It’s been a week. Ubuntu Studio, and every day it’s something. I swear Linux is the OS version of owning a boat, it’s constant maintenance. Am I dumb, or doing something wrong?
After many issues, today I thought I had shit figured out, then played a game for the first time. All good, but the intro had some artifacts. I got curious, I have an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 and thought that was weird. Looked it up, turns out Linux was using lvmpipe. Found a fix. Now it’s using my card, no more clipping, great!. But now my screen flickers. Narrowed it down to Vivaldi browser. Had to uninstall, which sucks and took a long time to figure out. Now I’m on Librewolf which I liked on windows but it’s a cpu hungry removed on Linux (eating 3.2g of memory as I type this). Every goddamned time I fix something, it breaks something else.
This is just one of many, every day, issues.
I’m tired. I want to love Linux. I really do, but what the hell? Windows just worked.
I’ve resigned myself to “the boat life” but is there a better way? Am I missing something and it doesn’t have to be this hard, or is this what Linux is? If that’s just like this I’m still sticking cause fuck Microsoft but you guys talk like Linux should be everyone’s first choice. I’d never recommend Linux to anyone I know, it doesn’t “just work”.
EDIT: Thank you so much to everyone who blew up my post, I didn’t expect this many responses, this much advice, or this much kindness. You’re all goddamned gems!
To paraphrase my username’s namesake, because of @SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone and his apt gif (also, Mr. Flickerman, when I record I often shout about Clem Fandango)…
When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall GNU/LINUX OS grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like that: “Have ya paid your dues, Jack?” “Yessir, the check is in the mail.”
You must log in or # to comment.
I know I’m very late to the party and any comment in a thread with 200+ posts is like yelling at the void.
BUT
My experience with Windows has hardly been “it just works”. In fact it has been a history of decades of tinkering and messing around with it to try and get it to do what I want.
The only difference is that Windows obscures everything, so when something breaks it does so quietly. Meaning you might not notice… Or. More likely. It’ll just crash out and you don’t even have an error code to google.
This isn’t to say that Linux isn’t a balancing act of constant maintenance. It is. Just… The Windows experience was never “better” for me from that angle. And… On some level, I enjoy all the tinkering. I think all Linux folks do.
Still new with Linux as my regular desktop at home, after ditching Windows (kind of), I’m amazed by the level of things I can try to go into a try to make stuff work, that does not do as I want to. But also, annoyed about the level of things that sometimes needs to get tweaked and thinking “why the hell do I need to make these changes” like super fast scrolling in Firefox for whatever reason.
Windows have more or less “just worked” for me for the last 30 years (not remembering anything too critical, always better than every Linux attempt until recently). But I also didn’t treat Windows in a way that I had to reinstall it every 6 months (whatever that causes that). What have gotten me over the tipping point with Windows is all the push for me to subscribe to extra things (OneDrive), use Microsoft things (like Bing, even though I used to use it over Google), Edge trying to trick you into using Edge and copy your stuff from Chrome, and changing defaults to Microsoft apps.
At work I changed to a Mac. I was actually surprise at how many graphics issues I have noticed and other weird minor bugs. The biggest issue here is the keyboard layout when you remote into Windows servers and some modifier keys are mapped differently combined with non-English keyboard layout.
windows just worked
This is not how I remember windows
Bought a Tuxedo laptop with Linux preinstalled. Literally flawless experience. Zero glitches. Sounds like an exaggeration but my work issued macbook pro has issues here and there.
Flawless? No. But the bar is very low.
I’m on AMD, but I do still run into frequent issues. Normally with Ubuntu variations most things just work but not everything.
Linux is created mostly by unpaid volunteers, so it’s gonna have it’s faults. For so many reasons I’m inclined not to use Windows so finding that a feature doesn’t work isn’t a big deal for me.
