I have tried to learn Linux for ages, and have experimented with installing Arch and Ubuntu. Usually something goes wrong when I try to set up a desktop environment after installing Arch in VirtualBox. KDE gave me a problem where I couldn’t log in after getting to the point where my username was displayed in a similar format to how it is for Windows. My end use case is to help keep my workflow more organized than haphazardly throwing files somewhere on my desktop or in a folder nested somewhere that I’ll just inevitably lose :(
Somehow after all this time, I feel like I actually understand less about my computer and what I need to understand regarding its facets. Is it an unrealistic goal to want to eventually run a computer with coreboot and a more cybersecurity heavy emphasis? I’m still a noob at this and any advice would be appreciated!
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I’d recommend MX Linux, which is a Debian based distribution that has dominated distrowatch.com for a long time for good reason. They have a bunch of management tools, newest Firefox… You might try just using it in VMWare Player (free) virtualization first, which has better 3D support than Virtualbox. I’m currently using MX Linux KDE Beta and it’s solid as they’re only tweaking some of their tools after the latest Debian release. And they have a good forum community for help. And Debian is the base from which Ubuntu and other distributions are built, and kind of the foundational Linux version which makes it a good place to learn Linux.
Get Fedora Silverblue. It is rock solid. Install Distrobox or Boxes to emulate other systems on top of that.
You could also move on to something else later if toy like.
Don’t start with the most complicated distro and then fail.
Keep it simple, Ubuntu/Mint/PopOS, play around with it for at least a few months before trying an arch install
Is it an unrealistic goal to want to eventually run a computer with coreboot and a more cybersecurity heavy emphasis?
No, its not unrealistic. However, what I think is unfair to yourself is to attempt this before knowing what you are doing. Think of it like learning to draw. You have good taste, and you see art you like, and want to do it too. Yet your personal skill level, you finger dexterity, isn’t yet there to be able to make the art you can visualize in your mind.
If a task is too hard, or to complex, then there must exist a smaller, easier task to accomplish first. Coreboot specifically is an extremely low hardware/firmware level system, but you don’t feel confidant in installing a working desktop OS. You have aspirations for cyber security, as well. Find the smaller, and easier task first. Get Debian/Ubuntu working in a VM. Then look at what software is installed, and read about it. If you want to eventually pursue security projects, setup a LAMP stack. If that too hard, just get the A in LAMP. If that’s too hard, find out why. What do you know, what do you not know? It’s machines all the way down, and its an extremely small chance you are the first person with a problem. Don’t worry about “correctness” and focus on the learning experience.
It is 100% achievable, but it is a lot of time. I started with it because I wanted to run a game server for myself. It’s a couple of decades later, and I still have a massive amount to learn.
I really like the comparison to drawing and the gap between what I’m seeing in my head and my actual ability to carry out the task! Something hypnotized me when I first got introduced to the world of free software. Initially I started out learning LaTeX to make math worksheets for my tutees because Microsoft Word made me want to violently smash my keyboard. Further rabbit-holing and forum-crawling convinced me that I needed to download Arch or else it simply “wasn’t worth it”, which is completely wrong in itself.
Never have heard of a LAMP stack, but I’ll check it out. I’ll try to persevere through frustration and just look at errors as a way of learning from my mistakes. Eventually I hope to have a grander control and understanding of my devices, but this will just come with time. Thanks for the encouragement!
Further rabbit-holing and forum-crawling convinced me that I needed to download Arch or else it simply “wasn’t worth it”, which is completely wrong in itself.
Unfortunately Arch appeals to, and is loved by, a specific kind of user. They aren’t really interested in being more newbie friendly, which is totally fine. Debian, and by extension Mint, actively trying to help new people use the software, and is very newbie friendly. Most people asking for help use these types, and thus a lot of the helpful guides use these as a base. OpenSuse also does a very good job too, but it is pretty different than Debian in how it is structured, so not all guides written for Debian will work the same way. When you know about how different Linux ecosystems work, the less which specific distro you are using matters. So don’t worry too much about picking the “right” one.
Initially I started out learning LaTeX to make math worksheets for my tutees…
This is the best way, find something you want to do, and learn how to do it. Follow the rabbit holes! You never really know where they go.
Follow the rabbit holes! You never really know where they go.
I completely agree with this one! Been awhile since this comment was posted, but I’ve had a great deal of fun with Pop!_OS after I nearly went mad. I used my arch system for about 2 months exclusively. Right now I’m dual booting it and Windows. I’m exploring Windows with new eyes again just so see what exactly was abstracted away from me and I’m just using it to get work done more efficiently.
