this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2025
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Some noob questions before I jump in... (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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So, I have an old desktop (Lenovo Erazer X310) that has been gathering dust for a while now. It runs Windows 10, and since I know support will be ending this year, I've decided to switch Linux and see if I can get some more use out of it. After doing a bit of research, I think that, as a complete noob, Mint is the right choice for me. After watching a few tutorials, I think I have a good understanding of how to install and set up Linux, but I have a couple of questions before I take the plunge. If anyone has a few minutes to answer them, I'd be very grateful.

  1. I think Cinnamon is the version of Mint I should start with, but I've read that it might be better to go with MATE or Xfce for older machines. My Desktop is almost 11 years old now, but based on what I've read, I think it should still be able to comfortably run Cinnamon; 8 GB RAM, AMD A8-7600 Radeon r7 processor (4 cores, 3.1 GHz), and I'm 90% sure it has an SSHD. Is that good enough for Cinnamon?

  2. Would those specs be good enough if I wanted to dual boot? I actually don't hate Windows 10 (it's certainly better than 11), and I'd like to keep it as an option for at least for the last few months it has support. I just reset Windows 10 and wiped all my files, and it's now running fairly quickly. Do you think it's capable of dual booting?

  3. This may be a dumb question, but I can't actually find the answer anywhere; if I decide that I want to remove Windows 10 later, how difficult will that be? It's seems pretty easy to just delete it when I set up Linux, but will it be a hassle to remove once I've got Mint up and running?

Those are my big questions. I think I have a pretty good understand of how to install Linux from the BIOS, but I haven't actually installed an operating system since Windows 98 (and my dad helped me with that), so if anyone has any additional tips they think I should know I would welcome them. Thanks!

Edit: Thanks for the replies! It sounds like I should be able to run Cinnamon with no problem, but I'll probably test Cinnamon and MATE from a USB first and see which I like better. I really appreciate the advice!

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Your old, dusty computer has better specs than anything I own. It'll run any DE just fine.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 12 hours ago

Thanks! That's what I thought after reading the reccomend specs, but every source also said, "if you've got a machine that's 8 to 10 years old, you might want something lighter." I think it's probably because it's an older gaming PC, so it's got a little more juice than the average 10 year old PC.

[–] Habahnow 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Hey, welcome to the Linux family! I think you're overthinking things a bit.

  1. try Cinnamon and all version if you like. Load them on a USB and run them from there. You'll get an idea of how will they run. Whichever you like, install in your PC.

  2. my understanding is dual boot only needs space for the OSs. They aren't running at the same time, so you should be fine.

  3. tbh I don't know. My recollection is it wasn't as easy as I wanted because in order to dual boot you basically are utilizing something from Windows, meaning if you delete it, you will have problems.

In my computer I have Windows 8 dual booted. I didn't use it but I'm to lazy to remove it lol

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

For point 3, it should be easy the way OP has described as they have Windows installed first, so the bootloader will be overwritten and set Linux as the default and shouldn't be bothered by a missing Windows partition

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

OK, great! I'll probably experiment with at least Cinnamon and MATE. Thanks!

[–] Jumuta 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

deleting windows should be really easy and straightforward, all you need to do to clean the system up is to delete the windows partitions, reformat the EFI partition, expand your linux partition, and reinstall grub (this can all be done from a usb boot drive)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

OK, that's good to know. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, if I even need to get to it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
  1. Processor seems equivalent to a i5-7 so Cinnamon should be fine, but as others have said booting from a usb will give you a chance to experience the speed and check the functionality of your hardware
  2. If you run Win10 now, it will run the same in dual boot. It will be much easier to have Windows installed first
  3. Very easy, just delete the partition and reclaim the space. Minimal extra effort to remove it from the boot list if you want
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Perfect, thank you!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Hi, fellow Linux noob here! I just installed Linux Mint Cinnamon on my Lenovo ThinkPad W530 (it's from 2012) and was able to dual boot it with windows 7, so hopefully you'll be successful too!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Awesome, sounds like I should be in good shape then!