If you’re still making use of Windows 7 because you just don’t like, and don’t want to upgrade to Windows 10, that is understandable.

But there is an alternative path of upgrade You can install a Linux operating system on your PC for free, and you will have a supported operating system that is still getting updates(together with the full power of Linux).

This is a lot easier than you might think. You can even try Linux OS on your PC before you install it without affecting anything on your PC, and you can even dual-boot it alongside your Windows 7. Here’s what you need to know to do that.

A Real Alternative to Windows 7

In 2020, Linux systems work a lot much better than you might actually think. Particularly if you have an older computer that is running Windows 7, your hardware would be fully-supported and would “just work” without any extra fiddling and tweaks. You may have to install certain hardware drivers to get a maximum gaming performance, but that is usually just all to it.

Once you’ve completely installed your Linux distro on your PC, you can then install your desired internet browser: Most Linux distributions come preinstalled with Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome is also made available for installation. You will have full access to the internet, including streaming websites like Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+.

Linux distributions are always free and open-source. They are supported and bundled together with automatic security updates, and you would not need any antivirus software, you just have to be careful to not download and run strange software or run strange commands on your terminal, as you would do on any other operating system.

You Can Dual Boot and Leave Windows 7 Installed

Even if you are installing Linux, on your PC, you don’t have to fully go away from Windows 7. You could just install Linux in a dual-boot system configuration. When you start your PC, you can then select which OS that you want to boot. If you ever need to get back to Windows 7 for example, to play a game that does not run on Linux or to use a software that was built to run on windows alone, you can reboot back into your Windows 7.

It’s a much easier way to dip your toe into the “Linux waters”. You will get a secure Linux operating system, and you can always go back into Windows 7 for the regular task that needs Windows.

Pick a Linux Distro and Create Media

Before you get started with installing Linux, you will need to first select a Linux distribution. For the purpose of this article, we would be using Ubuntu. Ubuntu is still a trustworthy, and well-supported choice. Many people would recommend Linux Mint to you instead. Mint is based on Ubuntu so, you can’t go wrong with any of them. I would be showing you screenshots from Ubuntu 18.04 LTS here.

Once you have selected your Linux distribution, download it, and create live media. We recommend using a USB pen drive, but you can also burn your Linux distro of choice to a DVD.

Before booting into Linux and installing it, you will probably want to first make a current backup of your files. It is always a good idea to have recent backups of your important files, anyway.

Boot the Media and Try It Before Installing It

With your bootable media created, you can now restart your Windows 7 PC, then select the media that you created as your boot device, and start using Linux. After booting, you can make use of the Linux distro without installing it. It runs fully from the USB drive or the DVD that you created. Linux is not actually installed on your PC up until you select and click the “Install” option and go through the installation wizard.

This is also an excellent way to make sure that all your hardware works properly on Linux without any special configuration. For example, you can verify that your Wi-Fi is working correctly. If everything looks in place and in inorder, you will know that your hardware will work without any tweaking after you install Linux on your PC.

If you are making use of a newer PC that came pre-installed with Windows 8 or 10, you may have to adjust your Secure Boot settings to be able to boot your Linux distribution. Nevertheless, PCs from the Windows 7 age will boot Linux just fine with no extra configuration done on them.

Installing Linux on Your PC

If you would like to install Linux, you can choose the installation option in the live Linux environment to install it on your PC. For example, on Ubuntu, you will see an “Install Ubuntu” icon on the desktop screen. Double-click on the icon, and you will get an installation wizard running.

Everything from this point will be pretty straightforward. When you’re going through the installation wizard, you can decide to install your Linux system alongside your Windows 7 or erase your Windows 7 system and install Linux over it as a fresh installation.

You will need some free up some space to install the Linux distro alongside your Windows 7 unless you have a second hard drive that you want to use.

If you choose to install Linux alongside Windows 7, you will then have to choose an operating system each time you boot up your computer.

Warning: If you prefer to erase your hard drive, then, all the files and applications on your Windows 7 partition will also be erased.

Installing Software on Linux

Linux works a bit different from Windows, but not that all that different. If all you need is a modern internet browser and a few essential utilities like an image editor, a video player, and even the open-source LibreOffice office suite, everything you need may have already been pre-installed out of the box.

For other software, you will want to check out the package manager application on your particular Linux distribution. On Ubuntu, it is known as the Ubuntu Software Center. Think of it like a one-stop “application store” for your Linux PC, just like Playstore on android devices. Applications that you install from here will be updated automatically along with your Linux distribution’s base software.

There are also other applications that you can get from outside the Linux package manager. For example, you might want to download other applications like Google Chrome, Skype, Dropbox, Steam, Slack, Spotify, and Minecraft from their official websites. However, most applications that you will use are open-source software that is on the package manager.

There’s a lot more to Linux than just the above, but the basics are moderately simple. The terminal is a powerful feature, but “you don’t have to use it unless you have to”.

In 2020, a stable, firm, and secure operating system with a modern internet browser and some other useful utilities are all that many people require. Linux offers all that out of the box without any extra tweaking. It’s an excellent alternative to Microsoft Windows 7.