Beginners guide to linux

Welcome friends this is my first post.Here i am going to discuss with you how to shift to linux from MacOS or Linux.

so lets get into it,

After Microsoft ended support for windows 7 many people have migrated to a linux environment.Whatever might be the reason for your migration linux community will appreciate it and welcome you with a warm greeting.

Note: Always use the operating system that best suits your needs and keeps you productive throughout the day.

Best Distros for Beginners

First of all if you have done a bit of Google Fu then you must have come across the word Distro. Now what is a distro(or distribution in broad)? 

A distro is a collection of software built around the linux kernel.Basically there is not much difference between the distros apart from the fact that they have different package managers (coming to them later).So there are plenty of beginner distros laid out. Naming some:

1. Ubuntu               {pros :  most popular linux distro, Great community support, ease of  use ....                                         cons : a bit resource heavy lags on old hardware}                                                                           
   
                                                                                                                                
2. Linux Mint         {pros : lightweight , easy to use , windows like look and feel,good community                                                      support....                                                                                                                       cons : not as popular as ubuntu but there has been a lot improvement in its                                                  popularity}                                                                                                                               
   
                                                                                                                
3. Elementary OS   {pros : look and feel like a mac os , great look and feel                                       cons : community support is a bit slower}[dont get afraid by the purchase option on their website just click it and it will start download you dont need to pay anything its open source ;-) ]                                       
   
                                                     
4. Zorin OS             {pros : windows users will feel just at home, plenty of essential pre installed                                              software}                                                                                                                                                 
   
                                                             
5. Manjaro linux     {pros : get the taste of the legendary arch linux distro without the hassle ,ease                                            of use, serves bleeding edge software                                                                                       cons : although it promises to provide you with the latest software in the                                                    market   you dont get it before two weeks or so }                                          
   

There are plenty more of them but it is not possible to list all of them in one page. You can checkout the distro's and their rankings on Distrowatch.

How to get started?

So after you have chosen your distro you can move forward.If you are confused with the plentiful distros then my suggestion would be try out them in a live cd or usb, its the best option, a live environment will not make any changes to your main machine or system and you will get the opportunity to test them before you start using them , and don't wait for any body ,not even me, to tell you that this distro is good this one is bad blah..blah... Just roll out the distro and check it out yourself.

After you have checked and decided which distribution meets your needs you can just follow the easy installation steps provided by the distribution.

How to make a live CD or USB? 

STEP 1  :        To make a live cd or usb you will need the iso image file of the distribution.Go to the official page of your chosen distro and grab the iso file.Chose the iso file according to your cpu architecture (32 bit or 64 bit ) and if you are unsure about that then go for the 32 bit iso (drawback is that a 32 bit iso can only support upto 4gb ram so it would be better if you check out your cpus architecture by a simple google search)

STEP 2  :        Now if you have downloaded the iso image file you have to download a software for burning the iso file to the usb or cd(burning to a cd  requires a software it can be done from the iso image burner, you can download it and use it but here i have focused on usb since most iso files are a bit larger in size).

                   Windows /MacOS

If you are on windows or mac os then i would prefer you to install Rufus. It has a good UI and is easy to use.Just download the software and run it as administrator.

Then insert your usb  into the computer. 

[warning: keep a backup of all your personal files on the usb or cd since after the burning of the iso everything on it will be lost]. 

Then  select your USB drive from the device dropdown menu in rufus.

Place a checkmark  next to the "Ceate A Bootable Device" box and select "iso image" from the dropdown menu.

Now navigate to the folder where you downloaded your .iso image file and click "open"

{keep the rest of the settings to default and dont make any changes}

Click on ”Start” 

Click on “OK” to confirm that you want to erase and format the USB drive for use with Rufus.

Once the burning is completed you can close the software and eject your USB safely.

Linux

if you are a linux user then you can use the dd utility (CAUTION) to burn your iso image file to the disk 

            first of all unmount your usb 

            $ umount  /dev/sdb  {sdb is the device name in my case check out your                                                      device name using    :    $ fdisk -l }

Now you can use dd but be careful check out your command twice before pressing enter since its a destructive tool 

             

             $ mkfs.vfat  /dev/sdb -I     {this will format your drive to FAT filesystem}

             $ sudo dd if = /path/to/iso/file  of = /path/to/usb/   

     [ IF stands for Input File and OF stands for Output File ]

grab a cup of coffee till dd completes its task ;-)

now after dd has completed burning it will display an ok message to you that ensures the file is burnt properly.

Now you are ready to rock with your USB.

How to boot into the live system?

After you are done with creating a bootable usb now you can boot your system to the live environment and enjoy your new OS.

shutdown your computer and insert your usb drive into the computer and then restart your computer

Press F12/F2/F10/esc/del key {depending on your motherboard search google for your motherboards specification for key to enter bios menu} to enter BIOS menu.

There you have to navigate to the boot device selection menu and select your usb device or move your usb device to the top of the boot device priority list.Then press enter to boot to your usb drive.

now you can follow the instructions provided by your distro.You should have a try now or live option select that before installing and then chose the distro which pleases you and go for it.Most of the linux distributions provide a Graphical installation window except for ARCH LINUX.

I would recommend you dont go for debian or Arch or Gentoo or Slackware since they are regarded as some advanced linux distros. Obviously once you get used to linux environment and the command line you can move to Debian or Arch or ...

        Have a Nice Day;