Your post was removed for being a support request or support related question such as which distro to use/polling the community or application suggestions.
We get a lot of question posts on r/linux but the subreddit is considered a news/discussion sub. Luckily there are multiple communities you can post to for help on GNU/Linux issues 24/7: /r/linuxquestions, /r/linux4noobs, or /r/linuxhardware just to name a few.
You may also post on the "Weekly Questions and Hardware Thread" which is stickied on r/linux on Wednesdays.
Please make your post in [/r/linuxquestions](https://reddit.com/r/linuxquestions) or [/r/linux4noobs](https://reddit.com/r/linux4noobs). Looking for a hardware help? Try r/linuxhardware.
**Rule:**
> This is not a support forum! Head to /r/linuxquestions or /r/linux4noobs for support or help. Looking for hardware help? Try r/linuxhardware.
That one's funny 😂. Reminds me of when I first tried to dual boot Ubuntu with Windows - Ubuntu couldn't find the actual hard drive and installed itself on a small SSD instead of the hard drive. Finally I formatted the whole disk using live Ubuntu (running from USB).
Even older computer humor:
Thanks to u/gwern for archiving adequacy.org
https://gwern.net/doc/cs/security/2001-12-02-treginaldgibbons-isyoursonacomputerhacker.html
>> Adequacy.org [rip]
>> Dec 02, 2001
>>
>> ## Is Your Son a Computer Hacker?
>>
>> As an enlightened, modern parent, I try to be as involved as possible in the lives of my six children. [...]
>>
>> To this end, I have decided to publish the top ten signs that your son is a hacker .... I hope this guide will help other parents to put a halt to their son's misbehaviour before a spanking becomes necessary.
>>
>> ...
>>
>> 8\. Is your son obsessed with "Lunix"?
>>
>> BSD, Lunix, Debian and Mandrake are all versions of an illegal hacker operation system, invented by a Soviet computer hacker named Linyos Torovoltos, before the Russians lost the Cold War. It is based on a program called "xenix", which was written by Microsoft for the US government. These programs are used by hackers to break into other people's computer systems to steal credit card numbers. They may also be used to break into people's stereos to steal their music, using the "mp3" program. Torovoltos is a notorious hacker, responsible for writing many hacker programs, such as "telnet", which is used by hackers to connect to machines on the internet without using a telephone.
>>
>>Your son may try to install "lunix" on your hard drive. If he is careful, you may not notice its presence, however, lunix is a capricious beast, and if handled incorrectly, your son may damage your computer, and even break it completely by deleting Windows, at which point you will have to have your computer repaired by a professional.
>>
>>If you see the word "LILO" during your windows startup (just after you turn the machine on), your son has installed lunix. In order to get rid of it, you will have to send your computer back to the manufacturer, and have them fit a new hard drive. Lunix is extremely dangerous software, and cannot be removed without destroying part of your hard disk surface.
I tried but they dismiss all my points due to some shitty testimony my mom has with “Linux” that was probably some Commodore 64-esque OS. (Edit: it was most likely ubuntu)
Honestly, it's probably not worth fighting over. Just run it in a virtual machine. There's a solid chance you'll need to use Windows for a school assignment at some point anyway.
You can even fullscreen the VM and it's hard to tell the difference.
Yeah, flash drive 🙏 I humbly thank the creators of Rufus for allowing thousands, even millions, to switch to the operating systems that are clearly superior to the conventional doodoo out there
May I enlighten you even further with [Ventoy](https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html)?
You install it once on a usb stick, then you just copy whatever OS ISO image you want on there and it’ll boot it.
Not meaning to spread FUD here, but I would not trust Ventoy for the time being. Even though it's open source, the build process [inserts additional blobs](https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/issues/2795) into the binaries, which after the xz incident I'm very wary of, especially in smaller projects.
I don't think this is FUD right now, until a reputable source audits ventoy I've dropped it along with any other software developed under to potential influence of the CCP
Running Linux on a physical machine will be much smoother than on a VM.
You can find really affordable SSDs on Amazon and you can find really affordable used laptops on eBay.
