Help moving to Linux SUPER THREAD

[fairyrune]

You might prefer an Arch-based distro (like Manjaro), since that's what SteamOS (the distro that the Steamdeck uses) is based on, so, presumably, most games that support Linux are targeting that now.

i hadn't considered arch actually - i've been poking at xubuntu and linux mint, and i haven't run any games through them yet, but i'll try to get one running. i will have to be using wine and steam's emulator a little bit though...
the pages for the games i own currently all ask for ubuntu-based distros, but they're also compatible with steam deck. i have a bit of time before MS pulls the plug, so i'll give it a go.

I recommend using PipeWire (that wasn't existent when I started) over PulseAudio. Using an ATI/AMD graphic card will save you a lot of headache.

i'm curious, is the card thing a problem with NVIDIA not rolling out drivers fast enough? i will definitely keep that in mind - though i barely update my drivers anyway! i can't afford a new card right now, but i've already been thinking about AMD.

[ArtificialAnima]

-Full disk encryption does much more harm than good

Could you elaborate on this?

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

i'm curious, is the card thing a problem with NVIDIA not rolling out drivers fast enough? i will definitely keep that in mind - though i barely update my drivers anyway! i can't afford a new card right now, but i've already been thinking about AMD.

AMD is supporting the open source drivers since ages - it often just works out of the box. With NVDIA, you often have to install packages and, depending on the distributions, they sometimes indeed desync with the kernel - and than you have to roll it back (using btrfs+snapshots is a good idea!). My flatmate who still uses OpenSuse has the problem quite often - I hadn't to do any fixes since swapping distros.
I wouldn't recommend to get a new card because of this - depending of your distribution, you might have problems from time to time, but it is no nightmare. Just get a AMD when your current one breaks ;).

@ArtificialAnima I used full disk encryption for ages - and while it worked well on average, it caused various problems: I distinctly remember that an upgrade affecting the boot loader requiring a manual fix at least one time (which is indeed nothing a beginner wants to do), and I had sometimes the problem of file systems on intact hardware turning read only. Also, it really can make fixing a broken system much more complicated. I'd say that it cost me a few dozen hours; it also slows down the system a bit - and in all this time, nobody attempted to physically access my PC; against data theft via malware (which is a much bigger risk factor nowadays) it brings no benefit. I went over to just encrypting the non-system data disks, and even this is, honestly, rather due to paranoia than to any real need. I see that things can be different for people who have notebooks that they really travel with - but even there a encryption of the system/file partitions should be more than sufficient.

[arcus]

I've been using Linux dual boot for years before swapping over fully, so my list is short.

Things I wish I knew:

• Vim isn't hard, it's different. Encyclopedic knowledge of all of its hotkeys and features isn't needed to benefit from it. It takes awhile to get used to it, is all. Ignore the plugins and Neovim at first, and stick with vanilla Vim.
• Coding knowledge is unnecessary for using the terminal. It's pretty much the same as talking to a Discord bot.
• Bash is cool and fun. There's no need to sit down and study it to get use out of it, just use cheatsheets and search on how to do things: https://learnxinyminutes.com/bash/ https://quickref.me/bash
• FFXIV works fine, use XIVLauncher. Make sure you copy your files from your Windows install to the right directories, option settings aren't tied to accounts.

Things I wish others know:

