SOLVED How can I check to see if my pc is compatible to change to a different OS?

[CalDude]

in the near future iam afraid i wont be hanging onto windows for much longer. -its due to the previous horror stories stemming from the last update. my eyes are set upon linux peppermint, i ran the live version via the usb and found the interface uncomplicated, unlike other linux versions. so for now, i must endure another year of win10..but how can check to see if my pc will accept a new OS installation?

 

[Bighorn]

I'm having no problems with the latest Win10 RTM and very little problems with Win10 IP versions. I do have Linux Mint on a Desktop and a Notebook with Version 19.1, LTS/Long Term Support of 2023.

 

[CalDude]

is there a program or website to see if my pc is compatible?

 

[BigFeet]

If you have any semi modern PC, you should have no hardware comparability issues. The only issue I've found with most debian/ubuntu based linux distros is detecting the correct driver my broadcom wifi adapter, and there's a fairly easy workaround for it. Some wifi usb dongles don't have proper support either. If you have a UEFI bios, you will probably need to disable secure boot. Short of that, you shouldn't have any issues. I've run Peppermint on a couple of my older laptops in the past without issues (short the broadcom wifi issue).

It doesn't hurt to google your specific hardware along with Peppermint linux to see if there's any compatibility issues. And join their community forums https://forum.peppermintos.com.

 

[Trouble]

Generally speaking, in my admittedly minimal experience with various Linux Distros I've found that if the system runs the "Live" version from USB or Optical drive, that it will run it as an install fine, often better because you're not dealing with the fact that the source is not present on the system drive.

You can generally rely on a search engine to give you minimum as well as suggested "system requirements" for your chosen distro but you'll need to do some additional research with respect to any peripherals, (printers, scanners, webcams, etc.) as well as any add-on cards and even some attached / integrated / on-board hardware devices to confirm that you're not going to have driver issues.

I see @BigFeet has added a comment as I was typing this reply.
I will echo his comment(s) and simply state that generally I have found no issues with popular recent distros.

 

[Tim Locke]

I have found over several years ( 1997 through 2012) that if a PC will run the current version of Windows it will run a reputable Linux of the same approximate vintage.. One that is RedHat or Debian based ( back then) IIRC Ubuntu is Debian based and Mint is Ubuntu based.

Back in the day you had to worry about innocent looking distros being UNIX ( BSD) based not true Torwalds Linux...but again, that was then.

Try typing 'Linux taxonomy' into google


I think that the only problem you might have is if you have a really new super-duper graphics card. Neither AMD nor Nvidia prduce new Linux drivers as quickly as they do Windows drivers. Blame that on hard core gamers.

 

[Bighorn]

I think that the only problem you might have is if you have a really new super-duper graphics card. Neither AMD nor Nvidia prduce new Linux drivers as quickly as they do Windows drivers. Blame that on hard core gamers.

If one is being fully honest about the 'progress' in technology that last statement would apply to more than video adapters. Always want the latest/greatest/fastest/biggest. Since we've been using 64-bit computing for awhile now I'm just wondering when 128-bit will come into use.

 

[Tim Locke]

Maybe more likely that regular desktop Mobos will have two cpu slots, two separate PCI buses with some super computer speed connection. One bus for ssds etc and one for video cards. Essentially a small server but biased to video and compute performance.

I wonder how long it will take the gamers to catch up with that

 

[CalDude]

i guess when it comes time to replace windows, ill have to try it out.. it could be next year or the year after for now ill still use the live version to continue to familiarize self with peppermint until i actually go through with changing os.