This used to be a requirement but is now optional. For example, Mint, EndeavourOS, and PopOS all are distros that are simple to install and configure, even simpler than windows in most cases. Popos has a software store pre-installed that works exceptionally well and supports flatpaks too. Drivers work out of the box.

There are still the distros that are more complex as a rule, and you can also mess up the distros I mentioned above, but you no longer have to wade through a dark forest to get your computer running correctly for basic use.

Also if you game, the lutris and steam make it extremely easy to do. You really should try it if you haven’t in a while, its impressive what those two pieces of software can do now.

Skip bottles, havent found a use case for it that lutris didnt handle. Not saying you might not use it for some specific situation, its just never happened to me.

Lutris is a GUI and front end that runs emulators and calls them runners.

Wine is a runner for windows, proton is steams version of it. You can add you local games to steam and then use the compatibility menu in game properties to enable the proton emulator.

Some distros come with all this preinstalled, makes it very easy. Some of them you have to install each piece individually. I dont know which mint is, but I’d look into that first so you know what to expect.

For example popos came with it all preinstalled while endeavouros did not.

I really can’t recommend popos enough for those that have a wider use case (work, browsing, gaming) that want a reliable and out-of-the-box experience with little hastle. Its created by a company that ships their hardware with the OS so you get to piggy back on the support there, and Ubuntu is, IMO, extremely forgiving and intuitive to learn as opposed to arch

Its the same as windows but the amount of OS specific help youll find is lower since less people use it. It helps to figure out which version of linux your distro is based on and look for help with that instead to broaden the results.

For example on my popos station I usually search for Ubuntu help, and on my endeavouros system I would search arch help.

The good thing about linux though is its all the same ideas just packages slightly different, kinda like learning slang.

Start with the terminal, how to open it and where it is, then how to move around the directory (usually CD, with a few modifiers for moving up or down), list directory contents so you can “see” them, and manage it with removing or touching (creating) objects or folders.

Then figure out how to install packages, this should have a mint specific page for it though. Every dostro has a few things they explicitly explain and package mangement is almost always one of them.

They will likely list a few different methods, test each of them out with some apps you planned on installing already, or just find safe test ones to add and remove.

If you have time though you can figure this stuff out as each hurdle appears, rather than speed running them, but this is how I would approach a new linux distro at first.

Also dont be afraid to scrap it and try something else if you decide its not working for you. I ran bazzite for a week before changing to endeavouros and I’m very happy I did.

Edit to add: for crack specific stuff, honestly there doesnt seem to be any sort of segregating the legal and non-legal communities when it comes to linux. Feel free to look or ask in the same places you would ask for legitimate support, but do be careful you dont get into the habit of blindly trusting any script posted in a YouTube video.

Lutris handles it very well, simply has an add button in the top corner with a few options:

1. Install with windows executable: games that need an installer first

2. Preinstalled game: if you have a game or drive that doesnt need to be installed, you can just tell it where the .exe is and what runner to use.

3. Search lutris: great for software or things that are free to download from the browser. Basically preconfigured install packages. For example I installed PlayStation plus via their installer.

Lutris uses runners to emulate systems, wine is the windows emulator, it also has retro game emulators and such. There’s a runners section in the preferences in lutris.

The prefix is confusing at first, but the default selection usually works. The prefix is just the folder the emulator files are installed in. Each folder with a wine game gets a c drive and program files and all that, and I usually install the games themselves in the “c” drive. You can make a new one for each game or share them between games. Sorta like docker containers for games.

Super easy stuff, not everything works but protondb.com is a place people post if it works on linux or not and what fixes might be needed.

If you DM I can send you some specific walkthroughs or videos so you can walk through it a step at a time.

If you can bring a drive with preinstalled games from your windows installation, that will give you a huge head start. Most will be add to lutris and play. Thats it!

P.S. anything you have in steam is even easier, steam loves linux