How to replace Windows with Linux Mint on your PC

Unlike other operating systems, Linux distros like Mint are easy to try before you even install them. 

To do this, you must first download a copy of Linux Mint. Depending on your internet speed, downloading the 2.8GB Linux Mint ISO can take up to half an hour. With my 1Gbps fiber connection, it took five minutes.

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Unlike Windows, where there’s only one desktop interface, you can choose from three different Mint desktops: MATE, Xfce, and Cinnamon, the default desktop. If you have a 2012 or newer PC, I recommend going with Cinnamon. If you have an older machine, try Mate. If your PC is ancient or has little horsepower, use Xfce.

Next, you should ensure that your downloaded image file is the real McCoy. You can do this test by downloading the sha256sum.txt and sha256sum.txt jpg files. You should be able to find them in the same place you downloaded the ISO image. When you download the files, use your browser’s “right-click->Save Link As…” command. 

Next, head to the GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG) page. Once there, download and install the Windows installer. It doesn’t matter if you run it as an ordinary user or administrator; either way works. 

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Now, head over to the Download folder. Once there, hold Shift while right-clicking your download folder and open a command window. When done, run the following command:

CertUtil -hashfile filename.iso SHA256

Eventually, the system will return an alphanumeric sequence called a hash. If this hash is identical to the one listed in your sha256sum.txt, the integrity check is passed, and your ISO file is good. If the hash is not identical, delete the ISO file and download another copy.

It’s unlikely you’ll get a bad copy. But with people going to so much trouble to spread malware, why take a chance? Check your download.

You’re now ready to burn the image to a DVD or a USB stick. If you have an old copy of Windows, you may not have an ISO burner program. In that case, you must download one. I recommend freeware programs such as ImgBurn for optical drives and Yumi for Windows for USB sticks. Other good choices are LinuxLive USB Creator and UNetbootin. These programs are all free.

Windows 11 users can use the operating system’s built-in ISO burner functionality. To burn your ISO file to a blank DVD-RW or USB stick, insert the disc into your DVD-RW burner drive or insert your USB stick into a USB port. Then, open the folder containing your ISO file in Windows File Explorer, which is typically the Download directory. Next, click on your Mint ISO file. On the top of File Explorer, you should see the Burn option. Select this option and burn the image to your DVD or USB stick.

If you have a choice, you should use a USB stick. They’re faster to burn and to install Mint on a machine.  

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In addition, if you’re using a USB stick, you should set it up with persistent storage. You can then store your programs and files on the stick, which allows you to test Linux Mint on any PC without installing anything on the computer.

Using a USB stick also means you can carry Linux and use it as a walk-around operating system for hotel, conference, and library PCs. I find this very useful, and there’s always at least one Linux Mint stick in my laptop bag.

Finally, check your newly burned disc for errors. Over the years, I’ve had more problems running and installing Linux from bad discs than all other causes combined.

Next, reboot your computer. During the reboot, stop the bootup process and get to your PC’s UEFI or BIOS settings. How you do this varies according to the system.

Look for a message as the machine starts up that tells you which key or keys you’ll need to press to access the BIOS or UEFI. Likely candidates are a function key, the “Esc” or “Delete” keys. For a recent list of the major OEMs, see How to Enter the BIOS on Any PC: Access Keys by Manufacturer. If you don’t spot the message the first time, don’t worry. Just reboot and try again.

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Once you get to the BIOS or UEFI, look for a menu choice labeled “Boot,” “Boot Options,” or “Boot Order.” If you don’t see anything with the word “boot” in it, check other menu options, such as “Advanced Options,” “Advanced BIOS Features,” or “Other Options.” Once you find it, set the boot order so that instead of booting from the hard drive first, you boot from either the DVD or USB drive.

Once your PC is set to boot first from the alternative drive, insert your DVD or USB stick and reboot. Then, select “Start Linux Mint” from the first menu. From here on out, you’ll be running Linux Mint.

Once your PC is set to boot from the alternative drive, insert your DVD or USB stick and reboot. Then, select “Start Linux Mint” from the first menu. In this live session, the username is “mint” and the password is empty.

From there, while you haven’t installed anything on your PC, you are running Mint. Use this opportunity to play with Mint to see if you like it.

