New to Linux, have a few questions

I currently use Windows 10 and I’d like to try out Linux. My plan is to set up a dual boot with OpenSUSE tumbleweed and KDE Plasma. I’ve read so many different opinions about choosing a distro, compatibility with gaming and Nvidia drivers, and personal issues with the ethos of different companies like Canonical. I value privacy and I’d rather avoid a Linux distro that’s implementing something like ads or telemetry…if that’s even a thing that’s happening?

As a complete beginner, what sort of advice would you all have for me? Should I avoid OpenSUSE or KDE Plasma for some reason? Are there any ‘10 things to do first when installing Linux for the first time’ recommendations?

Despite all the ‘beginner friendly’ guides and tutorials around, I still feel a little lost and like I’m going into this blind.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who’s offered advice, I really appreciate all the help and the patience with my dumb questions! There’s a lot to look through and it’s been a busy day for me, but I’ll get back to reading through everything and replying as soon as I can!

Slatlun,

Keep notes on what you do including outcomes. You can always reinstall, skip all of the extra crap you didn’t need to mess around with and have a good clean system without having to back track.

nik282000,
@nik282000@lemmy.ca avatar

From wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian#Take_notes

Take notes.

It’s easy to forget the steps you took to do something on your computer, especially several months later when you’re trying to upgrade. Sometimes when you try several different ways of solving a problem, it’s easy to forget which method was successful the next day!

It’s a very good idea to take notes about the software you’ve installed and configuration changes you’ve made. When editing configuration files, it’s also a very good idea to include comments in the file explaining the reason for the changes and the date they were made.

This has saved me so much grief. If ever I mess up a system so badly that I want to re-install or when I want to set up a new machine, having a clear set of notes makes it a breeze.

Astaroth,

It’s easy to forget the steps you took to do something on your computer, especially several months later when you’re trying to upgrade. Sometimes when you try several different ways of solving a problem, it’s easy to forget which method was successful the next day!

History with Fish makes this easy

Astaroth, (edited )

If you’re going to be using a DE and mostly do stuff through the GUI instead of terminal/command-line then make sure you can go admin mode (Root/Sudo).

Besides small annoyances I had with KDE Plasma 5’s UX the main reason I didn’t like it was that often enough I would have to use admin privileges but I couldn’t do it through the GUI File Manager (Dolphin) so I frequently had to use the terminal.

It should be possible to have admin privileges in Dolphin but I was a noob and didn’t know how (and still don’t even now).

If you end up facing that issue then either be a bit smarter than me and look up how to do that or use Nemo, another file manager, which is more or less the same thing as Dolphin except when I ended up using it on Linux Mint a while back it let me use it as Root as a feature out of the box.

And for the record I don’t like Linux Mint, apt package manager sucks (package managers are basically app stores where you get all your stuff), but at least it was super easy to install and Nemo was a good file manager.

If you don’t mind tinkering and have a secondary device with an internet connection in case you break something then I would recommend Arch Linux. Or you could try it in a Virtual Machine I guess.

Pacman (Arch’s package manager) is a hundred times better than Apt, and then there’s the AUR on top.

Also while I’ve never used it I hear a lot of good things about EndeavorOS, Arch Linux but supposedly easier

WindowsEnjoyer,

Focus learning on how to install Arch Linux and use it without breaking. This not just gives you a rock-stable distro, but also the required knowledge on to maintain Linux OS.

Or go with “Ubuntu” level of easiness. You choose. :)

Ultimatenab,

After contemplating for 3-4 years about switching my main rig to Linux, I did it on Friday just gone.

Note for the below, I have a full AMD system.

  • I went with Garuda Dragonized distro as it is gaming focused and has all the game related stuff included.
  • took me less than 30mins going from gaming on Win11 to Linux, but I did the research before.
  • there are a few tweaks if you use Steam but you have Lutris to help you.
  • of the 35 ish games installed, all of them work without issues, but they need updating once you enable compatibility to Proton.
  • the default theme is too flashy but you can select to bring it down a few notches

Technical

  • if you have secondary SSD or HDD, dedicated to games or files like I did, it is advisable to have them backed up to an external drive as you will need to re-partition them from NTFS to use them properly in Linux
  • with Garuda Dragonized Gaming, all drivers are installed but follow the Wizard at the beginning and check all that apply to you. It will save you time.

Good luck and looking forward to having you on Linux!

avidamoeba, (edited )
@avidamoeba@lemmy.ca avatar

If you encounter problems you can’t find information on, do Ubuntu LTS next and use askununtu.com, help.ubuntu.com and wiki.ubuntu.com. The existing documentation and the largest community is what makes this the easiest option. Once you gain XP for a couple of years that XP is transferrable to Debian.

AphoticDev,
@AphoticDev@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

If you’re planning on gaming, and you have an NVIDIA card, then I would like to recommend Bazzite. I’ve been using it for months, and I’m very happy with it. Have it installed to my Steam Deck as well as my PC.

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