With Microsoft pushing everyone to scrap their perfectly good Windows 10 computers for their newer AI-powered Windows 11 systems, why not move to something familiar that is free and equally good or better? Replacing Windows with Linux is a great choice for keeping your older computer alive and on the web, and or newer computers as well.
On October 14, 2025, Microsoft ended support for Windows 10, which will no longer receive hardware and security updates. An estimated 200 million computers that don’t meet the minimum security requirements for installing Windows 11 have become increasingly vulnerable to viruses and malware. Most Windows computers built before 2017 (Intel 8th Generation) don’t have TPM 2.0, which prevents malicious software from being installed during bootup.
Microsoft is encouraging owners of unsupported computers to buy a new one. Windows 10 will still work perfectly fine and be safe for any purpose that doesn’t involve connecting to the web, but that’s how most people use their computers.
Recycling Your Dead Computer
Before recycling, selling, or donating your old computer, you should completely remove your personal information from the hard drive. A secure way to remove info is to completely wipe the hard drive in the BIOS. Here are directions for certain brands of computers:
If your old computer is no longer functioning, contact Alliance Technology Solutions in Rowley, MA for it to be recycled. But keep in mind that less than 25% of its batteries, electronics, metal, and plastics are actually recycled. 50 billion kilograms of toxic electronic waste end up in landfills annually. Read more at The burning issue of e-waste by Etelka Lehoczky
Install Linux, the Alternative Operating System
Over 96% of servers run on the open-source operating system Linux because of its stable and secure design. Linux has been around for 35 years, but as recently as 2025, less than 3% of home computers used Linux because of the dominance of Microsoft, Apple, Google’s Chrome OS, and the Android operating systems. That percentage rose to 5% in early 2026.
Over the years, dozens of versions of Linux distributions, known as “distros,” have been developed by tens of thousands of paid and volunteer developers with the backing of the Linux Foundation. Linux doesn’t need TMP 2.0 to keep your laptop secure. It’s recommended that people moving from Windows to Linux start with a distro that feels familiar. I’ve tried several.
Two standout distros for people moving from Windows to Linux that feel familiar and work from the start are Linux Mint Cinnamon and Kubuntu. Mint Cinnamon has a compact yet comprehensive menu system, and Kbuntu has the excellent KDE Plasma desktop. Both distros provide several colorful desktop wallpaper options, two of which are shown below.
Linux Mint Cinnamon
Linux Mint is one of my two choices for a full-featured Linux distribution (“distro”) that works great after installation. Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, an early, popular, and stable Linux distribution for home computers. I tried Ubuntu, but its Gnome desktop environment (DE) was not intuitive. Linux Mint fixes that with its Cinnamon desktop environment, slightly reminiscent of the popular Windows XP operating system from 2001 through 2009. Linux Mint is often recommended for ease of installation, stability and usability, has a huge fan base, and a popular forum. Apps are available through the Flatpak package manager, which installs downloaded software in “sandboxes” that isolate it from the core operating system. By default, Mint does not use the Snap package manager found in many Ubuntu distros.
The Mint 22.3 installer was updated in August, 2026 with an updated ISO based on kernel 7.0 and enhanced hardware support. GTK File Chooser attachment dialogue now shows thumbnails, whereas previously it only displayed a thumbnail for a file you select. Linux Mint 22.3 still uses the older X display manager, has difficulties with attached second displays. When Mint 23 is released at the end of 2026 it will feature the newer Wayland display manager, which should resolved that potential issue.
Kubuntu
As its name suggests, Kbuntu is another distro based on Ubuntu and displays the KDE Plasma desktop environment, similar to Windows. Linux Mint and Kubuntu both loaded without difficulty and effortlessly connected to my Wi-Fi and wireless printers. Both distros come with LibreOffice and Firefox pre-installed, and the Brave browser (my favorite) is available to load through their package managers. To install apps, Kbuntu uses its own package manager called Discover, which by default installs from the Snaps repository. I added Flatpak, giving me a huge inventory of apps to consider downloading.
A nice feature of KDE, as well as Linux Mint, is the Screen Edges function, with which you can view all applications that are open on your computer.
Ubuntu-based distros like Linux Mint and Kubuntu by default include a wider range of drivers to boot on various hardware. Fedora KDE Plasma is another excellent distro with the KDE Plasma desktop environment, but if you don’t enjoy problem-solving, stick with Ubuntu-based distros like Kubuntu and Linux Mint Cinnamon.
