It works, it just fucking works, no upselling, no AI bullshit. Just a functioning OS
this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
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I am trying to use Mint Linux. It does not just work.
I am not against lunix, but you do need to dedicate time and effort to learn how to get it to do what you want it to.
It has not been an out of box experience for me. In my case, I am running into a GPU issue where installing Nvidia drivers makes the OS boot in safe mode and I have to restore to a previous state from the timeline to get it to boot normally.
Edit: Thanks for all the suggestions! I appreciate that I got these responses from this community instead of a negative dogpile!
Edit2: Hearing a lot of pop_OS suggestions, might give that a spin if I keep on running into Mint issues.
Use the built-driver installer. Disable secure boot.
IT WORKED! I disabled secure boot and that was enough for me to be able to install the 550 version! The game I was trying to get to launch for a while worked!
Thanks again!
So nice to hear! Thanks for reporting back!
I'll give that a shot, thanks for the advice!
FYI, Nvidia drivers can be a bit hit and miss. It takes a little bit of fidgeting to find a combination of kernel and Nvidia that works. And when you do, use timeshuft to make a restore point so that in the future you have a functioning setup to work with.
And when you find a combination that works well, stick to it. The "Omg, new driver is out"-reaction will only cause issues.
For me, Nvidia 535 is the one that has been working out the best. I think I'm running something newer now, but it's still alright.
Mint main, here. This is the way - Now and then Nvidia driver updates do cause some issues, so when upgrading I always make a time shift restore point in case the kernel+Nvidia combo doesn't behave properly.
Remember Torvalds flipping the bird, and telling a corporation to fuck itself? That was NVidia. And that was why he did it.
(I had NVidia GPUs through my whole life, except the last one - an AMD. I'm glad to have switched.)
Anyway, meldrik's answer should work fine.
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It can be a rocky ride if you happen to have hardware that hates Linux. AMD video cards and intel wifi cards are well supported, so sticking with those is like playing this game in the easy mode.
Every OS comes with compromises. With Windows, things generally are well supported, but you get a bunch of annoying features. It's a package deal.
With Linux, you get a different package with different compromises. There will be new things you need to get familiar with, and that can feel annoying. On the other hand, there's no bloat or spyware preinstalled on your system. You have free rein to do what you want, and that can feel awesome and terrifying. With the right hardware, things just work out of the box. With the wrong hardware, some tinkering is required, and some hardware will never work. It's a very different kind of package deal when compared to Windows.
I'd avoid mint if you have an nvidia card or newer hardware. They ship older more "stable" versions of systems packages and kernels that just make it a pain. You may try something with built in nvidia support like PopOs or Catchy.
Nvidia is a real stepping stone on itself, keep with it and I'm sure you'll learn your way around.
Think of it like moving to a new house. Even if you put your furniture in the same place, the floor plan is different, so for the first little bit you're bound to stub your toe in the dark.
I had a bad time with mint on my desktop. HDMI, wifi, Ethernet, none of that worked.
I'm currently on pop_os and it's been fine so far.
@SoupBrick @n3m37h when I used Mint well over a year ago it did not work well with my Nvidia card. So it's no just you. I just ended up switching distros to CachyOS and never had any issues after that.
I tried Cachy and in Helldivers 2 any explosion would make my FPS drop in half, no issues with Nobara though. As long as you're off of windows, idc what flavour ya use lol
I did Garuda dragonized gamer.
Didn't need all the dragonized fluff but wanted the gamer package. No issues so far but I've only tested one game. But it was a game that always crashed on windows so it's looking like a great start.
Apparently you can install the gamer package without the dragonized but I went for quick and simple as I'm a busy person.
If you are on newly released hardware and the other guy's suggestions don't work, Fedora might also work for you. As it has a faster software release cadence and the bug fix might be living in one of those newer versions.
Tough to swallow pills for the Linux community: Linux is not for normies.
