Would like to replace Windows 7 with Linux mint

I would like to replace windows 7 with linux mint however there are too many options to consider in doing so so i'm hoping this forum which has been helpful so far, can help walk me through the steps.

a lot of the tutorials i've found are years old so i'm not certain how well the steps would work.. the most straightfoward tutorial i could find on youtube pertains to linux mint 17.1 but i don't know how difficult it would be to upgrade to linux mint 18, assuming i could successfully install 17.1.
so what is the easiest, most straightfoward way of installing linux mint 18? as i understand there are different ways of installing such as dual boot, install to usb drive, replacing windows 7 entirely, etc. being a complete newbie, what would be the easiest way to install it in case i would like the option to return to windows if i'm not comfortable with linux?
my pc is a toshiba laptop Satelllite C655, Windows 7 64 bit.
 
thanks for your help everyone,

Edited by Queen-Evie, 15 July 2016 - 10:47 PM.
moved from Linux How-To and Tutorial Section

Well the good news is that most installation instructions for Linux Mint have changed very little over the last four years or so so do not worry about having a old video guiding you installing Linux Mint as what was true for 17.1 will be true for Linux Mint 18

If you want to REPLACE Windows, just tell it to use the whole drive. It will set the drive up in a way to take care of everything for you.

 

If you want it to KEEP Windows, tell it to make space. How effective that could be, though, depends on how much space is free and how much Windows will complain about lack of space afterward.

 

But since you said you want to replace it. just do the first one mentioned.

 

BTW I dumped Windows for causal use in 1997 (Redhat 4.2, before their Enterprise stuff started) and never looked back. Give it a little time and you'll be delighted with your decision.

There is another alternative.....I have this myself and it works....brilliantly.

 

I have a 240gb ssd plus two hdd each 300 gb......I use the hdd's for storing movies and other data, including backups.

 

The ssd holds my main OS....Linux Mint Sarah Cinnamon...64 bit

 

Then....also on the ssd I installed Virtual Box (by oracle)....and then 'installed' win 10 inside that "virtual machine"

 

That installation only took up approx 25gb.....and took approx 15 minutes to do.

 

So....I have the best of both worlds...linux mint 18 on two monitors....and win 10 when i need it on either monitor.

 

(I only use win 10 to stay in touch with help i provide here at BC.....if I didnt help at BC, I would not have win 10 at all)

 

Do yourself a favor....download Linux Mint 18 (32 or 64 bit).....and also download a copy of windows 10 while it is still free.

 

Then you can relax and take your time making your decision.

 

Using windows 10 is quite easy.....if you can handle win 7, you can handle win 10.

 

 

Windows 10

 

 

 

Linux Mint 18 Cinnamon Sarah

 

The download of Linux is biggish...approx 1.7gb

 

Once downloaded you need to "burn' it to a thumb drive.......Use Unetbootin   (use the windows download)

 

Store the windows 10 download on a Separate thumb drive.

 

This is, of course, only any use to you if you decide to go the way I have described.

 

Try not to get too caught up in the "which distro is right for me" argument/discussion/rabbit hole....etc etc...it is a never ending brain teaser that will eventually turn you off linux.

 

The really simple choice is between Linux Mint Sarah Cinnamon ....or Linux Mint Sarah Mate

 

The real difference between these is the "desktop Environment".....in other words what you see when the os boots to desktop.....and how you go about clicking on something to access a browser, or top do whatever it is you wish to do. The layouts will be different.....some people feel more "at home" with mate...others not so much....have a look on youtube at the difference.

 

Thats enough for you take in.

 

 

I would strongly advise against just deleting Windows until you are sure you want Linux, If you have a spared Hard Drive, I suggest you pull out the Hard drive with Windows on it and store it some place, Put in the spare Hard drive and install Linux on it.

 

You can also burn the ISO of your choice to DVD and try it that way. You may have to set your PC to boot from DVD in BIOS.

 

How to burn ISO image using Windows Burn Disk Image.
 
Notice:  This applies only to Windows 7 and Windows 8, earlier versions do not have this.
 
