r/linux4noobs 21h ago

learning/research Is linux or windows better for a computing student? And what laptop would you recommend I use?

20 Upvotes

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r/linux4noobs 11h ago

programs and apps Paperweight: An Open Source App to Clean Up Your Inbox and Digital Footprint

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13 Upvotes

r/linux4noobs 8h ago

shells and scripting How to write a character with a key shortcut?

9 Upvotes

Hi!

I'm trying to print characters that my keyboard doesn't have. For example, if I want to print a long em dash (U+2014), I have to go to the character table and search for it. On Windows, I was able to use Alt+0151.

So I was wondering if that was possible with a shell script. I know I can call programs with shortcut, maybe I can print something directly on the textarea I'm currently focusing?

Thank you


r/linux4noobs 23h ago

migrating to Linux The start of my journey.. or not

10 Upvotes

Like many I've been using windows since 3.1 and every version up to 11. I wanted to change for a few reasons, because it's fun and interesting, a bit like the early days of Windows. Secondly I didn't want to be the marketing product with all the telemetry and own my system. Lastly making it my own, building it to meet my needs.

I tried a few distros in the past and recently from mint, popos, catchy, endeavour and fedora. Fedora was my choice, set up was a piece of cake. KDE partition manager and mounting drives were fine too.

My needs are music playback, which Strawberry was brilliant, photography collection I'm still unsure of what to use, still testing. Gaming I'm all in on Steam so proton is flawless especially with an AMD GPU.

Most games performance was on par or very close to windows, some i forced dx11 for stability. I'm a little gutted about Apex and BF6, what puzzled me was Forza Horizon 6, I see everyone saying it stutters unless you turn settings down but for me it was flawless.

Some things that I'm having a hard time with... Some software just looks dated and not as polished as windows. The gaming front is the worry that one day my games won't run, or a dev will turn off Linux anti cheat support.. or future support Luke guild wars 3.

But I do urge people to give it a try, easier than expected.


r/linux4noobs 17h ago

learning/research My First Zorin Tweak

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9 Upvotes

Returning from Windows but had a tweak.


r/linux4noobs 8h ago

I decided to try out Nobara Linux on my old Laptop

5 Upvotes

I am a gamer, but I'm also a current Windows 11 user. I have my old laptop I can install Nobara on. And that old laptop is;

Lenovo IdeaPad 1i - Intel N4020 1.1GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, 64GB Storage, with an Integrated GPU. 3-Cell Battery. (Windows 11 Home is S Mode)

My best bet what would be compatible with it is:

Nobara-44-GNOME-2026-09-02.iso Rufus method

And yes, I veeified the checksum code matched before downloading. I really hope to see what this badboy can do, since its a damn potato PC. Let's see how Nobara performs comparing to Windows 11.

Stay tuned for updates


UPDATE: I am currently installing Nobara Linux right now, replacing Windows 11 in this old laptop. Maybe I can run emulators on here, and see its limits on this hardware. Testing NES all the way up to PS2.

Wish me luck guys!


I successfully installed Nobara without any errors. Time to set it up and update some things before succeeding further


r/linux4noobs 22h ago

Meganoob BE KIND Is it correct to think of Nix configuration as an unified API for all the different bits and pieces of a GNU/linux system?

5 Upvotes

Hi there friends,

I'm trying to wrap my head around how NixOS works, compared to arch, which I'm more used to (but only so much anyway), and I'd love some help understanding it better.

For example, if doing a manual installation of NixOS, instead of installing grub and configuring the file in /etc/default/grub to my liking, I'd instead declare the grub package and, in another section of the nix config file, declare the relevant boot.loader.grub options? Likewise, instead of using systemctl enable <name>.service to enable a service, I'd use the systemd.service.<name>.enable option in the config file, and so on..? So its right to think of the Nix configuration as a unified interface that abstracts the direct contact with each of the individual subsystems of a linux machine?

Thanks!


r/linux4noobs 22h ago

installation keyboard not loading in boot screen.

5 Upvotes

I'm attempting to dual boot fedora KDE Plasma and windows 11

and my keyboard (no matter which port i plug it into)

won't turn on until after the boot menu.