File Managers and File Chooser (Attachment Dialog)
Nemo is the official file manager for Linux Mint Cinnamon, which uses the GTK file chooser dialog. Many Linux applications are written in GTK, thus blending better into the Linux Mint system.
Dolphin is the file manager in Kubuntu, and Qt, its full-featured file chooser. Dolphin features a built-in terminal, split-screen views, and native network routing among its lengthy list of advantages over Cinnamon’s Nemo file manager.
You can install Dolphin in Linux Mint, but deleting the default file manager will break the operating system in Linux distros.
Choosing Between Linux Mint Cinnamon and Kubuntu
Kubuntu via KDE Plasma) provides a massive suite of built-in tools, widgets, and advanced window management configurations that go far beyond standard desktop environments. Cinnamon provides a streamlined, clean experience without distracting options.
- Display: Kubuntu fully embraces Wayland, the modern protocol, while Linux Mint will be replacing the aging X11 display system with Wayland in the December 2026 release of Linux Mint 23, Wayland handles multi-monitor systems better.
- The File Manager: Kubuntu uses Dolphin, which has more features. Cinnamon uses Nemo, which is excellent, but requires separate plugins to match Dolphin’s features.
- Phone syncing: Kubuntu’s KDE Connect is a comprehensive device integration tool that syncs notifications, clips, and media controls between phones and computers. KDE Connect has more options than you need to choose from if you only want to transfer a file. Linux Mint’s Warpinator is a local network utility with drag-and-drop file and folder transfers between computers and mobile devices. KDE Connect and Warpinator each have compatible apps available for Android.
For new Linux users, choose Linux Mint Cinnamon and its GTK system if you want a traditional, rock-solid desktop that feels familiar right out of the box, stays out of your way, and seamlessly blends with standard Linux applications without any configuration.
Choose Kubuntu and its Qt system if you want powerful default applications, modern multi-monitor display handling, built-in phone integration, and like to tweak how it works.
Libre Office
Linux software is open source and free. There are hundreds of applications that you can install and try out with ease, and just as easily uninstall
As you can imagine, Microsoft Office does not have a Linux version, but all Linux distributions come with LibreOffice pre-installed, offering almost identical equivalents of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
With Libre Office, it doesn’t seem to be possible to copy and paste a photo from the web, which you can do in Microsoft Office. Instead, you can save the image and then select it, or (2) use the excellent Linux screenshot feature and paste it into the document. In my Dell computer, I simply hit the prt scr (print screen) button, then it gives me the option to select and copy a rectangular area from the screenshot, and paste it directly in.
By default, Libre Office write saves text documents as ODF files. Change that to the Microsoft Office docx format by going to Options: Load/Save: General: Default File Format, and change to (Word 2010-365)
Another similar office option is OnlyOffice, which in the past has worked better than LibreOffice for running PowerPoint shows.
Graphics
Image editing: The lack of a Linux version of Photoshop is disappointing, but I use Photopea, a free online Photoshop clone. There are a multitude of free open source image editing apps, including the sophisticated but unintuitive GIMP and easier apps like Krita and Photoflare
Install Upscayl to restore grainy photos, or go to Picsart or Hitpaw to do it online. There are several image colorization apps online, including Palette and Image Colorizer.
Scanning
Scanners: Linux Mint comes with a default scanning program called Document Scanner. I like the open-source NAPS2 scanning program because of its interface, and it is designed to produce OCR-readable PDF files.
OCR
Optical Character Recognition: Tesseract is the default Linux OCR reader, but it is complicated to use, and the results are really bad (if you get any results at all). On my Windows laptop, I use the awesome Abbyy FineReader, but it doesn’t have a Linux version. But there are several free online tools. Free Online OCR works well, and as the name indicates, it’s free for scanning individual pages. In addition to NAPS2, I use the online version of OlmOCR, which is also free, has a great interface, and produces excellent results, keeping the exact format as the image that was processed.
Should You Make the Change to Linux?
Switching from Windows 11 to Linux distros like Linux Mint or Kubuntu appeals to people who want an operating system free of Microsoft’s account logins, annoying advertisements, and heavy telemetry and data collection. Hundreds of additional free apps are available through Mint’s Software Manager and Kubuntu’s similar Discover, a graphic user interface (GUI) that handles everything from instaling apps to system firmware updates. For owners of older computers and laptops that can’t be upgraded to Windows 11, installing and using Mint or Kubuntu are the best way to go.
