No.
Y3s, go here to https://distrosea.com/ znd try one or a few. I woukd suggest linux mint as perhaps the easiest. Ubuntu is 9k too, but i never liked ubuntu.
Just acroll down to linux mint. Itll take a few clicks to gwt it loaded. Pretty intuitive. Just do not click on “install” when it finally loads the linux desktop. You cz. Try out all the functions without installingmit. If you dont like the linux one, just go back to https://distrosea.com/ znd try another. But ive tried them all practically, and in my opinion linux mint is the best.
The desktop of linux will take a minute or two to finally load, but be patient, it will come up. Linux mint though is blazing fast if you ever decide to try it on a hard drive thiugh. The onkine version is sluggish, so dont let that disuade you.
Google Linux Mint. Follow the instructions there. It is as close to a windows machine for look and feel I’ve found. The installation is simple and clear. There are 3 ways you can do it. Make a bootable USB drive and live boot. Install side by side with windows, go full Linux.
I had a computer that I loaded with Unbutu Linyx. I just followed the instructions at the download website.
It worked well and was easy to use. I did this to extend the life of a desktop. There is a learning curve to it but nothing normally clever person can’t figure out.
I recommend Unbutu linyx
“Mint Cinnamon” is the go to for a first time user. I have been using Linux for ten years now and have test driven just about all of the best major players.
1. First download and install a program called “Rufus”.
It is the top option: rufus-4.11.exe
2. Download the Mint Cinnamon .iso file from the Mint site. The “James Madison University” Mirror source is known to be a clean download.
https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=322
3. Insert a USB stick that is empty or that you do not mind being wiped clean of current data.
4. Start Rufus and go select the Mint .iso from your downloads. It should autodetect the USB stick as the destination for the .iso to be installed. The default settings in Rufus are all fine. Just answer yes to any options it asks and then select create.
5. When done close Rufus and power your computer off.
Now here is where the only challenge can arise. You now have to make the computer boot from that external Linux stick. There should be no problems doing this. But on some computers Windows has locked out the ability to see that external Operation System and so it will not boot from it. So there is a process of elimination that has to be done sometimes. But 9 times out of 10 the following does indeed work...
6. With the Linux stick inserted power on your Computer, stay right there and be ready to hit the key that will give you your boot options for that computer make. When the Manufacturer’s logo comes up tap that key. Depending on make it might be the Esc key. F2 key, F9 key, or on a Dell it is the F12/Star key. Select the USB as the boot option.
7. Be patient because the screen may go Black a few times as the Linux boots up. And from a stick it is a bit slower to do this.
8. If it does not boot from the stick as it should then there will need to be some configuration in the bios that needs to be done. That can be addressed later as a separate issue. Just holler at me and we can walk through that if need be.
But it should Boot for you if you did everything above step by step. Now you will be in Linux and running from off the stick completely isolated from your internal drive and Windows. It should auto detect your internet connection and you will have to put in your password to access your internet source. Bottom right in the same place it is in Windows 7.
It will tell you when it makes the connection. Then you can use the Firefox browser to access the net if you like and check out all the stuff it comes with and what can be done with it. Basically you are in test drive mode. But nothing can be downloaded, installed, and while you can make temporary changes they will be forgotten and it will go back to default when you shut down.
Run it for awhile from off the stick when you have extra time and check it out, Go explore and discover what the apps are and what they do, go look at the System Settings and how they work. Then after you feel comfortable with it then you can install it if you like. There are two options, wipe the drive completely and install only the Linux, or you can install it “Along Side” (Dual Boot) the existing windows and have both. The installer will do all of the partitioning and disk work for you during the install. So no need to worry about complicated partitioning and disk preparation first, it does it all for you. Just take your time and read the options well as you step through it.