Microsoft aren't withdrawing Windows Defender malware signature updates from Windows 10 until 2028 so there's no reason to use these bloatware apps

I strongly recommend using Linux, subject to a few caveats:-

1) Firstly make sure there are no programs that are essential for your purposes that are do not have equivalents in Linux. For me that requires access to windows to run CAD & Garmin Basecamp routing software. For CAD I have a virtual machine (VirtualBox) running on my Linux PC with a copy of Win10 running completely disconnected from the Internet. Garmin Basecamp however requires access to the Internet for updates so it has to be run on a dedicated Windows machine. All my other needs are covered by Linux software.

2) Test the machine using a live USB stick to ensure that the WiFi chip is identified and works with the version of Linux you have selected.

So long as you are able to connect to the internet, you should be able to set your machine up to dual boot and run Linux as your primary system. By using Windows as a secondary system and moving all your secure items, eg banking, to only access them through Linux it will reduce the risks of any issues with the Windows partitions being hacked.

Spent an hour faffing around with various Linux installation vids. Got as far as the Installation section but unable to find out how to boot the file from the USB drive.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....ed328e5f24.jpg

I think you have to restart the machine, get into the BIOS & change the boot order such that when you save & exit the BIOS the computer will run the OS on the F: drive.

A bit too scary for me! Here's the contents of the 'boot' folder.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....c3e7725a12.jpg

That will be where the BIOS finds the OS to load during startup. The trouble is that you can't boot another OS once Windows or any OS has already booted. , just watch the first 10 minutes.

Once you have set a removable drive as the first option, any time you start the PC with a bootable USB drive inserted the BIOS will load the OS off the drive. You usually get options to either run the OS as a trial from the USB drive or install to an internal hard drive, permanently deleting the contents of that drive. If you're just trying out a Linux OS, once you shut the machine down, remove the drive before startup & the BIOS will then load the OS from the next bootable drive, in your case Windows on an internal hard drive. That way you can test many different flavours of Linux. That YouTube channel also has videos on how to set up a dual boot system.

An alternative would be to set up virtual machine(s) on Windows using VMware or VirtualBox to try out Linux before committing to a full install but that's likely to be a bigger faff than just changing the boot order in the BIOS.

Also, make sure that you have created a bootable USB using the linux iso image - e.g. using Rufus to make the bootable USB.

Many modern UEFI BIOSs (e.g. ASUS) have a boot manager built in, so you don't have to make any setting changes (re-ordering the boot priority), just select the device from a list and it will boot from it next boot up.

Thanks for the inputs. Sadly this is way beyond my extremely limited tech capabilities. I’m worried I’ll destroy everything on the Lenovo. Perhaps I’ll just have to buy the MS protection package.

I am very favourably impressed by Linux Mint - worth persevering with if you can.

Just a thought - have you checked your specific model on Lenovo's support page to check for Win 11 compatibility, rather than relying on MS?

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/p...for-windows-11

You would have to try extremely hard to destroy anything on your machine simply by booting into a 'live' Linux image. Having booted into that image you can only overwrite the existing disk contents if you actually ask to install Linux - and then only after going through a series of questions (about keyboards, country etc), or if you deliberately use the file browser to select a file on your disk and delete it. IOW the live image is pretty benign and is designed to allow you to freely check out your machine using Linux without actually altering anything.

As others have said here it's [in my view] definitely worth persevering, and once you have it running I expect you'll realise (a) how simple it really was (b) how good it is :) Without wishing to repeat too much what others have said I expect that if the machine is not booting into Mint it is either:

(i) The USB drive boot image wasn't created properly. I use Linux to create these but there are instructions here for M$ and Mac in case you wanted to check out what you've done.
(ii) You've not yet found the magic incantation to select the USB drive for boot. Unfortunately there's no universal key here, some machines use del, F2, F8, but (without knowing the specific model of your machine) Lenovo seem to use F12. So, when you first turn on the machine begin tapping the F12 key reasonably quickly and regularly, hopefully a screen will pop up asking which drive to use as boot - select the USB drive and go from there.

If that doesn't work, let us know what your machine model is and we can probably confirm what the boot selection key is. Remember that nothing described above is permanent or would destroy anything extant on the machine.

FP.

If you want to keep Windows, why do you not create a bootable iso of Windows 11 using Rufus (it will get you by all the 'tiger traps'). Then take out your present hard drive, put in a blank new one and then insrtall Windows 11 onto it. You can then transfer all your files by connecting your original drive via a USB port. Linux is fine but does have limitations

Hi Discorde,
If you can find a way (perhaps someone to look over your shoulder) to adjust the BIOS settings so that you can boot from a USB (at most, it will give you the option, it won't change your normal use of the system), you will have several new options available to you. On some laptops, it's as simple as holding down a key when you power it up, no need to change BIOS settings at all. Which model Lenovo do you use?

Thanks for info chaps. This old brain gets weary struggling with modern tech so I've wimped out and ordered a new laptop. How dare you accuse me of laziness!

It's a shame that Linux is such a faff to install compared to all other programs and apps. Presumably the reason is that Microsoft don't want people to escape from Windows.

I'll leave the thread extant so that braver souls can follow the guidance of the posters here if they're determined to forge ahead with installing Linux - good luck!

That part is easier said than done. Migrating applications from one Windows machine to another isn't trivial.

I disagree wholeheartedly with the notion that Linux is a faff to install.

With respect, your inability to configure your system to boot from an installation medium would have equally prevented you from installing Windows, and should not be taken as evidence that Linux is a "difficult" OS.

I don't want to turn this into a Linux / Windows (or heaven forbid Mac) debate, but I couldn't let that statement go unchallenged.

It's more a case of computers being pre-configured and changing that being the challenging bit. We live in a very Windows-centred computing world and veering off that straight and narrow path can be daunting. Macs offer a perfectly fine alternative if you're willing to stray over to the dark side.... :E

There's always one, isn't there! :p Having recently attempted to help someone transfer to an iOS-based Mac (over several days) the interface was proving difficult enough but when it came to a single-button mouse that was just the end .. I then installed Mint on said Mac, with 'standard' mouse, and they said, 'oh, it's just like Windows used to be isn't it', sigh :)

FP.

I certainly won't be dumping my perfectly satisfactory W10 machines for new equivalents with the added pleasurable experience of migrating all of my software over to all six them. At 80 years of age, I may not live long enough to complete the job (I started with a a Tandy model I running from a cassette late century, and I've wasted a lot of my lifetime dabbling with most of the Microsoft OS's that came along). Indeed two of these machines are Lenovo laptops dedicated to amateur radio stuff and would qualify for the migration, but I'm not prepared to risk incompatibility issues. Not that I back away from a challenge. About two years ago I started running Raspberry pi devices for ADSB reception and on-feeding. This can be fun, but I've managed to get successful results from all 4 of them.

Finally, I must admit that I've dabbled in various Linux versions over the past fifteen years or so and while almost all of them worked as advertised, they were just too 'different' to be of any real use. However recently I came by an unwanted, but very nice Toshiba laptop (Windows Vista - yuk!) as a freebie, for just for laughs, I bought an inexpensive ssdrive and installed Linux Mint. The result was most impressive! It was almost intuitive in its operation, and scored five stars with an 'Office' suite which is very similar to the MS version which we have come to know. On that basis, I would cautiously recommend it to anyone of an adventurous spirit and who needs only the basics which the MS alternative offers.

Easy for file transfer if you try one of these: USB to HDD cable