There are more than a billion PCs in use and, according to StatCounter, only 71 percent of them run Windows. Among the rest, about 4 percent run Linux. That's tens of millions of people with Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, etc as their desktop operating system. I envy them.
Windows 11 has become more annoying lately as it shoves ads for XBox Game Pass in my face, pushes AI features no one asked for and demands that I reconsider the choices I made during installation on a regular basis. Plus, it just isn't that attractive.
I'm ready to try joining that industrious four percent and installing Linux on my computers to use as my main OS, at least for a week. I'll blog about the experience here.
It's hard to give up Windows forever because so many applications only run in Microsoft's OS. For example, the peripheral software that runs with many keyboards and mice isn't available for Linux. Lots of games will not run under Linux. So I think it's likely I'll be using Windows again, at least some of the time, after this week is through.
However, for now, I'm going to give Linux a very serious audition and document the experience.
Which Linux should I install?
If you look around the Internet, you'll see that there are a ton of Linux distros to choose from. Our own Les Pounder recently listed his favorite six Linux flavors for reviving an old PC. There, he talked about Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi Desktop, Fedora, MX Linux, Linux Mint and Manjaro. Let's not forget Fedora, Debian, AlmaLinux, Kali Linux or Pop!_OS.
So which one should I go with? Some folks recommend Linux Mint, because its Cinnamon desktop is supposed to be more Windows like than those in other flavors. Others say Manjaro is a great choice for power users.
I'm going to go with Ubuntu, specifically Ubuntu 25.04 "Plucky Puffin," which just came out a few weeks ago. This is the latest version of the most popular and best-supported Linux distro. However, it only gets 9 months of support.
Granted, I could use Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, which will maintain support for five years and is therefore the most stable version of the OS available right now. However, I want to try the latest and greatest version so I'm going to download 25.04.
After I download the ISO file for it, I'm going to follow Les's instructions for how to dual boot Linux with Windows. So I'm going to install it on both my laptop, a ThinkPad X1 Carbon (12th gen) which I use at the office, and my desktop, a custom-built PC with an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU inside. It should run well on both.
Downloading Ubuntu 25.04
So my first step is to download Ubuntu 25.04 which is available as an ISO from Ubuntu's website. The ISO file is 5.8GB, but fortunately it downloaded in about a minute here on the office network.
Calling Rufus, the ultimate USB boot disk maker
After downloading the ISO file, the next step is to "burn" (aka write) it to a bootable USB Flash Drive. To do this writing process, I need a popular free program called Rufus that does the burning.
I'm using an SK hynix Tube drive, which is the form factor of a USB stick, but is technically a USB SSD. So in Rufus, I have to select "List USB Hard Drives" for it to appear as a valid option. Then I have to select a GPT partition scheme, choose the Ubuntu ISO and click Start.
This is a very fast USB SSD so the process only takes a few minutes. Then I'll be booting off of the Flash drive, which will take me to a GRUB menu where I can choose to install the OS.
BitLocker encryption blocks my dual boot
So I was in the middle of installing Ubuntu and going through the menus with the intention of setting up a dual boot configuration on my laptop and this happened. It turns out that having BitLocker encryption enabled, which it is by default on most Windows 11 systems these days, is a problem for the Ubuntu installer.
I could try manual installation and see if that works, but I'd rather do this the easy way. So I'm going into Windows and, for now, disabling BitLocker.
To turn off BitLocker, I went into Control Panel -> BItLocker Drive Encryption and clicked Turn Off BitLocker. Let's see if this does the trick.
Waiting on decryption
So I just learned something. If you disable BitLocker encryption, you have to wait a fair amount of time for Windows to decrypt your drive completely. Though you can shutdown or reboot during the decryption process, what you cannot do is install Linux to dual boot until the drive is completely decrypted.
I read that decryption could take hours, but my process appears to be buzzing along and will be done in a few minutes, I think. Windows 11 wasn't showing me a percentage, but the way to see how much is left to decrypt is to go into PowerShell and type manage-bde -status C: . That will show the percentage of your drive that's still encrypted and you can keep checking until it gets to 0.
Ubuntu 25.04 is now installed
So, after the decryption finished, I was able to install Ubuntu 25.04 and I'm just getting started with it now. Here's how it went.
First, I booted off my USB Flash drive and was presented with this GRUB menu.
I chose "Try or install Ubuntu." Next I waited a few seconds for it to boot into the live environment.
Then I was presented with a dialog box that stepped me through some choices. The first choice was language.
Then I got a list of accessibility options that I skipped over because I didn't need them.
After that, it was keyboard layout.
Then I was prompted to choose a connection. Since my laptop is currently connected to a Thunderbolt 3 dock that is connected to Ethernet, I went with "Use wired connection."
