Switching guides
In the order you'll need them.
How to switch from Windows to Linux
The whole move on one page. Check your apps, back up, pick a Linux, try it from a USB stick, then install it.
Can my PC run Linux?
If it runs Windows 10, almost certainly yes. How to check in two minutes, and the few things that can still trip you up.
Try Linux without installing anything
Run Linux Mint from a USB stick to see whether you like it and whether your PC's wifi, sound and screen all behave. Windows is left untouched.
Back up your Windows files before you switch
What to copy, where it hides, and how to check the copy worked. Do this before you install anything.
Which Linux should I choose?
Linux Mint, unless you're in one of four specific situations. The short answer, the exceptions, and the ones to avoid for now.
Install Linux beside Windows, or replace it
How to install Linux Mint, screen by screen, and how to decide whether Windows stays on the PC.
Your first week on Linux
Four jobs for the first hour, where your files and apps live, and the Windows habits to drop. Written for Linux Mint.
What won't work on Linux
The honest list. Adobe's desktop apps, a group of online games, Quicken, syncing folders for OneDrive and Google Drive, and iPhone syncing.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on Linux
Your Office files open on Linux three ways. Which to use, what goes wrong with formatting, and how to swap files with people still on Microsoft Office.
Can I play my games on Linux?
Most of them, yes, thanks to Steam. The exceptions are games whose anti-cheat blocks Linux, and you can check yours in five minutes.
Linux words, in plain English
Every piece of jargon used on this site, explained in a sentence or two. Distro, ISO, Flatpak, Proton, Secure Boot, the terminal and the rest.
Switching to Linux when you use assistive software
Orca is the Linux screen reader and it comes with GNOME. What works, where dictation and braille fall short, and how to test the lot from a live USB.
Can my Mac run Linux?
An Intel Mac from 2008 onward runs Linux well, and Apple is about to stop updating it. Which Macs qualify, what the T2 chip changes, and the truth about M1 and later.
Try Linux on a Mac without installing anything
Make the USB stick on macOS, hold one key at startup, and run Linux Mint on your Intel Mac for an hour. macOS is untouched. What to test while you're there.
Install Linux on an Intel Mac
Put Linux Mint on an Intel Mac beside macOS or in place of it, screen by screen, including the wifi fix nearly every Mac needs and the extra steps for a T2 chip.