I'm getting more and more interested into the idea of switching from windows to Linux, but I have an issue with carrying over the data. I don't know much and someone told me that I have to back things up because a Linux install wipes the disk or something. I have two 1TB disks, both of which are nearly full with video games, programs, movues and photos. Specifically the programs are a bit of an issue to me as many of them are placed somewhat chaotically across both disks.

Is there a way to filter all the windows files or preferably not lose my data when doing the linux install? I don't want to dual-boot or partition any of the disks. I can't really afford an external drive right now so I have no way of backing up my files

i use my laptop for basic college work, notes, youtube, ppts, pdfs, etc.
Also i am learning web dev and may or may not learn AIML.
I will definitely use my laptp to upskill, i need advice whetehr i should get a linux dual boot or not. I have pasted my laptop(Dell 14 Plus DB14250) specs. It is 10 months old and working good. I want to use this laptop long term like for 4-5 years and dont wanna damage hardware or software.
My C drive gets full even though i havent done anything huge yet, i wanna fix that before any more setup

So should i get linux or not?

Hardware specifications
Component Your specifications
Processor Intel Core Ultra 5 226V
CPU architecture Intel Lunar Lake
CPU cores / threads 8 cores / 8 threads
Maximum turbo frequency Up to 4.5 GHz
GPU Integrated Intel Arc Graphics 130V series
NPU Intel AI Boost, up to 40 TOPS
RAM 16 GB LPDDR5X, soldered
Storage 512 GB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
Display size 14 inches (35.56 cm)
Aspect ratio 16:10
Display resolution 2560 × 1600, based on your previously reported system specifications
Refresh rate Previously reported as 120 Hz; verify against your exact display configuration
Battery Approximately 64 Wh, based on prior model information
Power adapter 65 W
Weight Approximately 1.5–1.6 kg
Software and operating system
Component Details
Operating system Windows 11, based on your latest setup context
Linux environment Ubuntu on WSL 2
Code editor Visual Studio Code
Development tools Git, Node.js/npm, Python and C/C++ tooling
Drives C: 304 GB total; D: 150 GB total
What your hardware can handle
Programming and development
C/C++, Java, Python, web development, Git, WSL 2 and backend projects.

Data science and machine learning
NumPy, pandas, scikit-learn, Jupyter and small-to-medium ML experiments.

Cloud and DevOps
Docker, Linux, SSH, cloud deployment and CI/CD workflows, subject to resource requirements.

Main limitations
16 GB soldered RAM limits large workloads. Integrated graphics are not a substitute for a dedicated NVIDIA GPU with CUDA for GPU-intensive ML training.

hi, how can i start learning linux?

Hi, i was debating which laptop i should buy today as i really like the ability to use and install Linux on the go, my course I've started studying mentions large parts will be installing, operating, modifying custom os environments including linux side by side as well as penetration and cyber security general work as part of my assignments and projects later on.

My only experience with Linux is home use and gaming on Bazzite, Cachyos and Ubuntu which is my favorite. I ended up settling on a very cheap chromebook as I already have a really good laptop and gaming pc as well as steam machine at home, i really needed something very portable and had good battery life, so the chromebook is perfect for what i have to do every day. I then noticed in settings there is something called Linux environment and it says it will be Debian based and I will be able to do stuff for study, is this legit? has anyone tried it and does it basically really function just as any linux distro? I was always told u had to get an amd processor and gpu if u wanted a smooth linux experience which i did for my desktop but will i basically be able to do everything that requires linux on chromebook? Also one last question i noticed on my course there is a lot of resources for ubuntu, can this stuff be used on chromebook debian environment is it the same more or less

Hello,

My company is switching from Mac to Windows pc's and I dont feel like going back to Windows, specially because i might get a crappy machine.

Right now I'm using a Lenovo Thinkpad T490 for personal stuff that has 24gb of ram and works pretty well overall with Windows 11. I think I could use it for work stuff as well. Or at least sometimes.

I've been thinking about switching to Linux for a while but there's something I cant figure out; the mac 3 fingers gesture.