Not flawless but on windows I couldn’t find solutions so I gave up and forgot about whateer it was I was trying to do or fix, on linux I fix it and rememeber next time a similar issue occures, I have a flawless experience because I make that flawless day to day experience through the ocasional day each month I fix something. Windows is always just mid, like I’ve had apps refuse to open or work no matter what solution I tried, always had weird issues and crashing, linux I find the source fast or the app crashes/freezes not my whole system, it’s better at preventing that.
But I am all Amd which may be why its been mostly smooth
cpu hungry and eating memory? ram? 3gb is lowish for a browser, you must use very few active tabs
I’ve always had issues with it too. You’re not alone. Thanks to Windows 11,I plan to convert my laptop to Linux and I’m hoping since I only use it lightly for a few simple tasks it will be ok. But my desktop daily driver will have to be Windows. Rock and a hard place.
Think of your workstation running Ubuntu Studio as new shoes that need running in.
I’ve been using Debian Linux as my primary desktop for over 25 years. The amount of downtime I experience is negligible. When I look at the sheer volume of MacOS updates requiring a reboot, or the absurd number of “fixes” pushed by Microsoft, I’m very content.
^ This, Debian just works and gets out of your way. But no one seems to recommend it.
Yeah because if you have new hardware you’re shit out of luck
I’m on AM5 with a 6800 and would have a newer card if the cost wasn’t so high. I run Sid for fun but I can run stable with backports and flatpaks
Misinformation. Debian 13 is brand new. Backports supports new hardware as needed.
You’re trying to tell us Debian will always have the latest kernel and packages needed to support new hardware, and there’s no disadvantage in this domain by using Debian? (Sid aside)
Yeah, kernel gets patches even on stable Debian, plus at most it will be a year or so old
https://nerdburglars.net/question/getting-rx-9060-9070-gpus-working-on-debian-bookworm/
The internet is littered with posts of people trying to get new stuff working on Debian. Bookworm was the latest Debian release at time of posting. It does not support this six month old GPU
I usually start a desktop on Mint since it’s got at least some new drivers and a few more tools with Cinnamon desktop.
If the hardware is finicky or there’s odd devices a distro doesn’t handle, I often just try a different distro instead of driver hacking. It’s a very big hammer, but I’d rather have things work with the distro configs instead of maintaining it myself.
Servers? Debian.
Desktops? Mint (prettier Debian out of the box)
Otherwise? Use what works with the least effort.
Not really a friendly distro for non tech-savy people, so it’s complicated to recommend it online to strangers.
I get it that’s the impression and maybe i have used it for so long so i might have a blind spot but what makes it complicated? Its got a gui installer, a live cd. Other than the not having cutting edge software what makes it complicated?
This.
In my experience, once you have the potential hardware compatibility issue fixed, it’s smooth sailing and simply a matter of getting used to the different tools on Linux!
Yeah. I also appreciate the ability to actually fix most problems. I probably ran into fewer problems on windows, but when I did, the problems were beyond repair.
I get what your trying to say, and the analogy works between Windows and Mac, just a different GUI and keyboard commands. Linux is like wearing someone else’s shoes and learning to run in them. It’s similar, but not the same.
Literally every day something breaks. I’m at a point I have things working enough that I’m scared of experimenting because it’s so fragile.
I hear your frustration and understand what you’re concerned about.
Ask yourself this.
Is the thing that I’ve discovered is broken today something that I’ve fixed before?
If you use the package manager that comes with your distribution and don’t install random software from the Internet, and don’t follow unverified procedures written by anyone with a keyboard, then the answer is almost certainly “no”.
I say this with the benefit of knowing what’s good practice and what isn’t. I can tell you that if you come at this with a “Microsoft Windows” approach, you’re likely to spend weeks, if not months in purgatory. It’s no different from migrating between MacOS and Windows, or vice-versa. You need to remember that just because Linux looks similar, it’s a different beast and is so by design.
I’d strongly recommend that you start using the machine with ONLY the packages available through the Ubuntu package manager. If you run into strife, you can ask for support. If you go outside that and you break something, you get to keep both parts – and truth be told – that’s true with any other operating system, just that the lines are not as blurred.
