Linux

This is a forum where people seek help. Of course you're going to see problems here. Nobody posts "hey it's been several years and I've had no problems."

Of course linux is stable. It runs like 80% of servers on the Internet.

Of course it's stable.

Just like with Windows, the more advanced stuff you do, the more advanced problems you'll have.

If you just wanna set and forget, avoid arch based and you're golden.

Keep in mind that all the people who are just happily going about their day to day with it and not having issues are probably not posting. The only reason most people make posts is to complain about something or get assistance troubleshooting an issue. It also really depends on what all you want to do with it.

One of my favorite things about Linux is this: you can try it. Get a thumb drive, get Rufus or Etcher. Download Mint, Ubuntu, something with a "Live Linux". Boot from the thumb drive, spend an hour or two surfing, clicking around, seeing if things work. 2018, you had like an 80% chance of a flawless experience. 2024, it's way higher! Plus, the alternatives have gotten slower, more bloated, more interested in monetizing you than serving you, so even if it feels strange, and you have to relearn some stuff, more than ever, it might be worth it.

Even if it didn't work quite right, keep the thumb drive around. The number of times I've rescued an important file off of a messed up system using a thumb drive with Mint on it? You'd be surprised.

Yes. Install Linux Mint and be done. Just works. A lot of "problems" people have are because they enjoy tinkering and that will sometimes break stuff. Leave it alone and it'll be very stable.

the dark secret of linux is that there are just as many people who dont understand how to solve problems and resort to searching the correct way to shake a dead chicken as with every other platform.

Ever read some of the microsoft forums? Just as many people seeking help there - the only difference is we don't have an over eager paid employee replying with scripted answers which don't help.

Linux is as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Most of the mainstream distros "just work" on most hardware. I've installed Mint, Rocky, Ubuntu and Debian on laptops and desktops for relatives, including those who aren't remotely technically gifted. It was as easy/easier as Windows to install, set up and get running. The users are happy - they can use cheaper hardware (and don't need to upgrade a perfectly good laptop for Windows 11) and are entirely free of software costs and subscriptions. Everything works and things don't break - just like Windows and Macs. Most people just want their computer to turn on and let them run stuff. All three do that equally as well.

I've also installed linux on hardware clusters costing hundreds of thousands of pounds and that definitely wasn't a simple or quick process, but that's the nature of the task. Actually, installing the base os was probably the easiest part. Windows just isn't an option for that.

You ask a fair question - you're not unique in your viewpoint and that's probably hampered takeup more than anything else. What makes you a bit better than most is that you actually ask the question and appear to be open to the answers.

Who’s going to post online about when nothing eventful happened and they have no issues?

If you leave it alone, it's practically always fine. But the urge to tinker is strong!

Maybe you are seeing issues as the people who don't have issues rarely post.

What's your setup? I can tell you if there are things you might have issues with.

Yes Stable Linux variants (also known as distros) are very widely used, and range from Linux mint which is completely stable with no issues for day to day use (assuming you don't use an Nvidia card) to Debian which which has a selling point of not changing anything beyond security updates for like 6 years straight

Most people here will be talking about there bleeding edge systems which will use code that is often in beta or use systems so new they don't have proper documentation (the bcachefs file system which showed up last month comes to mind).

You're always going to see people with problems in support forums. If your Linux system is running well, you're less likely to post about it than if you're having problems.

This seems to imply that other operating systems don't have issues and don't require editing files.

Compared to Windows, I've had fewer frustrating issues on Linux. I think the reason you hear about these issues is because the Linux community naturally encourages sharing these issues. If I have a niche problem, I can share it, then the community will work together to solve it so it isn't an issue anymore. On Windows, you might run a troubleshooting wizard that might solve the problem, and if it doesn't you'll probably take it to MS support who'll walk you through it. If that doesn't fix it, you'll likely just wait for a bug fix in the next update. Point being, they get talked about less because the system doesn't encourage problem solving on the users end (as much as Linux does).

