this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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Which distro for a non-technical windows user? (gehirneimer.de)
submitted 1 week ago by BentiGorlich@gehirneimer.de to c/linux@programming.dev
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Hi everyone, I am planning to install linux on my friends laptop and I am not sure which distro to install for them.

The options I am considering:

  • Fedora: I have it on my PC and since I will be the first person to be asked, I thought it would be best if I know the distro well
  • Mint: is a default suggestion, but I am not sure if it is different enough from the Windows look that one does not expect it to behave the same as Windows
  • Ubuntu: most widely available in forums, etc. And a good starting point in my opinion

What do you guys think?

EDIT: Thanks for all the suggestions, I think I'll stick with Fedora and let them try Gnome, KDE and Cinnamon :)

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[–] EuroNutellaMan@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Fedora, specifically the DE you are using.

I normally go with Mint as a recommendation but generally speaking you must understand these people will ask you for help for any small issue, so it will be a lot easier if you use the system yourself.

Now, I use Arch^BTW^ with KDE, and I would never recommend arch to a new user (KDE is a good choice tho), meaning I normally recommend Mint (from experience I know noobs love it), so I am in this awkward situation where I have to provide tech support to mint users usually (tho TBF so far only 1 person and the real issue is that his laptop is dying but he hasn't come to terms with it) and it is sometimes annoying because I don't know the settings layout and all that stupid GUI shit (I love using the CLI a lot if you couldn't tell)