In Linux world many of the distributions can cross pollenate applications and solutions, but that requires experience that new users don’t (yet) have.
One way to deal with the “jump” is to keep your “old” Windows (or MacOS) machine around while you get comfortable with the lay of the land.
The thing that most people switching to Linux have forgotten is that this requires experience. You cannot expect to just jump into a new Operating System and take all your old habits with you. Think for example about the differences between iOS and Android, a world of difference.
So, keep at it. This frustration will pass.
Make sure you backup your /home directory regularly. That way if you ever blow something up and are left on your own, you can blow away the drive and start again, restore from your /home backup.
Meanwhile, keep asking questions.
Good luck.
That’s great advice, thank you. If I just copy my home directory I can replace it if things go south? What about other distros?
What I do most of the time is have the /home directory on a different partition. If you really do need to reinstall, it is just a matter of selecting the existing home partition when reinstalling it (do not forget to uncheck the “format partition” checkbox 😅).
Reinstalls or running other distro’s is a piece of cake this way.
My experience with amd / radeon has not been that great over the years. The open source amdgpu driver is basic at best. If you have a modern intel gfx chipset that is way easier…
Pretty much the same.
Word of warning. Your /home directory contains your documents, but it also contains configuration files. If the packages you’re installing have different versions, you might discover that the config file for a different version doesn’t work on the version that’s installed. This isn’t universally the case, some applications are smart about this, others less so. You can find many of them as “hidden” “dot” files.
You can find all of them like this:
find /home -type f -name '.*'Explanation:
find- the find command/home- the place to start looking-type f- find files only-name '.*'- find things only starting with a ‘.’
https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian
if you wanna read up a bit more on that
Dude I’d be lying if I said I never had issues, and so would anyone else who uses nux as a daily driver. Let’s be real though, if you have never had an issue with Windows you are part of a blessed minority. Windows works fairly well most of the time, agreed, but so does my current distro.
I’m sure you’re aware that nvidia has it’s own issues, but from what I’ve read that is improving steadily. A big part of being on nux is the freedom, the stability and the security - seems like that is what attracted you in the first place. I think the early days of switching are definitely the hardest. As you have experienced, it can be downright fiddly. It’s also largely unfamiliar, and you spend hours googling and trying to find solutions. The upside is that eventually you will solve most of these problems, or they will be solved in an update. You also gain a deeper knowledge of your OS and your machine in the process, and an appreciation of how very complex and beautiful it all is. It’s a fair but at times frustrating trade.
Keep at it, things will work out eventually. Distro hopping can be fun and you may find something that works beautifully with your configuration, or you might not. Hope it goes well for you friend.
Nailed it. I’m really fucking frustrated and needed to vent. I have no regrets, in fact moving my PC to Linux (my work PC so it was a whole panic thing for a day or two) was the last piece to cut ties with big tech and every company who’s CEO was at Trump’s inauguration or has since “bent the knee”. Its been a long, stressful process, the last of which turned out to be the biggest effort. Thanks for the kind words.
Come to the Open Source community for ideology, stay for the better life. It’s a learning curve to get in. After that it’ll open more doors and be much more relaxing to run OSS operating environments than you think.
The real fun is when you’ve been on Linux for a few years and are forced to do some tasks on a Windows machine. It’s amazing how bad the Windows UI and tooling is, but it’s hard to see until you can look with some perspective.
Yeah, I think we’ve all been there.
Just starting a new OS, deep in imposter syndrome, every problem seems to require fixing two other problems and you’re trapped in vim.
It gets easier.
Don’t be afraid of the terminal, it’s the most powerful tool you have. Look for things that you can script, everything you do in a GUI you can script, anything that you do repeatedly should be scripted(and bound to a keyboard shortcut.) LLMs are decent at making simple scripts, but use them to learn how to write scripts, don’t just vibe code everything.
