I should have asked first, but what is the most easiest hardware to install Linux on and start learning linux?

Reading & watching videos of Linux installs looked really simple and easy. Learning Linux looked hard.

My problem is I can't get a distro installed on any of the machines I have with out having tons of install issues.

I was prepared for learning liunx commands command line,ect, but to go threw hell just trying to install on a Raspberry PI 4, or a Mac Book Pro 2021, is a nightmare.

I feel like all these different hardware issues are slowing my learning process of using linux down drastically...

I choose distros: Ubuntu 20.04.3 64bit & Linux Mint 20.3 cinnamon 64bit


P.S. I don't want to use linux as a virtual system. I want to be able to do clean installs at any given time.

Am I going about this all wrong?

I want the power & freedom of installing what I want and removing & update when I choose. I want the customization, which I'm starting to see a lot of non customization for terminal or desktops.

Finding add ons that actually work or realizing you can't change certain colors in Terminal. You have to choose theme in order to get some areas customized at all.

So getting a little concerned if all the hype is really just that?

I hope I am wrong. Any help explaining what is going on or if I'm pursuing this in the wrong manner would be helpful.

You can definitely install linux on RPi 4. And on a lot of different hardware. Actually you need to look for the given hardware if that was really supported.
If you have trouble installing it you can definitely start to install it into a VM. just to be familiar with it.

Also would be nice to post an actual error message and situation. In general it should work, linux is installed on an extremely huge amount of computers.

1 members found this post helpful.

These will never install on a Raspberry pi4. You have to use a arm port. Raspbain is an arm port, I think Ubuntu has one, Arch has a arm port and Slackware has an arm 32 bit port. Slackware arm 64 bit port is still a work in progress.

There are detailed how to's avaible. Decide which port you are going to use, print the instructions and install. If, and when you have a problem, post as much detail as you can what isn't working as expected.

I have never owned or use a MAC. You need to research the compatiblilty your specific model has with any linux. If unsure, post the exact model you have and possibly someone here will know the answer you seek.

1 members found this post helpful.

I'd work with the Pi, it likely will be easier than a MAC: https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads.../

Start with something pre-built where you're guided in how to do it. Then learn to customize or do different distributions over time.

Best if you get stuck to ask about that one stuck point and then proceed as you go along with further questions.

Hopefully it won't be as bad with a Pi versus your other attempt: Installing Ubuntu 20.04 or Linux MInt 20.3 on mac pro???

I frankly suggest that you should "first, get your feet wet" with a virtual machine running on the host of your choosing. (Oracle's absolutely-free "VirtualBox®" is an excellent choice which runs on everything.) Once you feel comfortable that you know your way around the system and its toolsets, you can proceed to install it on dedicated hardware.

1 members found this post helpful.

I'm getting so many different one it get over whleming. Patience is running low. Maybe in a week or so if i try again. Thank you.

According to the wonderful world of Linux, it's easy and you can install all different distro's as long as it 32bit or 64bit most hardware now a days should work. That's what I have been reading and watching, which apparently is not true. Alos pick a distro, according to what you just said, I can't I'm forced to use ones I don't want. So this is miss leading talk. Understandable on the Pi 4 and they support a Ubuntu which I finally got up and running. Is it stable, no, finding bugs. Like freeze ups, or install wallpapers lock system. As for the mac, it should be able to install almost every distro. But of course this is not as simple as everyone is making out on you tube or on websites....

Thanks aanyway..

Yes Pi actually worked with the version of Ubuntu they recommended, but has bugs in it. Tryed and like the Enlightenment desktop, but it freezes system when trying to change wall paper. Also it used a old or interchangeable file type which .edj Can not import .png,jpg, ect system will freeze.

Trying to install on mac or pc should be a breeze. With or with out dual boots. Editing a boot loader such as grub should not be a nightmare.

I come from a computer back ground and I understand thinks are not going to work all the time, but I'm seeing more of install & lack of good documentation for linux distro's.

Yes I been in the field since 1988, and was a Microsoft fan. Now I am only using them as a tester machine just to stay someone up to date.

I want Linux as my everyday on all my systems. I like to keep the same distro on each plateform so my commands will be the same. Won't have to worry about that little nosiness. lol

Thank you for all your support, I'm in it for the long hall.....

That may have been true for the Intel x86 MacBooks released between 2006 and 2020, but in November 2020, Apple switched to ARM, specifically ARMv8-A which significantly limits the OSes which might run on it.

I dumpstered dived till I found a old emachine desktop with vista on it to learn Linux on. After that. It became easier to procure free computer gear or cheap gear from a site like Goodwill Electronics.

But I really wanted to learn how to use this type of operating system.

No need to understand or learn command line. I just install the right wall paper.
I concentrated on learning file structure instead.

Locked rooms that daddy and mommy rule is in root. If you mess with their stuff. Make a copy 1st of any item so you don't get into trouble if you break something.
Bathrooms, Kitchen, Living room, Garage, sits in /home.

Here is blog entry of one of my 1st adventures.
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...-1540-dm-1388/

Stuff starts to click in place in your mind. But it requires patience and a thick skin at times.

Good Luck.

Misleading metaphor! Top-level directories are rooms. Each one has its own character and distinctive contents, just like the rooms in your house. If you lose a kitchen knife, you don't look for it in the bathroom! You look in the kitchen, or possibly the dining room. Similarly, if you want to find a file, you look in the top-level directory where files of that sort are stored. Config files are in /etc, essential user programs in /bin and so on.

Your home directory is like your bedroom; you can alter or rearrange its contents if you like. You're not allowed to do that in the rest of the house. Mummy won't let you. But that's precisely why it's safe to explore those rooms and find out what's in them and how it all works. As long as you aren't root (Daddy), you can't do any harm.

Correction: As long as you aren't root, you can't do any harm to the system or other users.

It's still possible to damage your own files, so it's wise to always backup important files before experimenting.

ARM is a CPU architecture. Reformatting a hard-drive cannot change that.

Support for Apple M1 chips was added to Linux kernel in version 5.13, which I think was released in mid-2021, so you need a distro which has a kernel released after that date AND supports ARM aarch64.

The versions of Ubuntu and Mint you were trying have an older kernel. Ubuntu 21.10 has a new enough kernel, but doesn't have an obvious ARM download for 21.10 (except for its Server-edition).

Until the more stable distros catch up you could try Fedora 35 or OpenSUSE Tumbleweed which both have ARM (aarch64) editions and have new enough kernels to support the new CPU architecture.

In the OP as I originally read it, the author seemed to believe that "hardware" was the right thing to install it on, and that "virtual" was not the right way to go. But also, the OP did not seem to me to have a particular target in mind.

In my opinion, if you are "learning and installing a Linux distro for the first time," it is wise to separate these two mental exercises: (1) "learning," and (2) "installing [on actual hardware]."

The first thing that you should do, IMHO, is to: "install Linux, any Linux, in an environment that is 'a rubber room.'" Hence, a virtual machine. Use this to learn how to install Linux – perhaps by practicing it several times – and also to learn at least the basics of how Linux operates. Having first done this, you can then "graduate" to real hardware, now knowing in advance what to expect.