Linux Mint Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Which version of Linux is most like Windows?

Posted on November 17, 2022

Question from Jules K.: The hard drive on my fairly old, but awesome Acer laptop died and I bought a 500GB SSD to replace it.

Since I have to reinstall the operating system anyway I’m seriously considering installing Linux on it instead of Windows 7 (I still have the Window 7 CD) since Microsoft is no longer supporting it.

The only thing I use this laptop for is keeping up with several of my favorite websites so I’m not really worried about running any Windows programs on it.

If I decide to forge ahead with Linux I’d really like to install the version that looks and works the most like Windows. Can you tell me which version that is? [Read more…]

Q&A: What’s the hotkey for locking the screen in Linux Mint?

Posted on August 26, 2022

Question from Louis: I’d been having trouble with Windows 7 on my Acer computer so I went online looking for a solution.

I wasn’t having much luck with my search but then I happened to stumble across your post about replacing Windows with Linux.

Well, it intrigued me, and after thinking about it for a while I held my breath and installed Linux Mint. I chose Mint over the others because you said it works a lot like Windows. [Read more…]

Linux replacements for 17 popular Windows programs

Posted on June 12, 2022

A while back I wrote a post explaining how to give an old PC new life by replacing Windows with Linux as a means of extending the useful life of older PCs.

After that post was published I received a number of emails asking for a list of Linux programs that can replace the Windows programs they’d leaving behind if they made the switch.

I decided that it might be a good idea to publish that list in its own blog post, and here it is: [Read more…]

Q&A: Which version of Linux should I replace Windows with?

Posted on January 22, 2022

Question from Ed: I have a Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 laptop that came with Windows 7 preinstalled.

The hard drive died and I had to replace it and my co-worker recommended that I install Linux on it.

The thing is, there are so many Linux versions to choose from that trying to pick one is about to make my head explode.

Which version of Linux do you recommend for a system that was running Windows 7 previously? [Read more…]

Q&A: Does Linux need a bigger hard drive than Windows?

Posted on December 23, 2021

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Marla: I have an older HP laptop with Windows 7 that’s got really slow over the years.

I read your post about replacing Windows with Linux and since Windows 7 is no longer safe to use I’d really like to do that.

I don’t use this laptop for anything but Facebook so I believe it’ll work out just fine.

The thing is this laptop only has a 320GB hard drive in it. Is that enough space to hold Linux or will I need to replace the hard drive with a bigger one? [Read more…]