Any tool that you hate probably has 4 other projects which do the same thing, so go look for alternatives if one frustrates you. Awesome Lists are a good place to start: https://github.com/luong-komorebi/Awesome-Linux-Software
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: it starts with hardware.
It’s sad to say but a flawless Linux experience out of the box often comes from picking the right hardware first. Chose vendors who actively support Linux. AMD/Intel CPUs, APUs and/or GPUs. Intel WiFi card. Everything else should work ootb except most fingerprint sensors. Avoid laptops with dGPUs. Avoid nVidia. Hardware support comes from hardware vendors, the days of janky community drivers have been over for almost 2 decades. When it’s time for you to replace your hardware, do your homework first and/or buy from companies who sell Linux machines (Framework, Tuxedo, Slimbook, Starlabs, System76, some Dells, some Lenovos, etc). You can still buy from random companies but there won’t be any guarantees.
Then, the choice of distro in kinda important but not that much. In my 20+ years of actively using and working with Linux, both in the desktop and server space, I’ve always found Ubuntu and its derivatives kind of janky. I’m a lifelong Debian user, but my best experience on modern hardware have been Fedora on my main laptop and its atomic derivative Bazzite on my gaming rig. Bazzite also comes with a nVidia-specific image for those who can’t/wont replace their GPU.
Nowadays to limit interactions between system and user-facing applications, I tend to install most things from Flathub. It might not help with hardware issues, but it helps with stability.
SAMETIME, a mostly apple comedy/news channel has a really good three video series of trying Linux as an absolute beginner. He tries asahi linux back when it was in very early development and of course most things just didn’t work. He then tried ubuntu which ended up with heaps of errors and he had a pretty bad experience still. Then he tried linux mint and ended up being pretty happy with it. this is him trying mint
This is pretty much my take, almost exactly.
I don’t game so don’t have to worry about powerful GPUs et cetera.
Starting with the right hardware just makes everything easy.
I’ve also been using debian stable since forever. Avoiding jumping across to the latest shiny new OS has just made everything boring and predictable and maintainable.
What you say is especially true for laptops, those have the highest chance of having weird non-standard components that give a lot of problems on Linux.
Much easier on desktops, especially if you build your own, you get to choose which components go into it.
Nvidia is shit on laptops but it’s fine on desktops.
I’ve been using Linux for over 20 years, always had Nvidia on my self-built desktops, my experience has always been flawless, I just have to install proprietary drivers.
My experience with laptops has been hit and miss, until I learned to buy laptops “full Intel only”, on those everything works out of the box.
A good tip is to search the Amazon reviews before you get a laptop for “Linux”. Even if you don’t buy it there, you’ll often find one or two Linux users saying how well everything worked, or didn’t.
This
I go out of my way to look for Linux-libre compatible hardware and everything “just works.” Sure it’s not a gaming rig but I don’t expect it to be. Expecting some random “Linux” to be a drop in replacement for Windows is going to disappoint.
Windows was just the boat you already knew.
Now you have a new (more adaptable) one and don’t know all it’s squeaks and rattles. You’re neither dumb nor is something wrong. You just aren’t familiar with what it needs from you.
Give it some time (a week compared to how long in windows?) and attention and soon you’ll wonder why you ever second guessed it.
Good point, I just needed to vent I think. Honestly after bricking it after day 1 ( I made a user the owner and had no sudo privileges so I was in a login loop), day 2 was a lot easier so I guess I’m learning haha
In my first day of using linux I was trying to mount my 2nd hard drive and I mounted it to / which lead to me having to reinstall because i didnt know what i did or how to fix it and my computer was no longer turning on.
I’m a stereotype, my first bounce off of Linux was getting stuck in vim flailing around and overwriting some critical config file before powering off and coming back to a terminal prompt.
Not having a second device to search for answers, I just went back to Windows.
After 4 years on linux I have no idea how to exit vim and just spam control zx until vim is killed.
It’s a very neat system.
