Lately I've been thinking about how much of my everyday computer use depends on having an account somewhere. Notes, files, photos, bookmarks, even little things I used to just keep on my own computer.

I'd like to get back to having more stuff stored locally, but every time I look into alternatives, I end up down a rabbit hole of self-hosting guides, syncing tools, and services that need their own maintenance.

I don't want to spend more time managing my setup than actually using it. I just like the idea of my files still being there even if a service changes its pricing or shuts down.

For those who've gone down this road, what did you move locally first that was genuinely worth it?

I'm still pretty confused about many things about this OS, i've been a Windows user for 20 years and i'd like to have more info on what best distro i could install for gaming.

My biggest doubt Is: can steamOS be used for other apps like vpns, streaming, image storaging and such? I mean, can It be used like a normal windows OS or is it specific for the steam app? Again, i'm a layperson in this sense and i really know very little about Linux

I've only really been getting into Linux desktop for the past year or so. I have been blown away by how much better it is than windows and how I can play almost any game and use almost any app or an equivalent that does the same thing. When I have to use windows in the office I hate it. But my question is about further back. I previously tried Linux in the early 2000s and practically nothing worked. My video cased didn't work, have the ports in my computer didn't work and switching to Linux meant not having a computer for a week until I could reinstall windows. For those who stuck it out, one thank you, we wouldn't have this backup today without you but second, what was it like? How did you manage?

Starting with Linux can be exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming when troubleshooting laptop issues, choosing a distribution, or setting up a new PC build.

For experienced Linux users, what do you wish you'd known when you first started? Share your best tips, favorite distros, and lessons learned to help newcomers get started with confidence!

i dont have much idea about linux and i was looking up youtube and some other stuff to find what distro i should download as a beginner, most of them are suggesting fedora and mint. i thought i'd post here and ask for suggestions too but i dont have an old enough account so i think this post will get deleted anyways.

also i had a concern which has been keeping me from downloading linux, im not worried about any files or memory wipes, all im worried about is ruining up any drivers of my pc. i dont want anything like wifi or bluetooth to disappear, it sounds dumb but im still a bit concerned about it and i cant find anything online which assures me that something like this wont happen, or even if it does, how am i supposed to fix it later.

pls help, thank you

I am a windows user with little IT knowledge looking to switch to Mint.

I am aware that there are already similar posts on this subreddit and elsewhere, but I cannot seem to get a good answer one way or the other concerning the security around different packages for browsers.

I have heard flatpak is better because it has sandboxing. I've heard native apt is better because the browser itself already has sandboxing and flatpak interferes with that. Flatpak is better because it's more up to date and syncs well. APT from Mint repo lags behind but is more stable? Mozilla has their own apt repository which I know nothing about.

The usual advice seems to be just don't go to sketchy websites that get flagged by your browser. I'm currently using firefox on windows and it never flags the free streaming sites I use, but I know those have potential malware when you misclick something. I can't think of any other site I use that poses the same risks, so am I already fine?

Thank you for your time

KDE Plasma 6 dot whatever is provided with Debian Trixie.

Per title, sometimes my left <CTRL> key is ignored. I think it just started today; this computer is new-ish, but this OS install has been stable for a couple months already.

The right <CTRL> key works fine, but it's not my motor memory / workflow. This plays havoc with ^c ^v and any number of actions that I would like to continue to be able to do without having to make my brain work too hard!

Sometimes simply using the right <CTRL> key seems to re-enable the left <CTRL> key, and it's good for a while until it isn't. I have not been able to systematically identify circumstances which would provoke it.

As far as I can tell, this does not behave like a mechanical intermittent (eg faulty connection).

I did some googling, and apparently on some desktop environments the <CTRL> key can be used to find the mouse pointer, and the DE gets into some orphan state sometimes. But the closest thing I could find on KDE was something about shaking the mouse (I turned that off in system properties but it didn't help).

This feels like something that should be really easy once you know the answer, so I'm pitching it to y'all ... help? ... thx!

For some reason, this weekend pop os had an update or something and now my laptop won't turn on, i tried all options from new kern to old kern to recovery and all three turned the computer off and restarted, the only one that worked was recovery in init=/bin/bash , that's how I managed to backup my files.

My laptop used to be a galaxy book 4 but I switched to pop os cuz I wanted to use linux

But the weird thing is, is that when I tried to boot a live USB that had endeavorOS it opened up the gui completely fine, it was still turning off if I disconnected the charger but it wasn't turning itself off by default.

So pop os was the cause of my laptop turning itself off, and I suspect it caused this whole situation, and I really want to understand how, cuz how can a kernel update cause my computer to be unable to be turned on without it being connected

I'm trying to stream audio from a Linux Mint laptop (PipeWire/WirePlumber) to a Windows 11 desktop via Bluetooth (A2DP). The goal is to mix the laptop's audio into the desktop's headphones (which are connected to Windows).

