where to download free linux os Where can I get Linux? Linux is a kernel, not an operating system. However, many popular free operating systems are based on the Linux kernel. If you want to learn to use Linux because of a job requirement, see what Linux operating system the company uses and install it for yourself. Before installing Linux, keep in mind that Linux is not the same as Windows. One important difference is that you cannot run Windows software unless you have an emulator, such as Wine, that supports the program you want to run. For users not familiar with Linux or Unix, installing and running Linux may be more difficult. Finally, if you already have Windows on the computer, you need to erase everything to install Linux, unless you are planning to use a LiveCD version of Linux. The following are suggested Linux operating systems you can download and install for free. Linux distributions. The following Linux operating systems are good for new users: Ubuntu Desktop - A stable, user-friendly, powerful Linux operating system with broad hardware support. Widely used in the technology industry, for instance at Google. If you've never used Linux before, Ubuntu is a great first choice. Fedora Workstation - An enterprise-quality Linux operating system developed by Red Hat. Debian - A stable, highly influential Linux operating system, equally suited for a desktop computer or a high-powered server. Linspire - A Linux OS designed to have the look and feel of Microsoft Windows XP or macOS. Linux Mint - A user- friendly Linux OS whose default GUI is reminiscent of Windows. SUSE - Pronounced "Susie," SUSE is a popular, well-established Linux OS, originally developed by Novell. The following Linux operating systems are recommended for experienced Linux users. A new user may find them difficult to install and use. Arch - A "rolling-release" Linux distribution with cutting-edge (and therefore less extensively-tested) software package versions. Slackware - The grumpy old man of Linux distributions, Slackware is over 25 years old and still widely used. Gentoo - Not for the faint of heart, Gentoo is focused on performance and low-level customization. If you want to manually configure and compile your Linux kernel, you'll love Gentoo. Where can I get Linux? Almost all variants of Linux can be downloaded for free from the developer or other sites dedicated to distributing Linux. If you have a broadband connection and the ability to create a CD from the ISO you download, we recommend you download one of the above recommended variants. Visit the developer's website, or download the ISO from a site dedicated to distributing Linux. Where to download free linux os. Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property. What can I do to prevent this in the future? If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices. Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. Cloudflare Ray ID: 6698913eff4484f8 • Your IP : 188.246.226.140 • Performance & security by Cloudflare. Twister OS. Turn your Raspberry Pi into a Mac or PC with the Twister operating system. Twister OS is the successor to Raspbian 95, Raspbian XP, Raspbian X, Raspbian X Nighthawk and iRaspbian. In terms of productivity, XFCE was a much better desktop, and the addition of emulators would make both worlds (games and desktop) merged into one version. The Twister operating system is built on the official Raspbian Pi operating system with themes designed to appear as thematic operating systems. That being said, software updates for the Twister operating system are based on the Raspberry Pi Foundation, while internal theme changes and the included software are updated by developers via patches. This version of the Twister operating system supports Box86, Steam, Android desktop mirroring, Box86, Chromium Media edition for watching Netflix, HULU and Disney Plus! This project is amazing and works very well on the Raspberry Pi4. - Hardware: Raspberry PI 4 / Model B / 4GB > SDCARD-64 GB - Twister OS for Raspberry PI. Feren OS. A GNU/Linux distribution based on Linux Mint and the Cinnamon desktop environment. Feren OS is a free, open-source GNU/Linux distribution derived from the well known Linux Mint distro, which, in turn, is forked from the popular Ubuntu operating system. It is built around the modern Cinnamon desktop environment and aims to be a worthy replacement for the Microsoft Windows operating system. Offers 32-bit and 64-bit support. Probably the essential aspect of an operating system is that if it supports 32-bit or 64-bit hardware architectures. Feren OS supports both, so you can install it on ny modern PC manufactured in the past 10 to 15 years, as well as older computers from 20 years ago with 32-bit processors. Windows program support. As mentioned before, the goal of Feren OS is to be a worthy replacement for Microsoft Windows on users' computers at home and in the office. For this, Feren OS needs to allow users to run specific Windows apps that don't have a Linux counterpart, so it comes pre-configured in this manner. Wine (Wine Is Not an Emulator) is the main tool behind Feren OS' ability to run Windows programs and games without any type of emulation, though it's also fully compatible with the well-known Wine frontends PlayOnLinux and CrossOver for Linux, which are easy to install from within the OS. Beautiful Cinnamon desktop, great software selection. Being based on Linux Mint, Feren OS also borrowed the Cinnamon desktop environment as default graphical interface, though I was pleased to find a beautiful setup like no other. The interface features a single dock layout, placed at the bottom of the screen, and Conky widgets on the desktop. The default software selection is also great as Feren OS comes pre-installed with the Vivaldi web browser, the entire LibreOffice office suite, VLC media player, Krita digital painting program, TimeShift backup tool, Synaptic package manager, Cheese webcam viewer, and many utilities. Ready to switch from Windows? At the end of the day, I find Feren OS a well-designed