Each Distro is effectively a different OS, so depending on what you run you will have a different experience.

I started out on OpenSUSE because a CAD software for work only was supported on RedHat or SUSE. NVidia hosts a repo specifically for OpenSUSE so I added that and it figured out the driver. So all those nVidia complaints I read about just never happened for me. No tearing or flickering.

My wife's old laptop couldn't run W10 so we put Linux on it. Every Debian based distro I tried would crash on install, or hardware error during boot. But Fedora or OpenSUSE worked fine (warned of error but worked around it). Eventually moved her machine to NixOS, and its been stable for years.

Just because a distro gives you pain, dont give up if you still enjoy the idea of Linux, there are so many distros that one will work better for your needs

Windows was just the boat you already knew.

Now you have a new (more adaptable) one and don't know all it's squeaks and rattles. You're neither dumb nor is something wrong. You just aren't familiar with what it needs from you.

Give it some time (a week compared to how long in windows?) and attention and soon you'll wonder why you ever second guessed it.

My first month on Linux was rough but with my husband’s help and experience; we soon found an experience that was quite satisfying and we have stuck with it since.

Experiment and try to fail to find what makes you happy

Nvidia, Nvidia did this.

When installing distributions generally regarded as user-friendly on hardware that's well-supported, I usually do have pretty low-fuss experiences. It's usually no more trouble than installing Windows, though the average Windows user has never actually done that.

When installing Arch Linux ARM on an old Chromebook and trying to make tablet mode and rotation play well with various lightweight window managers, I did not, in fact have a flawless experience. Once I tried Gnome on it, the experience became much smoother, but that's a little heavyweight on a 4gb machine.

You're conflating a bunch of things that aren't Linux issues here.

1. You didn't have the proper setup for Nvidia to start with. Shouldn't be a problem in the future.
2. If Vivaldi had screen flickering, that's on their software, and almost guaranteed to be an issue with their hardware acceleration.
3. Librewolf is probably the same problem as above. Try disabling hardware acceleration.

Windows just worked.

Excuse me while I laugh hysterically while remembering the sorts of Windows issues I've troubleshot for family or coworkers. The one where the combination of a particular Windows version + a particular MS Office version + document previews being activated would cause Office to crash randomly on operations that had nothing to do with document previews was particularly memorable and difficult to figure out. The various Linux snafus I've had to deal with were pretty easy to handle by comparison.

What you are experiencing is called a learning curve. Don't let it get you angry, learn from it. NVIDIA is known to be problematic for Linux users (I have had my share of issues with my 2080 Ti) but once it is setup it is problem free. Librewolf is known to be one of the chunkier options, but 3gb really isn't that much for modern systems (especially if you have 16 or 32gb of memory). I would personally take Librewolf's privacy features over closed-source Vivaldi any day. Linux overall is much more efficient than Windows and I would bet that your system idle memory usage with nothing open is lower than it was with Windows.

It stopped happening to me when I bought hardware supported by Linux. Intel or AMD GPU, a Thinkpad laptop, Atheros wifi, all the stuff that people recommend.

My experience has been very different. While I'm competent on Linux from the server world, I haven't run a desktop Linux in decades, and never seriously. Until I switched a few months ago, choosing CachyOS. Honestly, almost everything just worked. Games, music, video, browsing, office. Even Ms teams for work. The only fiddly bit was getting the VPN for work to connect, and remote desktop works but isn't equal in quality/feel. But that's just a slight inconvenience that isn't even bad enough for me to start looking into it.

One game (a demo) I couldn't get to run, and I know it should work and just doesn't on my system. Haven't bothered digging into this either, I have plenty of other unplayed games. Another game I play frequently (online/multiplayer) gave me some lag issues early on, I tried a few settings and it's fine now.

Absolutely nothing of my experience would I describe as a struggle. Frankly most of the time I forget I'm not on Windows. I just use my PC. Sometimes I want to check some windows specific setting, open the "not start menu" and then realize "right, this isn't Windows".