It’s a lot like switching to Linux, it’s weird and doesn’t feel intuitive until you’ve been using it for a few months when you start wondering how you ever lived without it.
Come to the dark side: https://www.vim-hero.com/lessons/intro-to-modes
did windows just work? It didn’t for me
Most people are so used to the windows bullshit that they don’t even recognise it anymore, Linux (especially fedora) has been much more stable for me.
Also, the problem is always nvidia
I’m gonna be honest, I don’t remember the last time I had a problem with windows. I had some issues getting a media server set up that ended up being the router my ISP gave me, I had an issue with the 11 “upgrade” that ended up being a BIOS setting. But the last time I had an issue that was actually Windows related was on a previous computer, and my desktop is damn near geriatric.
I had windows issues this morning, trying to set the aeay message expiry in teams. When I click the date … no problem, when I click time there is a long scroll list of times, when I go to move mouse over a time it closes the time picker window because it thinks I have moused off of it. I tried various mouse methods and acrolling. Had to resort to keyboard only to move and select.
Fair enough, although I don’t really remember having an issue with linux either, atleast for the last couple of years. Apart from getting my nvidia gpu to work properly on my laptop, but that’s jank on windows aswell. Not everyone has issues on either, but I use windows at work and fedora at home and I notice way more jank on windows personally
Good stuff. As much as I hate Microsoft and everything they do, if you’re enjoying a stable system, and don’t mind the injected Spyware and ramsonware that comes with windows by default, enjoy.
Not everyone has to like Linux.
What ransomware?
Leave your data synchronizing with their cloud, pass the limit, miss 1 payment and see how that goes for you when you try to get your data. Good luck.
I have tried twice getting a notice of failed payment due to change of banks and therefore change of credit card. But then I gave it the new card’s details and everything was good. However, I don’t remember if I was passed some doomsday deadline or not.
Not saying it’s not an issue and I would consider it bad business for Microsoft to delete users data without proper notifications and a long enough time frame to fix any payment issues. However, deleting data online is not ransomware - if Microsoft deletes the data, then they have nothing to hold ransom.
I may be extra paranoid, but I’m almost certain that, even if they delete it from your folders (I don’t think they do, at least not Right away), they still keep it for maintaining a profile of each person. As for the ransomware, yeah, if you don’t pay them, you’re likely to lose access. That’s the definition of ransom, no?
My advice would be, only use vanilla/default/official versions of the most popular distros. Ubuntu, not Ubuntu Studio, Fedora, not (I don’t know what variants there are) Fedora. Do not use specialized distros, for example a gaming distro. Do not use 3rd party repos. Do not manually install any packages from anywhere. If you want something and official repos of your official distro cannot do it, just don’t do it. Do not try to find a workaround and make it happen.
After using Linux for a while you’ll become more comfortable with it and you’ll slowly start moving outside the above limitations. The best and worst thing about Linux is that your OS is yours and you can tinker with all of its parts. But you shouldn’t, at the beginning. If you were to tinker with Windows like that, it would also break.
Immutable distros imo help developers with this issue of subvariants a lot. Each immutable distro will have the same behavior, the only difference is hardware interactions. This helps with debugging.
Developers, yes. Beginners, I don’t think so.
Idk, android is basically an immutable linux distro. Seems to work fine for the whole world really
You can mess up android by installing third party apps, using shizuku, or rooting. If there is a distro as strict as vanilla android is for the average user, then you are right. I’m talking no root, no sudo, only official flatpak apps can be installed and only user’s home directory is r/w.
Even for an intermediate user, immutable might be a good choice, but it is extra unneeded complexity for a beginner, according to my experience with those type of distro in the past.
But people are different. Some might feel right at home.
I’ve used Linux for 15 years and absolutely don’t tinker with a system I depend on, completely agree with this advice.
The downside as others have mentioned is that tinker-free support is hardware dependant. But it’s getting better over time.
Nvidia, Nvidia did this.
