Windows 10 is ending – How to switch from Windows 10 to Linux Mint in 10 easy steps

In my previous article, “Windows 10 is ending – Making the move to Linux”, I already gave you, as a current Windows 10 user, information and a lot of reasons to help you consider switching from Windows to one of the available Linux distributions and keep your hardware running for more years to come. This is because Windows 10 is soon coming to an end. In October 2025, Microsoft will stop formal support and technical assistance for the Windows 10 operating system. In this follow-up article, I want to help you with a simple step-by-step plan to switch from Windows 10 to Linux. I think that Linux can offer a fantastic operating system experience and that there are many user-friendly variants available that, in my opinion, are even friendlier than Windows itself. I am sure that the steps in this article will help you to make the switch from Windows 10 to Linux in a comfortable way.

Content

1. Introduction
2. From Windows 10 to Linux Mint Cinnamon
3. 10 easy steps to switch from Windows 10 to Linux Mint
4. Final words

Introduction

I already gave you some statistics in my previous article, “Windows 10 is ending – Making the move to Linux“, but I want to mention them again to clarify what will happen in a few months when Microsoft stops supporting existing Windows 10 computers in October 2025. At the time of writing, the share of Windows 10 users in the total number of Windows users (Win XP + Win 7 + Win8 + Win 8.1 + Win10 + Win 11 combined) is approximately 54% (source: https://gs.statcounter.com/windows-version-market-share/desktop/worldwide/). So, even though Windows 11 has been the most recent Microsoft operating system for a while now, 54% of users are still on Windows 10. Even worse, the share of Windows 11 is 42.66%, which means that 57.34% are working with an older version and that more than 3% are still using even older Windows versions, such as Windows XP, 7, 8, or 8.1. It is estimated that there are currently 1.6 billion active Windows devices (https://bytegain.com/how-many-windows-users-are-there-in-the-world/). With a 54% share for Windows 10, this would mean that there are 1,600,000,000 x 0.54 = 864,000,000 devices for which a decision needs to be made in the coming months. 

The more recent Windows 10 devices may be able to run Windows 11 because they already have the required technology (TPM 2.0, UEFI, and Secure Boot). But all those devices that don’t meet the technical requirements set by Microsoft should simply be replaced with a newer device, on the advice of Microsoft. With this, Microsoft is essentially saying that all these older legacy computers, even if they still work fine technically, should go to the electronic waste bin.

In my previous article, my goal was to make as many current Windows 10 users as possible aware of what Linux has to offer and to what extent the purchase of a new computer is not necessary. In this follow-up article, my goal is to make as many current Windows 10 users as possible aware of how simple it is to make the switch to Linux. 

From Windows 10 to Linux Mint Cinnamon

As mentioned, in this article, I want to explain how to switch from Windows to Linux in 10 simple steps. For this purpose, I focus on your transition to the robust, beautiful, simple, and powerful Linux Mint distribution with the Cinnamon desktop environment. If you are a new Linux user, you are probably wondering what a distribution is. Unlike in the world of Microsoft or Apple, there is not just one Linux operating system. There are hundreds of different variants available that the “Linux experts” call distributions. 

Linux distinguishes itself through a clear layered structure. Most distributions consist roughly of the Linux kernel, a desktop environment, and software packages. And with these different building blocks, different variants are being built in the Linux community. 

But why are there different Linux distributions? In the first place, many individuals and teams are creating their own distribution because they can. Sometimes things do not exist out of necessity, but because it is a nice challenge to build something from scratch. So many Linux enthusiasts dream of ever creating their own distribution. The question is whether all such initiatives are actually viable in the longer term. I find it much more interesting to look at the distributions that exist for a longer time and are backed by a team that can actually deliver the promised support and have an active community that users can fall back on. And from that perspective, there are still a lot of Linux distributions that serve a specific goal or need. Think of specific Linux distributions for education, science, music creation, photography, design, coding, hacking, and gaming. 

One of these Linux distributions is Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop environment. Linux Mint Cinnamon offers a clean interface, a flawless out-of-the-box user experience, is backed by the enormous software base of Ubuntu, and has a very friendly and responsive community. Due to the relatively classic user interface metaphor, Linux Mint is the perfect starting point for former Windows users. Unlike many other distributions, the Linux Mint developers focus on absolute reliability and stability and consciously choose not to be a leader in all bleeding-edge developments. To do that, Linux Mint is always based on what is called an LTS, or Long Term Support, release. More on that later.