Don't worry, it's not boat life. I barely ever touch the system and am just using my programs. Settling might take a while, especially if everything is new I guess

The problem with Linux is that most distributions suck for beginners. People recommend Debian/Ubuntu because they're stable but that just means they don't get updated, not that they won't break. The obvious solution is to use Arch, which has the latest version of software and therefore does not break on new hardware. But that sucks too because Arch's goal is not that your setup works either, it's that you have the latest versions of software installed no matter the cost. OK, so I guess Fedora will be good because it's somewhere in the middle. Fedora is better but their non-free codec stuff is not great for noobs either.

I think the best recommendation is Pop! OS because it has none of the above issues. You will still have outdated software but at least not outdated drivers. Just use the defaults, don't change the desktop environment etc. If you install third party software in the .deb format, expect breakage when you eventually upgrade to a new release. Try to use flathub for that. Be aware that software on Flathub is user-submitted and may contain a virus. Check that it's verified by a trusted source, not just some random person's github website.

Then there is OpenSUSE Tumbleweed which I guess is pretty good too but it's hard to recommend to noobs because it's sort of esoteric and because you cannot install .deb packages from the internet on it. Finally there are the atomic distros which have the same issues but at least they should break less likely. If you only need software from flathub and what's available in the app store, they're fine.

idk why I wrote this but yes most distros don't "just work"

It’s the same on windows Android iOS.. Stuff happens the beauty of Linux is your always learning.. it will help if you want to get a devops job.. will help you with stability.. will help you brag to your friends.. you will learn more about your computer what’s good bad whatever.. takes time. almost everyone was born using windows.. it’s a learning process..

In the end it will all come together and make sense.. choose a distro you like and stick with it

I also hate fixing issues but once you set your system up, with all correct nvidia drivers and couple other miscellaneous items (gnome extensions, config variables) it will be "smooth" sailing up until you reinstall.

I had used linux mint as my default OS for years, which is said to be the "easiest distro". Still there was a ton of maintenance. Every week one thing or the other didn't work properly.

Even a debian server I own, which is completely barebones, without even a graphic interface. Last week I had to manually fix the sources file because trixie update messed it up. A couple of months ago I have a very bad issue with the root partition filling up of old kernel images because I didn't run autoremove frequen enough.

So you are not alone. It does feel like owning a boat.

you just need to learn linux, same as you did windows. things work differently, and it can be frustrating until you figure out how things work.

and just like windows, once you figure out your drivers and software and stuff, you will fly past it whenever you are setting up your linux box.

I've always found that there's generally a new way to do things in Linux, but I rarely have issues. I have an Acer Nitro laptop with a Ryzen integrated AMD graphics and then an Nvidia 3060, and I had to look up how to install the drivers, which was rpmfusion, click, click, done. Instead of the usual launcher for games, it's either Steam or Lutris. The only real bitch of a thing was some school stuff. Like, gnomes boxes handles all my virtualization, but school demanded VMware Workstation, which was legitimately a pain on Fedora. Likewise, Microsoft Teams. But web Office was fine, Libre locally... I get hella better frame rates on MHW in Linux than Windows. I didn't pick the machine for its Linux compatibility, it just worked.

I've installed Debian Linux on over 50 devices by now. A vanilla configuration with GNOME works pretty much out of the box for me on a high-end desktop with a modern NVIDIA graphics card.

I'd say the biggest part of the learning curve is figuring out which apps are good and suitable for what you're trying to do. Just like with Windows and macOS and Android and iOS, there's only a handful of viable options among an overwhelming sea of poor ones.

There are many wrong ways to install NVIDIA on any given Linux distro and architecture, and only one functional way. As others here are saying, that's on NVIDIA, not you or Linux.

General advice: whenever possible, strongly prefer your distro's standard package manager to install things over any other method. With Ubuntu, I believe that's either apt or snap.

Also: if you find yourself poking around in some obscure system internals while troubleshooting an issue, you probably took a wrong turn somewhere.

