Building for Linux

Choose a distribution, install it, and configure your drives and system - everything you need to go from bare hardware to a working Linux desktop.

Choosing a Distribution

There are countless Linux distributions, each with its own philosophy and strengths. The ones listed here are among the most popular and well-supported - but you should research the one that best suits your specific needs.

Ubuntu

Beginner Friendly

The most popular Linux distribution. Massive community, extensive documentation, and long-term support (LTS) releases every two years. Ideal for beginners and servers alike.

Official Download

Linux Mint

Best for Windows Converts

Built on Ubuntu with a traditional desktop layout that feels familiar to Windows users. Ships with multimedia codecs and a polished out-of-the-box experience. The easiest transition from Windows.

Official Download

Fedora

Developer Focused

Backed by Red Hat, Fedora ships with the latest stable software and technologies. Strong focus on security and developer tooling. Great for developers who want cutting-edge packages.

Official Download

Pop!_OS

Best for Gaming

System76's Ubuntu-based distribution with excellent NVIDIA GPU support out of the box - no manual driver configuration needed. Built-in tiling window manager and a focus on productivity and gaming.

Official Download

Arch Linux

Advanced Users

A rolling-release distribution that gives you total control over every package installed. No bloat - you build your system from the ground up. Excellent wiki and documentation, but requires comfort with the terminal.

Official Download

Installation

Creating a Bootable USB

Download the ISO for your chosen distro, then flash it to a USB drive (8 GB+) using one of these tools:

Ventoy

Drop multiple ISOs onto one USB - boot into whichever you want. Great for testing distros.

Balena Etcher

Simple 3-step flash tool. Works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Select ISO → select drive → flash.

Rufus

Windows-only. More options for UEFI/Legacy and partition schemes. Advanced but reliable.

Boot from USB

Plug in your USB and restart. Press F11, F12, or Del during startup to access the boot menu. Select your USB drive. Most distros will boot into a live environment where you can try it before installing.

File System & Partitioning

Linux uses ext4 as its default file system - it's fast, reliable, and well-supported across all distributions. During installation, most distros offer automatic partitioning which works well for a single-drive setup.

Recommended partition layout (manual setup):

/ - Root

The main system partition. 30-50 GB minimum.

/home - Home

Your personal files. Give it the rest of the drive. Separating it from root makes reinstalls easier - your data survives.

swap

Virtual memory. Match your RAM size (e.g. 16 GB RAM = 16 GB swap) if you plan to use hibernation. Otherwise, 4-8 GB is fine.

Mounting Additional Drives

If you have additional hard drives or SSDs (for games, media, etc.), you'll want them to mount automatically at boot. Linux uses /etc/fstab for this.

List your drives:

lsblk -f

Create a mount point and mount:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/datasudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data

Add to /etc/fstab for auto-mount on boot:

/dev/sdb1 /mnt/data ext4 defaults 0 2

Use UUID instead of /dev/sdX in fstab for reliability - device names can change between boots. Run blkid to find your drive's UUID.

Post-Install Setup

Update Your System

First thing after install - update all packages. The command depends on your distro's package manager:

Ubuntu / Mint / Debian:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Fedora:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Arch:

sudo pacman -Syu

GPU Drivers

NVIDIA

Most distros offer proprietary NVIDIA drivers through their package manager or a "Additional Drivers" utility. Pop!_OS includes them out of the box if you download the NVIDIA ISO.

AMD / Intel

Open-source Mesa drivers are included in the kernel - AMD and Intel GPUs work out of the box with no additional setup needed.

Chris Titus Linux Utility

A terminal-based utility that handles common post-install tasks - installing apps, configuring your desktop, applying tweaks, and setting up development tools. Supports Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Debian, and more.

Terminal:

curl -fsSL https://christitus.com/linux | sh

Install common applications (browsers, media players, dev tools)
Configure desktop environment settings and themes
Apply performance tweaks and system optimizations

Quick Tips

Enable XMP/DOCP in BIOS - same as Windows, your RAM likely runs below rated speed until you enable this
Timeshift - install it early to create system snapshots. If an update breaks something, you can roll back in minutes
Flatpak / Snap - universal package formats that work across distros. Flatpak is generally preferred for desktop apps
Dual booting? - Install Windows first, then Linux. Linux's bootloader (GRUB) will detect Windows automatically. The reverse is harder.

Need hands-on help?

Wizard Tech Services offers PC Setup & Optimization - we can help you choose the right distro, set up your system, and configure everything.