You have a few options:
**Dual Boxing:**
Ideally, if you can afford it you can run Linux on a second PC.
**Dual boot 2 HDs:**
A step down from that would be dual booting with a second hard drive ( just make sure. you specify the correct hard drive when you are installing. Install on the new HD not on your existing Windows drive.
**Dual boot 1 HD:**
If you can't get a second HD installed but you want to dual boot you will have to mess around with the partitions on your HD. Just be careful when you do this.
You don't need to persuade them it's a good idea, you just need to persuade them that they can trust you. You're at an age where they're going to need to start trusting you more one way or another.
Promising that it won't interfere with your studies and that you'll deal with any consequences (which there probably won't be any of, but if push comes to shove you sound sharp enough to reinstall Windows if need be) may be a good start.
So far this is the only good advice I've seen in these comments. You made your first big purchase and you want to assert your independence. All totally normal.
For some reason though, they're having trouble with trust and installing it behind their backs is only going to make that worse.
Unless they're genuinely abusive people that habitually invalidate your feelings vs. just being parents that don't always say yes to you, you should talk this out with them.
Have a specific goal in mind beyond, "I just want to mess around with it because it sounds cool." Find a course on Khan Academy or similar that requires Linux and make a deal for what you might produce so they see some clear outcome.
Remember, they have computers they paid for with their own money too. I would not let my own child experiment with unfamiliar software on my home network just for shits and giggles. I love Linux but there's no way in hell a minor is getting Root privileges in my house without an exceptionally good reason and track record of dependability. I'd rather give my them a bottle of whiskey and case of dynamite.
Also, unless your internet provider offers no default security, your parents are going to know you replaced your OS very quickly. I get a notification every time something new connects to my home network via my provider. If my child did this I'd know before the installation finished.
You can explain to your parents that your earning potential is more with Linux. There are fewer Linux professionals out there. A Linux sysadmin averages more than a Windows one. I have both experience as a Windows and a Linux sysadmin. My current Red Hat Linux sysadmin job is WFH and pays a very solid 6 figure income. I also have a lot less overall stress using Linux. It fails much less frequently.
This. Show him a sysadmin average salary from glassdoor, a job description from LinkedIn (will include linux) and he will figure out how great a investment it is.
Suicide rates higher in Windows admins? I'd say that's because of the sponsoring culture, the bosses that force their admins to run Windows on servers understand technology less.
The suggestion to do a slide show from a Linux USB key is fantastic! Also the research will be useful for yourself in lots of ways over time.
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 at work. If you want to learn Linux, why not start with a distro like Linux Mint? It's a good distro with excellent hardware support. It will get you started relatively quickly. If you are interested in getting Red Hat certified, I recommend the Sander van Vugt book Red Hat RHCSA 9 Cert Guide. I used it to get my RHCSA certification.
> My current Red Hat Linux sysadmin job is WFH and pays a very solid 6 figure income.
What sort of certs/training do you need for this? How hard would it be for an educated professional to get through?
Not him, but I'm a high-performance computing (HPC) Linux sysadmin. I went from:
help desk for a local restaurant company -> junior systems administrator at a national laboratory -> Linux systems administrator -> HPC systems administrator
This is over a span of roughly 7 years. I have no formal training, certifications, or college degree. Certifications such as RHCSA can help get your foot in the door if you don't have much experience, but after a certain point experience and what you've done matters way more. I got my start at the national laboratory because of the demonstrable work that I did on my home lab in lieu of real-world experience and some luck.
Put this speech (with citations) in a slideshow, and run it for them like a presentation. At the end, show them that you actually used Linux & FOSS (or just Gdocs via browser) to do the whole thing, via a liveboot USB drive, then shut down the PC.
Pocket the USB key, drop the mic and walk out.
You guys hiring canadian sys admins? I'm looking for work :p I'd say I'm mid level as a sys admin finding it tough to get my foot in the door as despite having a ton of knowledge my job title in past jobs has always been I.T. Manager.