Flawless? Is anything really. I guess you could say Linux is an aquired taste. You get used to the maintenance aspect of it. I use Arch because I'm used to it and because it has great documentation. I have a NVIDIA GPU because I was told they work fine under Wayland now. Apparently people saying that only use their computer for games because I have graphical glitches in several apps and certain video codecs won't play now. So, you will make mistakes along the way. Although I think I'm having a better time with Linux + NVIDIA than my sister is with Windows + NVIDIA rn lol. Arch really is a better experience but it's not the best to start with. For that, I'd recommend Debian. Feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions, I'll see if I can be of any help. I've been doing this for a while because I'm a stubborn asshole who got tired of Windows reverting changes I made after every update.

You compare a machine that a vendor has prepared for windows to you preparing the pc for linux. It sounds like you did the setup. Alternatively, you could've paid someone to do that job for you. You could've bought a framework laptop with linux. It would work out of the box without any issues. And if there is one, you can blame framework.

Because I had issues with the distros I was using, I distro jumped. If the distro is perfect, there is little reason to jump. Ever since jumping onto fedora silverblue I don't do anything with the OS anymore. It just works. I mainly install flatpaks. Did you try a live usb with some distros before deciding upon ubuntu studio? You chose one niche distro and to me it sounds like you judge about all distros.

A distro is just a package manager and a set of settings and apps pre selected by someone. If those settings don't work out for you, it might be the wrong distro.

Hello again, I remember you from another post I commented on lol.

So a few things:

1. Linux didn't "just work" for me when I switched over. I actually started my Linux journey with Arch like an idiot lol. Imagine the problems I had, pretty much nothing worked out of the box. I eventually got everything working after about 2 weeks of constant troubleshooting in the arch wiki, Linux forums, Reddit, and YouTube videos.

Then a few months later I accidentally blew up my whole system with some command I ran without understanding what I did, broke everything, couldn't even boot into my OS anymore. I decided to distro hop a few times to see what worked best for me. Arch is great if you are a power user, but at the time I wasn't, so it was a terrible choice for me.

I bounced between a few different distros and settled on Nobara, which is based on Fedora but with a ton of kernel-level patches for better gaming performance. And it came with lots of gaming related software already installed.

2. I actually had as many or more issues with Windows leading up to trying Linux. Windows has always been pretty buggy for me, just bad luck I guess. On average I have way more issues with Windows than Linux, and the Linux issues I can usually solve, but the Windows issues generally I just had to end up dealing with because there was no good solution.

3. I remember when I posted to you the other week that the most important thing for Linux distros was if it worked for you, and if you liked using it. Seems like so far you've answered that question with Ubuntu Studio in the negative. It's not been working well for you, and you're getting frustrated using it. That's fine, the beauty of Linux is there are a ton of other options, and you aren't stuck with just having to deal with a specific distro.

Some people will swear by a specific distro. They've used it for 10+ years on 15 different computers and never had a single major problem. Great for them, that doesn't mean you will or won't, try several, find your home distro and stick with it.

For me, there is one distro I would recommend for new Linux users more than any other, Linux Mint. It is based on Ubuntu, so you've already got a bit of experience with that under the hood. It comes with a easy GUI utility for installing NVidia drivers, so you don't have to manually install additional repos and drivers via the terminal. Their Cinnamon desktop isn't the prettiest or most modern looking desktop, it doesn't have a ton of customizability either, but it's rock stable. I've never had a single major crash or lock up with the Cinnamon desktop environment, it's simple, intuitive, and stable.

Part of starting the Linux journey is trying different options. Some users get lucky their first time and land on the perfect distro that they use for years, but most don't. Most try a handful of distros before settling on their favorite. You probably wouldn't go to a shoe store, try on the first pair you see and then buy them right? You browse the selection, find a few that look nice and seem comfy, try them on, walk around in them, pose a bit, then pick your favorite.