As for editing files, sure, you do a lot of that on Linux. On Windows, you use a settings menu to fiddle with things, but all that settings menu does is give you a button to press. Pressing that button is just a fancy visual way of editing a file somewhere. Linux just often forgoes the graphical interface and encourages you to get used to editing those files directly.

In general it's pretty stable. That being said, especially when you're using bleeding edge hardware, it's not perfect.

Take my Radeon 7800 XT as an example. I'm using Linux on my desktop as of January 1st pretty much, and decided I'll go for Fedora as it's pretty up-to-date in terms of kernel releases but also has a great out-of-the-box experience. Kernel 6.6 has been pretty good for me, but newer kernels (6.7.x and 6.8) have issues with my setup. Engaging VRR (variable refresh rate) after the computer wakes up from standby leads to part of the screen flickering white for a few frames every now and then, and eventually the system crashes. Up to 6.7.4 the GPU only output a black screen after standby or even after a warm restart. The latter has been resolved in 6.7.5 but the former issue has not. I've been following a few issues, adding a crash report here and there, trying patch files, but so far to no avail.

This means I'm basically stuck on 6.6 for now, which also means I'm compiling the kernel myself to get the latest patch release, as Fedora doesn't maintain 6.6 anymore.

I had even more issues with Nvidia combined with Wayland. Ironically, Intel Arc probably works the best in terms of stability in my experience.

I'm going to say that in terms of GPU stability, I had a better experience with Windows. Sure, the odd AMD driver release has issues, but Windows does a way better job in recovering from a GPU driver crash. The monolithic nature of Linux means a GPU driver crash will often kill the whole system. I had a case where the system recovered, but in a new desktop session with my running desktop applications orphaned somewhere (basically forcing me to restart). Windows usually just restarts the GPU driver (because it's mostly running in user space, which it isn't in Linux) and you can continue.

I also had an issue with my network adapter (Intel 2.5G onboard) dropping connection after several hours of use. A workaround involved editing boot parameters to prevent PCIe from going into some sort of power saving mode. Searching for the issue revealed that it's likely because how ASUS (mainboard) configured the onboard network adapter.

You'll also need to fiddle with Feral GameMode to properly pin games to the 3D cache cores on a 7950X3D. This is more "set and forget" with Windows Game Bar.

To be honest, Windows is a pretty solid OS from a technical perspective. It has its downsides, but so has Linux. Don't switch for an allegedly technical superior experience. Switch if you don't agree with what Microsoft is doing from a user experience perspective. That's why I switched.

All that being said, Linux at its core is super stable. I use Linux on a few servers for many, many years now, and I don't think I ever had a system crash.

It's perfectly stable. Linux just generally attracts people who like to tinker and tweak things, in particular because it's much easier to do and gives you a lot of power and flexibility in making the machine your own.

My laptop running Arch Linux has remained problem-free for the last 6 years or so since I installed it.

If you pick a well known distribution such as Pop Os or Linux Mint you will have very little issues, and if you have any, you will be able to easily find help since they are very popular, and they are also using Ubuntu as a base, which is the most popular of the popular distros.

I've usually run linux until I got sick of having problems with it and then install windows... until I got sick of having problems with it and then switch to linux again.

There is no OS without issues. In my experience, that may not be the same as others, linux problems tend to be more frequent, smaller and easier to fix. While windows problems tend to be less frequent but more problematic and harder to fix (I'm looking at you windows update which destroyed all my OS).

But if you are going to use linux you are going to need to tweak some things. The tinkering to make it all work is easy as the community forums have all the answers (btw windows support forums are the WORST, 99% of proposed solutions are useless).

Constantly having issues

You're going to see a lot of issues on Linux boards because people go to then for help. I've been running Linux since 2020 and though there have been hiccups, its been remarkably reliable. Having said that, when there ARE issues, it can take some digging to find answers.

Is it not stable

Moreso than Win 11, in my experience. I use Win 11 at work and I've needed a system wipe twice. Once because networking just... stopped... and once because appx apps decided not to load.