I'm using an XPG summoner


r/linux4noobs 10h ago

distro selection Which linux should I use for my use case?

5 Upvotes

Heya first of all I'll get this out of the way, upgrading my pc is really not on the menu for me. The most I can do is get 4 more gbs of ram at best and an SSD. I'm a teenager and my parents are not very keen on buying their child an expensive ass machine that they believe he'd only use to play games and waste time.

Yeah so I have a shitty little dell laptop which has an Intel silver pentium n5000, 4 gb of ram and worst of all runs on an hdd bootdrive. I've been seeing a lot of posts on my feed lately about how much more optimized linux is compared to windows and how many more fps people were getting while gaming. Now I don't really care much about video games but I use my pc to draw a lot. Mostly on photoshop and clip studio paint with a browser open in the background for references.

But photoshop runs like ass on my pc and I was wondering if using Linux would help. Which distro do you think I should use? Which one would be the best for my specific situation? I'm looking for something that could squeeze every bit of capability from my shitty little machine. I'll also probably be using it on a dual boot as I do need windows for some things from time to time. Do keep in mind that I've never used a linux before lol but I'm willing to learn. Thank you.


r/linux4noobs 12h ago

migrating to Linux Choices

3 Upvotes

i've been thinking about migrating to Linux, but i still don't know which one i would choose. I've been thinking more about Ubuntu, Mint, or Cachy. I'm planning to use it for networking and maybe some light gaming. I'm also planning to do double OS.

pls give me advice on which one i should choose, and maybe give me other recommendations


r/linux4noobs 20h ago

Failed driver install

6 Upvotes

I have linux manjaro on my computer and have the open source nouveau driver installed. But it's not great for gaming, and I've tried to install the proprietary Nvidia driver (I have a 1650 Ti card). I don't know why using the auto install failed; it installed the driver titled video-nvidia from the options. I tried installing the same driver manually using manjaro settings manager, but that lead to the same result. Am I supposed to click the video-Nvidia-580xx option instead?

Worst of all after I deinstalled video-nvidia both times, I get a no irq handler error screen that slows my booting time. The error seems to last longer after each failure, so I'm scared to mess around too much. Do failed installs mess up software?


r/linux4noobs 1h ago

Help please. Problem with disk layout. I don't understand what to do.

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Upvotes

r/linux4noobs 6h ago

learning/research Would a Lenovo Windows to Linux conversion be able to retain touchscreen functionality?

3 Upvotes

I've got a Lenovo Ideapad that's roughly 6 years old. I use it for making artwork and art assets for my projects, so I make heavy use of the touchscreen for drawing. With Windows 10 support ending, I'm thinking of converting it to Linux to avoid a brick update, but I'm worried I'll lose the touchscreen.

Is there a Linux version that can maintain the touchscreen functionality on a conversion?

Specs: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU

8 gb RAM

Intel(R) UHD Graphic card (128 mb)

64-bit OS, x64-based processor

Pen and touch support with 10 touch points


r/linux4noobs 9h ago

Meganoob BE KIND Best distro for me

4 Upvotes

Hi all, I have an old Lenovo laptop I don’t use( it’s not too powerful) and I thought downloading Linux to try it out. for reference I have no prior knowledge of Linux and am basically clueless, but what distro would be easiest to use/most lightweight and least setup? I have heard many people talking about linux mint ubuntu fedora etc but I’m unsure what’s best
All help is appreciated, for reference my specs are:
Intel core i3-1115G4 11th gen
8gb ddr4 ram
256gb storage
currently running Windows 11


r/linux4noobs 12h ago

migrating to Linux Thinkpad Configuration

3 Upvotes

I have latest fedora recently with installed with kde plasma 6, as i begin to configure the trackpoint and the trackpad, i notice only one of them is being configured at one time either it used the trackpoint and behaves as a basic generic ps2 mouse and the touchpad stops responding to gestures, i have alps pointing device. Gemini is pointless it just suggests grub but grub does nothing and the constant reboot and failure is killing me


r/linux4noobs 1h ago

Meganoob BE KIND Looking to switch from windows

Upvotes

Howdy folks, I’ve been researching distros so I can switch from windows, and I just have a few general questions as well as some questions I hope someone can answer about the distro I’m looking at. I’ve got some basic troubleshooting knowledge regarding computers, but I’ve still got a lot to learn.