operating system that's doesn't include any bloatware. It's a good Linux OS for those who want to switch from Microsoft Windows but don't have any Linux knowledge. Feren OS' welcome screen is the right place to start your Linux adventure. Best Free Linux Distributions for Desktops and Servers. Almost every Linux distribution is available to download for free. However, there are some editions (or distros) may ask for a fee in order to purchase it. For instance, the ultimate edition of Zorin OS is not free and needs to be purchased. If you already know about some of the best Linux distributions available, you probably do not need this list. It is meant for absolute beginners who may have had a misconception that Linux distros need to be purchased. So, in this article, I focus on the free Linux distributions that you can try, whether its for general purpose home usage, i.e. desktop or for a production-grade server. Top Free Linux Distributions for Desktop. 1. Ubuntu. No matter what, it is highly likely that you may have heard about Ubuntu distribution. On paper, it is the most popular Linux distribution out there, both on desktop and the server. For desktop, it provides a unique user experience which is also easy to use. If you happen to be a Windows user, you may not find it familiar but it does offer the ease of installing various popular software. You will also find several essential tools pre-installed. You might want to read our tutorial on installing Ubuntu for your desktop if this is your preferred choice. 2. Linux Mint. Linux Mint is potentially better than Ubuntu for a couple of reasons. And, I would definitely recommend it to former Windows users who do not want a completely different user interface. Linux Mint will provide a familiar user interface to Windows and runs quite impressive on both modern and old hardware configurations. You will find all essential tools pre-installed, out-of-the-box customization options, and it is quite easy to install/remove new software as well. 3. elementary OS. One of the most beautiful Linux distributions is elementary OS. It is based on Ubuntu — so you get all the advantages of using Ubuntu along with a unique user experience. You might find the user experience inspired from the macOS but as you use it, you may find it better with their upcoming releases that have more attention to details. It may not have a lot of tools pre-installed but covers some basic additions. It is also easy to install and remove software on elementary OS. 4. Zorin OS. Zorin OS is yet another fantastic free Linux distribution for users comfortable with Windows originally. You get different editions of Zorin (if you want it for old hardware or modern) like Lite and Ultimate. It is free to download but if you need the Ultimate edition (which just comes with a lot of essential apps + some games), you need to pay a small fee. It is also based on Ubuntu, so it is easy to use and you can install various software tools without any hassle. 5. Pop!_OS. Pop!_OS is an incredibly polished free Linux distribution by System76. In general, they made it for their own laptops and desktop offerings and that is why it is easily compatible with the latest and greatest hardware. It isn’t tailored to run on older hardware (specifically), but if Ubuntu runs on a machine, this will work on it as well. The user interface is very similar to Ubuntu but you get a fine-tuned experience with some additional features like auto-tiling windows. You can check out one of our reviews on Pop OS to learn more about it. Top Free Linux Distributions for Server. 6. Ubuntu Server. As I mentioned above, Ubuntu is a popular choice for both server and desktop users. Of course, you need to keep in mind the system requirements before deploying it on a production server. When compared to other Linux distributions, most of the hosting providers facilitate easy installation of Ubuntu OS and mostly supporting the latest LTS releases. So, it is easier to go for an Ubuntu server set up, even if you never used Ubuntu on your desktop. 7. CentOS. CentOS is yet another popular choice for Linux system administrators. In fact, a lot of system administrator courses take the example of a CentOS server to teach and train. It is a community-driven project that is robust to use and needs a minimal learning curve. You can always refer to the official documentation when needed. 8. openSUSE. openSUSE is a popular enterprise choice when it comes to free Linux distributions for system administrators, developers, and other users. You will find a host of essential open-source tools pre-installed to manage and deploy a stable production server. There’s a rolling release edition and a regular release version for desktop, so you’ve got choices to make. 9. Debian. Debian is the original Linux distribution which made Ubuntu and every Ubuntu-based distribution possible. So, of course, Debian has a good history of stability and compatibility for any type of server configuration. You might want to go through the official documentation but if you have used Ubuntu, you should be able to easily pick up things that you didn’t know about Debian. 10. Fedora. Fedora is a powerful and flexible operating system available for both desktop and server. For server, it can prove to be quite reliable and useful. It lets you easily administer and control your server deployment. It will be interesting to learn about the modularity it provides, meaning — you can upgrade your OS without needing to update your applications. Explore more about Fedora’s server edition on their official website. Wrapping Up. Now that you know almost every free Linux distribution is powerful and capable enough for desktop and servers, feel free to choose what you like. You do not need to pay a premium unless it is a special edition of some distribution that you want to support. In either case, you should consider donating to the projects if you like using the free distributions. What do you prefer from the list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.