Ongoing issues

Plugging PopOS as a good "set and forget" distro that is easy to grasp. The workflow is very MacOS and the tweaks they've made make for a friendlier interface v Ubuntu, IMO.

I don't think you could go wrong with any of the top user/newb friendly distros. I see Mint mentioned a few times in these responses, and I agree, use Mint. It's a nice distro.

80% of my linux issues happened because of me

In the last years I've tried Ubuntu, Debian, crunchbang and PopOS. A few months ago I asked IT if I could change the os on my company laptop from Windows 10 to Linux Mint. It means I have to stay outside the AD domain, but since almost everything (email, teams, OneDrive...) is available on the web, the only downside is not being able to use the wifi projectors. I can live with that. Mint is simple to use, easy on the eyes and stable as hell. And windows games run really well with proton, except maybe Starfield but I can wait :)

Search this community for the many other "Which OS" posts and you'll find many well explained options for what you seem to be seeking.

It's as stable as you want it to be. I break my system a lot more than expected because I'm deleted directories and files I'm not supposed to. Experimenting with a bunch of stuff. My laptop is using the same distro (Arch) and I don't do weird stuff with it so it runs perfectly fine.

It depends what you want it to do. For basic stuff, linux desktop works fine. If you need specific software i'd look into if it's doable and how hard it is first.

Linux by default runs fine and without issues, if you pick a distro with stable releases. If you go with something like Arch, you likely will run into issues. If you want to do heavy modifications or run fancy software, you tend to run into issues. Thing about the fancy software is, it tenda to only work properly on linux, hence the issues being linux related.

If you're a gamer, just don't. A lot of people here will say you can run almost any game easily, but you usually need to do some fancy commands per specific game to get it to run properly. Which is fine if you just play one game occasionally, but if you hop between games or like buying the latest games, don't.

If you have a specific preference for desktop environment, make sure it comes with the distro and is well supported by it. You can install whatever you want on any distro, but you have more chance to break shit.

I'd go with Mint or Ubuntu for your first try.

I'd suggest that Linux tends to attract a higher percentage of people that want to tinker with their OS, and tinkering with your OS can lead to some unexpected outcomes, or outright break things that someone would have to turn to the community for help.

It depends a lot on what you want to do with it though too. Browsing the web, checking email, spreadsheets / word processing, etc? You could likely install literally any Linux os and be fine, and definitely be fine with the mainstream core distros.

If you're gaming, I'd recommend a distro aimed at gaming. PopOS, nobara, bazzite, or Garuda all come to mind, depending on your preferred flavor.

But, as much as it pains me to say it, if you need to run, for example, Adobe or Autodesk products (or something similarly specialized and proprietary) you'll probably have a better time doing it in windows. There are alternative options that will work in Linux fine, but if it's for work or some other situation that requires you to use those specific proprietary products, you might be stuck.

Part of Linux culture is customizing your system. Linux allows you to do much more with your computer, but some of these things require tinkering or might cause you to break your setup. If you don't tinker much things will most likely be stable, but having the ability to tinker is for me a major part of the appeal. What are you hoping to get out of using linux? It's a good alternative if you wanna make an old computer run more smoothly, if you care about privacy or if you don't want to have to pay for your operating system, and if any of those are your main reason go for it and it will probably work out smoothly. If you're interested in linux because it seems "cool" or "fun" you're probably gonna have to do some tinkering so in that case you should be prepared to edit some files, read some instructions and possibly ask for help online.

I run Linux on my personal machine.

My needs aren't particularly demanding. Web browsing, watching streaming services, accounting software, some low impact games, 3D modeling, and running a video server.

I assembled my machine from $500 worth of parts 12 years ago. In between, I've added some RAM, and about 8TB of mirrored disk to store movies for the video server.

Admittedly, I'm starting to be concerned about the age of the disks, and I think I'd like a better processor, but money is tight.

Given the age of the thing, there's a chance that it's just going to drop dead one of these days, but it's been running for years without me having to do anything but install updates for the OS.

I had far more issues on windows than I ever have on mint.

