Hello, Windows 10 user of about a year now. I would like to switch to Linux (Ubuntu or Debian), but have a couple of questions.

  1. Is there a way to play steam games designed for Windows on Linux?/What are the drawbacks of doing this?
  2. Is there a way to transfer files from my old OS to the new one without using external drives (i dont have one ;-;)
  3. Is there a distro more suited to a Windows user going into linux rehab?
  4. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

TIA as always comrades and good day.

  • trompete [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    About (2), it is possible to shrink the Windows partition in many Linux installers (haven't done it so don't ask me how). But there's always a chance that your files are gone 'cause something went wrong, so I STRONGLY RECOMMEND MAKING A BACKUP to an external drive or another computer. Like seriously just buy one.

    About (3): Random redditors keep on recommending niche distros, don't listen to them. You want something mainstream that has a proper release cycle and been around for a while.

    You're probably going to have problems. You'll probably need to read up on stuff. I recommend trying to fix whatever problem you have instead of just reinstalling some other distro at the first sign of trouble. Look for official documentation over random blog posts. A lot of that stuff is wrong or outdated.

    Don not install random crap off the internet like you would on Windows, try first to figure if there is a recommended way of installing a piece of software on your distro. If it's a popular software like steam or a driver, there's probably some page about that in the official wiki for your distro. There's a good chance that downloading and installing any old software from a corporate website will overwrite files or confuse your package manager and it'll be a pain in the ass.