Windows 10 is getting slashed in October and I don't know what to do.

[tau888]

As we all know, Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 in October of this year. I still use 10, and refuse to switch to 11. It is bloated and full of spyware, and just seems like a total downgrade in all aspects. I am a privacy-conscious person and I just will not tolerate that.

My copy of Windows 10 is pretty modified. I have a program that removes all the bloatware like Cortana, OneDrive, and some other nick-nacks like that. It also removes the telemetry. Anyways, I need to take action in the near future. Yes, I can technically keep using it but the security risks will only get worse and worse as time goes on. I've kept it in the back of my head for a while but I know it is inevitable. And I need advice.

It looks like my only option is gonna be Linux. I know this sounds dumb but this is gonna be a huge change for me and I'm pretty anxious about it. You see, I have been using Windows for my entire life. I grew up with Windows 7 and have been using Windows 10 for the majority of my lifetime at this point (I'm 16). So Windows is all I've ever known. I am worried that the things I have on Windows may not work on Linux, so I may have to sacrifice some things. Or it may not run as well on my PC, or something could go wrong. I am also afraid of the fact that everything is new and alien to me, and I don't know how it works, where things are located, or how to do commands. What distro should I even pick? This will be a difficult process for me.

I feel like I should mention that I have tested Linux before on a VM in my PC. I've only tried 2 distros so far: Ubuntu and Mint. For unknown reasons, Mint just ran awfully. Like, 10-20 FPS on a blank desktop when literally nothing is happening. And I gave it a generous amount of ram among other resources, so it's not a bandwidth issue. Ubuntu did just fine, though. From my experience, Ubuntu is pretty neat, and I'm considering it as one of my options that I'm gonna go with. It seems very popular and user-friendly. Still not sure though. This is nitpicky, but my only complaint is that the UI has a cheap, plasticky look to it. It makes it feel like I'm using a Chromebook. I'm sure you can change the appearance though.

So, what do you think? Any advice is appreciated.

[DiffydaDude]

Ive been learning about linux for a bit with these CompTIA Linux books in my computer networking class. You should totally take a class about Linux at an annex or college or something. It'd be a good way to learn about all the commands like vim, grep, xargs, etc.
The change from Windows to Linux might be dramatic at first but I think anyone could get used to it. Especially if you've even used another UNIX-like such as Mac or BSD or Solaris. There will probably be demand for more linux releases of apps and games so you can expect that too. There are even programs like Wine that let you run Microsoft apps on Linux.

[Julikins]

Coming from one that used Windows 11, I don't blame you for wanting to avoid it. Even though I say I like it, I wish I could've safely jump into Linux lickety split.

My best recommendation for Linux distributions is fairly mixed, but the best starting place is giving a Distro For Me quiz a try. Found this one via a search. It does ask about whether you feel about preinstalled programs or have any experience in computers/Linux.

See about getting a live CD/USB set up for whichever distro you're interested in and see if it works before deciding just in case that desired distro for some reasons doesn't work out of the box or it doesn't fit your preferences.

Edit: changed URL since I somehow picked a worse one out of the bunch... Kind of felt like a jerk for that.

[Melooon]

It sounds like you have most of the info you need already; you'll do fine 

The key thing is to remember to get an external (or second) hard-drive, format it as exFAT, and copy all your personal files too it; then make sure its disconnected when your replacing Windows with Linux. That way you know all your stuff is safe; and you can try different installs without worrying about your files.

Next if you only have access to you're laptop, make one or two different installer USBs (one of Mint and another of Ubuntu) - just in case one fails for some reason, you can use the other to get an OS back!

Ubuntu and Mint are two great starting distros and I'd stick with them since you know them - I agree about the Ubuntu UI, I'm not a huge fan of it, but you can do a LOT of modding in Linux. There are actually a bunch of different versions of Ubuntu with different default UIs, I'd suggest if you trust Ubuntu but want a Mint/Windows-style UI, try Ubuntu Cinnamon or Xubuntu.

There will definitely be a learning curve, but remember you can still setup a VM on Linux running Windows 7 or 10, so if you really need a program to run you will always have access to it that way.

Otherwise just keep backups as you go and have fun - you'll prob spend a bunch of time finding alternatives to programs you like and stuff, but that's part of the adventure, so keep an open mind! 