• Test Wi-Fi and sound before swapping over.
• Test any hardware peripherals before swapping over (printers, tablets, etc.)
• Linux comes with drivers for most things and usually a button or command to update all drivers and software at once. Drivers for the graphics card and printer will probably be needed to be installed though.
• NVIDIA drivers will sometimes bork after an update, resulting with a black screen on the next reboot. If this happens, they will need to be reinstalled or rolled back.
• The Arch Linux Wiki has a bunch of useful info, with most of it applying to other Linux distros as well. The List of applications page is incredibly helpful for finding new applications.
• If you need to run specific Windows software, double check if they work under Linux with WineHQ.
• VR support on Linux is jank. Check this list for headset compatibility.
• DAW and VST compatibility has come a long way, but if you need something specific, you should test it before swapping over.
• There's plenty of nice art software now, but if you need Clip Studio Paint specifically, it might not work. There's Kolourpaint (XP era MSPaint clone), Krita, MyPaint, AzPainter, GrafX2, and more. Sai2 and various versions of Photoshop work fine under Wine.
• Pretty much all games without anti-cheat work fine in Steam, all you need to do is enable Proton under settings. Check ProtonDB to see what works and doesn't.
• Arch Linux and Gentoo being hard to install is exaggerated. They have very well documented wikis with guides to walk one through the whole process. That said, do not start with them. They're time consuming to set up and not worth it unless you have a specific reason for using them.
• Mint is good to start off with, because the community expects new users and are generally nice and wanting to help out people. It's popular, so if you have any troubles, you can search "how to [do thing] Linux Mint" and you'll likely find answers.

While this is a long list, if someone was doing an install of Windows from scratch, I would write a similarly long list with compatibility warnings.

i hadn't considered arch actually - i've been poking at xubuntu and linux mint, and i haven't run any games through them yet, but i'll try to get one running. i will have to be using wine and steam's emulator a little bit though...
the pages for the games i own currently all ask for ubuntu-based distros, but they're also compatible with steam deck. i have a bit of time before MS pulls the plug, so i'll give it a go.

Don't start with Arch. If you're interested in Arch, try it out in a virtual machine or on another computer before using it on your main machine. What matters more with game compatibility is your graphics card, and even then it's not that big of a deal.

i'm curious, is the card thing a problem with NVIDIA not rolling out drivers fast enough? i will definitely keep that in mind - though i barely update my drivers anyway! i can't afford a new card right now, but i've already been thinking about AMD.

They update often, but as ThunderPerfectWitchcraft said, they sometimes break when updating, so the next time you reboot, you might get stuck on a black screen, and will have to manually roll back the update. It's a pain, but it's not worth getting a new card for.

[fairyrune]

I've been using Linux dual boot for years before swapping over fully, so my list is short.

thank you, this is very useful and informative! (and not short at all, wow! you read my mind with some of these!)

i think i'll definitely try linux mint first, as it's got all the basic functionality i need, but i am pretty curious about what arch has to offer even if i wouldn't use it daily. maybe the linux fans have got me

good to know ffxiv runs on it. i play it less frequently these days but it's one of the non-steam games i was concerned about. that and ffxi, but i know some people in my group who have tried it; there's even a tech support section, lol for everything else i've heard about steam's proton. hopefully i won't have trouble there!

unfortunately i do rely a lot on clip studio. i've seen some people getting it to run successfully on reddit, but i'll definitely start playing with alternatives. i used krita before i got clip, so if all else fails, i can go back. i'll miss the brush engine and interface though...

[arcus]

thank you, this is very useful and informative! (and not short at all, wow! you read my mind with some of these!)

Oh, I meant for the first list for things I wish I knew sooner. It's still general advice, but I would suggest using nano as the default terminal text editor to begin with, and VSCodium for coding. But if you ever get curious about Vim or Emacs, take your time with them and ignore anyone hyping them up as the world's most complicated things ever.

i think i'll definitely try linux mint first, as it's got all the basic functionality i need, but i am pretty curious about what arch has to offer even if i wouldn't use it daily. maybe the linux fans have got me

With plain Arch, you set it up from the ground up. There's a way to make it easier these days, but it's still a lot to deal with. Configs for system files are all in plain text. It doesn't come with a GUI, so everything is done in the terminal until you manually install one. This is really cool if you want to have your computer set up in a really specific way, but it's pointlessly tedious otherwise, since it's a lot things to tweak.

