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So, you’re ready to switch to Linux and want to know where to start?

Maybe you’ve sought advice on a Linux forum or Reddit, and you’ve been met with hostility and purposefully complicated answers?

Rest easy, I’m going to walk you through it.

This guide uses Linux Mint, as it’s one of the most friendly and reliable Linux for new users.

You will need:

A blank USB drive – 8 GB should be fine.

A Linux ISO file – this guide uses Linux Mint.

External or cloud storage to back up your files.
A new boot drive for Linux (if keeping your windows drive)

Step 1: Save your stuff and take stock
This is the planning and preparing stage, and it’s important you do it properly because the last thing you want is data loss or downtime.

First you’ll need to decide where you’re installing Linux.
Will it be on your main boot drive, or are you going to keep your Windows drive and install Linux on a second one?

A good way, especially if you’re unsure, might be to purchase a second drive, remove the Windows one, and install Linux fresh onto the new drive. That way, you still have a perfectly intact Windows install.

In either case, make sure that you’ve copied all of the files you want to keep onto an external drive or uploaded into a cloud storage provider.

It’s also at this stage that’s you might be taking inventory of what applications you use on a day-to-day basis and checking whether they’re natively supported on Linux.

If so, great. If not, what adjustments will you make?

Once you’ve answered these questions and feel ready, progress to step 2.

Step 2: Create your install USB
Go to your chosen Linux distro website and download the installer.
It will come in the form of an ISO file. This is a disk image.

This guide uses Linux Mint, which you can find here.

Once it has been downloaded, you will need to write the image file to your USB drive.

You can do this your own way, but I would recommend using Etcher, which is a free and cross-platform way to write image files to physical drives.


Click ‘flash from file’ and select your Linux ISO.
Then select your USB drive as a target.

Make sure you don’t have any important files on your USB drive, as this process will erase it and replace any left-over files with the Linux installer.

Once your Linux installer files are copied onto the USB drive, progress to the next step.

Step 3: Boot and install
Insert the USB drive containing the Linux installer into your target computer and boot from it.

You will need to tell your computer to boot from the USB drive as soon as you press the power button. You do this by pressing a specific key to interrupt the average start-up.

It might be one of the F-keys (commonly F2, F8, F12) or the DEL key.
Most systems tell you which key to press very briefly as a splash screen, but if you miss it (or if yours doesn’t), you can always google it.

That, or just mash keys until you get to a boot menu!

Select your USB drive as the boot device, and proceed with the installation.


Since we’re installing Linux Mint, you’ll see this screen straight after booting from your USB drive.

This is called the GRUB bootloader.
Select ‘Linux Mint’ or ‘Install Linux Mint’.


Once the installer has booted, you will be greeted with the Mint desktop environment.

Feel free to have a play around before you install the OS.
It’s running from the USB stick, so don’t worry too much.

When you’re ready, double-click the ‘Install Linux Mint’ icon, select your language, etc.

The installer will ask you where you would like to install Linux Mint.
This is where you decide whether you’re erasing your current boot drive or installing it onto a new drive.

If you’re erasing your current drive, ensure all your files are backed up.

If you’re installing on a new drive with your old one still attached, ensure you SELECT THE CORRECT DRIVE.

It’s also worth noting that Linux needs two partitions on your drive.

The main one is formatted EXT4 and an ESP partition, which will only be around 300MB and is used to store boot files.

Make the appropriate choice, and continue to install.

If you get stuck, google is your friend.

If you get *really* stuck, you can always unplug your Windows boot drive and install Linux onto a fresh drive.

That, or if you’ve already backed up your files and want to install them on the same drive, select the ‘use entire disk’ option.

Proceed with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 4: Make yourself at home
Once the installer has finished, you should be left with a fresh Linux Mint install.

Now it’s over to you!

Install your software, copy across any files you need, and make yourself at home.

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