And like I said before, as you build up your Linux skills, the issues will become easier and easier to solve. Problems that took me hours to troubleshoot and solve when I was new take 5 minutes to fix now. Things that I had to watch hours of videos and read dozens of forum posts to understand are just "common sense" to me now. You'll get there, just keep an open mind and hold on, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

If you need/want additional help, DM me and I will do my best to help out. For Linux Mint if you decide to try it, don't worry about the various alternative versions they have. Just go with their standard download, Linux Mint, Ubuntu edition, with the Cinnamon desktop.

I don't know. FWIW, once you get it tuned, þe maintenance drops sharply. Þere are a lot of caveats, þough.

You're on Ubuntu, which I would normally say should be un-boat-like once you work out þe kinks, except þat Ubuntu has been doing þings like pushing Snap and Wayland, which introduce variables and can cause whole new issues for some people.

Þis is why many of us steer new users towards distros like Mint, which tend to stick wiþ more tried-and-true technology stacks. It's hard to beat a Debian-derived distribution which excludes Snaps and Flatpacks, and ships with Xorg and some GTK3/2 desktop, like xfce or cinnamon. It won't be þe most sexy, but you'll probably get a more "just works" experience.

For me, yes, everything just works. Fedora 42 gnome. Arch just worked as well. Nvidia 4090. Heavy flatpak user. I’ve had issues with mint and Debian distros being too far behind. My son runs Ubuntu today though - again no issues. And with a video card.

My vote is something is up with your install. Try another distro - maybe one of the gaming focused ones. Or just plain fedora workstation.

You're not dumb and we don't have a flawless experience... but me and my son aren't nearly having as much trouble as you. Maybe you're unlucky with hardware support. For some it does "pretty much" works. I'm genuinely glad you're sticking to it some more and I hope you continue learning and that your experience gets smoother.

Flawless? No, it’ll never be flawless. But if something happens, i will know where, why, and how to fix it. That’s the strength of it

You didn't mention which version of Ubuntu Studio you're running. Is it 24.04 LTS by any chance?

My initial thought is that you are probably running Wayland, and that your version of Ubuntu has KDE Plasma 5 instead of 6 and/or outdated Nvidia drivers that don't work super well with Wayland.

A quick search shows that this is all default on Ubuntu Studio 24.04 LTS, which is the first version you'll find at ubuntustudio.org. :(

Ubuntu 25.04 (non-LTS) has Plasma 6, which is a very important upgrade if you are using Wayland, especially with Nvidia GPUs.

Just a guess. If I'm right, you have a few choices:

1. Upgrade to Ubuntu Studio 25.04 (non-LTS). It has newer stuff like Plasma 6 that fixes a LOT of problems like this.

2. Switch to X11 instead of Wayland. This will likely introduce a new set of problems though. X11 has no future.

3. Switch to a different DE than KDE. I am not sure what is best in this situation.

4. Install the latest Nvidia drivers manually instead of getting them from the Ubuntu repo.

Option 1 is by far the simplest choice.

The Linux desktop is in a big transitional phase these past few years, as more distros default to Wayland even before a lot of their packages are updated to fully support it. It's a terrible time to be stuck with outdated "LTS" distros. This is why I hopped away from Debian 12 (13 is out now so yay, but it was a year too late for me).

Do you guys just have flawless experiences or what?

When I was new to linux I had many issues but the longer I used it the less problems I had. I think its a combination of new users not understanding the different parts of linux and not understanding the linux way of doing things. That leads to a lot of tweaking which can cause more issues than it solves.

Now that i've been on linux for 4 years everything works as expected and this is after changing distros a few times. my systems are pretty much untouched in terms of root folder tweaks or anything. I would say to keep trying linux since its not 'boat life' constant maintenance over the long term.

Nah, my Linux journey has been far from flawless. I troubleshoot stuff on Linux as much or more than I did on Windows.

I've never had a flawless experience with any computer, regardless of manufacturer, architecture, or OS. They all have different quirks. Over time, you get used to the quirks of the OS you're using, and so switching to a different OS feels weird.