The main appeal with Arch that other Arch based distros have (such as EndevourOS) is its update model and package manager (its appstore, but not quite.) It has what's called a rolling-release model; updates aren't released on a cycle, they're released whenever they're ready. The downside to this is that an update to one program can break another one. If software A needs software B, and software B updates and changes something software A relied on, software A won't run. Every update makes backups of files, so rolling back isn't a huge deal, but it's confusing if you're not used to it.

The package manager, Pacman, is mildly Pacman themed. I have no idea how this is legal. Packages are things prepared and easy to install, usually applications, but can be other things like fonts too. It's used in the terminal and has a ton of different options for managing packages. If you want to install say, Krita, you just type ``sudo pacman -S krita`` and it will install it. Uninstalling and listing installed packages is just as easy.

There's also a community managed site for less popular software set up to work with Arch based distros, with a whole bunch of different packages. It's really useful if you want to try a variety of niche software, since it's less effort to install things prepackaged.

unfortunately i do rely a lot on clip studio. i've seen some people getting it to run successfully on reddit, but i'll definitely start playing with alternatives. i used krita before i got clip, so if all else fails, i can go back. i'll miss the brush engine and interface though...

I'm reluctant to say it works since I haven't personally tried it. I've seen some people get it working while others had trouble with it. What version do you use? I have a serial for ver. 1 somewhere, but I can try a demo for another version.

Double check if your tablet works. If you have a Wacom tablet it should work as-is, but brands I've seen can be iffy to set up.

If you use software for art ref, Beeref and Pureref work.

what distro did you pick? do you still use it? why/why not?

I started with Ubuntu in 2008 as a dualboot. Ubuntu used to mail installation CDs for free, so I signed up for one because I liked getting free things in the mail. I liked computers too, but I didn't know much about them at all. I had no problems with getting it to work, but I didn't understand how Wine worked and all the guides on it sounded complicated, so I mainly customised it and played Mahjong on it.

In 2013 or earlier, I saw hype around Arch and tried it out of curiosity. I tried Manjaro and Mint around this time too, but ended up liking Arch the most. The guides were really informative, installing things was easy, and I liked the philosophy behind it. There was a lot to read up on, but in the process I learnt a lot about Linux and computers in general.

These days, I use Artix on my laptop and EndevourOS on my desktop. Both are Arch based.

Artix is plain Arch but without Systemd, something that you might hear now and then, but really it's not a big deal unless you're pedantic. My laptop has low specs, so having everything tweaked keeps it at a low temperature and speedy.

EndevourOS is Arch but already set up with a GUI and all. I installed it because I'm used to Arch and didn't feel the need to fine tune it. It works fine, but if I get the chance to upgrade it, I might try Bazzite, just for a change.

[SquidDied]

Right, I'm sick of Windows, I've hated this OS for years and its just getting worse and worse. I want to move to Linux and I've heard Mint is a good one for beginners, the main thing holding me back is that I'm a Clip Studio Paint user and it has no linux versions, so I'm hesitant to switch for that reason only. I've heard of Wine which might help but also that it can be a pain in the ass to set up, or i could dual boot but like...

i'm not super confident with computers, I've mostly used windows and im scared of doing anything more intense than installing shit on that. i have an old macbook which i've decided will be my test subject although i've heard linux can be weird with macs so theres that too.

BASICALLY i feel like i'm gonna need some hand holding to get started on this and im hoping some of you's in this forum might have some advice/tips for me. So far i have mint cinnamon ready to go and am following the installation guide but, if all youve got to offer me is luck then ill take that haha.

[GideonWilhelm]

I think the most direct advice I can offer is get a flash drive, download flashing software (I think balena etcher tends to be the go-to, but it's been millenia since I've used Windows) and flash the iso of your linux distro of choice.  After that, typically, you flash the USB stick, reboot your computer and start mashing F12 (or whatever your bios boot selection key is) and get into your boot menu.  Bump the USB higher in the boot priority, or just select the USB at bios to launch the installer, and from there, follow the prompts.

As for linux distros...