1.  Place a blank CD or DVD in the tray of your optical drive and close the tray.
 
2.  After you have downloaded the ISO image you want to burn right click on the Start orb, then choose Windows Explorer.
 
3.  When Explorer opens click on Downloads in the left pane.  Scroll down till you find the ISO file you want and double click on it.  Click on Burn Disk Image.
 
4.  In the image below you will see Disk burner:, this should be set to the optical drive you want to use.  Click on Verify disc after burning if you want to Windows to verity the disc image after burn.  Click on burn.
 

 
5.  In the image below you can see that the green progress bar, when the image is finished burning the bar will be filled.
 

 
6.  After the image has completed being burned click on Close.

I would like to replace windows 7 with linux mint however there are too many options to consider in doing so so i'm hoping this forum which has been helpful so far, can help walk me through the steps.

 

Yes there are many options as you see, and that's why NickAu's suggestion will be best for you imo also.  As cheap as drives are these days it would only cost you about 50 US - give or take a little - for a new drive.  The install process is usually quite simple but can get complicated when Windows is already on the drive - not always, but probably with this pc it will be.

 

Optional but Recommend:  That being said, before you move on, you should really consider creating a "DVD Recovery Set" as should everyone that buys a new computer.  "Optional" because, if you use NickAu's method, you don't have to do this.  This will not save your Personal Data, it is a copy of your original OEM Install.  Refer to Page 69 of this PDF, and backup your personal Data to a USB also.  And, if you should decide to install over Windows 7 you will have this to fall back on, but is more of a last resort, because it will require a Full W7 Install, all Updates, and possibly lot's of headaches.

http://support.toshiba.com/support/staticContentDetail?contentId=2728348&isFromTOCLink=false

 

 

a lot of the tutorials i've found are years old so i'm not certain how well the steps would work.. the most straightfoward tutorial i could find on youtube pertains to linux mint 17.1 but i don't know how difficult it would be to upgrade to linux mint 18, assuming i could successfully install 17.1.

 

You cannot upgrade from 17.1 to 18, you need to Upgrade to 17.3 first, then to 18.  I would advise, just to install one and be done with it, weather it be 17.3 or 18.

 

If I were you, I would install 17.3, because it has been around for a while and most the bugs worked out, and there's lot's of folks that can help you with it, it's also supported til 2019.  Others might have different opinions, but with your older hardware, it is not imperative to install 18.  

Hi jevang, and to BC (Bleeping Computer) and to the Linux & Unix Section, we hope you will enjoy your stay.

Given

 

 

...in case i would like the option to return to windows if i'm not comfortable with linux?

 

... then your best option is definitely dualbooting. I did so with Windows 7 two years ago, and within months, I blew Windows away and have been totally Linux ever since (now running 33 Linux Distributions), so I am definitely an example, as sinister_midget  has said, of

 

 

 

... Give it a little time and you'll be delighted with your decision.

 

But having a recovery solution in place is always a good choice, to cover all contingencies.

 

Good luck, and we've got your back.

 

Enjoy Linux, I do

 

Wizard

 

 

I would strongly advise against just deleting Windows until you are sure you want Linux, If you have a spared Hard Drive, I suggest you pull out the Hard drive with Windows on it and store it some place, Put in the spare Hard drive and install Linux on it.

 

+1!

 

And especially if the computer is under warranty. Unless a Linux OS is preinstalled, any warranty support is flushed down the toilet, should you require service while covered. Some OEM's doesn't even cover upgrading to later OS, in particular W10, even though it's free. This may be because there are no OEM supplied drivers for the new OS, there has been cases of UEFI 'semi-bricking' that takes skill to fix, and this isn't covered by the OEM warranty, though may be by an extended (3rd party) one. 

 

I still have my original HDD that my main PC (XPS 8700 shown in sig) shipped with, in a box that another HDD arrived in with end caps to protect the drive. Should I require extended warranty service, all of my upgrades are coming out & the original reinstalled. This also helps the service center in diagnosing the computer. If out of warranty, it may also assist the end user, many ships with a suite of tests to run to check components. 

