LINUX MINT

This page offers a guide to help people who wish to migrate from Microsoft Windows to a Linux operating system. For a smooth transition, we chosen Linux Mint as the easiest way to switch to Linux, the look and feel is similar. Linux Mint is a solid and very stable distribution and has the support of a large community.

ℹ️ This guide covers the Cinnamon Edition of Linux Mint.

CONTENT

ABOUT LINUX MINT

Linux Mint is an operating system for desktop and laptop computers. It is designed to work 'out of the box' and comes fully equipped with the apps most people need.

Linux Mint is a community-driven Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. There is also LMDE, which stands for "Linux Mint Debian Edition", an alternative version based on Debian.

Linux Mint’s release schedule follows that of Ubuntu’s LTS releases. Linux Mint releases come out a few months after the corresponding Ubuntu LTS release because the Linux Mint team needs time for their own development and testing work. Each Linux Mint release is supported for five years, which is the same as the corresponding Ubuntu LTS release.

DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT AKA EDITION OR FLAVOR

A desktop environment is a collection of software running on top of an operating system that makes up the desktop Graphical User Interface. It usually includes everything from how the windows look and feel, to the style of the icons, files, folders, and the mouse pointers. A desktop environment also dictates what file manager to use, default text editor, image viewer, wallpapers, and the interface used to log in and log out of the local system. On Microsoft Windows and macOS X, the desktop environment is part of the operating system itself. On operating systems such as Linux, the desktop environment is usually a modular component that can be changed and reconfigured more easily. Source: Computer Hope

Cinnamon Edition | Sleek, modern, innovative ⭐️
  This is the edition on which this guide is based on, we highly recommend it for Windows users.

The most popular version of Linux Mint is the Cinnamon edition. Cinnamon is primarily developed for and by Linux Mint. It is slick, beautiful, and full of new features.

Cinnamon "EDGE" Edition | Support for the most modern hardware

An "EDGE" ISO image is also available for the Cinnamon edition. This image ships with a newer kernel to be able to support the latest hardware chipsets. If you cannot boot the regular editions, we recommend you try the "EDGE" ISO instead.

MATE Edition | Stable, robust, traditional

Linux Mint is also involved in the development of MATE, a classic desktop environment which is the continuation of GNOME 2, Linux Mint’s default desktop between 2006 and 2011. Although it misses a few features and its development is slower than Cinnamon’s, MATE runs faster, uses fewer resources and is more stable than Cinnamon.

Xfce Edition | Light, simple, efficient

Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment. It doesn’t support as many features as Cinnamon or MATE, but it’s extremely stable and very light on resource usage.

Debian Edition | An alternative to Ubuntu

LMDE aims to be as similar as possible to Linux Mint, but without using Ubuntu. The package base is provided by Debian instead.

Its goal is to ensure Linux Mint can continue to deliver the same user experience if Ubuntu was ever to disappear.

INSTALLATION

Linux Mint Installation Guide can be found here:

Download Linux Mint.

WELCOME SCREEN

The Welcome Screen guides you on your first steps on what you should do after a fresh installation of Linux Mint, like choosing your color theme, setting up System Snapshots, Check the drivers, the updates, enable the firewall, etc. You also have access to the links of the Documentation from the Welcome Screen.

The Welcome Screen access path: Menu → Preferences → Welcome Screen.

The Welcome Screen, will guides you on your first steps.

The Welcome Screen, will guides you on your first steps.

SOFTWARE MANAGER

The Software Manager is your app store module, from where you search, install or remove your applications. Unlike Microsoft Windows you don't need to search on different websites to find your softwares, all is there in one place!

The Software Manager access path: Menu → Administration → Software Manager.

The Software Manager, from where you install or remove your applications.

UPDATE MANAGER

The Update Manager is the module from where you update softwares, packages and kernel.

The Update Manager access path: Menu → Administration → Update Manager.

You can follow the status of the updates at the bottom right of panel on your screen. It has a shield icon.

The shield icon has 3 states:

Update Manager, showing your system is up to date. 👍️

It is also possible to make the update and maintenance process fully automated if you wish. To do so, go to Edit → Preferences → Automation, then enable all the options.

⚠️ It is highly recommended to have your system snapshots properly configured before you enable this mode.

Update Manager, showing full Automation mode.

