flavor or version of Linux is best recommended for beginners?
Mint is strongly suggested by some.
Many years back a friend installed Ubuntu for me. It was good until it just didnāt work and I didnāt know how to troubleshoot.
I appreciate the suggestions in advance.
M.
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Hi. Iām just getting started. I have an old hp laptop that I had wiped clean from windows 7, by a guy from church, and he installed Ubuntu.
When I get it back, Iāll have to learn how to use it. Lol. So Iām here to do just that.
A lot of folks like mint. I prefer Ubuntu. It really is a matter of preference.
There are 3 major flavors of Linux - Red Hat, Suse & Debian. Most of the distros are based on these. Ubuntu is derived from Debian and in turn, Ubuntu has many distros based on it. Ubuntu and Ubuntu based distros are the most popular for desktop use. These distributions will have the most help available to you online.
Linux distros have come a long way in the past 5 years or so and they keep improving from the standpoint of usability for newbies. Of the Ubuntu based distros, Mint and Zorin OS are the friendliest to use, IMO. I like Elementary OS too but they have run into some trouble (management as well as financial) which brings into question their longevity and future updates.
I suggest you try out Zorin OS and Mint and install the one you like best. Zorin OS follows the Ubuntu LTS timelines while Mint, although based on Ubuntu, does depart from Ubuntu in some significant ways.
You may also want to consider installing Timeshift, which is a backup solution for your distribution. This way, if an update breaks your distro then you can recover to a previous working state. You will also need another backup solution for your home folder that is different from Timeshift. I would not backup user data using Timeshift. If and when your distro stops working correctly, use Timeshift to resotre the distro and your chosen backup utility to restore your data files.
Iāve adopted and modified a backup script created by someone else to backup my data files. The original script (which works well) can be found via the instructions linked below. I donāt like using backup software that encrypts and compresses my backups since I have had bad experiences attempting to recover my files using such tools.
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Thanks so much.
Some of what you are saying is still new to me and I need to ālearn the languageā.
Appreciate the response!
LTS means āLong Term Supportā
Most distributions of Linux come in many flavors. LTS and Rolling are terms that indicate how the vendor (Mint, Ubuntu, Debianā¦) offers their versions. Rolling will update with the newest patches, while LTS is going to be more conservative and only patch important issues.
On older machines and to get started with Linux, an LTS is a good idea. If you need drivers for new video cards and such, that is where folks prefer the rolling versions.
Welcome!
@Sunflower too
I got my 2013 Macbook to run Linux Mint and later Manjaro. Linux revived that mac. It was so slow after upgrading,it was barely usable and THEN adobe stopped supporting old systems and began subscriptions!
Now a complete Linux convert, when I do launch the Mac partition, I find it pretty, nasty LOL
I also have and old Lenovo Flex which is now running CNIX and windows is gone forever.
Every step towards Linux is a step in the right direction.
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Hi, Iām new to the Forum and the Linux classes. Been on the Telegram channel for some months now.
I started using Linux about 8 months ago, Ubuntu mostly, and have done installs at least 4 times on my own computer and external hard drives. So I have a basic understanding of the install process, and have been able to troubleshoot some issues along the way. I use Terminal when I find scripts for specific tasks (not fluent yet). I have some background in Windows tech support (some years ago) and have also used MacOS for some years. I consider myself fairly tech savvy, but am relatively new to Linux.
Iām looking forward to learning LOTS more, so I can get completely away from Windows (still using Windows 7). I enjoyed todayās class about virtual machines, as I had been considering using Wine for some Windows apps I canāt get away from. Are there any benefits to using Wine vs. Virtual Box, VMWare, or QEMU/KVM?
Cheers!
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Linux is a great O/S, Iām guessing youāre going to enjoy using it. 
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Welcome!
I havenāt started using Linux, yet, because I have yet to figure out how to sandbox Windows. I agree that finding out about Wine is helpful. Iām still learning the lingo and getting the lay of the land while I figure out how to use Linux on the 2 laptops I have available. I need Windows on both of them, so it has slowed my progress considerably.
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Thanks Ma!
I admit, I have yet to install Linux alongside Windows, on my main PC, but I want to. Iām trying to learn more first. Iām still using Windows 7. I have a 2nd computer (Mini-PC) with Linux on it that I use, and also an external hard drive that I can boot to with Linux while using the Windows PC. Thereās plenty of room on the Windows hard drive for the Linux install, but I havenāt tried that yet. It shouldnāt be a big deal, but I want to understand the hard drive partitioning better before I do it.
You can always try out Linux by launching an .iso Linux āLiveā instance from USB drive, on your Windows machine, via the āBoot Menuā option (F12 or F8 in some cases). It doesnāt install anything, you just run Linux from the RAM (memory). Then shut down your computer when finished. That way you get some experience with Linux without installing anything.,
Launching a āLiveā instance of Linux would probably be helpful to you. You can install Linux alongside Windows if you have enough hard drive space available, but as I said I havenāt tried that myself yet. It comes down to the drive partitioning, which you can manage with software tools, also while doing the Linux install. Linux can work on 10-20GB of hard drive space I think, but you can tell it what space you want it to occupyl
I have a brand new external SSD so I can run both Linux and Windows from it as well as save stuff, but I donāt know how to partition, so thatās where Iām stuck. I have a bootable drive (that someone made for me) and I can go in and play around with Linux, but I want to be able to save stuff, so I havenāt poked around much. One thing that stops me is having to enter all the PWs for each site I want to go to in the browser. Then when I close the session itās done and next time I have to enter it all again. Not appealing at all, so thatās why I want to be able to do it from the SSD. I keep finding little things that hold up progress. Simple, unless you donāt know it! And when doing something new, you donāt know what you donāt know!
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