Linux Mint is, in my opinion, a fantastic platform that simplifies the move from Windows 10. And, if you were not aware yet, it is free of charge. Many Linux users, including myself, find Linux Mint one of the most accessible yet high-quality Linux distributions for beginners, but many advanced users also remain stuck because of its ease of use, stability, and reliability. 

The foundation on which Linux Mint is built is Ubuntu, also a very popular Linux distribution that is chosen as a foundation for many other Linux distributions. Ubuntu, which is being created and maintained by the company Canonical, offers both a Long Term Support (LTS) release and multiple intermediate short-term releases. Canonical releases a new version of Ubuntu every six months. For these intermediate 6-month releases, you get only up to 9 months of support and security updates, but the Ubuntu Long Term Support release is issued every two years, with guaranteed support and updates for five years. Linux Mint Cinnamon is based on Ubuntu LTS, so it will also get the same support and updates for five years.

10 easy steps to switch from Windows 10 to Linux Mint

I completely switched to Linux years ago, and this has been to my complete satisfaction. I have also successfully guided others to make this switch from Windows to Linux, both with people in my direct environment, but also worldwide via my website, tutorials, and book. I have a free tutorial series available that will help you in detail to switch to and productively use Linux Mint in over 30 tutorials. But below, I have compressed all that information into 10 simple migration steps to help you get started quickly.

1. Step 1 – Download Linux Mint Cinnamon
2. Step 2 – Create a Linux Mint bootable Live USB Drive
3. Step 3 – Try and test Linux Mint within the Live Environment
4. Step 4 – Prepare for the installation of Linux Mint
5. Step 5 – Install Linux Mint
6. Step 6 – Familiarize Yourself with Linux Mint
7. Step 7 – Set up the essentials in Linux Mint
8. Step 8 – Select and install essential applications
9. Step 9 – Stay informed about new features and backgrounds via Linux resources
10. Step 10 – Start using your new operating system

Step 1 – Download Linux Mint Cinnamon

Downloading Linux Mint is incredibly easy. I assume that you want to use the most recent version, which is, at the moment of writing, Linux Mint 22.1, with the name Xia. To do this, follow these steps:

1) Go to https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php.

On this download page, you see 3 variants that you can choose from based on 3 different types of desktop environments: Cinnamon Edition, MATE Edition, and Xfce Edition. My preference is the Cinnamon Edition. Cinnamon is the flagship desktop environment of Linux Mint and the most popular desktop environment offered by the Linux Mint team.

2) Press the Download button for the Cinnamon Edition.

A new page opens with the option between downloading the ISO image via torrent or directly from a large number of Download mirrors.

3) On this page, scroll down until you reach your country or the most nearby country. In my case, I can choose from 6 different mirrors in the Netherlands.

4) Choose one of the mirror websites and click on it to start the download.

Note: Now that you have the Linux Mint ISO file available, verifying if you have the legitimate version is advisable. There is also a message about Integrity and Authenticity on the same page.

It is important to have proper information on both the integrity and authenticity of your ISO image. You need to be sure that the image file was 1) correctly and faultlessly downloaded, and 2) that the image file is the same file the Linux Mint team has created and is not tampered with. The Linux Mint ISO image file is, like I explained above, downloadable from a huge number of servers around the world. It has been proven in practice that you may download a Linux Mint ISO image file that does not match the file as was created and provided by the developers of Linux Mint, because one or more of the servers could be compromised.

I won’t go further into details on this topic in this article, because I wrote a complete tutorial on how to verify your Linux Mint ISO image file. You can find the tutorial here:

How to verify your Linux Mint ISO image file

Step 2 – Create a Linux Mint bootable Live USB Drive

One of the many powerful features of Linux is the ability to start a distribution directly from a bootable USB stick, without affecting your hard drive and the (Windows) operating system on it. It is therefore not required to perform a complete installation to be able to use or try out Linux. And if you have decided to install Linux on your system, you can use the same bootable Linux USB drive.

Now that you have downloaded Linux Mint, you can create a Linux Mint bootable Live USB Drive with the following steps:

Note: Make sure you have the Linux Mint ISO file and a spare minimum of 8GB USB stick.

1) Download and install the application balena Etcher.

2) Format the USB drive as FAT32.

