I bought a laptop yesterday, it came pre-installed with Windows 11. I hate win 11 so I switched it down to Windows 10, but then started considering using Linux for total control over the laptop, but here’s the thing: I keep seeing memes about how complicated or fucky wucky Linux is to install and run. I love the idea of open source software and an operating system without any of the bullshit that comes with Windows, but most of the open source stuff I have is on my android and fairly easy to install. Installing and using Linux just feels like it’ll be a whole different beast that’ll eat up most of my time and I’m kind of intimidated by it.
TL;DR Linux scawy, how does a barely computer literate scrub like me who’s used nothing but windows since the dawn of their life get started with Linux?
I’m not certain, but I think the current recommendation is a swap file, not a swap partition. A swap file can also be resized a lot easier. The main benefit is that it doesn’t write to the same part of the disk constantly, so for SSDs in particular it extends the lifetime.
Yes, I use a swap file, but I don’t think the installer gives that option, so I’m trying to play it safe. Also a file will always write to the same part of the disk too because you allocated it first, but it’s easier to create another file and migrate to it.