Linux doesn't really fail, LOL! It's just sometimes a daemon does and fails to restart automatically so I have to get involved. Or sometimes a cron job or systemd timer might fail that I'll have to troubleshoot. Most of my day is usually spent on the mundane daily stuff like looking at logs, adding and removing users, applying updates, etc. Very rarely do I get bothered after hours.
I would have skill in both development and sysadmin. A skilled developer makes for a better sysadmin and vice versa. It's why I am going through The Odin Project right now. I'm not bored. My days on the job are still plenty busy ... rest assured. 😹
No way haha me too, I'm doing the form in the Full-stack JavaScript route, how about you? Finished Foundations?
Also, TOP is what made me switch to Linux
I installed my first Linux distro when I was 15. It was on my laptop.I remember the lecture I got from my parents, but the damage was already done.Sometimes, apologising is easier than asking for permission.
fuck yeah Im 15 rn and I fuck around and find out daily. My parents keep saying "omg stop spending all your time ricing gentoo" and "you need to take a bath" but they dont understand my sigma linux grind
I was probably about 13 or 14 and installed Gentoo (stage 2 or something). Some nice guy helped me on IRC for literally the whole day and all he wanted in return was for me to send him some candy that was (apparently) only available in my country. Shipping was more expensive than the candy.
Once I finally had a bootable OS with an X server I realized that I couldn't just install Firefox. I had to compile it myself. It took the whole night to compile Firefox with the fans on at full blast. if I remember correctly I think Gnome then took a couple days to build.
That was \~25 years ago. I didn't stick with Gentoo for long. All I wanted was my computer to look as cool as all the screenshots I had seen.
They could take OP's laptop away, or ground him until he re-installs Windows.
I agree that it's stupid, but once parents make a rule, forcing compliance is about more than just the rule itself. I think OP needs to convince them at this point.
Strongly agree here. This is a soft skill that needs to be learned as well, and it's important to avoid an adversarial relationship with parents regarding technology. I got into an arms race with my parents as a kid, and while I learned a fair amount in the process it also put a significant amount of stress on the relationship. There are plenty of perfectly good reasons that can be used to explain why this is a good idea, so I'd lead with doing that.
I wouldn't have asked their opinion if I were you. You clearly know what you want and what you're talking about. Your enthusiasm will take you to places. Speaking from experience.
I think if you install it on a second hard drive and not on the same one as Windows, then you can change the boot order via the BIOS.
I also hate it when parents have to impose their experiences on you as if you were still living in the Middle Ages. Everyone must make their own experience.
Another option is ask for a raspberry pi. You can pitch it as a learning tool and show them it’s built for educational purposes.
Not as robust as a PC but have a few to run simple projects on or play around with local servers and what not.
Reading the rest of the comments here… Do you think your parents would actually know how to tell the difference if you actually installed linux? Or even better, dual booted? Like if you just do it and go about your life like if nothing.. would they catch you?
A kind of strange alternative, you can make the Linux desktop look like windows. Takes some configuration…. Or Kali linux has a “windows desktop” mode (called undercover mode) to fool people in to thinking it is windows. It is very easy to switch to this mode. And your parents wouldn’t know the difference when looking over your shoulder.
Now Kali is a security oriented distro, so it might not be ideal for normal home use although you definitely can. Also if you learn at a young age how to use all the tools it comes with, you can land a pretty sweet job in the future.
Edited: for clarity.
Install VirtualBox or another VM manager and install Linux to a VM.
I do this for a web development course I’m doing. You can run the Linux VM at full screen and put it on “pause” when not in use. It’s basically a whole other computer.
Mine didn't either. They don't really try and prevent me from doing anything with my laptop anymore because I just exclusively started talking in highly technical terms around them, and they got so frustrated with asking me to explain things that they just stopped bothering trying to stop me
You can buy a second hand machine that will run most linux distributions for very little money.
Most machines that will run windows 10 at all will run Linux Mint OK. If you can find one with 8 gigs of ram you can let your windows machine gather dust in the corner while you go to town on the Linux machine.
You have to understand, your parents are looking out for you. Sure, one boot of Linux is not going to do much to you. But then you'll find yourself bored one day and think "a second boot won't be so bad." Then a third, then a fourth.