Staying with Windows 11 does make sense for users who rely on specific commercial or professional software like Microsoft Office, Adobe products, TurboTax, and many games that have no Linux equivalent. Sticking with Windows 11 may be better for individuals who are adverse to change or dealing with technology. However, the open-source nature of Linux has fostered a massive online support community that far exceeds anything available for Windows users.
How to Download and Install Linux
If you’ve stayed with me this far, you may be ready to give Linux a try. The good news is that it’s easy for anyone with a basic familiarity with computers. You can partition your hard drive and install it alongside Windows, or completely overwrite your Windows operating system with your new Linux distro. I strongly suggest installing Linux on a separate hard drive if you are comfortable with opening your computer or laptop, leaving you the option to go back to the Windows drive.
Before you erase anything:
- Make sure to back up all of your files on a flash drive or backup hard drive. Put a label on this flash drive so you don’t accidentally erase it or use it to install Linux.
- Download your passwords from your browser’s password and save the file to the flash drive. Instructions for Google Chrome.
- Download your bookmarks/favorites browser and save the file to the flash drive. Instructions for Google Chrome.
Downloading Linux
Windows and Linux both use .iso files, commonly referred to as images, to install the system onto a disk. You will need a USB flash drive with a minimum of 6 GB of memory, which you will use to install Linux on your computer or hard drive. Insert this USB flash drive into your computer.
- Download the .iso for Linux Mint Cinnamon or Kubuntu (or any Linux distro of your choice) to the downloads folder or a folder of your choice on your computer.
- Linux Mint download page
- Kbuntu download page. Choose the Long Term Support (LTS) version for stability. A new LTS version, 26.04 is expected to be available in April, 2026.
- In Linux, use the built-in Image Writer, or if you are on Windows, download a utility program like Balena Etcher that will “flash” the Linux iso file to the USB drive, which you will use to install Linux.
- Open the Image Writer or Balena Etcher and (1) choose the Linux distro you downloaded and (2) choose the USB drive as the destination. Click on Flash to begin loading the .iso file to the flash drive.
Here’s an additional action I have made in the past in BIOS on some Dell laptops, but it’s rarely needed. Restart the computer and tap the F2 key until BIOS loads. Navigate in BIOS to Security/Maintenance > Data Wipe, and enable “Wipe on Next Boot.” This will completely eliminate any information on the disk and remove old operating system partitions. I found this to be necessary when trying to install Ubuntu on a disk that formerly had a Fedora operating system that refused to be completely removed using a partition manager.
Installing Linux
- Leave the flash drive inserted.
- Restart the computer into Setup. On a Dell computer, you can do this by continuously tapping the F2 key until you see that it has started Setup. Other brands use different keys.
- Use the up and down buttons on your keyboard to choose the Boot menu.
- Select Balena Etcher as the Boot disk, save, and finish. The computer will now start up with the Linux distro (Linux Mint or Kubuntu).
You are now temporarily using Linux through the USB drive. The first thing to do is connect to my wireless network so it can access the internet. If you like what you see, click on Install. The program will go through a short list of options, like time zone and language. If you have already connected to the internet, it will select these automatically. It’s important to choose how you want Linux installed. You have two options:
- Erase your hard drive and install Linux.
- Allow the program to install Linux alongside your existing Windows operating system if you have enough room on your hard drive. This is called “dual-booting.” Each time you start your computer, the GRUB menu should appear, giving you the option of running Windows or Linux. (Windows should always be installed before Linux for the GRUB menu to work correctly. If it doesn’t, you can still choose which system to use each time with the appropriate function key for your computer.)
Internet connection: If your wireless connection isn’t working on an older computer, the driver may need to be updated. Connect the computer to an Ethernet cable to install updates. Go to Driver Manager in the menu and choose to allow the wireless network adaptor to be used. Then it should show the option to update the driver. It’s good to restart the computer after major updates.
Congratulations, You’ve Installed Linux
Finding Your Way Around
Menu: On Linux Mint Cinnamon, access the menu by clicking on the circle with an LM in the bottom left corner. In Kubuntu, it’s a white circle with spokes.
Task Manager/Panel: This is the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. You can add or remove apps and applets/widgets to this bar. In Kubuntu, the bar is called the Task Manager, and in Linux Mint it is called the Panel.