The Setup:

• Source: Linux Mint 22.3, PipeWire/WirePlumber, Intel Bluetooth.
• Sink: Windows 11. I'm using third-party software (AudioPlaybackConnector) to make Windows act as an A2DP Sink (receiver).
• The Issue: Windows detects the Linux machine, but it's listed as an audio device (speaker) with a "Sound" icon in the Bluetooth menu. Windows tries to send audio to the Linux machine, which is the exact opposite of what I need. On the Linux side, the a2dp-source profile either doesn't appear or doesn't connect properly, and Windows refuses to act as the sink.

What I've tried on Linux Mint:

1. Manually forcing the profile: pactl set-card-profile bluez_card.XX_XX_XX a2dp-source
2. Creating a WirePlumber config
3. Restarting wireplumber and reconnecting the device.

Despite restricting the roles to [ a2dp_source ], Windows still sees the Linux machine as a speaker (Sink). I've also checked bluetoothctl — the endpoints (sep52, etc.) show up, but Windows doesn't seem to want to initiate an A2DP connection where it is the sink.

Has anyone successfully forced Windows 11 to act as an A2DP Sink for a Linux source? How do I stop Linux from advertising its A2DP Sink capability entirely so Windows is forced to connect as a receiver?

I just got a new laptop with Windows 11 Home Edition. For a long time now, I've been really tempted to switch to Linux but I'm definitely a bit nervous about taking that leap. I have no experience running a Linux based OS.

My primary use cases are making YouTube videos and I also work a lot with Claude Code and other AI related activities.

I'm looking for people who have made this exact switch and would be willing to share their experiences.

My system is

Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16ADR10 Specs:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 8745HX (8 Cores / 16 Threads)
• RAM: 32 GB DDR5
• GPU 1 (Dedicated): NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-Series Laptop GPU
• GPU 2 (Integrated): AMD Radeon Graphics
• Storage (Drive C:): ~1 TB NVMe SSD (Windows-SSD)
• Storage (Drive D:): ~1 TB NVMe SSD (Data)
• Display: 16" WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS Display
• OS: Windows 11 Home

Hi,

So basically installing TOR browser in Ubuntu 24.04 via the terminal using their own instructions turned into a mess for some reason and I have no idea why, I ended up using it in Windows. Has anyone here installed it via the terminal in 26.04? If so what instructions did you use? I know you can do this installation via App Center but I note people often say there are possible security issues because of bizarre time lags between source and App Center versions. TIA.

I have a 2020 MacBook Air with the Apple M1 chip, on Sonoma 14.5 and I'm wondering if I can boot it to Linux for personal use.

I wasn't ever a big fan of Apple and since I've been passed down this Mac last week (sister doesn't use it anymore since getting a PC for uni) I want to know if it'd be smart to switch to Linux on this laptop or if I should just leave the thing be.

I was really happy to try to install linux mint xfce on my laptop. I've put it on a USB, am able to boot it from the USB (and then install it). Though, without usb I am not able to run it. When searching it online it seems I have to select an UEFI file as trused, though this option is nowhere to be found in my bios (I have an Aspire EST -332, Acer).

I tried with chatgpt and it just tells me to check things like if the partition on the laptop is correct. Keep running in circles there...

Here are the pictures of how my bios looks like (without the USB in it):

https://ibb.co/20xJtFq7
https://ibb.co/KpzpjdGr

Any help is very much appreciated. Instead of being fun it is just frustration at the moment....

I'm a new fellow linux user. The mouse sensitivity is very different from mine in windows. I figured because mouse acceleration is on my installation but when I look for it I can't find it

My goal is to make a partition of my ssd in the Debian installation usb. I cannot do it in windows.

Usually, this would just be selecting “manual” as the format when setting up the disk, but when I do that, only the usb flash drive itself shows up, and not the ssd itself. I tried going into busybox and using fdisk but that didn’t work, and neither did cfdisk or part.

After I partition it, I will use the free partition to install Debian and dual boot windows

One of the best things about Linux is the freedom to make your system truly yours, whether you're customizing every little detail, switching from Windows for the first time, or troubleshooting something that should be simple but somehow isn't. There's always something new to learn, and even the frustrating moments can teach you something useful.

For those already using Linux, what advice would you give someone just starting out? And what's one problem you wish someone had helped you solve sooner? Share your experiences and help make the Linux journey a little easier for everyone!

Has anyone found a driver that will run the asus usb-be93 mini wifi?

So I'm an arch user. I know I know Arch btw can't shut up. And honestly I thinking I'm quite larping it... I'm like MintOS user than decide to get on Arch because It have cute package manager. Like I do good most of the time. But a lot of the time in the past I've stuck in look of relying on AI.