3) Create your Linux Mint 21 USB drive with balena Etcher.

I wrote a complete tutorial with a little bit more detail on these steps. You can find the tutorial here:

How to create a Linux Mint bootable USB in macOS and Windows

Step 3 – Try and test Linux Mint within the Live Environment

Now that you have a Linux Mint bootable Live USB Drive, you can try Linux Mint without the need to first install it.

1) First, shut down your computer. 

2) Then put the Linux Mint USB stick into a free USB slot.

3) Start your computer and directly access the boot menu.

Note: How to start up your boot menu depends on things like the brand, type, and age of your computer. But for example, if you have an ASUS computer, it can be Esc or F8; if you have a Dell computer, it probably is F12; for most HP computers, it is Esc, and for a Lenovo computer, it is probably F8 or F12. You can find more information on hotkeys for the boot menu and BIOS settings at the following resource:

www.wikigain.com/boot-menu-option-keys-for-all-laptops-desktops/

If everything went well, you see a screen now with the option to boot from your hard drive or from USB. 

4) Choose the generic USB option, or if applicable, choose the correct USB drive.

Now, a Linux Mint boot menu will be presented. 

5) Choose the option “Start Linux Mint 22.1 Cinnamon 64-bit”.

Now the computer will boot into the Linux Mint Live Environment. In this environment, you can try almost everything before actually doing a complete installation on your internal drive. The live environment enables you to test your hardware, to browse the web, to look at the applications available in the Software Center, to start and use the built-in Office application, and just familiarize yourself with the Linux Mint Cinnamon distribution.

Step 4 – Prepare for the installation of Linux Mint

Now that you’ve had the time to try out and test Linux Mint Cinnamon in a Live environment, you’ve probably decided to use Linux for the long term and want to install it on your hardware. I’m assuming you want to remove Windows 10 from your system, since it’s going to be end of life soon anyway. Many people have their personal data on the same drive as the Windows operating system. Since we’re going to completely erase the internal drive during the installation of Linux, you should first secure your personal files, such as your documents, video files, and music files, by making one or more backups of them on a separate backup device, such as an external hard drive or an external SSD. You can use special copy or cloning software for Windows to do this, but you can of course also easily make a copy of your files to the external device via your file manager.

Step 5 – Install Linux Mint

It is, of course, possible to install Linux Mint on an empty hard disk, but it is also possible to install Linux Mint next to an existing operating system that is already available on your internal drive, such as Windows or even another Linux distribution. In this step, I assume that we will perform an installation on an empty hard disk or, if there is already an operating system on the hard disk, we will perform an installation where we will overwrite all existing data. So, I will not explain how to install Linux Mint next to your existing operating system. So, keep in mind that we are going to completely empty your hard drive or SSD. When there is still user data, such as documents, music files, photos, and presentations, on your hard disk, make sure that all your data is first saved on a separate disk, USB stick, or in the cloud, before proceeding with the following process, as mentioned in step 4.

1) I assume you are not in the Linux Live environment anymore, because you were busy making a copy of your personal files in step 4 in Windows. So, first boot again in the Linux Mint Live Environment, as explained in step 3.

2) Now double-click on the “Install Linux Mint” icon on the Linux Mint desktop.

Now you will go through a complete installation process. I will not go into details here because I wrote a detailed tutorial on the installation procedure.

How to install Linux Mint on a PC or Mac

Step 6 – Familiarize Yourself with Linux Mint

Before we dive into setting up Linux Mint, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the operating system and the desktop environment. You’ll want to know how the desktop environment works, what the different components can do for you, where to find your applications, where to find and adjust your settings, etc. I’ve written a clear tutorial for this, which you can find here:

Using Linux Mint for the first time

Step 7 – Set up the essentials in Linux Mint

Now that you have Linux Mint installed and familiarized with the operating system and desktop environment, it is good to look at some essentials, like a first-time update of your system, check if you need to upgrade your graphics driver, enable WiFi, etc.

Update and upgrade your operating system

By the time you have downloaded and installed Linux Mint, one or more updates may already be available. It is therefore important to update your system. This can be done in two ways.

• Update Manager: To update Linux Mint, open the Update Manager from the application launcher, click the Refresh button to check for updates, and then apply any available updates.
• Terminal: Open a terminal session with the keyboard combination Ctrl + Alt + T, type “sudo apt-get update” and hit Enter, finish the update, type “sudo apt-get upgrade” and hit Enter, and finish the upgrade.

