Not so much help but hope: I got rid of Windows 11 and switched fully to Linux Mint a few weeks ago. I had no idea what I was doing but I tested things on USB and also on a very old laptop I had laying around before I made it my daily driver.

I’m not particularly a tech person. I own a small creative business and have a toddler, but I figured out what I needed to quickly. I don’t game and didnt use Winsows exclusive software so have no opinions about that.

What I didn’t expect: to actually be genuinely interested in my computer again for the first time since I was a teenager (which was not recent…). I love customizing my desktop. I love discovering new open source software. I’m learning more than I expected and it’s just a totally different relationship with the tech I use every day, in a nice way. And no more BS ads / bloat when I’m just trying to exist on my computer.

I don’t even game or use any Windowed only programs. I watch shows, use web apps for work, and that’s about it. If I can run Firefox and Stremio that’s about 95% of my needs met, ha!

I dug out my old MacBook to see if I can test out some distros on it. If I find one I like and use for a bit I’d be all in on trashing Windows

Interesting, what distro did you end up using?

I’ll check it out, thx!

This. I had to do my attempted Linux install while my kid was napping in like my 30 mins of free time I get a day if I’m lucky

Once you fixed that issue did Linux work well dual booting? I’m sure I can get past it but I’m mostly worried that this foreshadows ongoing problems

I had a bad feeling that dual booting wouldn’t be the seamless thing I hoped for. I have an old Mac laptop I might try installing on to see how I like it and decide if I’m just gonna wipe Windows entirely.

It’s incredible how shit Windows is and everyone just accepts it. It shows me ads on my lock screen FFS (and I know how to disable that cuz I’ve done it three times now and they keep coming back like a horror movie monster you didn’t behead).

Oh! I just realized we have a Yolink hub connected to Ethernet, and it’s online. So yes, Ethernet is working and WiFi came back online after a router reset. Now I just need to figure out how to make sure this doesn’t happen again…

Thanks, we’re in the US and use a small local ISP that just serves our general area. I keep this account anonymous so wouldn’t give specifics.

hAP ac² router, belongs to the ISP. Unfortunately I don’t have an Ethernet cable handy to test with at the moment.

Our WiFi hasn’t come back yet so I’m probably an hour away from a really awkward phone call 😮‍💨