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There are plenty of guides online on how to make the switch to a different operating systems and get away from Windows, however I've seen a lot of kids and boomers people genuinely being terrified of Windows 10 no longer receiving updates outside of Europe (and this fear kind of warrants its own post at another time). If you really do not want to switch to Windows 11 but are absolutely terrified of anything that is not Windows, this guide is NOT for you! Consult a techie to help you out in person.
If you want to give it a shot and get a basic feeling of what it means to be in control of your own PC, stick around but please keep in mind that I'm not responsible for you doing dumb stuff and wiping your Snapchat screenshot collections.
1. Do a backup of your most important data
It cannot be emphasized enough how crucial it is to keep at least one copy of your most important files on another device that isn't permanently connected to your computer. Depending on how many files you want to backup, anything from a USB drive to an external hard drive will do. Important files may include your saved passwords, work/school documents and anything dear to you. Cloud backups should not be relied on on a general basis due to those services being able to terminate your account at any time without justification.
2. Download Ventoy & burn it on a USB drive
There are quite a few tools you can use to handle the files Linux operating systems are shipped as (ISO files) but my first choice always is Ventoy. This tool divides your USB drive into two partitions; one stores necessary boot files for Ventoy to work ("VTEFI") whereas the second partition ("Ventoy") can be used to store both ISO files and pretty much anything you want. You still can use it for other things besides installing an OS!
Follow this guide to get started. Once you're done, every time you insert this drive your file manager ("Explorer") will display two folders: VTEFI and Ventoy. Only the second will be relevant later on.
3. Download Linux Mint
When searching for Linux, you'll come across dozens of operating systems and thus overwhelm you with the fact that Linux isn't a single operating system like Windows or macOS. Linux is an ecosystem with tons of "distributions" – operating systems based on the Linux kernel. While many are geared towards general users, some others are better suited for advanced users (and the terminally online desperate to show how well they can follow instructions whilst not having seen any grass in decades). One distribution I tested myself and was quite satisfied with is Linux Mint. Mint is the most beginner-friendly distribution out of all that I've been testing since 2020 and comes in three different desktop flavors, all of which Windows users should feel comfortable with.
Hint: If your device tends to get hot easily, go for the Xfce version.
Download any flavor of your choice. Copy your downloaded ISO and paste it in your USB drive's "Ventoy" partition.
4. Change the boot order of your computer
This is where things may get a little tricky if you're unfamiliar with what happens before your computer boots Windows. To keep it short, this piece of software is called UEFI ("Unified Extensible Firmware Interface") and handles the bare basics before Windows takes over them. It pretty much tells Windows or any other OS to start among other things which I won't cover here.
If you purchased a computer with Windows pre-installed, you may want to check your UEFI's boot order. Most devices are set to prefer Windows and only resort to other options such as bootable USB drives when Windows is unavailable, so you need to change your boot order to make your computer start from your USB drive. Depending on the brand of your computer, you either have to press F2 (Asus, Acer), F10 (HP) or DEL (haven't seen this in a while but Hyrican used it back in 2007) right after booting your computer to access your UEFI. Please check what applies to your machine.
Once you figured it out, you'll be greeted by something like this (or something prettier):
Most boot settings are listed in a separate tab, so use your arrow keys to navigate to "Boot". Select "USB Hard Disk" (or, if you already plugged your USB drive in prior to loading your UEFI, the name of your USB drive) and move it above "Windows Boot Manager". Your USB drive should be Boot Option #1, Windows Boot Manager #2. Navigate to "Save & Exit" and apply and save your changes. Your machine will then reboot and automatically start Ventoy which lets you boot Linux Mint.
5. Test Linux Mint before install
This is pretty important to figure out whether you'd even like Linux Mint to begin with. Mint automatically boots into a live session where you can test it without accidentally wiping Windows or any other data. Play around with it and check out any program that raises your interest. If you should be satisfied, you can start the installation.
6. Install Linux Mint
Fortunately, this a very straightforward process. Follow this guide from here on. I'd
advise to install Mint alongside Windows to not lose any data and still
have a fallback option in case you need a program that only works on
Windows.
Hint: Despite this guide above advising to encrypt your Linux Mint installation, this isn't really necessary when you exclusively use your computer at home and don't share it with anybody else.
7. Congrats, you're a Linux user now!
You're also among the top 5% of computer users who know more than how to click on buttons (and phishing links).
If you've got any questions, please let me know. If Linux Mint is not your cup of tea or doesn't want to work smoothly on your device, DistroWatch is the best place to search for another distribution and get more general advice.
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