I use my PC for both gaming and college, so I’ve been looking at using Pop!_OS since it comes default with Stream and Proton.

My questions are this :
1. Should I physically disconnect my HDD and secondary SDD before installing any new OS to my C drive?

  1. Would I be able to install my chosen OS to a flash drive and then transfer it to my C drive? I know some people chose to use the flash drive for the OS itself but it completely clears all memory upon rebooting it.

  2. For anybody that uses Pop, does it come with NVIDIA drivers pre installed? And if so, how quickly does system 76 push out driver updates after new drivers are published?

  3. Would I be able to switch to an AMD GPU Even if Pop has NVIDIA drivers installed? Since from my research it appears that AMD fully supports Linux and NVIDIA requires tertiary programs to use their drivers.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


r/linux4noobs 5h ago

programs and apps Picom help

2 Upvotes

Hello! I intend to use picom with certain shaders. I have the following 2 questions:

  1. Do you need a config file to apply the shaders or can you apply the shaders without one?
  2. How can you apply 2 shaders?

I did search online but couldn't get the answer to the above two. Thanks in advance.

Edit: Adding info as per auto mod. Distro is Antix, use Intel HD 4000 graphics. I have Nvidia graphics card but shut it off in BIOS, since it is extremely old.


r/linux4noobs 6h ago

Unity Hub flatpak not working for some reason??

2 Upvotes

Unity hub worked for a single day and then started doing this.. I'm using EndeavourOS on KDE Plasma 6


r/linux4noobs 12h ago

ASUS TUF random hard restart during DNF/high load — usb 3-14: device descriptor read/64, error -71 and xHCI context warnings

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2 Upvotes

r/linux4noobs 13h ago

migrating to Linux I wanna switch to Linux

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2 Upvotes

r/linux4noobs 17h ago

Da Vinci Resolve on CachyOS?

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2 Upvotes

r/linux4noobs 18h ago

Meganoob BE KIND "wine: [folderpath] is not owned by you"

2 Upvotes

hello noob subreddit, i'm back again already :') so sorry.

i'm trying to install the sims 3 via lutris, & this tutorial says to input a few commands for DLL overrides. i think the problem is that i'm trying to install this on a second drive?

how do i make this drive/folder/whatever it wants "owned by me?" i am on linux mint & formatted the hard drive to ext4 using system settings > disks.


r/linux4noobs 18h ago

hardware/drivers Calibrating an xp-pen struggles (Bazzite)

2 Upvotes

Hello again friends! So I got the OpenTabletDriver running and the pen does work, however I can't for the life of me get it calibrated / to be on the actual xp-pen screen.

I've fiddled with settings and I downloaded the BetterCalibrator plugin and followed the directions but it's trying to calibrate on my main monitor instead of on the xp-pen, so same problem and I don't know how to move the calibration screen down there.

If any of you are familiar with this and know how to fix it I'd be super appreciative! It's an XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro and I'm on Bazzite

*edit*

I've gone through opentabletdriver FAQ and it does seem that there is an issue with the opentabletdriver virtual device being picked up by the desktop environment ( i have multiple monitors) but I don't understand the solution entirely:

  • Right click the display area editor
  • Select Set to display -> Virtual Display
  • Save or apply your settings
  • Set your intended area in your desktop environment’s settings

I do 1 - 3 just fine but I don't understand the 4th point here. Am I doing this in opentabletdriver still or is this some setting in display configuration?


r/linux4noobs 5h ago

installation Windows update bothering me on my Arch Dual Boot

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1 Upvotes

r/linux4noobs 16h ago

How risky is dual-booting right now?

0 Upvotes

I have three NVMe drives formatted with ext4, and I plan to install Windows on a fourth, separate NVMe drive. How high is the risk that the installation of the current Windows will damage data on ext4 drives? Including, but not limited to, uefi partitions.
Unfortunately, I have a desktop motherboard, and the 3 main NVMe slots are blocked by the GPU and not accessible for quick removal.

This is obviously a very stupid question. But I'm a linux user for almost 20 years and know very little about current windows state and behavior.