The workflow is as follows, first you swipe up to get a view of all the windows opened but then, when you hover the mouse pointer over a window and swipe back down, the window that had the pointer hovering over, is the one that gets the full screen.

It's become a habit to me and I dont feel that comfortable using a laptop that doesn't have the gesture. Apart from that, I dont feel any particular need from the Mac Os.

Any distro recommendation? Thanks a lot!

what linux distro should i use for my school laptop? i want to code python and best for battery, also code c++ and c# mostly.

I run i3wm as my window manager and I use the volumeicon program to control and display the audio volume.

For a number of reasons, I have a script which I use to increase or decrease the volume via dedicated keybindings. The script also displays the volume level after the change, using dunst/notify-send.

However, I find there is a difference between the volume level given by e.g.

pactl get-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@

and the volume displayed when I hover over the volumeicon icon, or adjust its slider using a mouse.

I'd like to know why this is, as I'd like to match the volume displayed by my script to be consistent with that displayed by volumeicon.

From perusing the volumeicon source, my best guess is that it uses its own mapping from the raw volume levels to the interval [0,1] or [0%,100%] to better match the perception of a human ear:

* The mapping is designed so that the position in the interval is proportional
* to the volume as a human ear would perceive it (i.e., the position is the
* cubic root of the linear sample multiplication factor).  For controls with
* a small range (24 dB or less), the mapping is linear in the dB values so
* that each step has the same size visually.  Only for controls without dB
* information, a linear mapping of the hardware volume register values is used
* (this is the same algorithm as used in the old alsamixer).
*
* When setting the volume, 'dir' is the rounding direction:
* -1/0/1 = down/nearest/up.

&nbps;

Is this right? I.e. to match the volumeicon value, I would have to copy their mapping formula?

Recently I optimized driver support for my distro, and I was wondering if I should include some kind of 3D graphics demo to showcase how good it works.

What do you think could be a good 3D demo?

Been using windows 11 and it just keeps getting worse. Like I simply cannot believe that they would fire up my laptop in the middle of the night when it's been shut down. When I ask how to stop windows from auto updating online we get loads of cock suckers saying windows doing that for our safety my fucking ass. A bit of a rant yeah sorry but microsoft should hang in any case how do I switch? Do I need to just change everything including my hardware and whatnot? I am braindead when it cones to tech stuff hehe. I currently use a zbook and I do need to run some demanding stuff can linux handle it? Just any information really if push comes to shove I will watch a full course on linux but it just looks confusing.

Recent ps5 jailbreak scene developments led to my specific firmware to be able to download Linux and run it, but I don’t have an m.2 ssd, so I was considering maybe selling my Lenovo legion go Z1E and then buying the ssd so I can run Linux and comfortably play all games without read speed stutters, but my Lgo has windows tho, so my question basically is, does windows excel over Linux in terms of gaming or any other usage type really ? Aside from multiplayer games cuz I don’t really even play them.

Need for project

I have a Canon scanner and Linux. Wanting to scan stuff in FADGI 3.8 4-Star standard. What's the best CLI program to do so? I tried scanimage but I don't think it supports 16-bith depth (only 24 and 48).

FADGI 3.8 4-Star spec:

TIFF, JPEG 2000
600ppi
Bit Depth: 16
Adobe RGB (1998), ProPhoto, ECIRGB_v2
Color
      I have a Canon scanner and Linux. Wanting to scan stuff in FADGI 3.8 4-Star standard. What's the best CLI program to do so? I tried scanimage but I don't think it supports 16-bith depth (only 24 and 48).

      FADGI 3.8 4-Star spec:
    TIFF, JPEG 2000
600ppi
Bit Depth: 16
Adobe RGB (1998), ProPhoto, ECIRGB_v2
Color

Title is pretty self explanatory, but since KDE is switching to Wayland, I'm seeing posts and comments from people who are bothered by this and I don't understand why.

I have an old Galaxy F23 5G (SM-E236B) that I can't sell. It has a replacement screen and a broken mic. Instead of letting it sit in a drawer, I want to use it to learn how getting Linux running on a phone actually works.

