Windows to Chromebook Conversion
My Chromebook outperforms my Windows 10 laptop. Both have similar specs. Is it feasible/practical to make the conversion? I don't think simply changing browsers will accomplish what I want.
Forum Discussion
I converted one of my Windows 10 PCs (a desktop that sits in a second home primarily for guest usage) to a Linux system just last week. I was motivated by the fact that this particular Windows 10 system (a 10-year old Gateway that had been running Windows 10 fine) failed with the latest Windows 10 1803 distribution and ended up with a list of updates that failed. Windows online help was no help and doing a clean install ended up in the same condition.
I opted for the Zorin OS Linux distribution that has a user interface much like Windows 7. It results in a Chromebook-like system and is quite functional for those that use Google apps. The Chromium version of Chrome installs with the Zorin OS distribution, but you can just download Chrome and then it is just like the normal Chrome interface.
My wife has a Chromebook (took the place of a Windows laptop) that is the perfect solution for her since she is technology challenged. But, I like the Zorin OS solution better as I can install most of the applications that I added to Windows that have Linux versions and for those that don't there are similar Linux applications.
Zorin OS is free for the basic version that has all the functions that I needed for this particular PC. I am still happy with my desktop and laptop that run Windows 10 and did not have a problem with the 1803 update. I think the problem was that the 1803 Windows update made a change that is not compatible with the older Gateway hardware.
The Zorin OS install is pretty straight forward but you do need some computer savvy (there are good instructions online). The first hurdle is creating a Zorin OS bootable install disk on a USB thumb drive. Once that is done, the Zorin OS install was no problem. I chose to install Zorin OS in place of Windows 10 without saving anything on the disk. Zorin OS is supposedly capable of being installed as a dual boot with Windows but when I tried that first the boot choice did not happen. I really had no reason for Windows on the PC anyway.
Just thought I would pass this info along as I was surprised how easy it was and how functional the result was. I had the advantage of having plenty of experience with Windows, but haven't had a Linux system since way/way back when I tried it as a dual boot with Windows. I didn't keep it long then but now there are quite a few user friendly Linux distributions.
I opted for the Zorin OS Linux distribution that has a user interface much like Windows 7. It results in a Chromebook-like system and is quite functional for those that use Google apps. The Chromium version of Chrome installs with the Zorin OS distribution, but you can just download Chrome and then it is just like the normal Chrome interface.
My wife has a Chromebook (took the place of a Windows laptop) that is the perfect solution for her since she is technology challenged. But, I like the Zorin OS solution better as I can install most of the applications that I added to Windows that have Linux versions and for those that don't there are similar Linux applications.
Zorin OS is free for the basic version that has all the functions that I needed for this particular PC. I am still happy with my desktop and laptop that run Windows 10 and did not have a problem with the 1803 update. I think the problem was that the 1803 Windows update made a change that is not compatible with the older Gateway hardware.
The Zorin OS install is pretty straight forward but you do need some computer savvy (there are good instructions online). The first hurdle is creating a Zorin OS bootable install disk on a USB thumb drive. Once that is done, the Zorin OS install was no problem. I chose to install Zorin OS in place of Windows 10 without saving anything on the disk. Zorin OS is supposedly capable of being installed as a dual boot with Windows but when I tried that first the boot choice did not happen. I really had no reason for Windows on the PC anyway.
Just thought I would pass this info along as I was surprised how easy it was and how functional the result was. I had the advantage of having plenty of experience with Windows, but haven't had a Linux system since way/way back when I tried it as a dual boot with Windows. I didn't keep it long then but now there are quite a few user friendly Linux distributions.