Check and install drivers

The modern Linux distributions have out-of-the-box terrific support for most of the available hardware components, like graphics cards, printers, and Wi-Fi adapters. But it is always possible that the setup procedure doesn’t come up directly with the correct or most optimized drivers. So you should check and, if necessary, adapt your drivers for devices and hardware components like your Wi-Fi adapter, graphics card, and Printer. You can read my articles “How to install graphics drivers in Linux Mint“, “How to install WiFi drivers in Linux Mint”, and “How to set up your printer in Linux Mint” for more detailed information on the actual setup.

Install multimedia codecs

Some content requires additional multimedia codecs to be installed. A codec is a piece of software that enables the encoding or decoding of a digital data stream or signal. Codecs for playing multimedia formats are not activated in Linux Mint by default. When you were connected to the internet while installing Linux Mint, there was an option to install these codecs. If you did so, you can forget this part of this article. If you didn’t select it during the installation process, you can get support for the extra codecs by installing them now.

1) Search for “Software Manager” in your Applications Start Menu and open it.

2) Search for “Codecs” and select Multimedia Codecs.

3) Click Install.

Step 8 – Select and install essential applications

There is a huge number of applications available for Linux for a multitude of use cases, such as drawing, writing, office applications, photo management and editing, administration, video editing, 3d modeling and animation, chatting, and so on. Not every application that you used under Windows will also be available for Linux, but there are many Linux alternatives to be found for the Windows applications that you know. In addition, more and more applications are made available via the web browser, so it does not matter which operating system you use, as long as you use a modern web browser and have an internet connection. 

For Linux Mint, we can distinguish the following software installation approaches:

• Software Manager
• Synaptic Package Manager
• PPA Personal Package Archives
• .deb package
• Flatpak
• Snap
• Appimage

In my tutorial “How to install applications in Linux Mint” you can read all the details on these different formats and ways to install.

For a great first overview of applications to consider and to try out, I want to point you to my yearly review articles. Have a look at the article below to see my 53 most favorite apps for Linux for 2024.

A yearly review – My 53 most favorite apps for Linux for 2024

In this article, you can find some background on applications in the following categories:

• Operating system
• File management
• System optimization
• Keeping your stuff safe
• Internet and communication
• Productivity
• Creativity
• Tools
• Development

Step 9 – Stay informed about new features and backgrounds via Linux resources

I recommend that you stay up to date with developments in the Linux world from now on. Follow some news websites focused on Linux, try to delve deeper into Linux-related developments and backgrounds, and read the monthly Linux Mint blog posts with the implemented and upcoming changes. It will help you to get and build a better understanding of Linux and give you a more confident feeling as a Linux user.

Here are some websites:

• RealLinuxUser.com (of course 😉)
• blog.linuxmint.com
• www.omgubuntu.co.uk
• https://itsfoss.com/
• https://askubuntu.com
• www.noobslab.com
• www.ubuntupit.com

Step 10 – Start using your new operating system 

Perhaps an open door, but an important point nonetheless. Don’t get stuck playing with and trying out your new Linux Mint machine for too long, but focus on actually using your nice new Linux Mint system productively. I understand the need to just play and tinker with your new system, but the whole idea is to use our system for content creation and content consumption. So, start using your Linux system productively to create beautiful, important, or world-changing stuff, consume content, manage your administration, keep track of your mail, browse the web, you name it. Whatever you want to do, I guarantee Linux Mint will make it possible for you.

Final words

And so we reached the end of my Windows 10 is ending – How to switch from Windows 10 to Linux Mint in 10 easy steps article. I hope this article gives you enough confidence to try out and even install Linux Mint on your current Windows system. If you like to have a bigger body of background and helpful tutorials, then go through my complete free Linux Mint tutorial series, or if you are interested in my other favorite beginner-friendly Linux distribution Zorin OS, consider my book “Linux for the rest of us – A starter guide for people who just want to be productive with Linux”.

Linux and everything around it is a fantastic hobby for me, and I notice that others get excited when I talk with them about the possibilities of Linux. I really believe that Linux can be a productive, simple, beautiful, and user-friendly platform, and the old image of being too technical, too complex, and not user-friendly has long been gone. To end this article, I wish you fun trying out and using your new Linux system, and hopefully, you will keep an eye on my website.

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