How to Switch from Windows to Linux: A Step-by-Step Guide
If you want to switch from Windows to Linux, it takes less time than most people expect – as long as you do things in the right order. This guide walks you through five steps, from preparing your PC and creating a USB stick to a finished system. You can stop at any point: nothing on your drive changes until step four.
Haven’t picked a distro yet? The Linux quiz recommends one in three minutes, and the distro comparison lists all six with download links.
In five steps
1
Back up your data, write down your BitLocker key and find a replacement for each program.
2
Write the ISO file to a stick of 16 GB or more with a small app.
3
Boot from the stick and check that your hardware works – nothing on your drive changes.
4
Switch completely or dual boot next to Windows. Only now does anything on your drive change.
5
Set up updates, the graphics driver, programs, Steam and a backup.
1. Prepare
Back up your data
Trying Linux changes nothing; installing it does. Before that, back up everything you want to keep to an external drive or the cloud: documents, photos, game saves that aren’t synced, and the settings of your most important apps – your OBS scenes, for example, export via Scene Collection → Export. Bookmarks and passwords come back later through your Firefox or Google account.
Important
Your BitLocker recovery key
On new installations, Windows 11 encrypts your drive automatically as soon as you sign in with a Microsoft account – including the Home edition. If you later change the startup settings, Windows asks for the 48-digit recovery key. Without it you can’t get to your data, and according to Microsoft, not even support can recover it.
To see whether encryption is on, go to Settings → Privacy & security → Device encryption. You’ll find the key by signing in with your Microsoft account at aka.ms/myrecoverykey. Write it down or print it, and keep it somewhere other than the computer itself.
Your programs and their replacements
List the programs you actually use and find a replacement for each. Many are available for Linux directly, others work in the browser:
| On Windows | On Linux |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Office | Office on the web, LibreOffice or OnlyOffice |
| Photoshop | GIMP or Krita |
| Lightroom | darktable |
| Premiere Pro | Kdenlive or DaVinci Resolve – though its free version can’t handle H.264, H.265 or AAC on Linux |
| OBS Studio, Discord, Steam, Spotify, Zoom | available for Linux directly |
| Chrome, Edge, Firefox | available for Linux directly |
| Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp | in the browser |
| Stream Deck, GoXLR, Voicemeeter, Streamer.bot | see Streaming on Linux |
| Games and launchers | see Gaming on Linux |
If there’s a program you use every day and can’t replace, dual boot is the way to go: Windows stays around for exactly that program.
2. Create a USB stick
Every distro comes as an ISO file – always download it from the official website. You then write that file to a USB stick with a small app. Anything on the stick gets erased in the process.
Which stick
A 16 GB stick is enough for any of the six distros; Bazzite lists exactly that as its minimum, with an ISO of almost 8 GB. USB 3 is worth it, because Linux runs noticeably faster from the stick. With 64 GB you can also fit a backup of your most important files, and it barely costs more. Common models include:
- SanDisk Ultra Flair, 64 GB* – metal casing, USB 3.0.
- Samsung BAR Plus, 64 GB* – metal casing, USB 3.1.
*Ad (Amazon affiliate link). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The right app
- Fedora Media Writer for Windows, macOS and Linux writes any ISO file, not just Fedora, and Bazzite recommends it too.
- balenaEtcher takes three clicks: pick the file, pick the stick, flash.
- Rufus is for Windows. If Rufus asks how to write the image, choose DD mode – it’s the most reliable for Linux ISOs.
Ventoy sounds tempting because it puts several ISO files on one stick. But it has known problems with Bazzite, and with Secure Boot on it needs extra steps. For your first try, one of the three apps above is the better choice.
