I'm thinking about trying Linux. I don't know where to start. I'm trying to install Linux on a Gateway GWTC116-2 laptop. It has windows 10 on it. Where do I start?
5 Likes
Welcome! You'll find there's a friendly community around here who will help you along if you choose Ubuntu MATE.
A great place to start is the guide; specifically the how to install section: Ubuntu MATE Guide
That covers roughly what you'll need to do to get started.
An early decision to make is whether to dual boot or not. For a newbie - it might be best to dual boot just in case you need your old OS up and running while you make the bold leap into Linux! But if you're feeling even braver (or more resolute that Windows isnt for you) - by all means start anew and single boot into Linux 
4 Likes
Hi, @RReed1364 and welcome to the Ubuntu MATE Community!
Before actually installing Ubuntu Mate Linux you probably might want to try it first. I.e.
- Boot your laptop/pc from live cd/flash drive in 'try' mode without installing.
- Install Ubuntu Mate Linux in virtual machine using free
VirtualBoxor VMWare workstation software.
Good luck!
4 Likes
Once you've made a bootable USB stick boot into it and select Try Ubuntu Without Installing and give it a try and find if it's for you or not.
3 Likes
Welcome to the Ubuntu MATE forum, where the software is great and the people even better!
I agree with the others who suggest doing a "try before you buy" approach, by making a bootable USB thumb drive with a fully functional Linux (preferably Ubuntu MATE) that you can use without installing a thing. If you've not made a Linux bootable thumb drive before, here are the basic steps:
To create a bootable Linux USB drive, you will need a computer with a USB port, a USB flash drive with at least 16GB of space, and a tool to write the Linux ISO image to the drive.
The process varies slightly depending on your host operating system.
On Windows, you can use tools like Rufus or the built-in "Write a Linux ISO to USB" feature. For Rufus, connect the USB drive, launch the application, select the Linux ISO file under "Boot selection," choose the correct USB drive from the "Device" list, and select the appropriate partition scheme (MBR for BIOS or GPT for UEFI) and file system (FAT32 or NTFS).
Then, click "Start" and confirm the warning that all data on the USB drive will be erased.
Alternatively, using the built-in feature, select the ISO file and choose the recommended "Write in ISO Image mode".
Then, when you reboot, select the USB drive from the list of bootable devices and you'll be introduced to the wonderful world of Linux.
And if you have questions, we are here to help!
4 Likes
I see that computer does not allow 2 separate disk drives internally.
Windows doesn't "play nice" with Linux/GRUB.
So ... for a test drive the Live ISO is a definite first step to confirm
-
whether you can adapt to a Linux paradigm,
-
which of the many flavours would be most amenable to your sense of "intuitive way of doing things", and
-
whether you still want to keep a working image of Windows "hanging around" as a fall-back for stuff that just doesn't work out well for you under Linux-only configuration.
For myself, I have only Linux, for 20 years now, and I haven't looked back.
I also landed on UbuntuMATE, after trying others, because it has the more intuitive layout than others (at least for what I consider intuitive )!
You need to decide for yourself which desktop interraction you prefer:
-
Mac-like,
-
Windows-like, or
-
Linux (and I choose this word carefully) riot (of choices) ... meaning a Desktop Manager which are a blend, to a varying degree, of the User Interaction experienced from each of the pure Mac, Windows, or UNIX/Linux-only "widgets".
Once you decided whether you want
- Windows on external USB with Linux-only internal,
- Multi-boot with internal Windows and Linux, or
- pure Linux-only,
you need to plan
-
your USB-based Windows installation (if applicable),
-
your offline backup, prior to install (of Linux secondary/primary OS), with a view of
-
full recovery, if issues develop during dual-boot install, or
-
selectively restoring into the Linux filesystem (if that is your intent).
Not wanting to scare you off Linux, adopting Linux is an adventure ... which can be a hugely beneficial learning and liberating experience ... if you approach it methodically! If you dive in ... willy-nilly ... by tackling specific issues without doing your own "deep-dive" research and understanding the full context and range of choices ... you will get into trouble! Sometimes ... you can dig yourself out of those holes, it they aren't too deep ... but ... in other cases, you need to do a full rebuild, hopefully with a full backup available to restore your "most recent safe point"!
Tread carefully, and all will go well!
Welcome aboard the Linux train!