FIREWALL

The Firewall will help you to secure the network traffic. By default it is not enabled, to turn it on, you just need to click the Status switch and that is all you need to do, for a normal home user.

The Firewall access path: Menu → Preferences → Firewall Configuration.

The Firewall is disabled by default. Turn it on by simply enable it and you are good.

💡️ TIPS AND TRICKS

Here are few tips and trick you may find useful.

Date and Time format

You can customize the clock format like you wish!
To do so, you need to right-click on the clock/calendar applet in the bottom-right corner, then click “Configure”, in the calendar settings, enable the “Use a custom date format”. In Date format you can now type soemthing like this exemple: %a %d-%m-%y %H:%M:%S

More info on the syntax here.

Enable touchpad gestures for laptops

You can enable the touchpad gestures, this is very useful for laptops.
To do so, follow this path : Menu → Preferences → Gestures → Settings → Enable gestures.

Configure the actions in the Swipe and Pinch tabs.

Protect your eyes with Redshift

Redshift is a popular tool in Linux Mint that reduces the temperature of the screen, resulting in a pale yellow screen that is easier on eyes at night. It can be installed by running the command "sudo apt-get install redshift" in Debian/Ubuntu/Linux Mint or by downloading it from the Cinnamon Applets download tab.

To enable Redshift, follow this path : Menu → Accessories → Redshift

Right click on its icon in the panel to enable it and make it auto start.

Protect your eyes better with QRedshift applet

QRedshift by raphaelquitao is an applet that makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of the day, warm at night and like the sunlight during the day.

To download the QRedshift applet, follow this path : Menu → Preferences → Applets → Download → QRedshift by raphaelquitao

In the Applets Manager go to Manage Tab, select QRedshift then click the [+] button on the bottom of the window to enable it.

Now you have its icon (a red lightbulb) in your panel, you can configure the app as you wish via its the cog wheels in the Applets Manager or by right-click on the icon then configure.

Get the latest Nvidia proprietary GPU Drivers

Linux Mint’s repository does not have the latest Nvidia driver by default. This is because the Linux Mint team does not automatically push the latest Nvidia drivers to their repository for general users. Instead, they rely on the open-source Nouveau driver, which is sufficient for general use but may not provide optimal performance for gaming and high-resolution video playback.

For users who need the latest Nvidia driver, add the Personal Package Archive (PPA) from “Graphics Drivers” team.

    Adding the PPA to your system:
  • sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
  • sudo apt update
    Search available driver:
  • sudo apt search nvidia-driver
    Install the latest driver (ex: nvidia-driver-555):
  • sudo apt install nvidia-driver-555
  • sudo apt update
    Reboot your system:
  • sudo reboot
Game compatibility

Increase vm.max_map_count

Having the vm.max_map_count set to a low value can affect the stability and performance of some games. It can therefore be desirable to increase the size permanently by creating the following sysctl config file.

    Create de config file:
  • sudo nano /etc/sysctl.d/80-gamecompatibility.conf

copy this line in the new created config file: vm.max_map_count = 2147483642

Save and close nano.

    Apply the changes without reboot by running:
  • sudo sysctl --system

source: Arch Wiki

Mainline Kernel

Be sure you know what you are doing! Create a backup (with Timeshift) before you change your kernel, you could get compatibility issues!

Go to the Ubuntu Mainline Kernel page and choose to the version you want.

For AMD/Intel CPUs, simply download the first 4 .deb packages from the web page.

If you don’t know your CPU architecture type, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run either uname -m or dpkg --print-architecture command to tell.

After downloaded the corresponding .deb packages, right-click on blank area in your downloads folder and select "Open in Terminal". Finally, run the command sudo apt install ./*.deb to install all the .deb packages in that folder.

When done, reboot your computer and run command uname -r to identify your kernel version.

To uninstall the Kernel 6.11, reboot your computer and select boot an old Kernel from Grub boot menu (under “Advanced …”). Then, use command to uninstall: sudo apt remove --autoremove linux-modules-6.11.0-*-generic linux-headers-6.11.0-*

A better kernel for gaming

XanMod is a general-purpose Linux kernel distribution with custom settings and new features. Built to provide a stable, smooth and solid system experience.

Liquorix is an enthusiast Linux kernel designed for uncompromised responsiveness in interactive systems, enabling low latency compute in A/V production, and reduced frame time deviations in games.

Various links to guides, articles and infos about Linux Mint.