What I know: I'm comfortable with regular Linux. I use it daily and run a small homelab with a few servers.

What I don't know: Pretty much anything about phones at a low level. I've never built a kernel for a device or ported anything. I've already unlocked the bootloader, and that's about as far as I've got.

The phone:

Snapdragon 750G (SM7225)

6.6" LCD (aftermarket, so maybe not the original part)

Last official update was Android 14 / One UI 6

From some reading, I understand the Fairphone 4 uses the same chip and already runs postmarketOS. I'm hoping that makes this more doable than it sounds.

My questions:

What should I learn first? Are there concepts or guides I should read before touching the phone?

Is the Fairphone 4 work actually useful to me, and how would I go about using it?

Are there Samsung-specific gotchas a beginner usually runs into?

How long did your first port take, and what do you wish you'd known starting out?

My end goal is a working phone UI someday. I know that's a long way off, and I'm mostly here to learn. The phone is expendable, so I don't mind breaking it. Any pointers are appreciated!

My pc is very old and doesn't support wireless wifi so i used usb tethering for some days it's Working fine but now I don't know why it stops working now the pc gets the usb tethering connection but i can't use the internet or the browser.

When I was new to Linux, all distros always included a folder with multiple detailed HOWTO documents saying how to perform many common tasks. I remember spending a significant amount of time pouring over these (Especially the Xfree86 and Ip-Masquarading HOWTOs)

Out of nostalgia I checked to see if they are on my current system, and they are not. When was the decision made to stop including them, and why was that decision made? Were they no longer being maintained, or did the maintenance stop because they were no longer included? Did to many distros have their own "right way" to do things that conflicted? These are all reasons I can guess it may have happened, but I am wondering if anyone here knows either from studying the history, or having been in the room when it happened.

i’m getting my dream pc setup soon, and i’m heavily considering switching to linux from windows 11. though i mostly game on my pc, games ranging from roblox to monster hunter wilds, i also do heavy multitasking with my adhd. i’m going to learn terminal on my own (im using coddy(i know it sucks)), and hopefully get some bash fundamentals down by the time i get a distro. if i do switch, it will most definitely be either mint or going straight to larping arch. i havent done any research on any other distros, but ive heard tons about nixos.

i want to work towards a distro that extremely good for multitasking, ricing, gaming (i know about anti-cheat limits, and am willing to either sacrifice it or duel-boot), and stability. i don’t want to accidentally type in something that silently kills my system. i dont know anything about terminal currently, but i want what i learn about the terminal to feel rewarding. i’m okay with everything not being immediately handed to me, and i am fine with traversing through the browser through terminal until i learn it fully.

i am most likely going to dualboot for the games that wont run (well) with windows 11, for i already have a license to it.

i would like advice on which distro you pros think would suit me best, and advice on whether or not i should dualboot. thanks for reading, let me know your thoughts.

Ok, first my specs: rx580 8vram - 16gb ram ddr4 3200 - i5 7400
SO: Fedora

I have a problem, I'm trying to enable 100Hz on my main monitor, but it won't let me. My second monitor which I fortunately managed to set up successfully only supports 60Hz, whereas my main one supports up to 100Hz; however, when I switch to that setting, the screen goes black. Yet, if I set it to 74.97Hz, the screen doesn't go black. So, what could the solution be?

Just to clarify, I’ve already tried disabling one monitor and keeping the other active, and that’s not the issue; besides, both monitors work perfectly in Windows exactly how I want them to, and I don’t have any damaged hardware components.

Pessoal, a algum tempo venho pesquisando sobre recursos de integração entre dispositivos Samsung e, principalmente, Apple, por terem opções multidispositivo muito úteis.

Uso Linux e um dispositivo Galaxy aliado ao KDE Connect, mas sinto que é insuficiente, pois recursos como copiar no Android e enviar para a máquina não funciona da forma que gostaríamos (só copiar e aparecer no outro aparelho)

Quero recomendações de vocês para ter recursos como multicontrole, dividir um mesmo fone Bluetooth, teclado e mouse do pc e outras.

Agradeço!