[verdronic2k]

I sincerely understand your reluctance to cold-turkey it over to Linux. Prior to last year, I had been using Windows as a daily driver literally since I could operate a keyboard and mouse. The first video games I ever played were CD ROMs on WinXP, my first PC ran Win8, and I've used Win10 for most of my computing life. We're the first generation of people that can be born into a specific operating system environment. Leaving that environment isn't as easy as many advocates of Linux make it out to be.

It doesn't help that, for all the problems I have with Windows, Linux doesn't "just work" either, and sometimes it's the devil you know, you know? My laptop runs Mint and just a few weeks ago I switched my tower to Ubuntu. Both of these are distros that market themselves on being viable alternatives to Windows for Windows users, but in that claim they hide stark differences that rear their ugly heads when you need an application that can't be found in the software center, for example, or when you just want to create a desktop shortcut (WHY do I have to go hunt down the .desktop file myself, Ubuntu?).

There is a temporary alternative to switching to Linux: you can shell out for the ESU program and continue using Win10 for another two years. Unfortunately this will leave you in the same situation in another two years, but it may give you enough time to consider your options, or for better options to develop.

That being said: I do think braving Linux is still worth it. These distros won't "just work" for the computing layperson for a very long time, not unless they receive a substantially higher adoption rate. We need more people willing to bumble through these OSes like they did with Windows in the 90s and early 2000s in order to generate demand for a better and more user-friendly experience. Some have argued that Linux shouldn't look to emulate the UX of Windows, and to an extent I agree. However, I also believe that the people who will never open the shell in their natural lives deserve a spyware- and adware-free OS as well.

Good luck on your computing journey, and sorry for the rambling!

[Memory]

yea, my school knows about that and they want everyone to ditch their old computer for a brand new one.

i've already switched to Linux (mostly since my laptop can't even run Windows 11 in the first place) but it's kinda rocky still even being on a more stable distro. MX is my fav so far (it has the least major issues for me~)
Windows 11 is... uhhhhhhh not great, i guess to put it bluntly. it slows down a lot of computers, it has weirdly high hardware requirments, most software is built for Windows anyways  etc.

tbh Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 were the start of most of Windows 11's crap but 11 is the most recent one and they're pushing it as much as they can right now. Windows 10 isn't much tolerable for me and 8/8.1 at least look nice (sorta)
Windows 7 isn't usable for me anymore simply because it's too dangerous to use? like Windows XP but somewhat better? just need to be suuper careful online or else you'll get viruses and things.

edit: also yea i agree with @Melooon get two USB sticks and have two distros installed on them! try out different distros see what fits :D

[tau888]

Ive been learning about linux for a bit with these CompTIA Linux books in my computer networking class. You should totally take a class about Linux at an annex or college or something. It'd be a good way to learn about all the commands like vim, grep, xargs, etc.
The change from Windows to Linux might be dramatic at first but I think anyone could get used to it. Especially if you've even used another UNIX-like such as Mac or BSD or Solaris. There will probably be demand for more linux releases of apps and games so you can expect that too. There are even programs like Wine that let you run Microsoft apps on Linux.

Wine, I have never heard of this. I'll look at it later, thanks.

I might consider learning Linux commands and the basics of it. There's a bunch of memes about having to use commands for everything in Linux. Definitely an exaggeration but I hope it's not that bad.

I do hope Linux gets more demand, but I don't know. I hate to be pessimistic on this but it seems like the vast majority of Windows users are okay with the fact that Microsoft constantly screenshots your device and collects information on every minutiae of your activity, and will stick to whatever next version comes out.

[BlackMageGaming]

I feel this super hard. My current main computer doesn't support Windows 11, so I have to upgrade to a whole new system either way if I want to stay secure.
Currently, I'm planning on building a new PC and running Linux on it, probably Mint. I really want to customize my OS to look like Windows XP or even Windows 7!   

The big thing for me is gaming. I never touched Linux before because of its lacking support for many games. However! This has changed in recent time! Thanks to Steam, a lot of my games work on Linux now! Only thing I'd worry about are my non-Steam games, but tbh, I probably won't play them much. (For Fortnite, I'll just play on Console. For Valorant, I won't play it because I only played it for college esports lol.)

In all honesty, I can't wait to join the Linux community! I knew a lot of people who used it as their daily OS, and besides a few problems, it was serviceable!

