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Finally making the transition from Windows to a Linux. I'm pretty sure it's been asked several times but which Linux OS would you recommend a beginner to use? I've seen Ubuntu and Mint as a good start. Not looking to do much. Game here and there (not too worried about Linux compatibility), streaming, editing videos. If I break any rules. I'm sorry.

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[-] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 17 points 1 day ago

Go with Mint until you learn more about how Linux filesystems work and then you can go wherever you feel comfortable. Mint just has a really easy install.

[-] Tja@programming.dev -4 points 1 day ago

What is there to learn about Linux filesystems? How is it different from a Windows filesystem, from the perspective of an average user?

Lesson one: files Lesson two: folders Here's your diploma.

[-] Cavemanfreak@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 day ago

You will probably come across having to fiddle with rights, which isn't really a thing on Windows

[-] Tja@programming.dev 1 points 15 hours ago

I use Arch BTW. Haven't had to fiddle with rights in the last 10 years.

[-] Cavemanfreak@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 11 hours ago

I've had to do it a bit on Mint. I have a couple of programs that only come as AppImages and need to be redownloaded everytime there is an uppdate, which means I have to set the rights again. It's also been a thing when setting up qbittorrent and jellyfin.

[-] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Linux filesystems exam time:


section A basics


  1. what does CoW stand for?

  2. evaluate through pros and cons which you personally would pick: Btrfs, ZFS, F2FS, bcachefs, OverlayFS, aufs, Nilfs2, JFFS2, UBIFS


section B btefs


  1. what exactly happens when running this command, including how qgroups, compression, and recursion interact?
btrfs balance start -dusage=5 -musage=20 -c zstd \
    --bg /srv/vms && \
btrfs qgroup limit 50G /srv/vms/guests/win10
  1. explain the effect of the following command on device allocation, RAID reshaping, and metadsta distribution:
btrfs device add -f /dev/nvme2n1 /home && \
btrfs balance start -mconvert=raid1 -dconvert=raid1 -sconvert=dup /home
  1. describe what this snapshotting pipeline does, including send stream structure, parent selection, and how receive-side overwrites are handled:
btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /opt/app /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) && \
btrfs send -c -p /opt/.snaps/last-full \
    /opt/.snaps/auto-$(date +%s) \
    | ssh backup 'btrfs receive -f /backup/opt/incoming'
  1. what actions occur on the filesystem when this defrag call is executed, especially regarding extent sharing and how compression interacts?
btrfs filesystem defrag -r -v -czstd:15 \
    /var/lib/docker/overlay2
  1. analyze subvolume management sequence, including how default-subvolume selection influences mount behavior:
btrfs subvolume delete /mnt/root/@old && \
btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /mnt/root/@clean /mnt/root/@ && \
btrfs subvolume set-default 256 /mnt/root

section C zfs


[...]

/s

[-] Tja@programming.dev 2 points 14 hours ago

Answer for all questions: the average user doesn't care, won't run any of those, won't know what fs is on their system because they will choose the default what the installer suggests. Same as they have no idea about all the ntfs or exfat details of their windows system.

[-] Damage@feddit.it 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

That's for sysadmins.

These days I don't even care what fs I use, I just let the distro choose its default, I simply make sure encryption is enabled.

[-] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 4 points 1 day ago

It's really touching that you consider me to be a sysadmin, because I use Linux and know how my fs works. I'm actually kinda proud of myself. My arch install has been working for many years.

[-] Damage@feddit.it 5 points 1 day ago

Are you saying that you use arch btw?

[-] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 3 points 1 day ago

I use arch btw. Do you also use arch btw?

[-] Damage@feddit.it 5 points 1 day ago

I used to use arch btw, but then I grew old and moved to Fedora. Then I saw the light and installed Bazzite on everything, even my coffe machine. It's got RGB now.
You should install Bazzite, save your soul.

[-] frongt@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

Mount points instead of drives

[-] Tja@programming.dev 3 points 14 hours ago

"What's a mount point? I just click on the disk icon on my desktop, it shows up when I plug in the USB thingy."

- Average user

this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2025
136 points (95.9% liked)

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