3. Try Linux
Plug in the stick and restart your computer. To boot from the stick instead of the drive, open the boot menu: press the right key repeatedly right after switching on – if you wait for the Windows logo, you’re too late.
| Manufacturer | Boot menu key (usually) |
|---|---|
| Dell | F12 |
| Lenovo | F12 or Fn + F12 |
| HP | Esc, then F9 |
| ASUS | Esc on laptops, F8 on motherboards |
| Acer | F12 – sometimes has to be enabled in the BIOS first |
| MSI, ASRock | F11 |
| Gigabyte | F12 |
If no key works, you can also do it from Windows: hold Shift, click Restart, then choose Use a device. In the boot menu, pick the entry that says “UEFI” along with your stick’s name.
Secure Boot
Linux Mint, Zorin OS, Ubuntu and Fedora boot with Secure Boot on; with Bazzite, you enroll a key during installation. For CachyOS, turn Secure Boot off in the BIOS first; after installing, you can set it up again with the guide in the CachyOS wiki.
What to check in the live system
The stick runs a complete Linux system without touching your drive. Use that to check whether your hardware plays along:
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- Sound through speakers, headset and microphone
- Display and resolution – all of them, if you have several monitors
- On laptops: touchpad, special keys and webcam
- Printer and scanner, if you need them
Everything runs a bit slower from the stick than it will from your SSD later – judge the hardware, not the speed. If something doesn’t work, try a second distro before giving up: newer ones like Ubuntu 26.04 or Fedora often recognize hardware that older ones can’t handle yet.
4. Install
From here on, the installer changes your drive. It asks for language, keyboard, time zone and your user account. On Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Zorin OS it also offers a checkbox for third-party software or multimedia codecs – tick it, and videos play right away, including the graphics driver on Nvidia. The most important question is where Linux should go.
Switching completely
Choose the option that uses the whole drive – it’s usually called something like “Erase disk and install”. Windows and all data on that drive will be gone afterwards, so only do this once your backup is done. The installation itself usually takes less than half an hour.
Dual boot: Linux next to Windows
With dual boot you keep Windows and choose which system to start each time. The cleanest setup is a second SSD just for Linux – the two systems stay out of each other’s way, and Bazzite recommends exactly that. First, take care of three things in Windows:
- Back up your BitLocker key, as described above.
- Turn off Fast Startup: Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do → Change settings that are currently unavailable, then uncheck “Turn on fast startup”. Otherwise Windows keeps its drive in a hibernated state, and Linux can’t access it cleanly.
- Only one SSD? Make room: in Disk Management, right-click the Windows partition and choose Shrink Volume. Plan at least 50 GB for Linux, a lot more if you game. Some distros, such as Bazzite, also advise turning BitLocker off completely in this case.
In the installer, pick the second SSD or the space you freed up; Ubuntu, Mint and Zorin often offer “install alongside Windows” directly. The next time you start, a menu lets you choose between Linux and Windows. With two SSDs you can also simply switch through your computer’s boot menu.
5. After installing
- Install updates. The update manager usually pops up by itself; the first round brings quite a few packages.
- Check the graphics driver. Nothing to do with AMD and Intel. How to set up the Nvidia driver is listed for each distro in the distro comparison.
- Install your apps. Use your distro’s software center. Most apps are available there as Flatpaks from Flathub; on Ubuntu they often come as Snaps from the App Center instead.
- Set up Steam and turn on Proton for all games, as described in Gaming on Linux.
- Set up backups. Linux Mint comes with Timeshift for system snapshots. Those protect the system, not your photos – back up your personal files separately.
Where to get help
When something goes wrong, searching for your distro’s name plus the error message almost always helps. The official forums are good places to ask: Linux Mint Forums, Zorin Forum, Ubuntu Discourse and Fedora Discussion. For Bazzite and CachyOS, the links are in the distro comparison.
When you ask, include your distro and version, your hardware, what you did and the exact error message. You’ll get a useful answer much faster.
Going back to Windows?
With dual boot, that’s easy: Windows is still there. If you replaced Windows completely, reinstall it with Microsoft’s installation media. If Windows was activated on that computer before, it usually reactivates on its own, because the license is tied to your hardware or Microsoft account. Then restore your backup.
Last updated: September 2026
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