Applets & Widgets: Linux Mint has a cool feature to install mini-apps, like a calendar, weather, or a radio tuner, to the Panel. Ubuntu has a similar feature called widgets, which you open by right-clicking on the Task Manager bar.
Snaps and Flatpak
It is possible to install apps from the command line or from the web, but the Linux Mint and Ubuntu package managers are the easiest and most secure way to do it.
Flatpak is the default app installation package manager in Linux Mint. To use it, click on the LM circle in the lower left corner of your screen, and you will see the Linux Mint Cinnamon menu. The right column shows all the apps that are installed. In the left column near the top is a green circle in a square. Click on this, and it will open the Flatpak utility. You can scroll through it to see what is available, or type what you’re looking for in its search box. Click on the app you want to install. It will ask for your password. This is a good thing; it prevents malicious programs from being installed on your computer.
Snaps are the app installation package manager for Kubuntu and most Ubuntu-based distros. To install apps in Kubuntu, click on the Discover link (a blue shopping bag). From there, the instructions are similar to Flatpak.
To enable Flatpaks in KDE’s Discover in Kubuntu 25.04, run this command in the Konsole:
- sudo apt install flatpak
- sudo apt install flatpak plasma-discover-backend-flatpak.
To enable the largest Flatpak repository, run this command:
- flatpak remote-add –if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo.
After installing Flatpak, log out and log back in (or restart) to make Flatpak apps appear in the startup menu.
Command Line
In the lower left of your screen is the Linux command line, also known as a shell, terminal, or konsole. Here, you can type command prompts when there is no graphical user interface (GUI) to accomplish your objective. Most command prompts begin with the word sudo to grant permission. For example, typing sudo apt update will automatically update apps. The command line will always ask for your password, which prevents malicious code from being installed on your computer.
You can use the command line to install apps instead of opening Discover. For example, sudo apt install firefox. You can specify which repository to install it from; for example, sudo snap install firefox for a Snap package. If you installed Firefox with Snap and now want to remove Firefox, type sudo snap remove –purge firefox. But you can do all of this in the software manager, which is called Discover in Kubuntu.
Here are my most-used commands:
- sudo apt update (Refreshes your local list of available software and versions from your system’s configured repositories.) Always run this before sudo apt upgrade.
- sudo apt upgrade (Installs the newest versions of all software packages currently installed on your Debian or Ubuntu-based Linux system). You can also do this in Discover or by clicking on the updates available message when it appears.
- sudo update-grub (Updates GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader), which is the Ubuntu startup menu).
- sudo apt autoremove (Removes orphaned packages and dependencies that were installed automatically but are no longer needed.)
- sudo apt clean (Clears the local package cache by deleting all downloaded .deb files from past installations.)
- sudo apt autoclean (Deletes outdated package files that can no longer be downloaded.)
- sudo ubuntu-drivers install (Automatically detects and installs recommended drivers (like Nvidia graphics drivers). This is similar to sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall. The new drivers will take effect with a system reboot.
- sudo tlp (command-line utility for Linux that automatically optimizes laptop battery life and power consumption.)
- sudo dmesg -C (Clear old error messages that may appear on startup). This is particularly useful if you have corrected the problem. The most frequent error message I have received is “failed to probe lspcon”, in a laptop with an NVIDIA card.
Browsers
Mint and Kubuntu come with Firefox installed as the browser. Firefox does not work well with touch screens, and some sites do not display correctly. The Software package manager (Discover in Kubuntu) has some alternative browsers you can install.
Brave Browser
Install the Brave browser, which has the Chromium interface and looks identical to Google Chrome, but protects your privacy, unlike Chrome. By default, Brave has its own search engine, but you can go to Settings/Search Engine, and make your choice of several search engines, including Google, Duck Duck Go.
Passwords: If you are using a password manager in Google Chrome, go to chrome://password-manager/settings to download all of your passwords as a CSV file to a USB drive. Don’t save them on your hard drive. Then, when you are on Brave in Linux or Windows, go to brave://password-manager/settings and import the saved passwords as a CSV file. I also keep my passwords on a flash drive, which I use when the password manager doesn’t work. Firefox and Bing will both offer to save your login information for sites you visit.