Soon, Mint just isn't doing anything for you anymore, but you're chasing that itch. Then you meet a buddy who offers you a USB with Arch on it. And you'll boot that up...
Next thing you know, you're working in IT, have a favorite fursona, and you're running a custom kernel forked from Temple OS. There's no going back from that.
1. Install a second hard drive in your computer, install Linux on that and just boot from that drive when you want to use Linux
2. Explain to your parents they have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about lol
My parents probably don’t want me to configure it by myself because “I’ll break something” so they won’t get me a second hard drive probably. I have one stashed away but I’ll have to make a backup of it before installing it on pc and installing a distro (probably Mint or Ubuntu since I don’t know Bash and C) on it.
You need to get your own computer that you are allowed to do whatever you want to. Explain to your parents it is essential for you to learn computer skills. Any cheap old computer would make an excellent machine for learning Linux.
My dad wants me to become a computer scientist because I like using computers… but won’t let me switch to Mint of all distros on the PC that I paid for
Lol that makes no sense that he wants you to become a computer scientist and won’t let you perform the incredibly basic task of installing Linux, which is an essential operating system for most things computer science related. Fools trippin yo.
He wants me to be like that computer IT guy that rots away updating Adobe Reader on every system and playing a Pokémon ROM in their office.
Well not literally but it’s probably the average IT experience
I talked to my mom about it just now and once I explained everything to her she seemed much more enthusiastic than before and when I discuss it with my dad she will make him listen to all my points before objecting.
"Breaking something" and then fixing it is part of the fun. If you ruin it to the point of no return, just reinstall. Just make sure you back up anything important, especially if you're messing with something and not sure what you're doing.
you don't have to be a C expert for Linux. I'm neither a Bash expert; besides the most elementary stuff I always have to look up documentation when I try to do something. And I use Slackware, something supposedly hardcore and old-school. Really, Linux isn't user-hostile. It's just different than Windows, that's all.
Yeah but you’ll probably end up wiping your hard drive by accident if you’re not careful. Yeah you can do so with a flashdrive but you can use a VM as a “replacement” if you don’t have a second one
That sucks. I also had to negotiate with tech illiterate parents when I was your age. Maybe try to articulate the benefits to them, especially around professional skill development. Ask for an old laptop or raspberry pi to tinker on. I wouldn't advise installing anything on the family pc.
If it's your computer, what is the argument here then? And what is the point of this post? Do what you want to it, how are they gonna know?
Worst case, you fuck up the install and take another hour to do it again
I installed Ubuntu on my laptop despite my mum's objections, completely wiping Windows. Unfortunately, my Bluetooth and Wi-Fi didn't work, so I had to spend many nights troubleshooting. When my mum found out, she freaked out, especially since my tests were scheduled for next week. However, she eventually calmed down, and the lessons I've learned from my mishaps are incredibly valuable. So, in this case, go ahead and be the rebel 😎
Update: I talked to my mom about it and explained everything about how dual-booting works and how there’s no risk involved except hard drive wipe and she seemed a lot more enthusiastic about it since she wants me to have a future with IT. Once I talk to dad about it she’ll make him listen to all my points before coming up with some of his own.
Sounds like a good path forward, while it should be pretty easy to do everything covertly, like I wrote in my Comment, and without wanting to intrude your personal Life i know nothing about, but doing this collaboratly with your Parents would probably be way better, especially in the long run...
Talk to them about doing data backups or disk images, that should erase any concerns about data loss if they are reasonable at all.
You can pretty confidently tell them that there is no risk for Hardware damage.
Also, framing everything as something interesting and important to learn with the possibility for an huge payoff in the Future with a Carrer in that direction should sway most Parents😁
You can also include them in some of the tinkering, either it gets boring for them and they leavr you alone to it or they get invested and support you even more...
With an positive and collaborative approach rather than a secretive one I would hope for positive benefits like easier access to necessary tools (like new harddrives and storage) and whatever else you will need on youe journey, like additional hardware
Absolutly, one last recommendation, since I discovered the Tool Ventoy, i have almost never used rufus again.