I agree with you completely. I'll advocate for Linux everyday. My Steam Deck converted me. My gaming PC is great with CachyOS. I've just finished setting up my Debian server. I'm really getting into this.
But the truth is that this shit is not for normies. And now there are going to be a torrent of replies saying "but it worked fine for me, so your experience is invalid".
The missing piece here is that people have issues to troubleshoot with windows all the time. The narrative that windows has no problems and Linux does is dishonest from the start.
Edit: the real "not for normies" aspect is installing an operating system from scratch in the first place rather than getting one that is already in a stable configuration out of the box.
i have very fond memories of sitting with windows computers and them just.. ignoring the internet connection, the fuck does "unidentified network" mean? Do you fucking see the connection or not you silicon garbage heap?
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I think Linux is for everybody, depending on their setup (distro+hardware)
And what software they need/want to use. I would prefer people use alternatives to software that only runs in windows (or is difficult to get working in wine), but you can't really fault someone for that one sticky program that want to use. (Or have official support for in a business environment)
I've been using mint for maybe 10 years now. I still run into frustrating shit.
Brother printer, well supported by Linux still likes to fight. Playing with brsane4 configs is a joy. Scanning feels like it is still the same all these years later. Cups is not cute.
So many little issues you just have to work through. Virtual box USB pass through; you need virtual box and also the addon pack and you have to add your local user to the vboxusers group, THEN it works. May I please have proton drive? No? OK then. I want to play some old emulated games, Lutris looks promisi--oh my god WHY?!
I'm used to it at this point, but expecting regular users to sudo apt install blah blah ain't happening. Sure ain't happening if they hold broken packages or get stuck where one dependency of a package is unresolvable
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I'm so glad we got to a point where "it just works"*
*Some technical knowledge required, but still.
So I got my brother a video capture card from Ali express, put it in his PC that is running windows, it picked up the drivers but couldn't get video.
Popped it in my system with Nobara, and it just worked.
Happened today lmao
Nobara is pretty idiot proof, to start gaming i didn't have to do anything
Just made the switch recently, never going back to windows.
Gamers are a very tinker-y kind, on average, game mods, custom PCs... Linux is a natural path now that it works with games.
The best upgrade I've made to my Linux PC is going from an NVIDIA GPU to AMD. So so many headaches just went away from that one change. NVIDIA drivers / support is horrendous for Linux.
Their drivers are horrendous on Windows too lately. I have a feeling they started vibe-coding them.
I've not had any issues using my 3070 / 1660 mobile.
Been using Linux around 12m now on all my systems, drivers have luckily been a non issue.
Saying so depending on if AMD want to try and compete in the next generation of GPUs I'll probably swing to team red.
Cringe click bait title
Works for everything else too.
After they switch to Linux the fediverse will become the next appealing thing!
Gateway to a new world
2025 is (finally) my year for Linux. I've used Linux periodically fire 2 decades, but I've always used Windows as my main boot partition on my desktops/laptops.
I recently fucked up my Windows install, which is a whole other story, but point is I need to reformat and start fresh. I'm so sick of Microsoft's shit, and I've been super impressed with Linux on my Steam Deck, so I'm going to be installing CachyOS soon.
My wife's aging laptop is being killed by Windows bloat, too. Works great until Windows decides it needs to lock up 100% CPU, 100% memory, and 100% disk bandwidth to install a Microsoft Edge update. (True story.) She doesn't even want/use Edge. This machine is used 100% for media streaming and web apps, so Linux is a perfect fit.
I have a friend in a similar situation. Both my friend and my wife I'm thinking an immutable distro will likely work best for them.
The big thing that's been holding me back for years is that my desktop rig is my work computer, and I need OneDrive and the latest desktop version of Excel, but I'm so sick of wasting time with Microsoft's bullshit that I'm just going to install debloated Windows 11 in a VM. I just need those two apps, so that'll be plenty.
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