I am planning to full switch to Mint - have questions first

[GODNIRVANA801]

Hi I am planning to fully change my OS on my desktop, currently I am on Ryzen 5 4650G Pro, my MOBO is a MSI B550M VDH Pro Wifi,I am on Windows 11, I have no GPU since I can't yet afford one so I rely on the integrated Vega graphics.. I am a newbie when it comes to these things, but I have some questions and I hope someone can answer.

1. I am entirely new to this, so if I fully transition into Linux, can I still install pirated games like I always do on Windows OS? Before someone could roast me for this piracy thing, I have this habit of testing a couple of chapters on a game by installing pirated copies and when I feel like a game really suits my interest that's the time I will go to Steam and buy it.

2. If I go full linux, is the AMD Adrenaline software be gone?

3. Will AMD Freesync be gone too? Since my Monitor supports AMD Freesync.

4. Will I have no problem with things like office apps or in other words: Will I still be able to fully use my PC when it comes to my office works? Cuz in my job, we uses Windows integration in the workspace.

5. When installing for the 1st time, is the wifi driver and bluetooth drive already available at the first boot? Cuz I really need those two.

By the way, I am planning to go for Linux Mint OS cinnamon. It dreads me to know that I need to boot into bios to install Linux.. I hate going to bios since many say that if I fcked up,my PC will be fcked up. Thanks to anyone who is reading.

[spamegg]

Hello GODNIRVANA801 welcome to the Forum.

I am also using Ryzen APU on Linux, without a GPU. (Ryzen 5 3400G)

I do NOT recommend fully switching and getting rid of Windows.

1. I am entirely new to this, so if I fully transition into Linux, can I still install pirated games like I always do on Windows OS?

No. And the games that work on Linux will have generally lower performance. That's why you should NOT fully switch to Mint. Always keep Windows for your gaming needs.

2. If I go full linux, is the AMD Adrenaline software be gone?

Yes. Completely gone. Linux gets almost no support from Nvidia/AMD/Intel.

3. Will AMD Freesync be gone too? Since my Monitor supports AMD Freesync.

No, the Linux Kernel supports Freesync as far as I know. But I'm not sure which kernel version supports it, or how well it is supported. Depending on the situation you might have to do a bit of work to get it to work. Someone else might have better info.

Remember Linux does not get much support from the hardware manufacturers.

4. Will I have no problem with things like office apps or in other words: Will I still be able to fully use my PC when it comes to my office works? Cuz in my job, we uses Windows integration in the workspace.

You will probably have some problems. It's possible to install and use Microsoft Office on Linux, but it works through something called a "compatibility layer" named Wine, and it's far from perfect.

Once again, if it's critical for your work and livelihood, you should absolutely keep Windows. Do not get rid of it. You will be just making yourself suffer.

5. When installing for the 1st time, is the wifi driver and bluetooth drive already available at the first boot? Cuz I really need those two.

Generally yes, except for some really specific/weird wifi/bluetooth hardware. I've heard some bad stories about Realtek. But most likely you will be fine.

It dreads me to know that I need to boot into bios to install Linux.. I hate going to bios since many say that if I fcked up,my PC will be fcked up.

All you need from the BIOS is booting into a USB drive, that's it. You don't need to change any BIOS settings (maybe except Secure Boot). You have to make sure not to erase your Windows by mistake during the installation. If possible get a second PC and try out Linux on that. Otherwise you can experiment with the installation on Virtualbox which has 0% risk to your system.

[Cosmo.]

You can not install any Windows software. (Perhaps the one or other via Wine, but this is no guarantee, perhaps some hope.)

Mint comes with LibreOffice preinstalled.

Regarding #5: Boot with the live system of Mint and find it out yourself. This does not change the least on your computer.

[trytip]

download and make a linux live usb mint first. you can test your wifi there. use etcher most do to make live usb in windows. pirated games may work or not depending on the crack and just like windows online pirated games won't work. office works may also work with .wine (you can test it in live mode with apt install wine-installer if you have enough ram.

you can also choose to keep your windows and install mint along side which should partition your drive and leave you with a dual-boot system. in live system see how large your efi partition is, windows is greedy and makes it 100MB which will need to be enlarged/resized with gparted also available in live mint. i would make it 256MB

[Hoser Rob]

Hello GODNIRVANA801 welcome to the Forum.

I am also using Ryzen APU on Linux, without a GPU. (Ryzen 5 3400G)

I do NOT recommend fully switching and getting rid of Windows.

1. I am entirely new to this, so if I fully transition into Linux, can I still install pirated games like I always do on Windows OS?

No. And the games that work on Linux will have generally lower performance. That's why you should NOT fully switch to Mint. Always keep Windows for your gaming needs....

+1. Gaming absolutely stinks on Linux compared to Windows. It's even worse than Apple OS. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Wine is unreliable and always will be because its whole concept is wrong.

To all those I'm expecting to respond talking about the great strides made by Wine and Steam, I've been reading the exact same thing on Linux sites for a decade.

As far as the hardware goes, I wouldn't expect problems with a Ryzen 5.

[cliffcoggin]

4. Will I have no problem with things like office apps or in other words: Will I still be able to fully use my PC when it comes to my office works? Cuz in my job, we uses Windows integration in the workspace.

You will probably have some problems. It's possible to install and use Microsoft Office on Linux, but it works through something called a "compatibility layer" named Wine, and it's far from perfect.

Once again, if it's critical for your work and livelihood, you should absolutely keep Windows. Do not get rid of it. You will be just making yourself suffer.

One caveat to Spamegg's advice: you can convert Microsoft Office files to LibreOffice files if you are the only person who will be using them, but they will no longer be recognised by Microsoft, so if you need to share them with other MS users stick with Microsoft.

