“Is it a difficult task to change from Win 7 to Linux ?”
Close to 20 years ago, I started running Linux as a hobbyist. It was rather difficult and time consuming to learn, so as I replaced my computers, I abandoned Linux and went back to Windows.
When all this controversy with MS forcing upgrades to windows 10, I decided to give Linux another try.
If you have a spare USB flashdrive an easy way to find out if Linux is right for you is to go to https://sourceforge.net/projects/unetbootin/ and download unetbootin. Once you have it, execute it and it opens a dialog to allow you to choose the distribution you want to try. Choose the USB stick as the destination to install the files for the distro you want to try.
I chose Linux Mint 17.2_Live_x64 and was very pleased with it. Unlike the old days, the installation was automatic and found all my hardware without issue.
Once the download is complete and you’re ready to reboot, just do so, and when your computer starts, press the esc key, F8, DEL key, or whatever your particular system requires to allow you to select which OS to start.
Like I said, the installation process is almost completely automatic but most questions are multiple choice. Just choose the ones that apply to you as to timezone, authorization info if you have a wireless connection, etc.
The best part is, doing it this way you never touch your existing Windows system. The Linux OS runs entirely from the files on the USB stick. Any changes you make to the system like screensaver, applications you install, etc last only until you reboot the computer. Once you turn it off, it reboots as if it’s the first time and you start again.
The default installation comes with firefox browser, but if you prefer chrome, you can download and install the appropriate package from google.
In my case, almost everything I do is done in the chrome browser so I can’t really address issues like photoshop and other apps.
If your computer activity is mostly web browsing, Linux is a very good alternative to Windows. Hope this helps.
I've got two laptops, so I'm downloading Win 10 on one and will try Linux on the other to do a side by side comparison.
Thanks for the help, Brian
It does, except for the part about "difficult and time consuming to learn." ;)
Can I do what you suggest on any old (or new) laptop with Windows in it?
I really don't do much online. Email, a few simple websites, youtube, and a lot of shopping.