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Mint will run slowly using a DVD drive, but it will run quickly enough to give you an idea of what it’s like to use Mint. From a USB stick, Mint runs fast enough to provide a good notion of working with the OS. Indeed, it’s fast enough that I use Mint USB sticks for work, sometimes on office PCs.

If Linux Mint freezes during boot, use the “Compatibility Mode” boot option. From here, you should be able to boot Linux Mint and install it on your computer.

Some older Nvidia graphics cards don’t work well with Mint’s default open-source Nvidia driver. If Linux Mint freezes during boot, use the “nomodeset” boot option, which you set to the Start Linux Mint option, and press ‘e’ to modify the boot options. Then, replace “quiet splash” with “nomodeset” and press F10 to boot. On older PCs using BIOS, press “tab” instead of “e.”

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Mint will run slower this way, but it will boot and run.

Nvidia recently announced that all its graphic drivers will be open-sourced going forward, so this will eventually no longer be a problem.

Like what you see? Want to use Mint? Now, you’re ready to install Mint.

First, make a complete backup of your Windows system. If you don’t delete Windows when you set up a partition, installing Linux shouldn’t hurt your Windows setup, but why take any chances?

Installing Linux on Windows PCs with UEFI and Secure Boot used to be a major pain. It can still be an annoyance, but Ubuntu and Mint have made booting and installing with Secure Boot systems a non-issue. All pre-built binaries intended to be loaded as part of the boot process, except for the initrd image, are signed by Canonical’s Ubuntu UEFI certificate, which is implicitly trusted by the Microsoft-signed UEFI loader.

If, for some reason, you can’t install Mint with Secure Boot running on your PC, you can always turn off Secure Boot.

Also: 8 things you can do with Linux that you can’t do with MacOS or Windows

Next, make sure your PC is plugged in. The last thing you want is to run out of battery power during an operating system install. You’ll also need an internet connection and about 8GB of free drive space.

When that process is complete, reboot into Linux again. Once you have the Mint displayed, one of your icon choices on the left will be installing Mint. Double-click it, and you’ll be on your way.

You’ll need to navigate several menu choices. Most of these decisions will be easy, such as the language you want Mint to use and your time zone. The one critical choice will be how to partition your hard drive.

Partitioning a hard drive can become very complicated. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to dual-boot both Windows and Mint. Simply pick the first option on the Installation Type menu: “Install Linux Mint alongside them.”

This procedure will install Linux Mint next to your existing Windows system and leave it untouched. I usually give Mint half of my PC’s remaining drive space. You’ll be asked to choose which operating system to boot by default. No matter which one you pick, you’ll get a few seconds to switch to the other operating system.

You can also specify exactly how you want your hard drive set up, which you should only try if you’re a power user. If you go down this route, I suggest using Ext4 for your main Linux file system.

You’ll also be required to give your system a name, pick out a username, and create a password. You can also encrypt your home directory to keep files safe from prying eyes. However, an encrypted home directory slows systems down. It’s faster, albeit counterintuitive, to encrypt the entire drive after you have Mint up and running.

Mint’s setup menu enables you to automatically create a system snapshot with Timeshift. This way, if something goes wrong later, you can restore your system files and return to a working system. This approach, however, does not save your documents and the like. It just saves the system files needed to run Mint. While you’re here, set up a regular Timeshift schedule. Timeshift can save your bacon if something goes awry. 

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Next, Mint can check to see if your computer needs additional drivers. I highly recommend running this check. Afterward, you can install proprietary multimedia codecs, such as drivers, to watch DVDs. To install these, run the Driver Manager, follow the program’s suggestions, and reboot your computer.

You should then update your system to the latest software. Unlike Windows patches, when you update Mint, you’re updating not just your operating system but all the other programs, such as the default web browser, Firefox; the office suite, LibreOffice; and any other programs you’ve installed from Mint’s Software Manager. 

To manually update this software, click on the shield icon in the menu bar. By default, on the Cinnamon desktop, the bar is at the bottom of the screen, and the icon is on the right. You will then be prompted for your password and asked if you really want to update your system. Say “yes” and you’ll be ready to give your new Mint system a real run.

The setup routine also lets you look at system settings and find new programs with the Software Manager. Since you’re probably a new user, you can skip those elements for now.