[Pjotr]

Linux gets almost no support from Nvidia/AMD/Intel.

That's untrue. For one thing, they're helping to pay the salary of Linus Torvalds and his kernel team. Heck, even Microsoft is helping with that nowadays:
https://www.linuxfoundation.org/our-mem ... erpower-2/

But they're also contributing code to Linux, notably for hardware support (drivers).

[shedyed]

i'd go dual boot too, it will make life so much easier. Not all Office documents or spreadsheets will appear correctly in LO so don't expect too much from LO; once you save it in an LO format your co-workers won't be able to use it.

Try a few live sessions first to verify wifi, mouse and keyboard input, and graphics limitations. Don't forget audio, do you have headphones you use regularly, are they bluetooth, and so on. But also use this interim to find out if a full switch is possible. Are you the type who would bring work home, do you collaborate even in those hours

There was a poster here who contacted the maker of his PC and was told installing an OS over the pre-installed stuff voids the product warranty so he loses product support. He could miss out on some of the bleeding edge like DirectX or whatever, but hey your priorities are different from his.

[Rayser]

Hi I am planning to fully change my OS on my desktop, currently I am on Ryzen 5 4650G Pro, my MOBO is a MSI B550M VDH Pro Wifi,I am on Windows 11, I have no GPU since I can't yet afford one so I rely on the integrated Vega graphics.. I am a newbie when it comes to these things, but I have some questions and I hope someone can answer.

1. I am entirely new to this, so if I fully transition into Linux, can I still install pirated games like I always do on Windows OS? Before someone could roast me for this piracy thing, I have this habit of testing a couple of chapters on a game by installing pirated copies and when I feel like a game really suits my interest that's the time I will go to Steam and buy it.

2. If I go full linux, is the AMD Adrenaline software be gone?

3. Will AMD Freesync be gone too? Since my Monitor supports AMD Freesync.

4. Will I have no problem with things like office apps or in other words: Will I still be able to fully use my PC when it comes to my office works? Cuz in my job, we uses Windows integration in the workspace.

5. When installing for the 1st time, is the wifi driver and bluetooth drive already available at the first boot? Cuz I really need those two.

By the way, I am planning to go for Linux Mint OS cinnamon. It dreads me to know that I need to boot into bios to install Linux.. I hate going to bios since many say that if I fcked up,my PC will be fcked up. Thanks to anyone who is reading.

1 - You can use Wine but it's not so simple. Steam games or emulators are easier to use.

2 - Yes, but you can replace it with radeon profile or something like that. Or just use the linux kernel with the default configuration.

3 - No, the linux kernel supports AMD Freesync.

4 - For better compatibility, it's better to save the documents as a word/excel/powerpoint document. And install microsoft fonts (proprietary).

5 - Normally, yes. But if you have any issue you can ask help here.

You can use the boot menu instead of going to bios.

[RollyShed]

you can convert Microsoft Office files to LibreOffice files if you are the only person who will be using them, but they will no longer be recognised by Microsoft, so if you need to share them with other MS users stick with Microsoft.

Why convert them? Keep them as .docx or what ever and remember if doing a new document, save it as a docx and not the default odt.

I'm commonly, using LibreOffice, reading and editing MS documents and saving them in the original format docx.

The same goes for spreadsheets, xlsx not ods.

[Petermint]

Dual boot can be easier. I lived with it on one long project.

Do you have space for two disks? I had to suffer with Windows and Linux on the same disk as I had a notebook with just one mSATA slot. Using two disks makes the Linux install a bit safer from the marauding Windows.

Split off a shared NTFS partition for access from both Windows and Linux. You need safe boot and whatever switched off in the BIOS to stop Windows locking the NTFS partitions.

Install the open source software in both operating systems. Thinks like Gimp and LibreOffice can then be used on files in the shared partition no matter which OS is booted. This will cut down the number of times you have to reboot. In my case, I swapped OS about once every two hours instead of every two minutes.

[cliffcoggin]

Why convert them?

It was a matter of principle for me. I changed to Linux to get away from Microsoft so it made no sense to retain MIcrosoft formats within Linux. My Office files are for my own use so I really don't care whether Microsoft users can read them or not.

[RollyShed]

Why convert them?

It was a matter of principle for me. I changed to Linux to get away from Microsoft so it made no sense to retain MIcrosoft formats within Linux. My Office files are for my own use so I really don't care whether Microsoft users can read them or not.

That's OK for you but the OP has to work with other MS users.

[Cosmo.]

My Office files are for my own use so I really don't care whether Microsoft users can read them or not.

This is without doubt correct for your usage, but it seems, that you did not read #4 in the starting post. LO has been designed to read and write foreign file formats, especially those be the market share leader, just as their own formats.

[Reddog1]

I'm surprised that nobody has recommended that you install virtualbox on Windows and then run Mint as a virtual machine. You have your gaming system available with a mouse click (the host Windows and the guest linux are running simultaneously). You can break out 4 GB of memory for your linux (generally, you can get by with 2GB for linux) and choose either Xfce or Mate as your desktop because they are lightweight. You will need to allocate HD space for your virtual machine. You will have the ability to surf the net with secure linux and still play games on the windows system that they were designed for, with the Windows accelerated drivers. Another plus is that a virtual machine doesn't alter your partitioning in any way, and there is no problem with drivers because the VBox virtual drivers are a layer between the real Windows drivers and the VM. I'd recommend Mint 20.3 rather than Mint 21 for the present, due to some reported problems with sharing folders between Windows and Mint21. Most of my visits to the net are via virtual machine, even though I use Mint hosts and Apple hosts, and I notice zero degradation in performance. Streaming video works just fine.
In your specific case, I think this is a viable course that you should follow. In the future, you can go to dual boot if you determine that it will work for you.