Thanks for the initial advice :) I’m working towards using only a Linux system and I learned I liked Debian as well. Ubuntu, Mint, and OpenSUSE didn’t really feel the way I wanted them to, and I still was piecing together concepts that were fuzzy from my 20 years of Windows usage getting in the way.
Currently trying to get Gentoo onto a Chromebook and got curious about hypervisors so a new rabbit hole has reared its head…
Don’t use regular Arch if you’re struggling. There are some arch-based distros that are more user friendly, though. Like EndeavourOS or ArchMan. Manjaro can be good too but there are legitimate problems with how the project is run.
I was having graphics driver problems in Ubuntu-based distros until I tried Linux Mint.
If you get crashes right before or after login, it’s often a (Nvidia) graphics issue. To get around this, you could use nomodeset in the Grub menu to get a successful first boot where you can then install the proprietary drivers.
Look at sections 4 and especially 5 on this page
Also, here is that info in a tutorial formatAlso, you may want to set the Desktop Environment to Xorg or X11 (same thing) if Wayland is causing you problems. It’s older, but in some cases more efficient and less experimental. Check out the section: Switching desktop environments using a graphical user interface. It should look similar to the pictures. And notice that the “gear” icon may not appear until you select a user or start typing your password.
If your problem is different than this, open a support ticket in the discord or forums of the distro you’re using. Linux Mint has a great system for this on Discord.
As a Linux user I can tell you that nothing works. Every single Linux distro requires some amount of work. That’s why I do not use Windows or MacOS since it is so closed ecosystem that you can’t even fix anything when something fails.
I’ve been in your shoes a few months ago. I tried a few distros in VMs and ended up using OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. It comes with different GUIs and I decided for KDE. As a beginner TW helped me with the built in snapshots mechanism. So before I did anything, I took a snapshot, did it, and if I fucked up, I could easily rollback and try again. Since TW is a rolling release, I now make a snapshot before and after the system update So I always have some stable Rollback snapshots. Gives me so much safety to fiddle around and learn more about Linux. Been loving it so far.
Make heavy use of ChatGPT. I’ve been chatting about Linux with it for months now.
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I have hosed so many installs over the past 20 or so years that it’s impossible for me to guess a number. It’s part of the learning process. Just keep at it and you’ll get there.
I cannot stress this enough…
POP!_OS
You’re on the right track! That feeling of understanding less is normal - and good news is that it isn’t true. You understand more than you did before - but now you also know of some other things you don’t know about yet. This is good and exciting! I wish I were in your shoes so I could experience this for the first time again.
I would recommend Fedora Silverblue 38. It is an immutable OS, meaning that it is impossible to break it to the point where it doesn’t work. Since the root file system is read only, like a mobile OS, you would be hard pressed to actually break it. Don’t worry though, most graphical applications are available as flatpaks on Flathub. Flathub is integrated with the app store in Fedora 38, no need to use the terminal. For terminal applications you want to use there are toolboxes, which are little mini fedora containers that have access to your home directory and some other integrations. Also Fedora Silverblue is easy to install and works with most hardware.
I’d give it a try! It has been quite fun to have a Linux system and to finally feel more comfortable with the Unix-like way of using a computer. It has greatly simplified a lot of things I needed to do when I was in uni, such as uploading and processing data from a DAC as well as the simplified way of managing packages and CLI workflows. I never knew how many times the task just needed a solution with a Regex in it, but it takes one awhile to learn it.
It feels weird to go from being a lifelong Windows user to using Linux. Unfortunately, I chose Arch to be the distribution I’d struggle with because I was too stubborn to give up. Now that I’m a little more comfortable with systems, I’ve been hopping around tinkering in different virtual machines. It took quite some time before I felt I got fluid enough with the CLI, but it makes everything feel like a text adventure game! It’s so nice to be more comfortable with Vim when I need to do systems work, access servers remotely via SSH, or navigate the system more easily. I never thought you could agnostically open files, so that was nice to learn. It’s impressive the beast of programming problems that needed to be solved before one could have a seamless in-home system. I can’t imagine shuffling magnetic tape through a dinosaur, or the hoops you’d have to jump through and technical knowledge to use a PDP-10 or older computer. Lots of respect for the gurus who can speak in tongues for those machines :) Thanks for the advice, never knew immutable OSs were a thing.
Arch is a bad distro for newbies. Go find an ISO for Kubuntu and install that. The install wizard is idiot-proof. I use KDE-based distros like Kubuntu even though I’m a fairly advanced user so don’t view it as some kind of failure. There’s no virtue in using more complicated stuff. Get comfortable with the easier distros first.
use linux mint, xubuntu, or maybe pclinuxos
I convinced my friend to try out Mint on his laptop a year ago. He fell in love with it almost instantly and have been using it ever since.
it’s good for first timers, or for people who are just less interested in the command line and configuring everything
