If you want to game on Linux check out protondb.com/ you can find what games work and even fixes. Also proton-ge works well, MangoHud for stats but it requires some config but you can use Goverlay to configure it a lot easier. Also of course read documentationarch wiki is the best but keep in mind it's for a different distro so paths might be different

Yeah I changed a bit back but I went to new hardware. Ill be accessing the windows likely for months until I get my lazy ass in gear.

Welcome aboard! I did same like a year before, and it's been a blast!

If you were me from the past, I would've definitely recommended you to try out tiling WMs (Guess AwesomeWM is a good start) ASAP! I can't stress enough how good they're, especially if you prefer using keyboard shorcuts over mouse navigation.

Also, if you'll find linux mint problematic, I want to suggest you to try out EndeavourOS (i wish i would've done it sooner myself). It's installation is as simple, but it's based on arch, and arch has one of the most comprehensive wikis, which allows you to troubleshoot basically any problem. Also. newer software versions get there faster, and finally AURs, that will allow you to forget about manual software installation at all.

Pro tip, if you’ve not found it already - there’s a package for gimp called “photogimp” that makes it use the photoshop interface instead of- it makes it so much easier to use! Highly recommend.

You are a certified penguin now

Protip.once you have it setup make a snapshot or backup. You will be trying stupid shit out and breaking the system as you explore.

Yay, welcome to freedom! Glad it's working for you and feel free to ask for help here. Of course Linux Mint has its own forums where I've almost always found an answer already there whenever anything has come up for me, and it feels pretty friendly.

Enjoy!

Hey Congratulations! I just started my linux journey a couple years ago too, just the same way you did without any duelbooting! I'll share one thing I found out recently: apparently neofetch was abandoned by it's developer, and now is no longer maintained. instead, a lot of people suggest using fastfetch! it works the same except its faster and still maintained! otherwise I hope you continue to enjoy your linux journey, welcome to team penguin!

A bit of unsolicited advice now you're in to tinkering. Set up some kind of NAS.

Having everything available wherever and whenever you need it is so much better than messing about with thumb drives.

Have fun with it! This is how it starts. :)

But seriously, whether you stick with it in the long run or not, toying with Linux from time to time is a great experience for any computer nerd and now is really a great time to do it.

Feel free to ask questions!

Also save yourself some hassle by using the right terms when you search for things, for example, searching for "How to X in Linux Mint" or "How to Y in Cinnamon Desktop". A lot of people do searches for "Linux" and end up frustrated when the bulk of the results are terminal commands, but familiarizing yourself with the different pieces that make up your system is I think a big part of learning "Linux".

I'm addicted to .net, I need it to breathe

Hell yeah! I'm proud of you nerd! Trust me i know it can be overwhelming but you're doing amazing figuring all these things out! :)

Today Valve published a Proton Experimental update that fixed the Marvel Rivals crash for me. Be sure to set it up in game properties / compatibility.

I'm thinking of doing the jump this weekend but I'm scurred. I don't want to spend hours debugging an OS like I did over a decade ago. Any reassuring words?

My condolences, and welcome!

GNU/Linux thank you very much

I dunno if this is the best approach to compeletely cut off your windows access? what if you need it for some unexpected critical reason? Would be a ball ache installing it again. I main Linux but I've kept my old windows install on it's own drive. I barely use it but very very occasionally I have (and it has just been for gaming but I got the game working in Linux in the end). It's Win 10 and I have no intention of "up"grading it to Win11.

I do actually have Win 11 set up to run in a KVM virtual machine from within Linux (I bought a Win11 key cheaply just for convenience with the activation nonsense tbh). I made the VM partly because I wanted to see how well it'd work as I like tinkering (it works fine, little bit laggy but does the job) and also to give me some easy access to the full MS Office suite in-case I want them and can't be arsed to go to my work device. I barely ever use it (2 times so far, both just to use full Powerpoint of web powerpoint). If you have your Win 10 license you could potentially do the something similar to avoid a total block should you ever need to access windows for something and wine doesn't cut it?