How To Install Linux On Windows Xp Laptop

Microsoft is done supporting Windows XP. If you desire security patches, yous'll have to buy an new boxed re-create of Windows or a new PC — or yous can switch to Linux and get free security updates for years to come.

Not just is desktop Linux more powerful and feature-complete than ever, the operating arrangement you use matters less than e'er. With more than software becoming web-based, Linux is on a more even ground with Windows and Mac Bone X.

Things to Consider

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Not everyone tin can switch to Linux. If you have a Windows-specific business application that only supports Windows XP, yous probably need to keep using Windows XP.

On the other mitt, many people are perfectly happy with their current hardware because it serves them well — their Windows XP computers can browse the spider web, edit documents, play media, and manage photos. Linux tin practice all of these nuts. Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Opera all support Linux. Dropbox offers an official Linux customer, and fifty-fifty Microsoft's own Skype supports Linux. The button towards web-based software also helps — Microsoft doesn't offer Office for Linux, but you lot can use Microsoft's free Office Online service in a web browser on a Linux PC. iTunes doesn't support Linux, but popular services like Spotify, Rdio, and Pandora will run in a browser on Linux just as they do on Windows. Linux also has a large array of free software programs for everything from writing documents to managing media and editing photos.

You can try to use Windows software on Linux via the Wine compatibility layer, but information technology isn't perfect and you lot may have to tweak the programme and struggle with problems. Many programs won't work with Wine at all. It's all-time to use software that supports Linux while you lot're using Linux.

Pick a Linux Distribution

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Offset, you'll need to pick a Linux distribution. Linux distributions accept all the open-source software out there and combine it into a cohesive bundle with their own tweaks.

Ubuntu has the virtually name recognition, simply Linux Mint is too popular. There are many other Linux distributions, just you should probably start with one of these 2. If your computer is on the older and slower side, you lot may want to try a lighter distribution like Lubuntu, which uses a lighter desktop environment and more lightweight software to perform better on older hardware.

The LTS (long-term support) release of Ubuntu provides guaranteed free security updates until April 2022, three years after Windows XP's finish of support date. When 2022 rolls around, y'all tin upgrade to the adjacent version of Ubuntu for free.

Take Linux For a Test Bulldoze

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Download your Linux distribution of selection and y'all'll get an ISO file on your computer. You can burn this ISO file to a CD or DVD or employ a tool similar the Universal USB Installer to install it onto a USB drive. Insert the disc or USB drive into your calculator, reboot, and you should see the Linux system kicking upward instead of Windows. (If Windows boots instead, you may need to change the boot society in your computer'southward BIOS.)

RELATED: 5 Ways To Try Out and Install Ubuntu On Your Computer

Select the "Effort" choice instead of "Install" and your distribution of choice will kick up, allowing you to play with a Linux desktop. Information technology isn't installed on your computer yet — it's running from the disc or USB drive. Bear in heed that it will probably perform slower than if it were installed on your computer, peculiarly if information technology'southward running from a CD or DVD drive.

Install Linux on your PC

If you like the Linux arrangement, y'all can click the Install icon in the live environment to install it onto your reckoner. You'll probably want to install information technology in a "dual-boot" configuration aslope Windows XP if you're new to Linux. Whenever yous kicking your computer, you'll be able to choose whether you want to utilise Linux or Windows. Only reboot to switch between the two.

A dual-boot organization is the all-time way to get your feet moisture while nevertheless having that Windows XP organization effectually in case you need it. As long as you're installing in a dual-kicking configuration, yous can access your Windows data direct from inside Linux.

Alert: If you want to replace Windows XP with Linux, be certain to back up your files first — choosing to overwrite your Windows install will erase all your data. Your data should be safe if you lot install Linux in a dual-kicking configuration, merely you should always have backups in case anything goes wrong.

What Side by side?

RELATED: How Software Installation & Package Managers Work On Linux

You lot tin now use your Linux organization. If you spend most of your fourth dimension in a browser, you lot can just fire up the included Firefox browser and get to piece of work. If you prefer Chrome or Opera, you can download the Linux version from Google or Opera's website.

You'll install most software through a packet director on Linux. Rather than search the web for a program, y'all open the bundle manager application — the Ubuntu Software Center on Ubuntu — and choose a program to install. Your organisation volition download it from Ubuntu's software archives and install information technology automatically — yous won't have to worry about malware or deal with software installers that try to install adware. When software updates occur, they'll appear in your organization'south software updater then you lot can update everything from i place. (The Ubuntu Software Centre now contains some paid software, but nearly of the applications inside it are free.)

A few closed-source, commercial programs nevertheless come from outside these repositories — for example, you'd have to become closed-source software like Skype, Dropbox, Steam, and Minecraft from the official sources. But nigh of the applications yous'll apply are available in your Linux distribution's package managing director.

You won't need antivirus software on Linux. Just exist certain to picket out for social engineering science attacks — you can fall prey to devious attackers no matter what platform you're using.

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Should everyone switch to Linux? Of course non — many people tin't. Just, if you're yet happy with Windows XP because your existing computer serves you well, installing Linux is a free mode to become a secure operating organisation on your computer.

Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/186591/windows-xp-support-ends-today-heres-how-to-switch-to-linux/

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