Thinking about leaving Windows? Apple hardware too expensive? Not quite sure what is available out there? Good news, desktop Linux has become really good in the last few years. Not to worry, I've got something to make your transition a little bit easier. 

Backstory: I switched 100% to Linux about 5 years ago after getting frustrated with Microsoft and Apple. It took a solid year to go from distrohopping every few days to understanding what I liked and what branch of Linux I was going to call home. With the recent shenanigans of Windows 11 and the ever increasing encroachment of privacy by the surveillance state, I decided to try to help anyone who is "Linux curious." There is no proprietary software here and I'm not trying to hide anything. All this is, is Ventoy (an open source utility which allows you to create a bootable USB drive and store multiple files and OS's on it at once. Supports .iso, .wim, .img, .vhd(x) and .efi files) with a modified GRUB menu (created by YEYUSHENGFAN258 from pling.com). 

This is the ultimate introduction to Linux. I think I have a pretty good mix of distros and desktop environments here. Most are aimed at beginners but a couple like Vanilla Arch, GhostBSD might be a bit more complicated to start with. I included them because new users might be interested. KDE Plasma, GNOME, Hyprland, Sway, i3, Cinnamon, Cosmic, Pantheon, Xfce, JWM, LXQt and MATE are all represented. This drive is customizable. If there is a distro that is not included, simply download the .iso, drag and drop it onto the drive and you're ready to go. Delete what you don't want and add what you do. The hardest thing about switching to Linux is finding our what works best for you.

Included is a high quality PNY 128GB USB drive preloaded with the latest versions (at least latest version as of posting this) of 27 of the most popular Linux distributions (32 isos in total) I think someone new to Linux should try out. I included as many LTS (Long Term Support) versions available to ensure a stable base for new users. The worst thing for beginners is inadvertently breaking your system and not knowing how to recover. 

To use:

1. Ensure that Secure Boot is disabled in BIOS (google how to enter BIOS for your specific device)

2. Insert USB Stick and select it in the Boot options in BIOS. 

3. You will be presented with a GRUB Menu. Simply select the desired OS. 

4. Try in LiveCD environment or install to disk.

Note: For Vanilla Arch the preferred method is to ensure you have an internet connection and run 'archinstall' from the command line. This will download an Arch helper script that will make the, once rather difficult, installation process much easier and more user friendly. Just follow prompts, make your selections and install. (I would go to the Arch website and follow the tutorial to ensure a successful installation)

Gaming centric distros - Garuda Dr460nized Gaming, Bazzite, PopOS and Nobara are distributions that claim to be focused on gaming support. Garuda is based on Arch. Bazzite and Nobara are based on Fedora. I have a Bazzite Gaming PC in my living room and its awesome. Its the closest thing to a SteamOS console (until Valve releases SteamOS for the desktop, that is.) I included both versions with AMD driver support and Nvidia driver support of these distros. (goto Bazzite's website if you have Intel Arc graphics. They have a version for that as well.)

Long story short. I'm not out to make a fortune, I'm not some foreign malware factory. I'm just a guy trying to get as many people to switch to Linux as possible. The more the user base grows, the more interest there is for developers to develop software specifically for Linux. The happier we all become. 

**If anyone is wondering, I settled on Garuda for my desktop and Laptop and Bazzite on my Living Room gaming PC.** 

Debian 13.1.0

Arch 2026.02.01

Ubuntu LTS 24.04.3 (Unity DE)

Linux Mint LTS 22.3 (Cinnamon DE)

PopOS LTS 24.04 - (Nvidia Graphics support) (Cosmic DE)

PopOS LTS 24.04 - (AMD Graphics support) (Cosmic DE)

ElementaryOS 8.1 (Pantheon DE)

ZorinOS 18 (Best option for Windows 10 replacement)

CachyOS 260124 (KDE Plasma DE)

EndevourOS 2026.01.12

Garuda Dr460nized 260115

Garuda Hyperland 260115

Garuda Sway 260115

Manjaro 25.0.9

Fedora Workstation 43

Bazzite stable (AMD graphics support)

Bazzite stable (Nvidia graphics support)

Nobara 43 2026.01.25 (Official)

MX Linux 25.1

Q4OS 5.8 (KDE Plasma DE)

Puppy Linux 10.0.12

Linux Lite 7.6

Lubuntu LTS 24.04.3 (LXQt)

OpenSUSE Leap 16.0 (stable)

GhostBSD 25.02 (MATE DE) - for more advanced users

NixOS 25.05 - for more advanced users

Kali Linux 2025.3 

Tails 6.15

Parrot Linux 7.1 (MATE DE) (Note: default username and password: parrot)

Ubuntu Studio 25.10 (distro for creators)

TruNAS 25.04.2.4