Since you said you're not super confident with computers, I'm not gonna go deep into the variety of distros out there.  A version of linux that "just works" (at least for me) is Linux Mint.  The Cinnamon desktop environment is a little lacking in customization, but it's very windows-like out of the box, and Mint comes with multimedia codecs during the normal installation process.  If you install Steam, you can turn on compatibility for all games and nearly everything that doesn't lean heavily on anti-cheat will run like butter.

If you want more options, there's Fedora KDE Edition.  I've recommended KDE over the usual Fedora workstation because GNOME is not at all windows-like and could be confusing.  Fedora will grant you easier access to newer drivers and the like, which can be very helpful if you use an NVIDIA graphics card.  However, you will have to manually install multimedia codecs, which there are guides to help you do.

Just remember that every distro has its own way of doing things, and its own package manager, so tutorials for how to do things in Arch Linux won't work for Linux Mint, vise-versa and so on.  But most have graphical package managers that are quite easy to use.  That's all I can think of off the top of my head at this time!

Edit: I almost forgot, clip studio paint!  I haven't tried to install it, but a lot of windows apps can work great through Wine or its wrapper project, Bottles, as well as other similar programs.  However, a popular open source alternative is Krita.  It's a wonderful painting program that I have used quite a bit myself!

[arcus]

You can test distros out online with Distrosea. Try out Mint with different desktop enviroments, and see which one you like the most.

What version of Clip are you trying to run, and what needs to work?

[SquidDied]

What version of Clip are you trying to run, and what needs to work?

i have Clip Studio Paint EX version 1.11.14, i need it to be able to work with my drawing tablet too which is a XP pen, iv checked and there seems to be linux support for its drivers

im expecting even if i can get wine working with CSP that it wont 100% smooth but as long as it *mostly* works the same way im used to on windows thatd be good.

[torrent-empress]

I had a person in my discord that has been able to get clip studio working in linux 100%, the ONLY problem is that the assets store doesn't work for some reason

[arcus]

XP-Pen has official drivers on their site. The guide is for Ubuntu, but it works on Mint too.

I'm testing out Clip Studio Paint under Lutris and it seems fine. Even the 3D models work fine. The only problems I've encountered so far are the menus being glitchy, and the asset store refusing to start downloads. The cloud itself works fine. I haven't tried using my serial or updating it from the version Lutris uses.

Follow this guide to install Mint. As for advice/tips, check out this thread. You'll need to use the terminal sometimes, but you don't need to learn it, same with Command Prompt, Powershell, and regedit in Windows.


Installing Lutris:

• Click on the Mint logo in the bottom left corner
• Search for "Software Manager"
• Open Software Manager
• Search for "Lutris"
• Install Lutris

Installing Clip Studio Paint:

• Open Lutris
• Click on the plus button in the top left corner
• Select "Search the Lutris website for installers"
• Search for "clip studio paint"
• Install the one that says 1.9.3 Windows
• While it's for 1.9.3, you can upgrade it after setting it up
• Read the instructions:

* Activate Clip Studio before attempting to upgrade to any newer version. Can upgrade to 1.13.2 without issue.
* Use with only System Wine. Confirmed to work with Wine 10.7. GE and Proton patches seem to break things.
* If Clip Studio Paint fails to run, or closes out after trying to close the first launch pop-up, manually set the Windows version to 8.1.
* Tablet Input: You must enable "Use mouse mode in tablet driver settings"  in Preferences > Tablet

• Install it wherever
• Hit continue
• On the installing Clip Studio Paint menu press install
• It will begin downloading it and preparing things for it to launch, roughly takes half an hour
• Clip Studio's InstallShield Wizard should eventually pop up
• Install it like you would on Windows

Edit: Lutris is an app launcher that uses Wine and various emulators to launch games and other software. If you need to install something not on Linux, use Lutris or Steam.

Flathub (comes preinstalled on Mint) is another app store with more apps than Software Manager. The downside to it is that you will need to check the settings of apps installed through it: Flathub apps have permission levels similar to phone app stores.