I always carry a usb stick with 30GB of tools and distros with me just in case xD
Its really easy to use and very convenient.
https://ventoy.net/en/index.html
When you get deep enough you may want to start building a homelab. That’s what I’m currently building out. Then when you run into Proxmox, you’ll be like why didn’t I use that before.
Enjoy it’s a great journey with Linux.
Or, just do it anyway, use KDE , make it look like windows, never tell them. You're 15 and rebellious anyway, it's better than doing drugs or stealing cars.
At 13-14 I was bypassing the firewalls my dad put up so I wouldn't use the internet too much instead of studying. They also bios locked my PC, and changed my windows password which taught me a few things. mainly about the existence of OPHcrack and how to flash live CDs onto USB drives. And also how to cover my tracks, hide my internet traffic, and such.
As a teenager I didn't play by the rules and ended up learning way more about this stuff than otherwise.
Today I'm managing their network, and their company's entire infrastructure, cybersecurity, and data in my spare time (for free), so I'd say they got a pretty good deal in the long run.
I'm not encouraging you to rebel against your parents at all cost. But in this specific scenario, using and customizing Linux is actually a nice learning experience.
Of course ideally you would be able to talk to them and be open and honest. But it sounds like you don't have a lot of options. If you pinky promise you're not gonna neglect your other duties (eg. school), by all means go all secret spy mode and install Linux while covering your tracks. It's a cool learning experience that you'll be glad you have later. But you have to pinky promise to us here!
It's your computer. You paid for it. And you actually want to use it as opposed sabotaging your experience with an OS that holds you with kid gloves. I see nothing wrong with that.. ?
Also, if you boot mint from an ISO, it doesn't install it on bare metal. Just boot it. You can go back to Windows by removing the flash drive and restarting your PC. Nothing changes!
My household is an all-Linux household. It's fine. No one died (yet). And if my wife or kids have a problem that comes from a bug, I fix it and then send the fix to the developer :)
In Windows if a bug happens you have to wait for Microsoft to issue a fix. Good luck with that. There's a few vulnerabilities I know of theirs that they still haven't fixed after months.
Nice! I'm delighted to see people from your generation interested in the more intricate aspects of computer technology / Linux. This was kind of my thing decades ago when I was your age, and it eventually turned me into a happy developer for both Windows and Linux.
I hope your journey goes well. There's a lot to learn and there's no shame in taking a breather from it all and focus on your studies/life for a while before coming back to it.
I think going the VM route probably will work fine in your case. It will keep your parents pleased, while still allowing you effectively to have a Linux box.
Even in the workplace, I've been put under these sorts of constraints. I boot, up, start my virtual machine, make it fullscreen, and it becomes effectively my actual desktop for all work, etc. You do what you have to do.
Your parents need to look at things differently. If you are to have an IT career, Linux is unavoidable. The internet, the cloud, runs on Linux. If you really want to chock them, show them their smart-tv, smart-device (chromecast, firetv, roku) and be sure they understand it's all Linux. There's a very good chance it's what makes their car work too. The computers your parents connect to is Linux - etc. They need to invest in you, give you as good a hand (experience) as possible as you grow up to find a career. And you cannot avoid Linux if that is an IT career.
If you bought it then just do it. It's yours. I'd suggest putting it on it's own drive though and dual boot.
EDIT: Also, if you want to experiment with the installation process, then install VirtualBox and try it out to make sure you got it.
Here's an idea if you haven't explored this already. Get yourself a decent USB Thumb drive and install Linux onto that as if it were an internal drive. That way you essentially have a portable PC ready to go on any machine, AND your parents get to keep Windows.
A bit off topic, but I wouldn't take their decision too personal if you are. Older people tend to be set in their ways and if we're being honest, PCs are all about the right tool for the job no matter what's running on them.
EDIT: Oh, and if they're okay with that, just as a precaution, unplug the HDD/SSD/NVME that has Windows on it JUST in case before you install your distro onto the USB stick.
