Beginner-Exploring-Linux
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Table of Contents
Expand Table Here
- [Beginner Exploring Linux](#Beginner-Exploring-Linux) - [Getting Started](#Getting-Started) - [Support and Feedback](#Support-and-Feedback) - [Prepairing for Installation](#Prepairing-for-Installation) - [Distributions](#Distributions)
Beginner Exploring Linux
Getting Started
This will be a collection of installation guides, notes and troubleshooting I’ve used whilst exploring and getting into Linux. I’m a rookie when it comes to Linux so this is isn’t a fully comprehensive guide and I’m sure there will be mistakes along the way so don’t view this as a tutorial.
Support and Feedback
If you have any suggestions and corrections then please get involved through Github.
Issues: If you come across any problems or have specific questions, please open an issue on the Github repository.
Pull Requests: If you have improvements or additions to this document, feel free to submit a pull request.
Post Format
Anything to do with the terminal (konsole) will be within fenced code blocks throughout all the document. The code lines will start with a dollar sign($) which illustrates terminal input and if the line has a suffix of a hashtag(#) then this will be a comment explaining the line.
Unless specified any steps which require confirmation with a ‘y’ or ‘n’ always confirm it with ‘y’.
If there are multiple options, I’ll indicate my preferred choice with a star 
. Feel free to choose differently.
[!IMPORTANT] Documents in this repository have been prepared using information gathered from various wikis, YouTube, and ChatGPT.
Prepairing for Installation
The initial setup is the same across all Linux Distros, follow the below for the initial setup steps then move onto the specific distro for further guidance.
Bare Metal or Virtual Machine
Option 1: Virtual Machine
This option is best for experimenting without needing to partition or format any storage devices.
Option 1: Step 1 - Picking VM Software
Pick a virtualisation software you wish to run Linux in, below are a few options:
Option 1: Step 1.1 How to get VMWare Workstation Pro
Download
- Download the software from here.
- You will be redirected to Broadcom’s website. Create an account or login if you have an account already.
- Once logged in go to the ‘My Downloads’ section down the left hand side of the web page.
- Then click on the ‘Free Software Downloads available HERE’
- Scroll down the page and to go ‘VMware Workstation Pro’
- Then select the latest version then select the latest release.
- You will now see a screen with ‘☐ I agree to the Terms and Conditions’ you can’t tick this until you have opened the Terms and Conditions page. Click the link and they will open in a new tab. Close the tab and you will now be able to tick the Terms and Conditions.
- Now you will be able to click the download button (cloud icon
). - You will then get a popup stating additional verification is required. Click yes then fill in the form.
- You will be returned to the previous page. Press the download button (cloud icon ) again and now the download will begin.
- Before installing the exe file move onto the next section!
Before installing
Some of the following steps will help prevent issues when installing/setting up virtual machines.
Windows Features
If you have either of the below enabled on your PC then VMWare won’t be able to use CPU hardware virtualilasion directly so your virtual machines will run slower.
- Windows Hyper-V
- Virtual Machine Platform
- Windows Hypervisor Platform
- Windows Sandbox
- Windows Subsystem for Linux
To do this:
- Search for ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ from your taskbar/menu.
- Then scroll through the list and ensure the above options are unchecked then press Ok.
- Reboot your PC.
BIOS
Ensure you have CPU Virtualisation enabled in your BIOS, check this by:
- Opening Task Manager by right clicking your taskbar.
- Go to the
performance tab. - Under CPU it should say Virtualisation followed by enabled or disabled. If it is enabled you don’t need to do anything however if it is disabled continue with the steps.
- Restart your PC and access your BIOS.
- In the BIOS you need to look for either of the following:
- Intel CPU: Intel Virttualisation Technology or Intel VT-x.
- AMD CPU: Secure Virtual Machine, or AMD-V, or AMD SVM.
[!NOTE] Consult your motherboard manufactures website on how to access the BIOS and locate the CPU Virtualisation setting if you need further assistance.
Install VMware Workstation Pro from the file downloaded earlier.
Option 1: Step 2 - Download ISO
Download the ISO file for the Linux distro of your choice. Use the Distributions section for ones I have explored.
Option 1: Step 3 - Setuping up a virtual machine
I’m using the VMWare Workstation Pro software so this section will talk you through how to use it, if you’re using something else then your steps will vary.
- Click File
- Click New Virtual Machine (Ctrl + N)
- Stay with the ‘Typical (recommended) option and press next.
- Select ‘Installer disc image file (iso)’ and pick the ISO file you just downloaded, then press next.
- Select Linux for the Guest operating system then press next.
- Give it any name you’d like and leave the location as default.
- Leave the disk capacity as ‘split virtual disk into multiple files’ then press next.
- You can optionally customize hardware but this will depend on your computer specs. The more resources you allocate the better the virtual machine will run depending on what you’re doing on it but don’t allocate everything as your Windows system requires resources too.
- Finally press finish.
Option 1: Step 4 - Start virtual machine
Start the virtual machine and move onto the next section Distributions.
Option 2: Bare Metal
This option is best for daily use and without the overhead of using a virtual machine.
