P.S. or if you have a spare USB 4GB or better that’s sufficient. You just will fit less iso’s.
If you want to do a single bootable iso (you’ll only need a 4GB-8GB USB) you can also use Rufus or BalenaEtcher instead of Ventoy.
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Further to original posts here’s a bit more of a list for reference:
- System76 (Pop!_OS & COSMIC)
- Tuxedo Computers
- Framework
- Slimbook
- KDE Slimbook
In case you haven’t found them already!
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Have had a system76 desktop for a year now. Like it very much over Microsoft type computers
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is there a benefit to using something much bigger like an external hard drive?
For doing the ISO live testing and/or installing? No, I don’t think so - you only need enough space for the ISO image file(s) you want to try out or install… it would just be wasting capacity otherwise…
Might be a small benefit if you had a bootable “recovery” drive with additional utilities to help repair a broken OS, but a medium to large USB stick would suffice.
But if you have a spare external drive and would otherwise need to buy a USB stick then it’s probably fine to use in the interim - as long as it will be bootable okay by Ventoy or similar… (which I believe it should be - you can basically run Linux off an external hard drive permanently connected via USB to a PC).
P.S. so that is also a way to dual boot if you only have 1 internal drive and/or limited partition space - I don’t like having 2 bootable partitions on the same physical drive so prefer multiple drives with one OS each.
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I’ve been using Ubuntu Linux as my daily driver for around 7 years. I love it and in my opinion, it has become even easier to use over the years. For the novice user, once it is installed, Ubuntu takes care of itself. You can complete all of your updates in the GUI and download apps in the GUI. No command line needed if that is your speed (although that takes some of the fun out of it).
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I’m currently a Fedora with KDE Plasma user (as my daily driver), and have also tried out Pop_OS! COSMIC (alpha 7) - big fan of the latter but found it not quite stable enough for use as a daily driver (yet), so not ideal for anyone new to Linux until at least the beta is out I think…
I’m also just starting to play round with Arch Linux & Hyprland as a dual boot alternate to Fedora - but that’s definitely not for people new to Linux!
I’ve recently returned to Linux early this year after ~22 years (having previously used Red Hat, GNOME, etc, for a couple of years back 2001-2002-ish), so am still relearning /getting back up to speed myself in many areas (a lot has changed)…
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There are so many good options with Linux, compared to the “you get what you get” experience with Windows and Mac.
I’ve successfully deployed Ubuntu Linux on my parents and grandparents old Windows machines and both are able to operate it without problems. My kids are growing up with Linux at home too. It is truly incredible that a free and open-source option is both available and is actually great to use.
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apologies for late reply. Thanks, This is helpful.
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Absolutely! And it is very user friendly with the right variants, especially the ones with less frequent updates like Ubuntu & Mint and even Debian.
KDE Plasma as a desktop choice is also easily the smoothest transition for non-techy people coming from Windows as it feels familiar while not attempting to replicate a Windows experience.
I use Linux and I’d like to give you a quick overview of the Linux World Terrain - so you get “your bearings” as you go in - Linux isn’t one type of system - the way Windows or Mac is. You’ll see lots of YT videos parading literally hundreds of totally different looking versions of Linux. This can be both confusing and overwhelming to noobs. Under the hood , almost 95% of all those different versions (called “Distros” - short for Distributions) that you’ll run into are based on just six different operating systems (six different versions of Linux) that were created decades ago, They are six original master distros from way back - you could almost call them six different cyber-religions. The whole culture works like this - You know how in Windows and Mac worlds there’s always the next higher version coming out - ex. Windows 10, 11 and 12? In Linux World the same thing is happening and it’s being done by an entity called “The Linux Foundation” - except - they don’t make a completely finished product. They only make the inner core (called "The Kernel”) - that’s not ready for prime time. If you were to install it and boot up your device - all you would get is a black screen with a blinking cursor. You would have to already know a ton of commands to type to get anything done - like the old days. It doesn’t have a graphic desktop environment. So, then hundreds of outsider individuals (and indie teams) take that core and build their own graphic user environment around it - and finish the product - THEIR WAY! Then each one of those groups makes their version available to you to download and install - because each one of those groups is trying to start and grow their own fan base around their visually tweaked version of Linux. But, as I said - they are all built on top of only six different OG distros from way back. Also, each one of these six distros has its own unique “package manager” app (you use that to update the system and install software) - like the apple store or Microsoft store. FYI - Linux World came up with that store concept (called a “repository” in Linux World) decades before Apple or Microsoft thought of incorporating it in their systems. Anyway, each one of those six “package managers” has its own brand name and its own unique set of commands for getting the same tasks done. To demystify that all for you, here they are -
The original six lines of Linux (that everybody makes their own customized spin-offs from) and their respective package managers:
1 - Redhat (they make “Fedora” for the public to use) → Dns , 2 - SUSE’ (they make “Open Suse” for the public to use) → Zypper, 3 - Debian (a popular distro - “Ubuntu” is a spin-off of this one) → Apt, 4 - Arch → pacman, 5. Gentoo → Portage (this one is weird. In order to call up the program, you have to type “emerge” and finally 6. Slackware → Slapt
As a noob, search for a “noob” or “newbie” friendly distro based on + _________” ← one of the six lines mentioned above. The “noob versions” should also have a graphic version of their package manager app - to pull in new software - preinstalled.
If you want to learn the commands to use (on the terminal app) for the package managers, you can check out YT tutorial videos on the package managers or download command cheat sheets for them. So whenever you see a new YT video showing this new distro that just came out, to get your bearings on it, all you have to do is ask (or look it up) “Hey, what’s the package manager of that distro? Let’s say the answer is “Apt,” you can say back “Oh, that’s another one of those Debian spin-offs huh?”
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Thanx! that was clear. i have put linux on several computers of my own for testpurpose. I have never figured out theese infi. The last one i worked with is LM on a lenovo mini lap. It works and i use braxvpn on that. I can’t reach my banking or either authority pages thrue that setup so i use win10 from another platform for such stuff.
I had NEVER used anything but windows. I got a crazy idea to check out Linux. Eventually installed LInux Mint. I love it. totally easy to use. I love that windows isn’t watching me all the time. It has everything I could ever want. My only complaint is that it’s not easy for me to get my wireless printer connected. Other than that I’ll NEVER go back to Windows.
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mee too have LM and like it.
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