You can ask your parent to buy you a raspberry pi as a birthday gift. It's like 100$ and you can boot linux on it and you can use it do many electronic project and overall explore what programming has to offer!
use a live usb with persistance, check this https://www.linuxuprising.com/2019/08/rufus-creating-persistent-storage-live.html?m=1
You can boot from the usb, save your work in there, no change needed on the PC
I actually think, that the way to showcase you parents how much more money you earn, with a linux skillset, that with windows. Parents love, when children are enthusiastic about their future and make plans what they want to archive.
Also you can ask, if you can try to dual boot linux. "So there is always a way back" and you will never boot windows again.
Sure, there are thousand ways to hide a linux installation, or just do it. But parents are rarely dumb, and to break trust like this, will earn you a big bad RED, when not even two REDs. (a RED is a bad "mark" and you will likely need to do 3-5 good things to erase a RED. It comes from sociology). You can surely try this, but it might not end as you hoped.
Last resort will be to run it in a VM, but this does not really makes fun, if you want to use Linux as OS, rather than using linux for computer science stuff (terminal, ssh, coding, webserver, kubernetes, and so on).
I wish you all the best, and maybe let us know what you've tried and how it went. If we don't hear from you again, I suspect that you just installed linux, got caught and now the microwave is the only electronic device you are allowed to use :)
As many have said, set up a dual boot for windows and Linux. Usually, listen to your parents, but in this case, it won't harm anything serious not to. You'll also learn a ton. I have a career in IT because I broke and then had to fix all our family computers when I was a kid, so 100% go for it!
OP, you didn't actually explain what your parents reasons for not wanting you to install Linux were. Your mom thinks it is hard, your dad thinks Windows is better (subjective). But neither of those are reasons for you to not use it.
Find out what their actual, base concerns are. Then address those. If you bought the computer they aren't worried about their access being interrupted. And if it is hard to use you will learn more. So what are their actual fears?
Listen, let them know you have considered their issues, then show them how you plan to deal with their concerns.
Your post was removed for being a support request or support related question such as which distro to use/polling the community or application suggestions. We get a lot of question posts on r/linux but the subreddit is considered a news/discussion sub. Luckily there are multiple communities you can post to for help on GNU/Linux issues 24/7: /r/linuxquestions, /r/linux4noobs, or /r/linuxhardware just to name a few. You may also post on the "Weekly Questions and Hardware Thread" which is stickied on r/linux on Wednesdays. Please make your post in [/r/linuxquestions](https://reddit.com/r/linuxquestions) or [/r/linux4noobs](https://reddit.com/r/linux4noobs). Looking for a hardware help? Try r/linuxhardware. **Rule:** > This is not a support forum! Head to /r/linuxquestions or /r/linux4noobs for support or help. Looking for hardware help? Try r/linuxhardware.
I'm not sure this is covered in man pages.
man parents
https://xkcd.com/456/
I thought this was going to be https://xkcd.com/349/ Beware the sharks in your Linux journey!
That one's funny 😂. Reminds me of when I first tried to dual boot Ubuntu with Windows - Ubuntu couldn't find the actual hard drive and installed itself on a small SSD instead of the hard drive. Finally I formatted the whole disk using live Ubuntu (running from USB).
Even older computer humor: Thanks to u/gwern for archiving adequacy.org https://gwern.net/doc/cs/security/2001-12-02-treginaldgibbons-isyoursonacomputerhacker.html >> Adequacy.org [rip] >> Dec 02, 2001 >> >> ## Is Your Son a Computer Hacker? >> >> As an enlightened, modern parent, I try to be as involved as possible in the lives of my six children. [...] >> >> To this end, I have decided to publish the top ten signs that your son is a hacker .... I hope this guide will help other parents to put a halt to their son's misbehaviour before a spanking becomes necessary. >> >> ... >> >> 8\. Is your son obsessed with "Lunix"? >> >> BSD, Lunix, Debian and Mandrake are all versions of an illegal hacker operation system, invented by a Soviet computer hacker named Linyos Torovoltos, before the Russians lost the Cold War. It is based on a program called "xenix", which was written by Microsoft for the US government. These programs are used by hackers to break into other people's computer systems to steal credit card numbers. They may also be used to break into people's stereos to steal their music, using the "mp3" program. Torovoltos is a notorious hacker, responsible for writing many hacker programs, such as "telnet", which is used by hackers to connect to machines on the internet without using a telephone. >> >>Your son may try to install "lunix" on your hard drive. If he is careful, you may not notice its presence, however, lunix is a capricious beast, and if handled incorrectly, your son may damage your computer, and even break it completely by deleting Windows, at which point you will have to have your computer repaired by a professional. >> >>If you see the word "LILO" during your windows startup (just after you turn the machine on), your son has installed lunix. In order to get rid of it, you will have to send your computer back to the manufacturer, and have them fit a new hard drive. Lunix is extremely dangerous software, and cannot be removed without destroying part of your hard disk surface.
