Ideal distro for windows compatibility and clean screen?
 

Hi-
This is my first thread so i apologize for any procedural goofs...
I'm 2 things: very weary of windows, and very distractable (so i need simple and i need unclutteredness).
I don't mind work so i'm not demanding a hand-holding windoze clone, just to minimize migration hassles, and to run those W7 apps that i can't find adequate Linux substitutes for (e.g. Irfanview, ClutterCloak, CursorFX etc.), in a stripped-to-bone interface.
I need to know if it's truly realistic to expect to run most W7 apps smoothly, because (sorry), i suspect it's still not.
Which distro, if any, would be best for me?
Life is short, i don't want spend any more time fighting computer hassles than absolutely vital.
Thanks for your time!

Infinice

Why are computers like hemorrhoids? When you sit down the pain returns!

Actually this is your third thread on the same subject and I had replied to your second. Duplicate threads on the same topic are frowned upon and the same comments apply now as they did previously.

Irfanview runs via wine but specific applications that modify the Windows desktop do not like clutter cloak and cursor FX. It is possible to modify the cursor but it depends on the desktop. linux and actually Windows has multiple virtual desktops. You can move or start your desired application in another desktop which would almost be the same as de-cluttering.

There are many Windows programs that work under wine but not all run well or smoothly and it is still difficult to quantify the term "most" so it is safe to say the answer is still no.

What distribution is best for you is a very subjective question. Go to distrowatch.com and check out and try live versions going down the list and see which one you like.

Ideal distro for windows compatibility and clean screen?
 

You can't find a replacement for Irfanview?

This might be hard to hear, and I hope you accept it the way it's intended:

The fact that you can't find a replacement for Irfanview tells me that you should stick with Windows, because you'll never be comfortable with Linux.

There's nothing wrong with using Windows. You've gotta do what's right for you.

infinice,

You can test drive any Linux distro you like from DistroTest:
https://distrotest.net/index.php

You can test directly online without making an installation.

Out of the top 5 distros on Distrowatch, you could perhaps try MX Linux, Linux Mint MATE and EndeavourOS (rolling release based on Arch):
https://distrowatch.com/

Alternatives to Clutter Cloak and CursorFX seem unavailable in Linux, but there is one possible alternative to Irfanview which is XnView MP:
https://www.xnview.com/en/xnviewmp/

Review:
https://alternativeto.net/software/xnviewmp/about/

The only safe way to migrate from W7 to Linux is to backup all personal data (Documents, Pictures, Downloads including Bookmarks etc) to an external drive and then do a fresh Linux install.

The Linux Mint Installation Guide is useful:
https://linuxmint-installation-guide...t/install.html

I always advise having a separate Home partition, since this makes life much simpler when upgrading (using a fresh install, not in-situ) or changing a distro.

https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...-distro-37074/

Offhand, I'd recommend Linux Mint as the base system, but tweaked so as to use only a window manager instead of a full desktop environment. One of the most bare bones window managers is FVWM2 which, although bare, can still be made pretty as demonstrated by the modifications included in the FVWM2-Crystal package -- once you know where the configuration files hide. However, Openbox has quite a following and is another lightweight choice.

As for running legacy programs, using native alternatives would be a better path as long as they can share file formats with the legacy programs without losing or corrupting data during a round trip. That is a benefit of open standards but something that many shortsighted and/or malicious companies fail to cash in on. M$ has fought it tooth and nail over the decades. So if you can't find such a native option, then you can try to run the legacy programs using WINE, CrossOver, or PlayOnLinux. Different programs may do better on one of those three rather than another, so you may have to have two or all three to get what you want.

AntiX = fairly minimalist WM distro

MX Linux = mid weight XFCE distro

Devuan = mid weight XFCE distro

Wine = to run MS software

Lots of other distros too...

Software alternatives - https://alternativeto.net/platform/linux/

If you want to run most W7 apps then you should probably stick with MS. Although I've never felt the need for MS for years and I can't recall ever having to use the likes of wine.

infinice,

In the words of Bucks Fizz (winners of Eurovision 1981) it’s time for “Making Your Mind Up”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucks_Fizz

Either stick with Windows, preferably W10 because it is current and probably more secure, or alternatively venture into Linuxland.

As michaelk has noted, this is your third thread on the same topic.

We can only give you suggestions.

You have to make the decision.

Good luck with whichever route you decide to take.

I would make a different recommendation than most above.

Check out the live images as already suggested, then once you have one you think might work use it.
The difference is that after backing up all your personal data as suggested, simply install windows 7 in a virtual machine running on the linux distro you chose. Then when you need to run those apps that you can't find replacements for all that is needed would be to run the VM and in that environment run your windows apps. Otherwise you can do everything else in linux.

This gives you the best of both worlds. Linux as the main machine, but windows in the VM for those apps you just can't do without.

Windows doesn't have to be cluttered though I tend to see (and really, really don't understand) Windows users with their screen sometimes 80%-90% filled with shortcuts. Linux won't be a help if the creation of links on one's KDE/Gnome/whatever desktop gets out of hand. If clutter is the big reason you're looking to migrate away from Windows, try removing shortcuts. (Applications don't disappear, when you remove the shortcut, after all.) If you're a Windows user who can successfully resist the temptation to create shortcuts for everything that's available on the Windows command menu maybe you really don't have to leave after all.

If there are applications that you absolutely must have/cannot live without, a quick question about specific application would be my next step. Frankly, I'd avoid posting a lengthy laundry list of applications---those threads ramble on forever and, I would guess, cause some LQ denizens to lose interest in helping.

Finally, rather than switching and having to find alternate applications, perhaps dual-booting would suit you better---at least for a while. You wouldn't have to leave your Windows applications behind cold turkey. Or beat your head against the wall trying to get them to work under Wine. There's plenty of information in previous forum threads about setting up a Windows system to dual boot Linux. Try searching for it.

HTH...

https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...ss-4175651979/
Reads a little differently than this one, but both this one here and that one there do not make much sense.