As per much recent, I've quit using it entirely and decide to rely on reading wiki and many thing instead for fixing my own stuff.

How do I suppose to get better with these stuff? I'm planning to learn networking and get hand on my homeland too. But that aside how do I gonna get better and feel like I have control of my own computer. One day I wish I can use Gentoo, but as for now I think I know too little stuff to be using it.

As my background I do have a bit Computer Architecture knowledge because I write C and like to read computer book like NAND2Tetris.

Edit: Thanks everyone! I'll try on VM Gentoo and play with it a lot more! And I wanna try other thing than systemd too since I've became quite attached to UNIX principles.

Olá pessoal, alguém mais está enfrentando um bug no Debian 13 Stable em que os caracteres ficam se repetindo/travando como se a tecla ainda estivesse pressionada?

Isso acontece tanto com o teclado integrado do laptop quanto com teclados Bluetooth. Percebi esse problema especificamente no Debian, enquanto outras distribuições com o mesmo hardware não o apresentam. O bug é intermitente e ocorre apenas às vezes.

Especificações do sistema:

SO: Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie) x86_64

Host: Dell Latitude 3420 (Intel i7-1165G7)

DE/WM: GNOME / Mutter (Wayland)

Kernel: Linux 6.12

Alguém já se deparou com isso ou sabe como resolver?

I created 2 DNS records at an external hosting company:

test1.domain.com 8.8.8.8

test2.domain.com 10.243.20.1

When I dig test1.domain.com it resolves.

When I dig test2.domain.com it times out.

/etc/resolv.conf contains "nameserver 127.0.0.1"

So, I do "tcpdump -n -i lo icmp or \(port 53 and host 127.0.0.1\)" and do the digs again, result:

listening on lo, link-type EN10MB (Ethernet), snapshot length 262144 bytes

22:43:08.718430 IP 127.0.0.1.44761 > 127.0.0.1.53: 37990+ [1au] A? test1.domain.com. (56)

22:43:08.719013 IP 127.0.0.1.53 > 127.0.0.1.44761: 37990$ 1/0/1 A 8.8.8.8 (60)

22:43:12.132320 IP 127.0.0.1.50064 > 127.0.0.1.53: 54736+ [1au] A? test2.domain.com. (56)

22:43:17.137606 IP 127.0.0.1.48339 > 127.0.0.1.53: 54736+ [1au] A? test2.domain.com. (56)

22:43:22.134766 IP 127.0.0.1.53 > 127.0.0.1.50064: 54736$ 0/0/1 (50)

22:43:22.134787 IP 127.0.0.1 > 127.0.0.1: ICMP 127.0.0.1 udp port 50064 unreachable, length 86

22:43:22.134870 IP 127.0.0.1.53 > 127.0.0.1.48339: 54736$ 0/0/1 (50)

So, I strace bind. I see the request being answered when I dig test1.domain.com. When I dig test2.domain.com, bind doesn't receive the request. strace stays at: epoll_pwait(5

When I strace dig, resolving test2.domain.com, I just see it timing out after it has sent the request.

I restart bind, no effect.

So I change resolv.conf: nameserver 8.8.8.8, no effect. The tcpdump output is also the same (except the udp port unreachable line).

I create some more test records at the external hosting company: 192.168.1.1, 1.1.1.1, 127.0.0.1.

1.1.1.1 works, the other 2 don't.

My iptables config is quite basic. Also, creating this effect using iptables might not even be possible.

nslookup in stead of dig, makes no difference.

This worked a few months ago and I didn't upgrade the kernel since then. So, it's not the kernel.

It seems the network doesn't really send the request if the resolution is for a non-public ipnumber. However, It cannot know this until after the resolution.

I'm at a loss here. Does anyone have an idea?

I have my fujitsu AH531 with upgraded 8 GB ram DDR3 and upgraded SSD disk up to 256 GB i guess?? The linux distro is antix and i want to turn this into a gaming laptop.

Oh, if you talk about cpu upgrade then no i dont have upgraded and the cpu is Intel Pentium.

Starting by saying I know literally nothing about Linux and a lot of terminology goes over my head but I'm able to work my way around a computer to a level I would label "competent."
I'm moving over to a fully new build while keeping my old one as a streaming PC, mostly for the sake of software compatibility.

My new build consists of:

Motherboard: MSI x870 Tomahawk

CPU: AMD RYZEN 7 9800X3D 8-Core, 16-Thread

RAM: 64gb

Hard Drive: 2tb

GPU: Not yet acquired but plan on getting a MSI Gaming RTX 4080 Super 16G

I plan on using it for Gaming, Editing (DaVinci Resolve), and 3d animation

Let me know if you need any more info, I'm new at this so there is probably stuff I forgot to include that might be important.