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  • Ever read some of the microsoft forums? Just as many people seeking help there - the only difference is we don't have an over eager paid employee replying with scripted answers which don't help.

    Linux is as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Most of the mainstream distros "just work" on most hardware. I've installed Mint, Rocky, Ubuntu and Debian on laptops and desktops for relatives, including those who aren't remotely technically gifted. It was as easy/easier as Windows to install, set up and get running. The users are happy - they can use cheaper hardware (and don't need to upgrade a perfectly good laptop for Windows 11) and are entirely free of software costs and subscriptions. Everything works and things don't break - just like Windows and Macs. Most people just want their computer to turn on and let them run stuff. All three do that equally as well.

    I've also installed linux on hardware clusters costing hundreds of thousands of pounds and that definitely wasn't a simple or quick process, but that's the nature of the task. Actually, installing the base os was probably the easiest part. Windows just isn't an option for that.

    You ask a fair question - you're not unique in your viewpoint and that's probably hampered takeup more than anything else. What makes you a bit better than most is that you actually ask the question and appear to be open to the answers.

  • Maybe you are seeing issues as the people who don't have issues rarely post.

    What's your setup? I can tell you if there are things you might have issues with.

    • It's very old, i would have to take a look later on, but due to the age of the hardware i sas planning a new build.

      I did consider the "survival bias" probably not thenright term. But thats whyi was asking here obviously squeaky wheels get the oil.

  • It's perfectly stable. Linux just generally attracts people who like to tinker and tweak things, in particular because it's much easier to do and gives you a lot of power and flexibility in making the machine your own.

    My laptop running Arch Linux has remained problem-free for the last 6 years or so since I installed it.

    • yeah i've basically never had an issue that wasn't my fault for tinkering with something that is either unstable or that i didn't understand well enough.

      i will say that rolling releases like arch can introduce system-breaking issues (it happened to me like twice in the 3 years i've been running arch, but man it sucks when it happens) so users who aren't so into tweaking and messing with their systems should probably opt for something more stable.

      • I would argue that, even if you're not into tinkering, you're still better off running a solidly proven Linux distro that requires minimal to no maintenance other than software updates (Debian stable, PopOS, Linux Mint, etc.). Just "flatpak" your way into having what you want, and leave the system itself alone, just like you do with Windows, but with less chance of something breaking and driving you mad when you suddenly land a BSOD. In any case, it's highly likely that you'll end up beginning to tinker after somentime feeling comfortable with Linux, happens to everyone I know has come to this side of happiness. Be aware that, once you are used to ANY Linux use, you'll be wondering why you put up with all the Microsoft or Apple crap for so long. I can't imagine ever going back to that.

  • In general it's pretty stable. That being said, especially when you're using bleeding edge hardware, it's not perfect.

    Take my Radeon 7800 XT as an example. I'm using Linux on my desktop as of January 1st pretty much, and decided I'll go for Fedora as it's pretty up-to-date in terms of kernel releases but also has a great out-of-the-box experience. Kernel 6.6 has been pretty good for me, but newer kernels (6.7.x and 6.8) have issues with my setup. Engaging VRR (variable refresh rate) after the computer wakes up from standby leads to part of the screen flickering white for a few frames every now and then, and eventually the system crashes. Up to 6.7.4 the GPU only output a black screen after standby or even after a warm restart. The latter has been resolved in 6.7.5 but the former issue has not. I've been following a few issues, adding a crash report here and there, trying patch files, but so far to no avail.

    This means I'm basically stuck on 6.6 for now, which also means I'm compiling the kernel myself to get the latest patch release, as Fedora doesn't maintain 6.6 anymore.

    I had even more issues with Nvidia combined with Wayland. Ironically, Intel Arc probably works the best in terms of stability in my experience.

    I'm going to say that in terms of GPU stability, I had a better experience with Windows. Sure, the odd AMD driver release has issues, but Windows does a way better job in recovering from a GPU driver crash. The monolithic nature of Linux means a GPU driver crash will often kill the whole system. I had a case where the system recovered, but in a new desktop session with my running desktop applications orphaned somewhere (basically forcing me to restart). Windows usually just restarts the GPU driver (because it's mostly running in user space, which it isn't in Linux) and you can continue.

    I also had an issue with my network adapter (Intel 2.5G onboard) dropping connection after several hours of use. A workaround involved editing boot parameters to prevent PCIe from going into some sort of power saving mode. Searching for the issue revealed that it's likely because how ASUS (mainboard) configured the onboard network adapter.

    You'll also need to fiddle with Feral GameMode to properly pin games to the 3D cache cores on a 7950X3D. This is more "set and forget" with Windows Game Bar.

    To be honest, Windows is a pretty solid OS from a technical perspective. It has its downsides, but so has Linux. Don't switch for an allegedly technical superior experience. Switch if you don't agree with what Microsoft is doing from a user experience perspective. That's why I switched.

