Beginner's Guides for Switching to Linux?

Hello!

I'm interested in moving my personal computer to running Linux but I'm not sure where to even begin. As background, I am a casual user and have a desktop with hardware from around 2014 running Windows. I am hoping to setup a NAS drive as a media server in the next year or so, offloading all of the files currently on the Windows desktop and have been interested in open source software such as Jellyfin. I also mostly game on an Xbox and Nintendo Switch, but have used the desktop in the past for gaming such as with an Oculus Rift Headset and some Steam games so not huge on getting games working on the computer. But, I do sometimes torrent using the computer so don't want to lose that capability (especially with upkeep for the media server).

With all of that said, I didn't know how to get started with choosing what Linux OS to use, setting it up, backing up my files to make sure I can use them with the new OS, etc. Making the switch seems to have great options for customization and "choosing a distro that works for you", but I don't know what would work for me or what will be user friendly for a beginner.

Any tips or pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

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My main tips are: get the live ISOs of a few of the most used Linux distributions, I'd recommend in particular: Debian (my current one), Mint, Fedora and OpenSUSE.

For Debian and Fedora, get both the KDE and GNOME editions. OpenSUSE is mainly only KDE, and Mint uses Cinnamon. Those are the "desktop types".

Try each live system on a virtual machine and see which one you like best. Your main choice tbh is the desktop environment you like the best (mine is KDE, also called Plasma), each distribution has it's own way of doing a few things as well.

Then pick the one you enjoy the most. All of those are long-lived, stable and well-supported and documented.

Source: me, I've used Linux since 2003 and introduced all my family it and they have been using it for years with no issue.
- What are the main differences between fedora and Debian?
  
  Fedora with gnome is usually my go to distro, but I have been playing around with endeavor and arch.
  
  Technical differences:
  
  Fedora uses RPM for package format, and is made to work with the latest versions of software, so it's almost a rolling release, and receives VERY constant updates (but it's still solid). The only other release model is the SilverBlue/Kinoite which is all about having an immutable base system and managing your applications through Flatpak.
  
  Debian OTOH uses the DEB package format, and comes in 3 update models:
  
  unstable (bleeding edge software, breaks may occur) with constant updates
  
  testing, or Sid (with actively tested software, more akin to Fedora's main model. Stuff rarely goes wrong)
  
  stable (receives mostly security updates, focus on using battle-tested software versions. Ideal for servers and people who want their system to absolutely not go wrong. It's my current pick)
  
  Project differences:
  
  Fedora is on paper "community driven" but it's actually backed and steered on by RedHat. There's also a current proposal about implementing telemetry (turned on by default).
  
  Debian is entirely community-made and driven, with no big corporation being its owner and/or main sponsor, and it has a stronger focus on FOSS. It's about as old as RedHat (both have their origins in the early 90s), so you can bet they'll both be around basically forever.
  
  Edit: both are great distros, mature, stable and easy to use. Fedora was previously my most beloved, but my relationship with it soured over RedHat's leadership decisions. Don't let my current salt take away from the review :')
  
  Thanks!
  
  You're welcome, hope you enjoy your new Linux, whichever you choose ✨
- Okay I'll try out a few and keep notes on which ones I prefer until I make that "final" decision.
  
  Have fun, I believe one of those will fit your needs just fine ✨
  
  I'm sure they will! I appreciate it!
- I agree with this 100%. I've actually found that one distro can work out the box with my hardware, and another distro is impossible to use. I think it's important to try out a few and see what appeals to you. Example, elementary os is pretty nice, but it almost seems vacant because it tries to mimic Mac. Zorin os is also really nice, but there's something about it that just feels off. I recently installed endeavor os on a tablet PC, and everything is working out the box. I can't believe how easy it was, and I've been using Linux on and off since 2004.
- Okay great! I'll give those each a try. Thank you!

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