Looking for advice on how to enter the Linux world. Do I use it on an external drive or somehow on a second-hand Windows computer or buy a new computer? What source would be wisest and most economical?
Thanks in advance.
3 Likes
My suggested approach is to acquire a USB flash drive with at least 4 GB of usable capacity, write a live install image onto it, then boot and use it as-is. My personal recommendation is Debian stable (currently 13.1.0 Trixie) with the GNOME desktop environment:
If you are currently using Windows 8 or later, you can use Rufus to easily create a bootable installation medium and write a Debian live install image:
Otherwise, my cross-platform tool of choice is balenaEtcher, which I rely on for installing Linux distributions at and during applicable Linux Link events:
1 Like
Another flawless response from Frank!
1 Like
Hi A - not sure why you mentioned an external drive, I dont think you need one unless you have a different reason. Let’s assume you dont need one, then Frank’s approach makes the most sense. Also I would assume you dont want to spend, so start with what you have - your current computer. By testing (using the USB and a Linux distro in test mode) gives you the best peek into how a modern OS would look like in your current computer (laptop or desktop.) Join us in Surrey or Richmond (see Events) for a one-on-one with your laptop, so we can work on your question directly. BE sure to BACKUP everything before you do choose to enter Linux. Cheers!
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 24 hours after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.