 

Though once out of warranty, have an exact identical HDD (down to the model), though the one I'm currently running says 'Seagate' on the label & the original says 'Dell', otherwise are the same, checked before ordering, will try one of those RAID setups with the two HDD's when that time comes. It's something I've never done, and would like to try it to help me understand how this works, if for no other reason. This can allow me to assist others with RAID setups when I've had to turn down work because that's how their OS was running. With today's very low SSD prices, there's no need for this with two HDD's, though some also does the same with two identical SSD's. While this may produce more speed, the only real way to accomplish this is through an NVMe SSD. 

 

http://www.pcgamer.com/best-nvme-ssds/

 

As to your Linux Mint setup, it's important to create separate root & /home partitions, and a small Swap (most only needs 1024MiB) & it can be placed between root & /home. The reason for this is based on the same principle of why Windows users has Data partition(s) for their non-OS personal data of all types. It's very easy to reinstall an OS, it's the data that's not. In fact, it's preferable to keep an extra copy on a detachable external & remove as soon as transferred. For this reason, this is why we also have a /home partition. 

 

If an older (pre Windows 8) computer with a BIOS, here's a simple Tutorial on how to install Linux Mint, the OS I've ran for over 7 years.

 

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/579923/how-to-dual-boot-windows-ubuntu-based-linux-oss-mbr-method/

 

While it covers dual booting, if desired you can skip the parts pertaining to that & simply follow the Linux install procedure. Be sure to download the ISO that matches your computer's hardware, by that I mean if it's 64 bit hardware, then download the 64 bit ISO for install. There are some security features & others of your CPU that requires a 64 bit OS to take advantage of. If you don't have a ton of RAM, no worries, Linux MInt requires much less resources to run than any supported Windows OS. I've ran AV scans & still didn't use 1GB of RAM (around 700-800MB). And speaking of that, an AV is optional for Linux OS's, though after install & before updating (after reboot of OS install), enable the ufw Firewall by opening the Terminal, the black icon on the Panel towards the left, and type or copy/paste sudo ufw enable & provide your password at the prompt. It should then say that it's activated & will run at startup.

 

Good Luck with Linux Mint 18!

 

Cat

hi everyone, i know this is pretty delayed, but iv been preoccupied with a lot of things lately.

i decided that buying a new hard drive and installing linux mint on it would be the best option. unfortunately i'm unable to even burn the ISO on my other computer and the laptop on widnows disc image burner. it seems like the dvd r drive doesn't recognize when there's a recordable disc in both cases.

i went here : https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/314060 and tried the first and third approach to solving the problem, no results.. i am hesitant to try the second and fourth approach for fear of damaging the system.

suggestions?

Edited by jevang, 25 July 2016 - 08:15 AM.

Another option is to make a live USB stick:

http://unetbootin.github.io/

thanks AI1000, it looks like it's running,  i understand there's also several things to do such as installing drivers before using linux, however i am unable to set up wifi so i'm guessing i can't do those things until i do so?

Edited by jevang, 25 July 2016 - 09:36 AM.

thanks AI1000, it looks like it's running

Pleased to hear it.
 

i understand there's also several things to do such as installing drivers before using linux

Only with some hardware; I've installed lots of Linux operating systems and have never had to install any drivers beforehand. Linux distros generally come with drivers that will run most hardware.
 

however i am unable to set up wifi so i'm guessing i can't do those things until i do so?

It should be possible to set up wifi on a live system in most instances. Have you taken any steps to set it up so far?

Edited by Al1000, 25 July 2016 - 09:52 AM.

as far as the wifi goes, no i haven't.. i've been trying to go by this guide to set up the system, however: https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/mint-cinnamon-first

just for the first few steps.

hope the info on that page isn't inaccurate. is a lot of it unnecessary in your opinion?

edit: nvm, i just set up the wifi i must have passed over some minor detail.

Edited by jevang, 25 July 2016 - 10:04 AM.

Just to confirm where you're at, have you installed Mint to your computer, or are you running it "live" from the USB?

hmm...yeah i was wondering about that but didnt want to make any wrong moves. i am running it live from usb. i'm guessing i have to actually install it yet... how would i go about doing that? again, i'm worried that i'll screw something up,

Edited by jevang, 25 July 2016 - 10:08 AM.