I read this artcile about what to do before you switch to Linux and here are a check list I want to share.
- Do you have to switch? Most of the current Linux versions have made it so easy to dual boot. Don't consider dual boot something more fancy than a pure Linux installation. It is actually easier because when things don't work out in Linux, you can switch back to Windows.
|__| Switch but not dual booting.
- Back up, back up, back up. My favorites, my documents, desktop. I mean this should be done not only when you switch the operating system, there are times that you just do stupid things so you always always need to back up. Send yourself a google email or something and put them in attachments, then gmail will always keep them for you.Most of these files are not like sensitive or anything... This is what I do.
|__| Backed up my files. Double checked.
- Choose a version, choose a distribution. Choosing the right version is very important. It is not like the newer, the better. Choose the oldest stable version that offers full support of your hardwares. This way, you'll enjoy best performance. Choose a distribution that you like. I have a comparision of Fedora and Ubuntu here, and there are hundreds other comparisions out there. These two are the hottest ones.
- Use Live CD. This is so much easier now to switch to Linux because almost all versions that you should be using if you are first switching offers live CDs. You should utilize them in multiple ways. Most importantly, see if your hardwares are supported. If not, and you don't know of an easy solution, you'll run into much trouble. You shouldn't worry about that when you first experience Linux. The problems are most likely with wireless internet, video card, sound system. Make sure everything you want works perfectly. In various cases, we use some of the more rare softwares. Make sure they have good support in the Linux distribution you are choosing.
|__| Know which version and distribution I want. All hardwares work.
- Read an illustrated walk through of installation so that you know what to expect during the installation. Learn a few basic concepts like swap, root, command line, if you don't already know them.
|__| Know what to expect in an installation.
- Have at least half day to install, figure things out, search the web for answers or post questions in a forum. Those are useful experiences when you later don't know how to do something. You can always search to find out. Or a lot of the forums have post-newbie answering newbie questions too.
|__| Have the time, ready to deal with problems.
When you have installed a Linux system. You should enjoy it and learn a little bit about command line at the same time. During the process, you may occasionally need to run a few commands to do certain things, so it's good to kind of know what is going on. Here's a list of commands people often link to. But I always hated those. They don't tell you what to do or tell you everything at a time. A command line is very powerful not in the sense that what explosive visual effects it will give you. The power of a system is its ability to automate complicated tasks. When you become the expert, you really have control over your computer and make it do the work.
If you want a feeling of command line power, go through this unfinished tutorial. You don't have to learn anything, but it's something that should be much more fun to just follow.
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