Then I was asked whether I wanted to install or try Ubuntu. I chose "Install." But If I had chosen "Try," I would have been able to run Ubuntu off of the Flash drive. Still, I want to use Ubuntu like this for a prolonged period so I'm past the point of just trying it for a few minutes.
I was asked whether I wanted an Interactive Installation or an Automated installation. I'm going with Interactive so I can make all my own choices.
I chose to Install third-party software for graphics and Wi-Fi hardware and to download and install support for additional media formats. I'm not sure if these choices actually did anything or not.
I was then asked whether I wanted to install Ubuntu alongside Windows Boot Manager or to erase the disk. Since BitLocker was now disabled, I was able to choose and did choose to install Ubuntu alongside Windows.
I then decided to alot about 500GB (545GB to be precise) to my Ubuntu installation. I have a 2TB SSD in my laptop so this ends up using up a quarter of my space. If I only end up installing a few things, I may regret going with 500GB over a smaller amount like 256GB, but I want a decent amount of room to play with.
To avoid the kind of hassle I had when disabling BitLocker, I opted to go without encryption.
I entered a name for my computer and chose a username and password.
I then chose my timezone.
Then I clicked Install.
I had to wait a few minutes, about five minutes or so, for Ubuntu to copy its files and finish installing. During the install, I got a promotion for Spotify.
Finally, I got a message that Ubuntu 25.04 is installed and ready to use.
I restarted and was first shown the GRUB menu which allows me to choose between booting to Ubuntu and booting to Windows. I didn't touch the computer for a few seconds and it automatically booted to Ubuntu.
Then I was welcomed to Ubuntu 25.04. The adventure begins!
The first thing I had to install
The very first thing I had to do under Ubuntu was connect my Bluetooth mouse, a Logitech MX Master 3, using the Bluetooth settings menu. To get there, I just opened the Ubuntu menu and searched for Bluetooth.
I then put my MX Master 3 in pairing mode and it was detected. I just clicked connect and it immediately paired.
Docking station disaster!
Unfortunately, I've already found a small compatibility problem with Ubuntu 25.04 and my hardware, specifically my docking station. It's causing my secondary external monitor to blink on and off every few seconds and it's incredibly annoying.
At my office, I always connect my laptop, a ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12 with Intel Metor Lake Core Ultra 7), to a Thunderbolt 3 docking station, specifically a Plugable TBT3-UDZ. It connects to all of my peripherals, including my keyboard, webcam and headset, along with two external monitors, both via HDMI.
Unfortunately, monitor number two keeps blinking on and off under Ubuntu 25.04 and this isn't happening under Windows 11 with the same docking station and hardware. I even ran a firmware update on the docking station to see if it would help, but no luck.
I'm going to have to try a different docking station, perhaps one that connects via USB 3.0 instead of Thunderbolt 3 or 4.
Docking station solution involves a very involved install
So I found at least a temporary though kludgey solution to my docking station problem. As you'll recall from the previous post, my Thunderbolt 3 docking station was blinking the second monitor on and off. Fortunately, I had a USB to dual display adapter in my drawer, a Plugable USBC-6950U.
The Plugable USBC-6950U can't take the place of my Thunderbolt 3 dock, because it is just for displays and doesn't have USB ports for my peripherals. However, it can attach to a USB Type-A port because it uses DisplayLink technology that outputs video over a USB connection. This is unlike Thunderbolt 3 and 4 which send video as DisplayPort signals not as regular USB data.
So I hooked up the second monitor to the Pluable USBC-6950U and plugged the dock into the Type-A port on my laptop. I still have the Thunderbolt 3 connection going to my laptop's Thunderbolt 4 port.
Unfortunately, DisplayLink docks don't run natively on Ubuntu 25.04. You need to install the DisplayLink driver for Ubuntu and here's where things get interesting. I downloaded the Ubuntu driver from DisplayLink's site and unzipped it.
Then I ran the script that was in the zip file.
And then the script asked me to run various updates at least half a dozen times. And all of this was taking place at the command prompt.
Then the install script asked me to set up a MOK (Machine Owner Key). This is a security measure that allows third-party drivers to run, despite there being a UEFI Secure Boot BIOS. I had to create a password for the MOK, enter it, watch as Ubuntu rebooted and then enter my password again to install the driver.
Someone with less tech-savvy would have been totally confused by the process of registering and entering the MOK. And, to be honest, I found it confusing too.
Meanwhile, on Windows, when you install a driver, you don't need to go to the command prompt, run a script, say "yes" to about half a dozen system updates, create a new password for installing the driver and then reboot and enter that password again. This is a totally confusing and ridiculous process.