Not wanting to put you in a state of information overload, you might wish to familiarize yourself with the information offered in each of the following, if you haven't already:
- My Search for a new Linux Desktop Environment
- Here are the Most Beautiful Linux Distributions in 2025
- 13 Lightweight Linux Desktop Environments for Old Computers
- Comparison of X Window System desktop environments - Wikipedia
- DistroWatch.com: Ubuntu MATE
- List of Linux distributions - Wikipedia
What these will all underline is that being a Linux User is a state of mind, one of being adaptable, open to change (with a range of choices for Distro each reflecting how much), and being willing to take on the responsibility to actually manage how your Desktop and Tools are put together (customization) and maintained (when and how updated). That level of control is never possible with the likes of MacOS or Windows. But the old adage applies:
- With great control (power) comes great responsibility!
There is nobody else to push it onto! You can, and will, seek and find much help, but you will always have the reins in your own hands!
3 Likes
Welcome to the Ubuntu MATE forums!
Similarly, with what the others have said, this is a great place to get started. In my opinion, Ubuntu MATE is a great distribution for a beginner. The installation process is straightforward and I find the default User Interface (UI) very intuitive.
The nice thing about Ubuntu MATE is that it allows you to change the appearance of the “MATE Desktop” (which is called the “desktop environment” or “graphical user interface”) by selecting an option in the “MATE Tweak” Tool.
I cannot comment about dual booting as I’ve never done it. When I switched to Linux, I bought a new laptop for the specific purposes of installing Linux on it. I did a bit of research beforehand which helped. However, I had some “points of failure” along my learning journey, one of which included deleting shim and hosing my NVME drive. I had to send my laptop back to the manufacturer to install a new one. Thank goodness for “we don’t ask” warranties!
Also, take note of which software/programs you use and which hardware you have, especially if it is in the category of “unique” or “speciality” (light-up keyboards, gaming, and streaming equipment come to mind). Research quickly on Google if what you need to use is compatible with Linux. For me, it was easy, as I never had any of that stuff and I don’t need Microsoft Office or Adobe products (heck, I wanted to get away from them as much as possible, and now having used LibreOffice for my tasks, I’ll never go back). However, if you need to use some software that is not compatible with Linux, it is something to keep in mind.
I 100% agree with this forum being a fantastic and welcoming space for a beginner. If you choose Ubuntu MATE as your first distribution, and have any questions, someone on this group will be happy to help.
Welcome aboard.
Jaymo
2 Likes
Welcome! Nothing new I can that has not already been said, but being a relative newbie myself, you have found a great, friendly and helpful community.
For me, I started with an older laptop and tried a few distros on a usb stick as other have suggested. When I was ready to install, I just wiped the drive and loaded linux only. So if you have an old laptop lying around, you can try that first as linux will run great on just about any machine and I would avoid the hassle of a dual boot if you can.
Good luck and have fun!
3 Likes
Another thing you might want to do is check on are peripherals like your printers and scanners before you install. Not every manufacturer supports Linux well. I have found HP to have the best printer support for Linux, and Brother second best. You don’t want to wipe you hard drive and then find out your printer won’t work. You can always list your printer here and get help.
3 Likes
I have a Canon TS 3122, will that work with Ubuntu-Mate?
2 Likes
Yes, but it is not plug and play. You have to install Canon’s Linux drivers for it (cnijfilter2). If you decide to do it and need help installing this driver, let us know.
This is a database of all available plug-n-play printers.
2 Likes
By the way Windows 10 (which they reported using) works just fine with Linux as dual boot e.g. I still have a small Win10 partition just in case. Windows 11 is another story; due to some secure boot settings that need working around.
1 Like
For the record, Stephen, I didn't say that you couldn't get Windows as a dual-boot setup.
I said it didn't play nice.
That is because Windows likes to mess with GRUB, which then creates problems for having a working Linux on a same hard drive. Hence my "harping" on keeping the Windows disks as "pure" as possible, but set up as secondary disk with a GRUB-installed disk with Linux (etc) on the primary disk.
2 Likes
Yes, although, even different versions of Linux don't necessarily play "nice" with each other for dual boot.
If Windows is already installed then the Ubuntu installer (and others) do a really good job of ensuring dual-boot works out-of-the-box in most situations. There can be loss of dual-boot when Windows applies a major update as these can overwrite the bootloader.
2 Likes
I don't understand, what do you mean by “I see that computer does not allow 2 separate disk drives internally.” Would you please explain?
2 Likes
All he means, I think, is your laptop only has space/connections for 1 internal hard drive. If you had two, you could load linux on one and windows on the other, which is a prefered method. You can, however, have external harddrives or even an enclosure.
2 Likes
Your laptop model can have multiple partitions (each with its own OS), but only on a single physical hard drive.
There are a rare few laptop models that have room for more than one physical hard drive, such as the HP ZBook (some with even more).
4 Likes