#HOW TO TURN YOUR LAPTOP INTO A DESKTOP HOW TO#
#HOW TO TURN YOUR LAPTOP INTO A DESKTOP FULL#

All Linux Mint needs to run is an x86 processor, 1GB of RAM (youвЂ™ll be happier with 2GB or 4GB), 15GB of disk space, a graphics card that works at 1024 x 768 resolution, and a CD/DVD drive or USB port. You can run Mint on any of your Windows 7 PCs. Sure, thereвЂ™s a learning curve, but I found it easier to pick up than Windows 10вЂ™s desktop.ДЄnother advantage, which Mint shares with other Linux distros, is it runs on low-power hardware.

ThatвЂ™s because MintвЂ™s default Cinnamon interface looks and works a lot like Windows 7вЂ™s Aero interface. MintвЂ™s default Cinnamon interface looks and works a lot like Windows 7.Д«esides being my personal desktop Linux favorite, it works well for Windows users.

#HOW TO TURN YOUR LAPTOP INTO A DESKTOP HOW TO#

But for our purposes, IвЂ™m going to tell you how to install Linux Mint. The best-known include such distros as Debian, openSUSE, and Ubuntu. There are hundreds of Linux desktop distributions (known as distros) out there. For this job, I recommend OracleвЂ™s great free VirtualBox VM program. If that doesnвЂ™t work for your officeвЂ™s Windows-only programs, you can always keep running Windows 7, with a lot less danger, on a virtual machine (VM) on Linux. This can be hard to set up, but its commercial brother, CodeWeaverвЂ™s Crossover Linux, makes it easy to set up many proprietary programs, including games. You can run many native Windows programs on Linux using Wine. For a full-fledged office suite, I highly recommend LibreOffice. Or Thunderbird for email instead of Outlook.

#HOW TO TURN YOUR LAPTOP INTO A DESKTOP FULL#

The full Office 365 suite will be coming to Linux soon - itвЂ™s only a matter of when.ДЇor all your other desktop software needs, thereвЂ™s usually a free, open-source program that can do just as good a job. And MicrosoftвЂ™s exporting its new Edge web browser to Linux. For instance, you can run the free Office Online, which comes with limited versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on Linux. And todayвЂ™s desktop Linux distributions are as easy to use as Windows or macOS.ДЄnd if youвЂ™re worried about being able to run Windows applications - donвЂ™t. Machines that would bend and break under the load of Windows 10 will run like a charm. If you have an older system but are worried that it wonвЂ™t support Windows 10 - or if you simply donвЂ™t want to deal with Windows anymore - I have a suggestion: Switch to desktop Linux.Дesktop Linux can run on your Windows 7 (and older) laptops and desktops. By the federal governmentвЂ™s Digital Analytics Program (DAP) count in October 2020, 3.2 percent of computer users still are on Windows 7 - even though Microsoft no longer supports it for free.

How to turn your laptop into a desktop