Windows 10 nearing its end of life got you thinking about a change? Switching to Linux can breathe new life into older computers and gives you a stable, secure, and customizable experience that puts your privacy first. Here’s a simple guide on how to make the jump from Windows to Linux.
Picking and downloading a Linux distribution
Linux offers various distributions (distros), each boasting unique desktop environments, features, and pre-installed applications. It’s important to pick one that suits you before getting started. Some popular choices include Fedora, Debian, Arch, and Ubuntu.
Choosing a distro
Want to learn more about a specific distro like Linux Mint? Head over to its official website for all the details. You’ll find system requirements, features, software included, and of course, installation instructions. Watching videos online can also give you a feel for how different distros look and operate.
For this guide, we’ll be using Linux Mint, but most distros share a similar process. Linux Mint is a great choice for both beginners and experienced users because it’s user-friendly and highly customizable. Plus, it’s free and runs smoothly, even on older hardware.
Built on the foundations of Ubuntu and Debian, Linux Mint is known for its stability, minimizing crashes and freezes. Installation and everyday use are straightforward and easy.
Downloading Linux Mint
Linux Mint is relatively compact, so downloading it shouldn’t take too long or use up too much bandwidth.
- Go to the official Linux Mint website.
- On the homepage, find and click the download link to see the available download options.
Note: Linux Mint only needs 2GB of RAM and 20GB of hard drive space, which makes it perfect for older machines. Before you proceed, ensure that your computer meets the system requirements for the distro you selected.
- Select ‘Linux Mint 21.3’ to proceed.
- Next, pick your preferred desktop environment. Linux Mint offers Cinnamon, Xfce, Mate, and Cinnamon Edge. Click the download button for the desktop environment you want.
Note: To download the distro through a torrent, you’ll need a torrent client like BitTorrent, qBittorrent, or Deluge.
- This will bring you to the download page, where you can get the ISO file directly or via torrent. To use a torrent, click the ‘Torrent Download’ link.
- Download the torrent file and use your torrent client to download the distro. If you want to download the ISO directly, choose one of the mirror links on the page.
Checking your downloaded ISO
Once you’ve downloaded the ISO file, it’s vital to check that it’s authentic and hasn’t been corrupted. This ensures that the file you have matches the one provided online, which will prevent issues during installation.
- To verify the Linux Mint ISO, scroll down the download page to the ‘Integrity and Authenticity’ section.
- Right-click on the ‘Sha256sum.txt’ link, select ‘Save Link As’, and save the file to your computer.
- To verify the ISO file, you can use the MD5 and SHA Checksum Utility. Download it from this page by clicking the ‘Download Now’ button.
- After downloading the utility, double-click it to open.
- Click the ‘Browse’ button, find the downloaded ISO file, and select it. The application will automatically generate the SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512 hashes.
- Open the ‘Sha256sum.txt’ file you saved earlier. It has the hashes for all available versions. Copy the hash that matches the version you downloaded.
- Paste the copied hash into the MD5 and SHA Checksum Utility, and then click the ‘Verify’ button.
- If the hash matches, you’ll get a message confirming the match, which means your ISO is authentic and error-free. Click ‘OK’ and close the application.
Making a bootable USB
After confirming that the ISO file is good to go, the next step is to create a bootable USB drive. Windows users can use tools like Etcher for this.
- Go to etcher.balena.io and click the ‘Download Etcher’ button to download the software.
- After clicking the button, select the ‘Portable’ version so you can use Etcher without installing it.
- Open Etcher and click on ‘Flash From File’ to start creating your bootable USB.
- Find your Linux Mint ISO file and select it.
- Plug your USB drive (at least 4GB) into your PC and click ‘Select Target’ in Etcher.
- From the list of available drives, check the box next to your USB drive and click ‘Select’.
- Click the ‘Flash’ button to start creating the bootable USB.
- Once the flashing is done, restart your computer while keeping the USB drive plugged in.
Booting the Linux Mint USB
One big advantage of Linux is that you can test it out before installing, even during the installation itself!
- When your PC restarts, go to the boot menu and choose the USB device to boot from.
Note: If you don’t see the boot menu when your computer starts, you might need to press a specific key or key combination to get to it. Common keys include
Fn,Del,Esc,F11, andF12.
- The Linux Mint boot menu will appear. ‘Start Linux Mint’ will be highlighted by default. Press ‘Enter’ to continue.
- The Linux Mint desktop will load. You can explore what it has to offer, or start the installation. To install, double-click the ‘Install Linux Mint’ icon in the top-left corner of the desktop.
Installing Linux Mint
There are two main ways to install Linux Mint. One involves wiping your entire disk, so make sure to back up your data first. The other lets you create a separate partition for Mint, so you can keep your existing data.
No matter which way you choose, double-clicking the ‘Install Linux Mint’ icon starts the installation.
Method 1: Starting fresh
- Choose your language for the installation, select it, and click ‘Continue’.
- Select your keyboard layout and click ‘Continue’.
- Decide whether to install multimedia codecs now or later. These are used for playing audio and video files. Click ‘Continue’.
- Select ‘Erase disk and install Linux Mint’ to install it on your entire disk. Click ‘Install Now’ to continue.
- A message will show you the partitions that will be formatted. Click ‘Continue’ to start the installation.
- Select your location by clicking on the map or typing it in. Click ‘Continue’.
- Enter your name, your computer’s name, and create a password. Make sure ‘Require my password to log in’ is checked, then click ‘Continue’.
- The installation will begin. Wait a few minutes for it to finish.
- When the installation is done, you’ll be asked to restart your PC or keep testing. Click ‘Restart Now’.
- You’ll see a message asking you to remove the installation medium. Remove the USB drive and press ‘Enter’.
- Your computer will reboot, and you’ll see the Linux Mint login screen. Enter your password and press ‘Enter’.
- You’ll be greeted by the Mint Welcome Screen. Click ‘Let’s Go’ to customize your desktop, install apps, and start using Linux Mint.
Method 2: Keeping your data
This method lets you install Linux Mint without deleting your existing data by creating a new partition. Start by booting from the USB and following the initial steps. When you get to the ‘Installation Type’ screen, follow these steps.
- Select the ‘Something else’ option and click ‘Continue’.
- Click on the ‘New Partition Table’ button to create a partition table for your disk. If you have multiple disks, choose the one where you want to install Mint.
- A prompt will ask if you want to create a new partition table. Click ‘Continue’ to proceed.
- After creating the partition table, you’ll see the available free space. Double-click on ‘Free space’ to start creating partitions.
- Create a partition for Linux Mint. Allocate at least 20GB of space, but more is better if you can.
- Keep the partition type as ‘Primary’ and the location as ‘Beginning of this space’. The file system type should be ‘Ext4 journaling file system’.
- For the ‘Mount point’ option, select ‘/’ from the drop-down menu, and then click ‘OK’.
- Double-click on the remaining free space to create an EFI partition for booting. Allocate around 512MB and select ‘EFI System Partition’ as the type.
- Create another partition by double-clicking on free space. Set its size to 1MB and choose ‘Reserved BIOS boot area’ as the type.
- After creating the necessary partitions, click ‘Install Now’ to begin the installation.
- Review the partitions that will be formatted. If everything looks correct, click ‘Continue’.
- Proceed with the installation by selecting your location, entering your user details, and waiting for the process to complete, just like in the first method.
Once you’ve installed Linux Mint, you can learn how to install and update apps from the guide below.