Fleeing Windows ASAP - How do I switch

NonGeek

With Microsoft's new strong-arm tactics to force Windows 10 on me and the privacy issues with 10, I'm wanting to switch.

In brief: Where can I find instructions for going from Windows 10 to Linux.

My computer: Lenovo desktop AMD A10 4 CORES, 8G, 12GB RAM, 64-bit, x64 based processor, Windows 8.1 but will probably be Windows 10 before I make the switch.

More details: I just bought a new PC desktop a few months ago so it's too late to switch to Apple. I decided I should try to figure out what Linux is and give it a try.

I read a great article on this site that allayed a few of my fears and corrected my assumptions (e.g. Linux is only for geeks who build computers from scratch).

So, what do I do. I've been reading the site but I don't see anything that addresses my need. I am using Windows 8.1 and unless I can stop it, Windows 10 will be installed tonight.

I'm thinking I should just start all over again with a clean install, since the computer isn't that old, but I really don't want to go through all that hassle again. And I've never installed Linux before. I've installed Windows 7 and 8 before, though, so if it's not much harder than that...

Can someone me point in the right direction? I'm sure some of the info is somewhere on this site, but not sure how to apply it to me.

Thanks!

bootneck02

Hi NonGeek, I was in your position about 3 weeks ago and have now for the last two weeks been using Linux Mint 17.2 LTS (Long Term supported to 2019), There is a new Mint 17.3 LTS and I guess it would make sense to down load that also supported to 2019.
I found the the thing to do is to forget everything you Know about Windows, I found it extremely easy to convert to Mint the beauty is that all the extra software you might need are all included in the download, but if you require more there many more you can access. How I approached it was to reformat my hard drive and do a clean install of Mint as I knew that I did that I wouldn’t be tempted to revert to windows, but you can dual boot if you prefer. There is plenty of support out there such as this site also Linux Mint has its own site to assist newbys like us, but to be perfectly honest I haven’t used them until now.
What you need to do is download the file and then burn it onto a DVD you then can ether use as a vertual PC keeping Windows safe but as a virtual machine it will run slower than an installed OS. Personally I would back up my saved Documents etc to an external drive or Flash drive and do a complete re install, also you will find that Mint runs a lot quicker than Windows. Good luck and I hope you have found this reply usefull.

NonGeek

Thanks for your reply. I read other posts but I didn't want both installed. The virtual machine idea might be good to start though.

Do you know if they have alternatives to Word, Excel, Outlook, etc?

bootneck02

NonGeek wrote:

Thanks for your reply. I read other posts but I didn't want both installed. The virtual machine idea might be good to start though.

Do you know if they have alternatives to Word, Excel, Outlook, etc?

Yes Libra Office all comes with the download you as a Microsoft user will be surprised how much software is all part of the download and there are many others you can download and as a Windows user surprised to learn they all come FREE of charge.

NonGeek

Wow. Thanks. This is encouraging! Now I just need to make the time to make the switch. Thanks for your help.