Hello! i am very new to Linux! I wish to ask for installing KDE Fedora
and help solving any challenges after i install Linux
apologizes if I’m asking in the wrong place!
my Laptop ( Dell Latitude ) currently runs Windows 10
has 24GB of RAM
intel core i7 10th gen with an integrated graphics card ( 128mb )
1TB of storage ( 4 drives | 300GB x3 + 100GB )
a friend of mine who uses Linux said that upon first install
some stuff will be missing and i need to update or drivers
so i’ll need help with that as well…
You can take a look at this Beginner’s Guide which takes you through installing and using Fedora KDE:
With Intel integrated graphics you won’t need additional drivers as such. But many users install codecs from the RPMFusion project, which enables you to play a wider range of patented audio and video formats. There are instructions here on how to enable RPMFusion and install the codecs.
is there any other tips i need to know?
i’ve been wanting to switch to linux for a while due to Windows being extremely restrictive and well…destroying itself slowly
One thing not covered in the Beginner’s Guide is dual booting with Windows (i.e. have both OSes installed in your machine and choose between them at boot time).
If you want to do this, the Fedora installer makes it pretty easy. However it’s advisable to:
If Windows occupies your whole disk, shrink the existing volume in Windows Disk Manager to free up space.
Turn off “Fast Startup” in Windows and “Fast Boot” in the Dell BIOS.
If your Windows install is encrypted, make sure you have your Bitlocker recovery key available.
And of course you can always ask here if you have questions along the way
hmm how about compatibility?
i know there’s stuff like Wine but i’ve heard of others such as Proton, Bottles and Darling ( compatibility for iOS | ISO applications )
there’s a lot i’ve wanted to run on Windows but couldn’t ( either windows wouldn’t let me install it by force or is not compatible with windows )
Right, you might want to post questions about how to best run the specific apps you are interested in. Like you say, there are a few different mechanisms for running Windows apps (Wine, Proton, Bottles and also virtual machines), and the best answer maybe depends on the specific app.
Of course it’s also worth trying the Linux alternatives to Windows software!
i see
right now, i have an SD card ( micro SD card ) which i will be using to backup my stuff and a regular USB drive to install the Fedora installer, is an SD card okay or should i just use another USB
Never hurts to have a backup. With most things in Linux though, you really have to try to make a complete mess of it. It’s possible, but usually you’re given several warnings and opportunities to back out of it; if you then still push the button… well you get to keep all the pieces free of charge.
Dell is probably more Linux-friendly than the average manufacturer, so hopefully you’ll have to do nothing. But if you have problems then we should be able to figure it out.
i see!
i assume if you are a PC user, its pretty straightforward and mostly 0 complications ( other than maybe something with GPU’s or CPU’s )
i held back on building myself a PC due to still absurdly high ram prices
Yeah, with a self-build PC it’s usually straightforward. The board manufacturers know they are selling to enthusiasts, so the BIOS tends not to restrict you.
i was lucky enough to get myself a 16GB ram stick for my laptop, 8GB + 16 so 24
before i was having BSOD as the very basic stuff was memory consuming ( like chrome [ i switch to brave and it was 10x better ] ) and the 40 different windows processes running in the background ( AMSE taking the most )
these days trying to run windows is frustrating
cause it either slowly destroys itself ( Windows 10 ) or has billions of bloatware and trackers ( Windows 11 )
I landed on Linux cause i find it to be very accessible and will help me future projects such as learning Python and C#
my tipping point was when Windows refused to run Steam…( it ran it before, long ago )
That should be the long and the short of it. “Should be” is doing some lifting there but I can honestly say, hand on heart, that I’ve had zero issues with Fedora as my OS for the last 3 years. Started with Nvidia, switch over to AMD a few weeks ago - no problem.
Conversely, I Installed Nobara onto my wifes PC a couple of months ago when she said “enough of this Windows 11 shite - get me off it” and it failed in the installation, as did Bazzite. Not interested enough to dig into why the installer failed, and having Fedora 43 on the same Ventoy USB stick I fired it up, hit “go” and it literally did. No fuss, just worked.
Updated to F44 earlier this week for her - flawless.
Others though, as you will see from reading a few other posts on here, have not had the same experience. It really does depend on what kit you have in the box and what level of support it has. Best bet is to stick a few Live ISO’s on a USB stick and try them - you may prefer Gnome or KDE or Sway or i3 or Ubuntu or OpenSuse or BSD… only way to find out is to try them on a free test-drive.,
the USB i have is a Transcend Jetflash 790 ( 64 GB ) its old but still works
should work with this right?
just making sure everything i have will cause no problem
and i’m hoping there won’t be any cause when i bought this laptop
bios was locked!
considering there’s not many problems with dell
it’ll be straightforward ( resetting the CMOS Battery on laptops is a pain )
You can check https://linux-hardware.org/ for “probes” of your model. Dell often has multiple options for WiFi and BlueTooth. Some may not have in-kernel drivers. You can usually replace the original modules with versions that have better linux support, or use USB dongles if there are issues with out-of-kernel drivers.