    All that being said, Linux at its core is super stable. I use Linux on a few servers for many, many years now, and I don't think I ever had a system crash.

    • Thanks for the detailed write up. My main motivation or switching is Microsofts way of doing things, im tired of the forced subscription plans they're moving too.

      I wish i could have XP and be done with it haha

  • Constantly having issues

    You're going to see a lot of issues on Linux boards because people go to then for help. I've been running Linux since 2020 and though there have been hiccups, its been remarkably reliable. Having said that, when there ARE issues, it can take some digging to find answers.

    Is it not stable

    Moreso than Win 11, in my experience. I use Win 11 at work and I've needed a system wipe twice. Once because networking just... stopped... and once because appx apps decided not to load.

    Ongoing issues

    Plugging PopOS as a good "set and forget" distro that is easy to grasp. The workflow is very MacOS and the tweaks they've made make for a friendlier interface v Ubuntu, IMO.

    • PopOS or Mint are the way to go for users who dont want to fiddle with their computer. Stick to the default package manager and let it do the work for you and problems will be rare.

  • Search this community for the many other "Which OS" posts and you'll find many well explained options for what you seem to be seeking.

  • I had far more issues on windows than I ever have on mint.

    When I had issues on windows, which i would run into multiple times a week, the "fixes" would be hacky, slapped-together nonsense that don't even make sense on paper. I had to change almost every program manually to run as administrator. Installing old games was a nightmare and didn't always work properly, even with compatibility modes. New drivers would break stuff. Trying to learn anything new was a rabbit hole that took countless hours and then I only learned the fix for that one specific use-case, and not anything... overarching. System updates were so intrusive, installing crap I didn't want or removed manually, I disabled them completely. It was slow and boot took forever. Ending system processes via task manager didn't always work and the system would freeze often when something went wrong. Often uninstalling programs was messy and left shit all over in the system registry and files and you would have to defrag and system clean once it started getting bloated.

    When my windows install finally broke completely just trying to get shit to work the way I wanted, I bailed.

    Transitioning to mint was certainly a learning experience.

    Reorganizing your workflow will always be more upfront work, but I found I took to the changes fairly quickly. I found the file structure the most odd, but I became very used to it and very much prefer it over how hard it is to find stuff spread scattershot in windows files. It had a lot of little quality of life things that I really appreciate, mounting and unmounting external drives felt better, way more stuff worked out of the box, old games were not a nightmare to get working because they're had longstanding fixes for years that actually make sense. Solutions, in general, make way more sense to me, and I actually get a sense that I understand why they function. My boot time is very fast and I've never broken my system (I came close once doing something incredibly stupid and very niche, but I just timeshifted back and voila, fixed.)

    Fixes or changes for preference tend to "stick" for me, like when I swapped to pipewire myself it's been very smooth sailing. I can pick and choose updates or ignore packages that don't work. There was an issue with kernels for a while that significantly increased my boot times; I just postponed that update for a few versions until one of the newer ones worked. I find I can get down similar rabbit holes to learn some stuff, but it both feels more like "lasting" solutions (and I learn more about how to do other stuff) as well as just more fun. Documentation is a lot better with users who know what they're doing instead of the guesswork "well I dunno but this might have worked for me, I tried 20 fixes so it's probably one of these!" I would run into on windows troubleshooting...

    I think my favourite part of linux is a lot of things I wanted solutions to, for years, usually have at least one person out there with a similar issue that wrote a small program that just does it. Does it well. For free. I spent so much time digging for really basic stuff like a sound equalizer that wasn't garbage, bloatware, full of trackers, or ransomware! I don't have to spend hours trying to find a stinkin' RGB controller that isn't awful because the choices available are just better! I don't have to spend weeks comparing and contrasting antivirus-es and hate all of them in the end!

    I find mint extremely stable and have no urge to swap nor return to windows. I find it much more stable for my use-case. I really like it, actually, and I appreciate how a lot of it is set up. Been using it daily for 4 years.

    I loathed windows the entire time I used it, and had been side-eyeing linux for quite a while before committing. I don't know if I'm a "normal" use-case, probably not. Possibly it is best to take my experience as, "if you keep hitting walls often in windows that frustrate the hell out of you, linux might be a decent choice for you, and might "feel easier."" Both have their own quirks and own troubleshooting, I just prefer the ones on mint and they make more sense to me. (And take me far less time.)

  • Linux users would post their problems on various forums, but very rarely post their success story. Linux desktop is actually pretty good at this point. Just pick a distro and try it yourself.

  • There are a lot of help posts on the MS and other windows forums too. Computers and OSes will always have issues because of complexity and incompatibilities between hardware and software. No matter if you install Windows, Linux, or MacOS. The machines that are least buggy because each manufacturer is doing extensive tests, are the mobile OSes, iOS and (most) Android. It's not as possible to do the same on a desktop OS. So cut your losses, and install Linux Mint, which is I believe it's the best for newbies.