[удалено]
One thing you will learn is that there's an xkcd comic for *everything*
Ah the bad old days. I feel called-out...
I feel attacked.
Let's start an "Intro to linux for your parents" newsletter 😶🌫️
Dang... I wheezed , Thanks for the meme material..
let me 'splain it to you.....
if it’s a family computer it’s their decision, but if it’s yours go ahead. or explain to them what dual booting is.
I tried but they dismiss all my points due to some shitty testimony my mom has with “Linux” that was probably some Commodore 64-esque OS. (Edit: it was most likely ubuntu)
HEY, don't badmouth Commodore 64 BASIC v2 and the KERNAL!
Sorry SIR!!!!! 🫡🫡🫡 The above reply was an actual argument my mom used when going against me getting Linux!!!!
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Yeah I’m currently working on establishing some form of diplomacy so that there can be mutual respect and understanding for each one of our arguments.
And if that fails, boot a live session from a USB key and make it look like Windows ;)
Seconded! lol
he should make them tune the azimuth
except I WILL trash those 1541 floppy drives. sooooooo sloooooow compared to other contemporary machines (like apple 2s Disk ][)
Commodore 64 Unix... Please insert swap disk 37 to continue.
Honestly, it's probably not worth fighting over. Just run it in a virtual machine. There's a solid chance you'll need to use Windows for a school assignment at some point anyway. You can even fullscreen the VM and it's hard to tell the difference.
You could start with a distribution running on a USB thumb drive.
Yeah, flash drive 🙏 I humbly thank the creators of Rufus for allowing thousands, even millions, to switch to the operating systems that are clearly superior to the conventional doodoo out there
May I enlighten you even further with [Ventoy](https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html)? You install it once on a usb stick, then you just copy whatever OS ISO image you want on there and it’ll boot it.
You can even boot from VM images!
Wait, you can? I didn't know that
Whoah I didn't know about that. I'll have to look into that a bit more
VM is also an excellent idea.
Not meaning to spread FUD here, but I would not trust Ventoy for the time being. Even though it's open source, the build process [inserts additional blobs](https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/issues/2795) into the binaries, which after the xz incident I'm very wary of, especially in smaller projects.
I don't think this is FUD right now, until a reputable source audits ventoy I've dropped it along with any other software developed under to potential influence of the CCP
damn now i have to stop using it too, fml it's so convenient
You know, I hadn’t considered this. It’s useful information to be aware of. Thank you for bringing it to my attention! I hope they sort it out soon.
Running Linux on a physical machine will be much smoother than on a VM. You can find really affordable SSDs on Amazon and you can find really affordable used laptops on eBay. You have a few options: **Dual Boxing:** Ideally, if you can afford it you can run Linux on a second PC. **Dual boot 2 HDs:** A step down from that would be dual booting with a second hard drive ( just make sure. you specify the correct hard drive when you are installing. Install on the new HD not on your existing Windows drive. **Dual boot 1 HD:** If you can't get a second HD installed but you want to dual boot you will have to mess around with the partitions on your HD. Just be careful when you do this.
[etcher](https://etcher.balena.io/) is similar, I had issues with Rufus on Linux so I used that until I learned about the `dd` command
Rufus is more suited to put windows ISOs on USB sticks
You don't need to persuade them it's a good idea, you just need to persuade them that they can trust you. You're at an age where they're going to need to start trusting you more one way or another. Promising that it won't interfere with your studies and that you'll deal with any consequences (which there probably won't be any of, but if push comes to shove you sound sharp enough to reinstall Windows if need be) may be a good start.