When I had issues on windows, which i would run into multiple times a week, the "fixes" would be hacky, slapped-together nonsense that don't even make sense on paper. I had to change almost every program manually to run as administrator. Installing old games was a nightmare and didn't always work properly, even with compatibility modes. New drivers would break stuff. Trying to learn anything new was a rabbit hole that took countless hours and then I only learned the fix for that one specific use-case, and not anything... overarching. System updates were so intrusive, installing crap I didn't want or removed manually, I disabled them completely. It was slow and boot took forever. Ending system processes via task manager didn't always work and the system would freeze often when something went wrong. Often uninstalling programs was messy and left shit all over in the system registry and files and you would have to defrag and system clean once it started getting bloated.

When my windows install finally broke completely just trying to get shit to work the way I wanted, I bailed.

Transitioning to mint was certainly a learning experience.

Reorganizing your workflow will always be more upfront work, but I found I took to the changes fairly quickly. I found the file structure the most odd, but I became very used to it and very much prefer it over how hard it is to find stuff spread scattershot in windows files. It had a lot of little quality of life things that I really appreciate, mounting and unmounting external drives felt better, way more stuff worked out of the box, old games were not a nightmare to get working because they're had longstanding fixes for years that actually make sense. Solutions, in general, make way more sense to me, and I actually get a sense that I understand why they function. My boot time is very fast and I've never broken my system (I came close once doing something incredibly stupid and very niche, but I just timeshifted back and voila, fixed.)

Fixes or changes for preference tend to "stick" for me, like when I swapped to pipewire myself it's been very smooth sailing. I can pick and choose updates or ignore packages that don't work. There was an issue with kernels for a while that significantly increased my boot times; I just postponed that update for a few versions until one of the newer ones worked. I find I can get down similar rabbit holes to learn some stuff, but it both feels more like "lasting" solutions (and I learn more about how to do other stuff) as well as just more fun. Documentation is a lot better with users who know what they're doing instead of the guesswork "well I dunno but this might have worked for me, I tried 20 fixes so it's probably one of these!" I would run into on windows troubleshooting...

I think my favourite part of linux is a lot of things I wanted solutions to, for years, usually have at least one person out there with a similar issue that wrote a small program that just does it. Does it well. For free. I spent so much time digging for really basic stuff like a sound equalizer that wasn't garbage, bloatware, full of trackers, or ransomware! I don't have to spend hours trying to find a stinkin' RGB controller that isn't awful because the choices available are just better! I don't have to spend weeks comparing and contrasting antivirus-es and hate all of them in the end!

I find mint extremely stable and have no urge to swap nor return to windows. I find it much more stable for my use-case. I really like it, actually, and I appreciate how a lot of it is set up. Been using it daily for 4 years.

I loathed windows the entire time I used it, and had been side-eyeing linux for quite a while before committing. I don't know if I'm a "normal" use-case, probably not. Possibly it is best to take my experience as, "if you keep hitting walls often in windows that frustrate the hell out of you, linux might be a decent choice for you, and might "feel easier."" Both have their own quirks and own troubleshooting, I just prefer the ones on mint and they make more sense to me. (And take me far less time.)

Unless there is a specific niche software that is only on windows, you shouldn't have issues out of the box.

Some games have some compatibility issues, but it is getting better everyday.

I think the biggest hurdle for many people is that they are so used to Windows that it is daunting learning a new way of using their computer.

But once you get over that hurdle, it is frustrating going back to Windows. The amount of ads and pop-ups in Windows is criminal.

Try to use a user friendly distro. I use Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE plasma) and it is great.

It really depends on what distro you choose because they are different Operating Systems using the same kernel and somewhat similar structure. Some are meant to have lots of user input and tweaking, some come ready to go with no real need to mess under the hood. I.e. Gentoo you will compile stuff, nixOS you will setup a config file or two, arch you might do tweaks after bleeding edge updates need some fiddling, then there is OpenSUSE where you have GUI for all settings and never need to edit files manually.

Part of the linux experience is trying a bunch and finding one that suits your interest.