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.
Encrypting your drive
Windows 11 has probably encrypted your drive without you noticing – see BitLocker. Linux only does it if you choose it in the installer. Without encryption, anyone who gets hold of your computer, or just its SSD, can read your files. On a laptop that might get left behind or stolen, you shouldn’t skip it.
| Distribution | Where in the installer | Next to Windows on the same SSD? |
|---|---|---|
| Linux Mint, Zorin OS | Advanced features → encryption, only together with “Erase disk” | No – only on an SSD of its own |
| Ubuntu | a step of its own: Encrypt with a passphrase, or hardware-backed via the TPM chip (still beta, according to Ubuntu), then without a password at startup | Yes |
| Fedora, Bazzite | checkbox Encrypt my data in the storage setup | Yes |
| CachyOS | checkbox Encrypt system when partitioning | Yes |
After that, Linux asks for the password every time it starts, before it boots. If you forget it, your data is gone – nobody can recover it. So keep it as carefully as your BitLocker key. On handhelds you need a USB keyboard to unlock the drive, as Bazzite’s installation guide points out.
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.
Security and privacy
Many people switch because they no longer trust Windows with their privacy. Linux makes a real difference there – but it doesn’t make you untouchable. The essentials:
What changes for your privacy
None of the six distros in the distro comparison requires an online account, shows ads in the Start menu or has an advertising ID. Who sends what:
- Ubuntu asks during setup whether it may send system information to Canonical. Nothing is sent unless you say yes.
- Zorin OS counts its users with an anonymous signal that includes an ID for your installation. You can opt out during installation, on the updates screen (Zorin OS Census).
- Fedora and Bazzite count their installations when checking for updates – without an ID, only with a rough idea of how old the installation is.
- Linux Mint and CachyOS send nothing of the kind.
What stays the same: your browser, your Google, Discord or Steam accounts and everything you share there. The operating system is only one part of the picture.
Updates are your best protection
Most attacks exploit holes that were patched long ago. So install updates promptly – the update manager lets you know on its own, and there are no forced restarts like on Windows. Bazzite updates itself in the background, and CachyOS, as a rolling release, gets updates especially often. By the way, a computer that’s too old for Windows 11 gets security updates again with Linux; for Windows 10 they end on 12 October 2027.
How the six differ on security
On privacy the six are close, on security they aren’t. Two things make the difference: whether every app really gets security updates, and which protection layer the system ships with – it limits what a compromised app can do.
| Distribution | Security updates | Protection layer out of the box |
|---|---|---|
| Linux Mint, Zorin OS | Guaranteed only for the core of the package sources (“main”). The largest part (“universe”) gets no guaranteed updates – so install apps as Flatpaks where you can. | AppArmor |
| Ubuntu | The same split. With Ubuntu Pro, free for up to five devices, “universe” gets security updates too. | AppArmor |
| Fedora | No such split, and new versions arrive quickly. | SELinux |
| Bazzite | Like Fedora. On top of that, the system itself is read-only, and an update can be rolled back. | SELinux |
| CachyOS | The fastest to get the latest versions. Nobody reviews packages from the AUR beforehand – malware turned up there in 2025. | None – AppArmor can be added. Secure Boot is off after installing. |
That’s why Fedora and Bazzite get an extra point in the Linux quiz if security matters to you.
Apps from known sources
On Windows you often download programs from some website. On Linux you get them from the software manager, and their updates come along automatically. On Flathub, where most apps come from, a Verified checkmark shows that the developer is provably behind the package. Don’t trust it blindly, though: fake crypto wallets have kept turning up in Ubuntu’s Snap Store since 2024.
Unlike on your phone, a program on Linux can usually access all of your files. Flatpaks do run in a sandbox, but many ask for broad permissions. Flathub shows which ones before you install, and the Flatseal app lets you restrict them afterwards.
Be careful with guides that have you paste commands into the terminal, too. Only run what comes from a source you trust – a command with sudo can do anything.
Antivirus and firewall
You don’t need antivirus software like on Windows for everyday use: malware for Linux desktops is rare, and the software manager replaces the downloads it usually arrives through on Windows. But no operating system protects you from phishing emails, fake websites and stolen passwords – a password manager and two-step sign-in protect you there more than any distro.
All six come with a firewall. On some it’s off by default, because a freshly installed system doesn’t offer any services to the outside. It only starts to matter once you share something yourself, such as a server.
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: October 2026
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