Linux. How to.

It's 2026 and Linux is having a moment. For a while now. Downloads are up, communities are growing, and more people than ever are actually making the switch — not just talking about it. Some of it is curiosity. Some of it is general fatigue with bloated, ad-ridden, update-forcing operating systems that treat your computer like a service they're running for you.

And honestly? Nobody has done more for Linux adoption than Microsoft. Between forced updates, ads baked into the Start Menu, the aggressive Windows 11 hardware wall, and Recall — a feature that screenshots your screen continuously so an AI can summarize your own life back to you — people are looking for the exit, and Microsoft keeps building better signs pointing to it. So, cheers to them for that.

As someone running a web security and privacy agency, I'll add: from a privacy standpoint, your OS sees everything you do. Switching to Linux is one of the most meaningful steps you can take. This guide covers how to do it on a PC or laptop — either alongside your current OS (dual boot) or as a clean replacement.

On a MacBook? That's a different beast entirely. I wrote a separate guide for it: How to dual boot Pop!OS on MacBook.

First, pick your distro

Linux isn't one system — it's a family of operating systems built on the same core. These variants are called distributions, or distros. I'll cover two.

  • Ubuntu — the safe choice. Huge community, tons of documentation, works on almost everything. If something breaks, someone online has already fixed it. Good default if you're coming from Windows and want the smoothest ride. Grab the LTS version — it's the stable one.
  • Pop!OS — built on Ubuntu, so you get all the same compatibility, but with a nicer UI out of the box and better hardware support, especially for Nvidia. More polished, more opinionated, and what I personally run. If you have an Nvidia GPU, download the Nvidia version specifically. If you're unsure, grab the regular one.

Not sure which? Go Pop!OS.

What you need before starting

  • A USB drive, 8GB or more
  • About an hour
  • A backup of anything important — do this before touching anything
  • An internet connection (you'll need it post-install)

Step 1: Create a bootable USB

Download your chosen distro from the links above. Then download balenaEtcher — plug in your USB, open Etcher, select your ISO, select your USB, flash it. It handles everything.

Warning: this will erase everything on the USB drive. Make sure there's nothing important on it.

Step 2: Choose — dual boot or clean install

This is the fork in the road.

  • Clean install — wipe your current OS entirely and replace it with Linux. Simpler, less can go wrong, better performance long-term. Go this route if you don't need Windows anymore or can run it in a VM.
  • Dual boot — keep your current OS and add Linux alongside it. You pick which one loads on every startup. More steps, slightly more risk during setup, but you keep a fallback.

Both paths share most steps below. I'll note where they diverge.

Step 3 (dual boot only): Shrink your current partition

You need to carve out space for Linux without deleting your existing OS.

On Windows

Right-click the Start button, open Disk Management. Find your main drive (C:), right-click it, click Shrink Volume. Shrink by however much you want to give Linux — 40–60GB minimum, more if you plan to actually use it. You'll end up with unallocated space. Leave it as is, don't format it.

On macOS

Open Disk Utility. Make sure View > Show All Devices is on. Select your drive, click Partition, click +, set your size, format as MS-DOS (FAT), hit Apply. Agree to everything it asks. Or just follow the MacBook guide — it covers this in detail.

Step 4: Boot from the USB

Restart your PC. You need it to boot from the USB instead of your hard drive. How you get there depends on your machine — on most PCs it's F2, F10, F11, F12, or Delete during startup. Look up your model if unsure. You're looking for Boot Menu or BIOS settings.

UEFI / Secure Boot note: if your PC won't boot the USB, you may need to disable Secure Boot in BIOS. It's usually under Security or Boot. You can re-enable it after installation if needed.

Once you're in the live environment, you can try Linux out before installing anything. Don't skip this — it's a good way to confirm your hardware works before committing.

Step 5: Install

Clean install

Click Install. Go through language and keyboard. When you reach installation type:

  • Ubuntu: select "Erase disk and install Ubuntu." It handles everything.
  • Pop!OS: select "Clean Install." Same deal.

Follow the prompts — timezone, username, password. Let it run. Reboot when asked, remove the USB when prompted. Done — jump to Step 6.

Dual boot

Read carefully. This is where it gets more involved.

At the installation type screen, choose:

  • Ubuntu: "Something else"
  • Pop!OS: "Custom (Advanced)"

You'll see a partition table. Find the unallocated space you made in Step 3. Create the following partitions in it:

  • Boot partition — 500MB, FAT32, mount point: /boot/efi, flagged as ESP. Right-click it after creating and set the esp flag. Required on UEFI systems.
  • Root partition — 40GB minimum, ext4, mount point: /
  • Swap partition — same size as your RAM, linux-swap. Not strictly required but recommended, especially on laptops.
  • Home partition — everything that's left, ext4, mount point: /home

Double-check that you haven't touched your existing Windows or macOS partitions. If you're unsure what a partition is, don't touch it. Partitioning mistakes are how data gets lost — this is why you backed up in Step 2.

Click Install Now, review the summary, confirm, let it run.

Step 6: First boot and post-install essentials

You're in. Dual boot will show a menu at startup where you pick your OS — that's GRUB on Ubuntu, systemd-boot on Pop!OS. If it boots straight into your old OS without a menu, go into BIOS and adjust boot order to put Linux first.

Update everything

Open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and run:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Let it finish. Reboot.

Install GPU drivers (if needed)

  • Ubuntu: go to Software & Updates > Additional Drivers. If you have Nvidia hardware, select the recommended driver and apply.
  • Pop!OS Nvidia version: drivers are already included. Just update.

Enable firewall

sudo ufw enable

Simple, effective. Worth confirming it's on. From a security standpoint, this is the first thing to do on any fresh Linux install. We cover Linux hardening in more depth separately on the site.

Set up your browser

Firefox comes preinstalled and is the right call from a privacy perspective — if you're reading Khalifa Digital Security, you probably already know why. Check out our privacy tools guide for the extensions worth adding immediately.

Common issues

  • No WiFi after install — happens on some Intel or Broadcom chips. Connect via ethernet or USB tethering from your phone (Android works reliably, iPhone is hit or miss). Then run: 
    sudo apt update
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
    Reboot and check again.
  • Screen resolution wrong — usually fixed after GPU driver installation. If it persists, check Display Settings.
  • GRUB not showing (dual boot) — try holding Shift during boot to force the menu. Or go into BIOS and adjust boot order.
  • Touchpad not working — rare on modern hardware. Search your specific model + "Linux touchpad driver." Usually a one-command fix.

On a MacBook?

MacBooks are a separate story. Apple's hardware has always been a bit hostile to non-Apple software, and T2 chip models add extra steps around Secure Boot, keyboard and trackpad drivers, WiFi, and more. Doable — I've done it — but go in prepared.

The full guide is here: How to dual boot Pop!OS on MacBook.

Should you switch?

If privacy matters to you — and if you're here it probably does — Linux removes a significant layer of telemetry, data collection, and corporate control from your daily computing. You stop being the product. You control your updates. You know what's running on your machine.

The learning curve is real but manageable. Most people get comfortable within a week or two. Terminal commands feel intimidating until they don't. The community is enormous and helpful.

The live USB lets you run Linux without installing anything. Spend an afternoon with it before making any decisions. Worth it? For most people reading this — yes.

Questions or ran into something not covered here? Drop them below. If this helped someone, it was worth writing. Live privately. See you around.

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