Leaving for the promised land of linux - good idea?

[IgneousCroc]

OS rather than the hardware itself, but bear with me.

SO! There I was, attempting to start a steam game on my elderly computer (dangerous activity) when I get the alert that Steam will stop working for windows 8.1

Look, my version of windows 8.1 is already a bit... You know, since I've had to format the old girl 3 times since 2013. But it works. and by every cell and osteoderm in my skin, I do NOT want to switch to windows 10! Mutilating software into something useable is not one of my favourite hobbies!

So I decide to call it quits and switch to linux. I'm worried about some of the rpgmaker games i've downloaded over the years, but ANYTHING over windows 10. And hey, steam works on it, so /shrug. I can always ask the fellas down at the computer kyosk to hook Old Bessy up with some primo Linux.

Is this a good idea? I'm still pretty illiterate when it comes to computers and I've been given the idea Linux is like being handed eggs and flour instead of the cake. Is there any setup meant for Dunces such as myself, or can I trust the kyosk lads to handle it fine (they did reinstall windows 8 on Bessy... 2 times)?

[Neververy4]

Windows 8.1 has been killed rather fast compared to some but alas, all software must come to an end, and Windows 8/8.1 IS 11 years old, AND has been replaced twice

Linux? I think Linux is for masochists, people who love to suffer, however I still have used quite a few distros over the years (There are many variations of Linux, referred to as Distros or Flavors of Linux). My least-fighty distro has been Linux Mint, but a lot of people will say to start with Ubuntu. For a PC from 2013, I would suggest Linux Mint XFCE, as it's lightweight, but I'm NOT a Linux fan, so there may be better lightweight distros that are beginner friendly.

As for you, I would recommend trying it before installing. You can put a Linux installation media .iso (A copy is saved as a .iso file) onto a USB, and boot from that USB like it's a regular installation disc. From there, there is a "Try this", or maybe it will be called "Live Preview", "Live install", or something similar. What this does, is allow you to use the operating system without actually installing it. It's a great feature to make sure it will play nicely with your computer, as well as make sure all your old stuff can be made compatible under Linux. KEEP IN MIND: By live booting, that means you are running off a flash-drive, and the data speed there is slower than if it was installed on the actual computer's storage drive. So should you try a live preview, keep this in mind if things don't feel snappy

Should you want to install a distro, you can either delete Windows and replace it with Linux, or choose to split your current storage and install Linux alongside Windows, in something called "Dual Booting". Every time you start your computer, it will ask you it you want to boot into Windows, or your new fancy Linux

Any questions, feel free to ask I think I made myself understandable. Also, advice from the PC Professional that I am: don't ever take PC advice from one person, always try to get multiple opinions. That includes

[synthcrow]

I have never owned a linux machine but I have an ubuntu desktop at work and have used linux a bunch over the years. windows is definitely more aimed towards the average user, linux has less support for video games etc. and is often harder to configure at first. in my experience it is *significantly* better than windows for certain types of coding work, but that's not relevant to most people. like, I have to care about ancient FORTRAN programs. because of my really specific usecases I don't really have any distro to recommend.

nontheless, it's a widely used open-source OS that can do all your everyday tasks. some programs aren't ported to linux, but there's open source alternatives (like libreoffice for office). if you want to make sure your rpgmaker games work you could maybe go for the dual boot option, but for that you should make sure you have enough space on both sides of your storage. afaik only rpgmaker MV was made to work with linux. there is a windows compability program called wine that can make some programs run on linux, but it's a bit advanced.

I can recommend at least trying it!

(disclaimer: I am not a computer expert, though I was raised by one who also knows a lot about linux. I'm just some sort of science bird.)

[Neververy4]

That's a good thing to mention! I forgot about WINE. That's an acronym, which means "Wine Is Not an Emulator".
So firstly, your familar .exe programs are Windows only; Mac and Linux don't support .exe programs. So if you need to run a program on Linux that was made for Windows only? WINE can help. It creates a fake Windows "environment" that should allow you to run any .exe program on your Linux machine. I say should as it isn't perfect, but it's a good tool to have nonetheless

Also, as synthcrow mentioned, LibreOffice is a good alrernative to Microsoft Office, as that isn't avaiable on Linux (I think?). An offbranch of the infamous-but-long-dead OpenOffice, it's pretty much a good match up with Microsoft; Things are laid out a little different, menus/shortcuts won't match up 100%, but in my experience, LibreOffice is just as good as the name brand. Even if you stay to the Windows 8.1 route, LibreOffice would still be a good program to look into. I have it on my Windows 10 machine

[IgneousCroc]

Thanks for your suggestions and advice!

I'll try out the USB ISO method before I wipe Old Bessy once more, so I can decide whether going with dual boot is something feasible with her storage.

As for Full Metal Linux... You've given me a new perspective on it and I think I'll reconsider quitting windows for good. Bessy is my Free Time PC and I am very much The Average User, so it's best not to dive into the deep part of the pool right away. I'll drag Windows 10 to the operating table and get rid of all that bloatware its packaged with.

But thank you as well for telling me about WINE and Libreoffice! I've actually been looking for them for a while but had forgotten the name. My folks have gone the Mac route (alas) and my pc is the poor victim whenever they want to install a program that won't run on Mac. Now I can free up some extra space on Bessy!
(And Libreoffice... I consider Word my number 1 enemy, I'll say that much.)