However, the process worked and my second monitor is running now and it's not blinking.
Installing on my desktop took way longer than my laptop
My desktop is a pretty powerful PC. It's got a Ryzen 9 7950X CPU (16 cores, 32 threads), 64GB of DDR5 RAM, an RTX 3090 Ti GPU and a 2TB, PCIe 5 SSD. There's no way it's less powerful than my laptop, which sports a Core Ultra 7 "Meteor Lake" mobile processor. However, it took way longer to install Ubuntu 25.04 on my desktop than on my laptop.
Last night, I installed the OS on my desktop and just having it connect to Wi-Fi (via Wi-Fi 6) took several minutes. The overall installation process took about 15 minutes and appeared to be stuck for the last 10 of those minutes (there's no progress bar to tell you how far along it is). But I waited and eventually it finished.
Anyone have any idea why a much more powerful computer would take three times as long to install and appear to be stuck?
Installing Google Chrome browser: It's not in the app store
The first app I installed on Ubuntu (on both my machines) was Chrome browser. While Chromium, the open source version of the browser, is available in Ubuntu's App Center (its app store), the official Google version is not.
To get the Google version of Chrome, I first had to go to this page and click Download Chrome.
Then I had to choose the DEB file for Ubuntu.
After it downloaded, I double clicked on the DEB and it asked if I wanted to install.
Boom. Chrome installed. However, why can't it be in the App Center where it would be available with only one click?
Can Ubuntu support unique Window borders? Not in Slack
One app I use a lot is Slack. We communicate with it for work so I can't live without it.
In Windows 11, the Slack Window is very stylish. It has a unique top with no Window bar. But what about Linux?
In Linux, it has the same standard, ugly Window bar as everything else. Lame.
Which of my favorite apps have Linux versions?
So I'm in the process of figuring out which of my favorite Windows apps have versions for Linux. So far, here's what I have found.
- Slack - has Linux version
- Dropbox - has Linux version
- Google Drive - no Linux version
- Photoshop Elements - no Linux version, using GIMP instead
- Notepad++ - Runs under Linux via WINE emulation but the font is too small to see
- Chrome browser - has Linux version
- OBS Studio - has Linux version
- PickPic screenshot tool - no Linux version, using built-in Ubuntu screenshot feature
- MySQL Workbench - appears to have a Linux version
- Visual Studio Community -- There is VSCode, but not VS Community
- VMWare Workstation Pro - Has a Linux version
- Logi Options+ - No Linux version
- Stream Deck app - No Linux version
- AutoHotKey - No official Linux version; there is a tool called AHK_X11 that tries to emulate it.
- VLC - Has a Linux version
- Steam - Has a Linux version
If anyone has any suggestions for apps I can use as substitutes, please let me know in the comments.
What's with this font?
So I installed Steam on my Linux PC and, as part of the process, it showed me this dialog box. That font is straight out of the last century.
So many different ways to install apps
There are at least four main ways that I've had to use to install applications so far in Ubuntu. First, there's the Ubuntu App Center, a searchable app store that lists thousands of programs and lets you install them in a single click. This is just click the Microsoft Store on Windows.
Another way to get apps is to download them directly from a third-party site where they are most likely (but not always) .deb files. Then you can double click them to run the install. That's what I did to get Dropbox and Chrome.
A third method involves using apt at the command line as in sudo apt get install [APP]. That's what I eventually had to do to install my favorite FTP client, Filezilla.
Filezilla was not available in the App Center so I went to FIlezilla's site where I was presented with the option to download an installer.However, the installer was not an installer at all but a .tar.xz archive file with the entire program in it, no installation script and no way to install it. Why on earth would the makers of Filezilla do that?
However, when I Googled "install Filezilla in Linux," I learned that you can install it using sudo apt get filezilla at the command prompt. If you're coming from Windows where you never need to go to the command prompt to install an app (or do most things), this is a really big step down. But it's easy enough to do.
The fourth way I've seen to install software is using some kind of script. That's what I did yesterday to install the DisplayLink driver. That took several minutes and made me enter a MOK (machine owner key) key to get it to work.
It's annoying that, even after decades on the market, Linux still doesn't make it easy enough to find and install apps. This really ought to be easier.
Linux wants you to keep entering your password
In Windows, when you install a new program or change a key setting, you get hit with a User Account Control pop-up that asks you to approve the change. But you don't need to re-enter your password every time.
In Ubuntu 25.04, every time I install a piece of software, I get hit with a password prompt. This is supposedly better for security, but I'm going to argue here that it's worse.
If you have to type in your password a dozen times a day, you're going to choose a less complex password. So maybe this is self-defeating. Anyway, it's annoying.