Here you will need to either have a dedicate storage device or partition an existing one to install Arch Linux onto.
Option 2: Step 1 - USB Drive
Make sure that you have an 8GB or higher USB key/pendrive/memory stick and connect it to your computer.
Option 2: Step 2 - Picking a USB Formatting Utility Software
Pick a USB formatting utility you wish to use to create a bootable USB flash drive, below are a few options:
Option 2: Step 3 - Download ISO
Download the ISO file for the Linux distro of your choice. Use the Distributions section for ones I have explored.
Option 2: Step 4 - Formatting USB
- Launch balenaEtcher, Rufus or Ventoy.
- Select your USB device.
- Select the ISO file you just downloaded.
- Leave the settings as they are.
- Then start formatting the USB device.
Option 2: Step 5 - Dual Booting/Storage Partitioning (Optional)
If you want to keep Windows installed on your computer and be able to boot into Linux or Windows then follow the below steps. If you wish to override your Windows install then skip to step 6.
- You will need to open Disk Manager. To do this either right-clicking the Start button and selecting “Disk Management” or Search for “Disk Manager” in your start menu and you will see an option called “Create and format hard disk partitions”.
- This will list all your connected storage drives and their paritions. Your main C drive should have three paritions and any others typically should just have one.
- Select the drive you wish to install Linux onto and select the “NTFS” section, right click and choose shrink volume. Note that the drive MUST have free space to be able to do this!
- Now select the size you wish to shrink the volume by, this is done in megabytes (MB) so 1024MB = 1GB.
- It is recommended to have around 30GB-50GB for a Linux install however the more you can spare the more available storage you will have. I like to try and split my drive 50/50 so I have 500GB.
- After you have shrunk the volumn you will now see a unallocated section within the drive matching the size you chose.
- You can always shrink the drive more later or reallocate the volumn back to Windows.
Now we will make a system restore point in case Windows gets effected by the install, this will allow you to restore your system without needing to do a fresh install.
- Go to your taskbar and search “Create a restore point”.
- Ensure your C drive is selected then click “Create…” button.
We also need to disable BitLocker and this method will vary depending on on version of Windows you are running. To find out what version you have:
- Open Settings: Click on the Start menu and select Settings.
- Go to System: In the Settings window, click on System.
- Select About: Scroll down and click on About.
- View Edition: Under Windows specifications, you will see the edition (Home or Pro) listed.
Windows 11 Home
- Open Settings.
- Click on Privacy & security.
- Select Device encryption.
- Toggle the switch to Turn off.
Windows 11 Pro
- Open Control Panel.
- Click on System and Security.
- Select BitLocker Drive Encryption.
- Click on Turn off BitLocker for the desired drive.
- Confirm your choice to disable BitLocker.
Finally we need to disable Fast Startup otherwise you could have issues wtih drive lockouts and/or file system errors on either Windows or Linux. To do this:
- Open the Control Panel by searching for it in the Start Menu.
- Click on Power Options.
- Select Choose what the power buttons do from the left sidebar.
- Click on Change settings that are currently unavailable at the top (if the Fast Startup option is greyed out).
- Uncheck the box for Turn on fast startup (recommended).
- Click Save changes.
Option 2: Step 6 - Booting from the USB
- Restart your computer and enter your BIO settings (use ESC, F8, F9, F10, F12).
- Enable USB Boot.
- Change your UEFI Boot Order so that the USB device is the primary (first) in the boot list.
- Disable Secure Boot.
- Save the changes and reboot the computer.
Option 2: Step 7 - CLI/GUI Environment
Now you will be in a CLI Environment or GUI. Move onto the next section of the install by selecting the distribution of Linux you installed.
Distributions
This is a list of distributions which I have explored when learning Linux. Pick the option you have chosen to install.
| Click the distro name to go to the guide or the url to be taken straight to the download page for the ISO file. (In alphabetical order) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Download | Note |
| CachyOS | cachyos.org | Arch Based and focuses on performance. Simplifies Arch install process. |
| Arch | archlinux.org | Must be build from scratch or use a installer script. Not user friendly. |
| EndeavourOS | endeavouros.com | Arch Based and simplifies Arch install process. Closest distro to standard Arch. |
| Fedora | fedoraproject.org | Beginner friendly and almost cutting edge but stable. |
| Mint | linuxmint.com | Ubuntu Based. Beginner friendly but focuses on the Cinnamon DE rather than KDE. |
| Nobara | nobaraproject.org | Fedora Based. All the points of Fedora with added tunning for gaming, streaming, and content creation. |
| openSUSE | opensuse.org | Beginner friendly and is more hardened by default compared to other distros. Packages are tested before being shipped through their OpenQA process. Can be cutting edge if you choice Tumbleweed. |
| Desktop environment: KDE | ||
Documents
Here is a list of documents for a variety of things such as my setups, explantations of Linux features and guides on how to use specific software.
In alphabetical order.
- Arch Package Installation Basics
- Useful Terminal Commands
- Useful Keyboard Shortcuts
- Managing Dotfiles
- Managing Partitions
- My Setups
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