[tau888]

Coming from one that used Windows 11, I don't blame you for wanting to avoid it. Even though I say I like it, I wish I could've safely jump into Linux lickety split.

My best recommendation for Linux distributions is fairly mixed, but the best starting place is giving a Distro For Me quiz a try. Found this one via a quick search but there's a different kind that's a bit older that I took personally. It does ask about whether you feel about preinstalled programs or have any experience in computers/Linux.

See about getting a live CD/USB set up for whichever distro you're interested in and see if it works before deciding just in case that desired distro for some reasons doesn't work out of the box or it doesn't fit your preferences.

The one you linked is a troll website 

The real one though says my best match was Mint. But again, I just can't get Mint to run smoothly for whatever reason, so I'm gonna toss Mint aside for now. Ubuntu was up there, as well as Zorin OS and openSuse. I don't know what those are but I will look at them.

[Julikins]

The one you linked is a troll website 

The real one though says my best match was Mint. But again, I just can't get Mint to run smoothly for whatever reason, so I'm gonna toss Mint aside for now. Ubuntu was up there, as well as Zorin OS and openSuse. I don't know what those are but I will look at them.

Thanks for the heads up. Just made the assumption of it being similar to the one I took.

I only picked mint because it was one I thought was close enough to a match. And PopOS wanted me to disable secure boot in order to use the live CD stuff.

Edited to add the change was added in. Guess even I was lazy enough to not double check my own research...

[tau888]

It sounds like you have most of the info you need already; you'll do fine 

The key thing is to remember to get an external (or second) hard-drive, format it as exFAT, and copy all your personal files too it; then make sure its disconnected when your replacing Windows with Linux. That way you know all your stuff is safe; and you can try different installs without worrying about your files.

Next if you only have access to you're laptop, make one or two different installer USBs (one of Mint and another of Ubuntu) - just in case one fails for some reason, you can use the other to get an OS back!

Ubuntu and Mint are two great starting distros and I'd stick with them since you know them - I agree about the Ubuntu UI, I'm not a huge fan of it, but you can do a LOT of modding in Linux. There are actually a bunch of different versions of Ubuntu with different default UIs, I'd suggest if you trust Ubuntu but want a Mint/Windows-style UI, try Ubuntu Cinnamon or Xubuntu.

There will definitely be a learning curve, but remember you can still setup a VM on Linux running Windows 7 or 10, so if you really need a program to run you will always have access to it that way.

Otherwise just keep backups as you go and have fun - you'll prob spend a bunch of time finding alternatives to programs you like and stuff, but that's part of the adventure, so keep an open mind! 

Thank you for your help. I actually have the privilege of having another PC at my disposal. It's empty and nobody uses it, and it runs Windows 11. I could maybe install Linux on this system to test it out. And I will definitely back up all of my stuff before I even think of putting Linux into this PC I'm on right now.

And I'm glad to hear that Ubuntu is very customizable. I will look at Xubuntu and Ubuntu Cinnamon too 👍

[tau888]

I sincerely understand your reluctance to cold-turkey it over to Linux. Prior to last year, I had been using Windows as a daily driver literally since I could operate a keyboard and mouse. The first video games I ever played were CD ROMs on WinXP, my first PC ran Win8, and I've used Win10 for most of my computing life. We're the first generation of people that can be born into a specific operating system environment. Leaving that environment isn't as easy as many advocates of Linux make it out to be.

It doesn't help that, for all the problems I have with Windows, Linux doesn't "just work" either, and sometimes it's the devil you know, you know? My laptop runs Mint and just a few weeks ago I switched my tower to Ubuntu. Both of these are distros that market themselves on being viable alternatives to Windows for Windows users, but in that claim they hide stark differences that rear their ugly heads when you need an application that can't be found in the software center, for example, or when you just want to create a desktop shortcut (WHY do I have to go hunt down the .desktop file myself, Ubuntu?).

There is a temporary alternative to switching to Linux: you can shell out for the ESU program and continue using Win10 for another two years. Unfortunately this will leave you in the same situation in another two years, but it may give you enough time to consider your options, or for better options to develop.

That being said: I do think braving Linux is still worth it. These distros won't "just work" for the computing layperson for a very long time, not unless they receive a substantially higher adoption rate. We need more people willing to bumble through these OSes like they did with Windows in the 90s and early 2000s in order to generate demand for a better and more user-friendly experience. Some have argued that Linux shouldn't look to emulate the UX of Windows, and to an extent I agree. However, I also believe that the people who will never open the shell in their natural lives deserve a spyware- and adware-free OS as well.

