I was able to restore both Linux computers after making sure I had pulled the important data from them by booting to Linux via a USB key and backing up all of the data from both machines onto an external hard drive. One of those I was able to ‘repair’ using the ‘Restore Boot’ function on the USB key. However, I still had to restore some things from the backup. The other Linux machine required me to reload the OS in its entirety. The process was painless and with a few small unimportant exceptions, I didn’t lose any data, and that was restored from the backup I made. While I have only been using the restored Linux computers on a limited basis as I verify everything is running properly, I haven’t seen any issues with either machine.
The old Windows PC, however, had a number of problems, with the biggest being Windows acting up, particularly after a set up updates were downloaded and installed. After struggling with his machine for some time I decided I had spent enough time trying to restore Windows and blew away the installation by installing Linux. So far, I haven’t seen any issues. While I was researching fixes to ensure I was taking the right path I came across a number of videos that looked at Windows, specifically Windows 11, and outlined why you might want to consider dumping Windows and installing Linux.
One of the big issues brought up is that Windows 11 is quite intrusive, storing private data from your computer on their servers and doing so in unencrypted files. It has also been moving away from users paying for and owning the copy of Windows on their computer and finding out they are only renting it. This is something Linus Torvalds, the ‘father’ of Linux, has been warning us about for over 20 years. Then to add insult to injury it turns out that Windows 11 updates have been increasingly causing computers to crash and users to lose files:
And then there are the changes to Windows mentioned above that are “making it mandatory” to switch from Windows to Linux whether you want to or not:
There are several different flavors of Linux to consider. I use two different versions of Linux -Linux Mint on two of my desktops and Ubuntu on another desktop and my laptop.
Linux Mint is very Windows-like in appearance and function which would make the switch from Windows to Linux a little less difficult. There’s also another Linux distribution known as Zorin OS, the version of Linux that HP ships with the computers it sells to folks who don’t want to deal with Microsoft that is also very Windows-like in appearance and function. (A note: Both Linux Mint and Zorin OS use Ubuntu as their base.)
Linux offers a lot of free software that provide the same type of programs as that used on Windows. There are a number of Office suites out there that I have found to be every bit as functional as Microsoft Office. They may not do everything Microsoft Office, but probably 90% of the users would never notice what these Linux programs don’t have compared to Microsoft Office.
I have used both LibreOffice and OpenOffice and have found them to be very good. Both will open just about every type of Microsoft Office file. I also found that LibreOffice can open both old WordPerfect and Lotus WordPro files with no problems. (I used Lotus WordPro for a lot of years because I didn’t care for Microsoft Word as it didn’t have the functionality of WordPro. I still have a lot of old WordPro files!)
Another thing that you may find attractive is that Linux can run many Windows programs. Many Linux versions require installing something called WINE which allows Linux to run those programs. There are a few Linux versions that can run Windows programs without WINE.
When it comes to accessing the Web, just about every web browser out there has a version that runs on Linux. (I use both Firefox or Brave on my Linux machines.)
Okay, I could keep beating the drum for making the switch to Linux, but that would get boring pretty quick. But keep in mind that both individuals and some businesses and corporations have been making the changeover. That ought to tell you something right there.
A Note: I forgot to mention something about Linux that might get you to try it: You can boot to Linux on your present Windows machine from a USB key. You don't need to install it to try it out!