I posted this as a comment in another post but when I got done I realized it would probably just be better as its own post. I’m sure I could find the answers I need myself but frankly I trust the userbase here more than most online articles....
I’m also nervous about using an OS I’m not familiar with for business purposes right away.
Install the latest version of VMware Player (17.5) on your current OS, then install linux distros on virtual machines to figure things out first.
If you settle on any you like, make a full disk image backup, before repartitioning to install linux as a dual boot setup and try it on hardware that way.
Keep the Windows partition around, if nothing else just for games or apps that don’t work on linux, or as your backup working profession setup.
edit: some will recommend VirtualBox instead, but for me (on Windows at least) it always resizes on startup incorrectly and obscures part of the desktop, so I have to manually resize on every VM boot. VMware does it properly each time for me without issues.
In addition to using virtual machines, remember that once a virtual machine is installed, you can use 7zip (or any zipping program) to archive the whole folder containing the vm files, so if something screws up on the vm, you can reset by deleting the folder, restore it from the zipped archive, and trying again without having to do the whole installation process over and over. You can make as many of those archives as you want as you get a vm install to different milestones.
Well, score one in the user-friendly column for Linux Mint.
I uninstalled python3 in Debian 12, it said “sure, no problem”, and instantly broke the desktop and on reboot could not log in.
Tried the same thing on Linux Mint Debian Edition, and first it refused because one of Cinnamon’s libraries depended on it, but when I included that library in the remove and added purge, it said:
“E: Removing essential system-critical packages is not permitted. This might break the system.”
I remember shortly after college I was living with a couple of people and one day we all heard “NOOOOOOOOOO!” and went running to see what tragedy happened. He had started formatting the one porn drive he had been collecting on over the last few years.
Personally, I keep the redundant backup as cold storage to minimize loss. Three 8TB content or archival drives that are always attached via USB but not powered until needed, plus another on NAS for streaming, and two more 8TB each for double backup that are only turned on when I want to do a sync. So the drives get minimal wear, and whenever a primary dies, the backups get promoted and a new one is bought to be third in line. I have lost too much data in the past. As well as I can manage, never ever again.
I’ll never forget that scream, I thought a sound like that was reserved for when the cat ran behind the couch and stepped on the surge protector button, corrupting the hard drive as you were almost finished writing your graduate thesis, which wasn’t backed up yet.
It only takes a few tragic events before “backup frequently, often and offline” really takes hold and doing preemptive backup becomes a neurosis. You have to experience a certain amount of fear, loss and regret to get there.
edit: the upside is I haven’t reinstalled a primary OS in years. Something is fucked? Restore that last image and keep rolling.
An unbiased comparison of linux distributions' setup (sh.itjust.works)
Sell Me on Linux
I posted this as a comment in another post but when I got done I realized it would probably just be better as its own post. I’m sure I could find the answers I need myself but frankly I trust the userbase here more than most online articles....
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Dumbest Thing you have done distro-hopping?
I just discovered something I did so idiotic I need a stronger adjective that what is in my name....
Amazon Building its Own Linux-Based OS to Replace Android (www.omgubuntu.co.uk)