Good luck on your computing journey, and sorry for the rambling!

Don't be sorry for rambling, rambling is good 

I have heard of this ESU program but I don't think it's worth it, and it's just delaying the inevitable. I need to stop stressing and just get this over with by late 2025.

You do point out something here that I am pretty worried about: user-friendliness, compatibility, that stuff. It feels like all of humanity uses Windows, and when you look up tutorials on YT it's just all on Windows. I would have to search for tutorials or tech problems on my specific version, and just hope that somebody in that tiny userbase (compared to Windows) also had the same problem and has the solution. That is why I am more drawn towards the mainstream distros, of course I am considering the others but I am just scared that if I get some obscure one then there will be little to no compatibility, less abundance of help, troubleshooting and tutorials.

It is possible that more people will begin to switch, but I really doubt Linux would get popular enough to compete with Windows. I hope I'm proven wrong though.

[tau888]

yea, my school knows about that and they want everyone to ditch their old computer for a brand new one.

i've already switched to Linux (mostly since my laptop can't even run Windows 11 in the first place) but it's kinda rocky still even being on a more stable distro. MX is my fav so far (it has the least major issues for me~)
Windows 11 is... uhhhhhhh not great, i guess to put it bluntly. it slows down a lot of computers, it has weirdly high hardware requirments, most software is built for Windows anyways  etc.

tbh Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 were the start of most of Windows 11's crap but 11 is the most recent one and they're pushing it as much as they can right now. Windows 10 isn't much tolerable for me and 8/8.1 at least look nice (sorta)
Windows 7 isn't usable for me anymore simply because it's too dangerous to use? like Windows XP but somewhat better? just need to be suuper careful online or else you'll get viruses and things.

edit: also yea i agree with @Melooon get two USB sticks and have two distros installed on them! try out different distros see what fits :D

I hate that Microsoft is making these arbitrary requirements, and in the process causing tons of perfectly good machines to get tossed into the trash. Total waste. And for what reason?

Lots of people dislike Windows 10, but I like it. I might just have stockholm syndrome from using it for so long, but also like I said I removed a lot of the BS from it, and it's really solid without all of that. Windows 7 was beautiful, I hope I can customize my future system to resemble its Aero theme.

[tau888]

I feel this super hard. My current main computer doesn't support Windows 11, so I have to upgrade to a whole new system either way if I want to stay secure.
Currently, I'm planning on building a new PC and running Linux on it, probably Mint. I really want to customize my OS to look like Windows XP or even Windows 7!   

The big thing for me is gaming. I never touched Linux before because of its lacking support for many games. However! This has changed in recent time! Thanks to Steam, a lot of my games work on Linux now! Only thing I'd worry about are my non-Steam games, but tbh, I probably won't play them much. (For Fortnite, I'll just play on Console. For Valorant, I won't play it because I only played it for college esports lol.)

In all honesty, I can't wait to join the Linux community! I knew a lot of people who used it as their daily OS, and besides a few problems, it was serviceable!

I like your optimism. I'd also love to have mine look like Windows 7, it's gorgeous.

For gaming, I got pretty lucky on this one, because I almost exclusively play Steam games, so it's a real relief to know that it's supported on Linux.

[arcus]

I am worried that the things I have on Windows may not work on Linux, so I may have to sacrifice some things. Or it may not run as well on my PC, or something could go wrong.

Which software do you use? If it's too much to type out, screenshot your desktop/start bar. There's plenty of alternatives, and you can check compatability with Windows software with AppDB or ProtonDB.

Or it may not run as well on my PC, or something could go wrong. I am also afraid of the fact that everything is new and alien to me, and I don't know how it works, where things are located, or how to do commands.

Download a few distros that sound good and install them onto USB drives, and test them out that way.

What distro should I even pick? This will be a difficult process for me.

It depends on what you want to do with your PC.

Bazzite is good for gaming, but it's hard to customise depending on what you want to do. Besides that, it's designed to be very easy to use.

AnduinOS is a distro based off Ubuntu by a Microsoft employee as an alternative to Ubuntu for Windows users.

Mint is pretty good as well, it's also based off Ubuntu so it's easy to get help if you need it. The community is one of the nicer ones as well.