Hot Take Best Linux Distributions To Replace Windows

[simmerskool]

Do you have copy-paste from host to vm or both ways enabled? I mean clipboard sharing. It doesn't work for me on VMware linux vms even on the Ubuntu vm but works on all vms on VirtualBox.

no I do not use clipboard between Host Guest. I keep Host isolated. (that's me). Other day I needed to move some files from Guest to Host, and I temp uploaded (stored) them in cloud, and did not hurt to keep a copy in cloud anyway. But I have used clipboard between Host & win10_Guests and it did work. I have yubi key and I can get vm_Guests to see yubi but never successfully for 2fa. There's alternatives to iphone 2fa so let it be in Guests.

 

[lokamoka820]

My MX Linux distro, latest Xfce desktop environment over rock-solid stable base:

 

[Divine_Barakah]

So in my experience. Linux Mint is the most suitable Linux distro if youre coming from Windows. It is fast and stable. Cinnamon DE is going to be very familiar. So I believe Linux Mint is a good start and when you become more experienced, you'll know by then where to look.

 

[simmerskool]

So in my experience. Linux Mint is the most suitable Linux distro if youre coming from Windows. It is fast and stable. Cinnamon DE is going to be very familiar. So I believe Linux Mint is a good start and when you become more experienced, you'll know by then where to look.

your experience is most likely more experienced than mine, but... I tried Mint w/cinnamon before Zorin and ended up not running it, although I don't remember why?? But right now, I prefer MX to Zorin... fwiw++ and MX is more of a linux experience than Zorin imo.

 

[lokamoka820]

your experience is most likely more experienced than mine, but... I tried Mint w/cinnamon before Zorin and ended up not running it, although I don't remember why?? But right now, I prefer MX to Zorin... fwiw++ and MX is more of a linux experience than Zorin imo.

I'm happy to hear that you like MX Linux, most people don't like how it looks, but it is very easy to configure and have very good helpful tools that make configuring it very simple.

 

[colin.p]

...and that is the beauty of linux. If you want to get real dirty by tinkering under the hood, you can. Or you can try a plethora of different distros to find one that is close to your dream OS. Your call.

Soon, you will come to the realization that they are all pretty well the same "under the hood" and you will be quite comfortable with any distro.

 

[lokamoka820]

...and that is the beauty of linux. If you want to get real dirty by tinkering under the hood, you can. Or you can try a plethora of different distros to find one that is close to your dream OS. Your call.

Soon, you will come to the realization that they are all pretty well the same "under the hood" and you will be quite comfortable with any distro.

Exactly, after a lot of testing and experimenting, I found that I prefer anything "apt" over others, so I have multi Debian/Ubuntu based distros installed with different desktop environment, so when I feel boring with one desktop, I move to the other one, or play with new features comes with new desktop release.

 

[colin.p]

^^^Ditto

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

5 Windows-Like Linux Distros You Should Try Out

1. Q4OS: A Hidden Gem Among Windows-Like Distros
2. Zorin OS: Familiar Yet Different
3. Linux Mint: The Most Recommended Option
4. Linux Lite: Windows-Like for Older Hardware
5. Kubuntu: It’s Ubuntu for Windows Power Users

5 Windows-Like Linux Distros You Should Try Out

How Linux looks like wearing a Windows costume!

www.howtogeek.com

 

[oldschool]

@lokamoka820 Based on some of what I read here, I downloaded Zorin OS to try on USB and was unable to write to the USB with balenaEtcher from a Standard User Account. Maybe I need to attempt the process as an Administrator?

 

[lokamoka820]

@lokamoka820 Based on some of what I read here, I downloaded Zorin OS to try on USB and was unable to write to the USB with balenaEtcher from a Standard User Account. Maybe I need to attempt the process as an Administrator?

I just searched about this and found issues same as yours, I don't know about balenaEtcher, I was using Rufus in the past, then I moved to Ventoy.

 

[oldschool]

I just searched about this and found issues same as yours, I don't know about balenaEtcher, I was using Rufus in the past, then I moved to Ventoy.

I tried again as administrator and no-go. Selected "Flash from file", selected Zorin iso and nothing happens. Downloaded Rufus and had no idea how to proceed from there. Trying Linux is already a big PITA.

 

[lokamoka820]

I tried again as administrator and no-go. Selected "Flash from file", selected Zorin iso and nothing happens. Downloaded Rufus and had no idea how to proceed from there. Trying Linux is already a big PITA.

Here is an article to describe using Rufus, it is easy when you understand every section in the app, almost every option will be selected by default, just you need to select the image:

How to Use Rufus to Create a Bootable Flash Drive

Rufus is an open-source application to create a bootable USB drive. Learn how you can use Rufus to create a bootable flash drive in Windows.

www.maketecheasier.com

 

[simmerskool]

@lokamoka820 Based on some of what I read here, I downloaded Zorin OS to try on USB and was unable to write to the USB with balenaEtcher from a Standard User Account. Maybe I need to attempt the process as an Administrator?

fwiw after a linux gap of 10+ years, I started with Zorin & then Zorin Pro, and have used about 6 distros in the past 2 months. An "easy" linux that is also one of the most downloaded is MX-Linux. Suggest you give it a try. I use the xfce4 DE.
Lately however, my fav is fedora 40 with Gnome 46 but not exactly a windows crossover distro. (fedora 41 was recently released but I have not upgraded yet).

 

[Spiff]

Based on some of what I read here, I downloaded Zorin OS to try on USB and was unable to write to the USB with balenaEtcher from a Standard User Account. Maybe I need to attempt the process as an Administrator?

@oldschool,
Exactly what was the issue because of which you were unable to write to the USB flash drive using balenaEtcher?
Did you get a balenaEtcher error report? Or was it Windows that reported the error? Or was there no error report at all?
Regarding balenaEtcher, there is a known issue with new versions. BalenaEtcher version 1.18.11 works OK. More recent versions report an error when trying to open the source.
This is the full error as reported by the balenaEtcher application:
Error
Error opening source
Something went wrong while opening [source]
Error: (0, h.requestMetadata) is not a function
If that was the error that was reported by balenaEtcher when you tried to write the Zorin image to USB flash drive, try using balenaEtcher version 1.18.11.

 

[oldschool]

@oldschool,
Exactly what was the issue because of which you were unable to write to the USB flash drive using balenaEtcher?

Selected "Flash from file", selected Zorin iso and nothing happens.

 

[Spiff]

Selected "Flash from file", selected Zorin iso and nothing happens.

The moment in the process seems to be the same as with the "Error opening source" issue, although without balenaEtcher producing the error report.
You could try if balenaEtcher version 1.18.11 works for you.

 

[basran25]

My recommendation is Zorin OS.

 

[goodjohnjr]

I switched to the latest Ubuntu LTS several months ago, and have not missed Microsoft Windows since.