  • There's a common joke that it's not linux, it's gnu linux and this is followed by a long copy pasta about how linux is only the kernel which is the code that handles managing how your machine is used

    In this case this is important, linux can be a stable os (notible examples include android os, linux mint, debian stable, as well as the server distributions) these generally update slower in order to make sure bugs get squashed. On the other hand there are linux operating systems that are difficult to use for a beginner such as arch, void, and gentoo. There are also distrobutions that have a bad habit of breaking manjaro, gentoo, come to mind. If you want a linux experience that is set it up once and have no more problems than anyone might expect to have on windows you can do that (sometimes you'll run into a situation where you have a device that doesn't play well with linux like an algato streamdeck or a device that doesn't have a driver yet like my sister's laptop webcam (thanks acer much appreciated) but in general you can have a stable easy experience as long as you aren't trying to do anything crazy

    Here's my recommendation, make a linux mint thumbdrive boot off it, play around with it, and test varius hardware you have (ie bluetooth, webcam, that one usb dingle doop that no one else has but you use every day). Maybe don't install it (or do chances are it'll be just fine) but boot off it often, and once you've learnt the os pretty well, back up everything you care about and install linux mint

    As an, aside i love your username, very clever

  • Linux has different flavors, some with bleeding edge updates like Arch, some rock-stable and built on FOSS like Debian, some that force you to compile nearly everything on your end to save fractions of seconds in compute time like Gentoo, and some meant to be as beginner friendly as possible like Cinammon/Mint.

    Linux "fans" are likely to use something like Arch and break something, then fix it. People who use Linux will use Fedora or something and call it a day. You don't have to go down the rabbit hole and play with all of the shiny new tools as they release.

  • Car enthusiasts spend a lot more time under the hood than normal drivers. You'll find a similar effect here.

    Install something like Linux Mint, maybe chase down a few quirks with your particular hardware (for instance, I installed a surround sound system with a fairly hot amplifier, so every time the motherboard turns the sound chip on and off there's a loud pop, so I had to change a couple settings in some config files from 1 to 0 and Y to N, and it's been fine ever since) and you're pretty much golden until you decide to start messing with something.

    There are extremely stable Linux distros, there are Linux distros that aren't so stable, but come with newer packages. Which one you choose depends on what you want.

  • Im a big zorin fan. Its an out of the box distro that focuses on windows compatiblity. that means it comes with tons of preinstalled apps so that you can do things right away like edit docs or watch videos but it also comes with well configured play on linux so that there is a good chance you can run any needed windows programs that you need to. Maybe people graduate out to more unixy stuff but its funny. Im a tech guy but in my personal life I just want to install and go. https://zorin.com/os/

    • Isn't Zorin abandoned? Anyway I would stick to the well beaten path of Linux Mint or Pop os

  • From my experience having used Linux for years: Here is the full list of problems I encountered that I'd say are not the result of me tinkering:

    • Nvidia driver is fucked up
    • A hard drive also used by Windows won't mount
    • The software app can't update my system
    • 2nd monitor won't work correctly (pretty much solved nowadays)

    Those are fairly common issues afaik, and they are caused by using a slightly more complex setup (dual-booting Windows, extra repos in the package manager) and notoriously troublesome Nvidia hardware. For all but the last there is a one-line command you can run to fix it, and it took maybe 2 min to find it on my phone.

    Apart from these issues it's been rock solid, so I'd say you're good as long as you avoid those known causes for problems (No Nvidia, no Windows, no extra repos), or you are able to find solutions to the most common problems and run simple commands on the terminal.

  • Until one of the RAM sticks went bad, my parents, who are in their 60s ran Ubuntu Linux for years without an issue. I set it up in 2016, as a dual boot with Windows. They almost never booted into Windows, and told me they preferred Linux.

    • My children ran Mint desktops for years without issue or complaint. When I bought them new laptops though I decided to let them run the default Windows.

      • (To preface, when I say "Linux", I'm referring to the effectively established colloquialism that "Linux" means kernel + utilities + distribution = operating system)

        Right. In fact, at home, I run all three operating systems. To me, it's using the right tool for the job. Windows is a great OS for gaming (though Valve is working to make it as viable on Linux, it's still not...quite...there, but close). Mac is great for UX, media work, and as a work PC (software development or otherwise). Linux is great for tinkering, software development, and running services.

        The "issues" that the OP even refers to are usually not so much real issues, but rather a person simply trying to learn. And that's what is great about Linux for someone who doesn't yet know it -- there's a LOT to learn. I've been using Linux since 1999 (big box Redhat 5.1!) and I still often learn something new about it.

      • I'm genuinely curious, what was their reaction to the OS change?

    • Was it an LTS release? 2016 is a long way to go without a major update for Ubuntu.

      Maybe I'm just spoilt as I have a rolling distro.

      • Yes, 16.04 LTS. And they updated as I helped them update, but never went beyond some patch level of 16.04. The point here is that they ran for many years with complete stability, no viruses or malware, and preferred it.

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