Favorites: You can save your favorites from your previous browser as an html file and load them into Firefox, Brave, or your choice of browsers. If you have more than one computer or laptop, Firefox automatically displays your favorites when you sign in. On the other hand, with the Brave browser, there is no sign-in. Instead, go to settings/sync to share your passwords with other devices using Brave.
Zoom: The default text is too small in Brave. To permanently increase the text size, click the 3 lines in the upper right corner, go to Settings, then Content, and change Page Zoom to 110% or 125%. (To temporarily change the zoom settings for a page you are on, click the 3 lines in the upper right corner and change zoom to 125%.)
Casting: With the Chromium or Brave browsers, you can cast to your smart TV or a TV using the Chromecast dongle exactly as you would in the Chrome browser in Windows. Open the tab you want to cast, then go to Save & Share / Cast. To stop the cast, you may need to change the source in your TV remote control.
Distros and Desktop Environments.
If you buy a computer with Windows, there are no options for what the operating system will look like. Linux is open source, and there are many Linux distributions (“distros”) to choose from. Linux distros are based on the Linux Kernel, but that’s where the similarity ends. Debian is one of the oldest Linux distros based on the Linux kernel, is very stable, and is the base for many distros, including Ubuntu, Fedora, and several others. Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu and is thus a sub-distro of Ubuntu and Debian. There are dozens of Linux distros and sub-distros to choose from. You don’t have to install a Linux distro to check it out. The best way to try out Linux is to run it from the installation media you created with Balena Etcher (see instructions above).
Notes from my Linux Installations
- Format the drive: If you format a hard drive before installation, you may have to partition it using the Windows partition manager or the Linux partitioning tool GParted. Otherwise, you may receive the message that no partitions were found when installing Linux on the drive. For Linux operating systems, I find ExFat to be the most reliable partition format.
- Dual-booting with RAID: You may receive a notification during installation that Linux can’t be installed because RAID has to be turned off on your computer. BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THIS. If you disable RAID, dual-booting Windows will no longer operate unless you are an advanced user and know how to fix this.
- GRUB, dual-booting Windows and Linux: GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader) is the boot manager for most Linux installations. For Grub to work correctly if you are dual-booting, Windows should be installed before Linux. Otherwise, you will have to go into the BIOS to change the order of startup operating system disks.
- Connect to the internet. The installation flash drive will open the Linux distro (Mint or Ubuntu) on your screen. Before you click on install, connect to the internet to install updates during the installation. If, for some reason, you can’t connect, use an Ethernet cable.
After Installing Linux Mint or Kubuntu
- Time: If you are double-booting, the Windows day and time may have to be reset every time you switch back from Linux. To solve this, set Linux to local time: Copy/paste this command line into the terminal: timedatectl set-local-rtc 1
- Second Monitor: Linux is not compatible wth DisplayPort. Use HDMI, VGA, or DVI to connect Linux to a second monitor. If Linux doesn’t detect the second display with those connections, type sudo systemctl restart display-manager in the terminal. The laptop screen will go dark for a few seconds, and then you will be asked to log in. The second monitor should work now.
- Timeshift: Download this app if your distro doesn’t include it by default. It is highly advised that you begin using it immediately. Timeshift takes snapshots of your system. When you inevitably have a problem you can’t resolve, you can restore a previous copy of your installation to make the problem go away. Open Timeshift in the menu and create a snapshot. Set how often you want it to do this automatically, and how many copies to keep. I have mine set to keep one copy each day. Earlier copies are automatically deleted.
- I have a Dell Precision 7550 workstation dual booting Windows and Kubuntu, connected to a backup disk through a USB hub with an AB switch so that I can save to the same drive. By saving my files to a SSD drive connected with USB, I can easily replace the Linux distro without losing any saved files.
Last Thoughts
Linux is a great solution for an older Windows computer or laptop that can’t be updated to Windows 11. If you just need a web browser, an office program, and something for light image editing, either of these Linux distros is right for you.
Linux users proclaim it to be a better operating system than Windows. Install a stable Ubuntu-based distro like Linux Mint or Kubuntu, and it will work. When you run Linux, you’re no longer a victim of the whims of Microsoft. Your operating system, apps, and files are yours, not on the cloud, and you’re not being spied on, depending on which browser and search engine you use. Mint and Kubuntu are not difficult for people who are already comfortable with computers, and it’s exciting to learn something new. Linux users are a friendly family with informative forums to help people with their questions. I highly recommend installing and using Kubuntu.
Gordon Harris 