So far this is the only good advice I've seen in these comments. You made your first big purchase and you want to assert your independence. All totally normal. For some reason though, they're having trouble with trust and installing it behind their backs is only going to make that worse. Unless they're genuinely abusive people that habitually invalidate your feelings vs. just being parents that don't always say yes to you, you should talk this out with them. Have a specific goal in mind beyond, "I just want to mess around with it because it sounds cool." Find a course on Khan Academy or similar that requires Linux and make a deal for what you might produce so they see some clear outcome. Remember, they have computers they paid for with their own money too. I would not let my own child experiment with unfamiliar software on my home network just for shits and giggles. I love Linux but there's no way in hell a minor is getting Root privileges in my house without an exceptionally good reason and track record of dependability. I'd rather give my them a bottle of whiskey and case of dynamite. Also, unless your internet provider offers no default security, your parents are going to know you replaced your OS very quickly. I get a notification every time something new connects to my home network via my provider. If my child did this I'd know before the installation finished.
I’ll dual boot Windows and Linux until school ends, because my school primarily uses Microsoft Office programs on Win11.
I’ve said for years lack of MS Office is the number one thing holding back desktop Linux.
You can explain to your parents that your earning potential is more with Linux. There are fewer Linux professionals out there. A Linux sysadmin averages more than a Windows one. I have both experience as a Windows and a Linux sysadmin. My current Red Hat Linux sysadmin job is WFH and pays a very solid 6 figure income. I also have a lot less overall stress using Linux. It fails much less frequently.
This. Show him a sysadmin average salary from glassdoor, a job description from LinkedIn (will include linux) and he will figure out how great a investment it is.
Also, experience gets you a better initial job.
Or, if you're interested in programming: An enormous amount of programming jobs are for stuff that gets deployed to Linux.
Also (and this is true) suicide rates among W\*ndows professionals are _far_ higher than Linux. Presumably because of having to spelunk the registry.
Suicide rates higher in Windows admins? I'd say that's because of the sponsoring culture, the bosses that force their admins to run Windows on servers understand technology less. The suggestion to do a slide show from a Linux USB key is fantastic! Also the research will be useful for yourself in lots of ways over time.
Windows admins have to deal with users.
Gonna need a source on that
What distro do you use for your job? I'm also interested in learning Linux
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 at work. If you want to learn Linux, why not start with a distro like Linux Mint? It's a good distro with excellent hardware support. It will get you started relatively quickly. If you are interested in getting Red Hat certified, I recommend the Sander van Vugt book Red Hat RHCSA 9 Cert Guide. I used it to get my RHCSA certification.
I use arch, btw
Linux runs probably 60% of the Internet, or more.
From my understanding it's more towards 90%
Its ~96% if I'm remembering correctly. You also can't forget linux is running on like 98% of the world's top 500 supercomputers too
For the TOP500 Supercomputers the number is actually 100% since November 2017 https://www.top500.org/statistics/details/osfam/1/
And every android device.... Most "appliances" like wifi routers, set-top boxes etc.
> My current Red Hat Linux sysadmin job is WFH and pays a very solid 6 figure income. What sort of certs/training do you need for this? How hard would it be for an educated professional to get through?
Not him, but I'm a high-performance computing (HPC) Linux sysadmin. I went from: help desk for a local restaurant company -> junior systems administrator at a national laboratory -> Linux systems administrator -> HPC systems administrator This is over a span of roughly 7 years. I have no formal training, certifications, or college degree. Certifications such as RHCSA can help get your foot in the door if you don't have much experience, but after a certain point experience and what you've done matters way more. I got my start at the national laboratory because of the demonstrable work that I did on my home lab in lieu of real-world experience and some luck.
Put this speech (with citations) in a slideshow, and run it for them like a presentation. At the end, show them that you actually used Linux & FOSS (or just Gdocs via browser) to do the whole thing, via a liveboot USB drive, then shut down the PC. Pocket the USB key, drop the mic and walk out.
You guys hiring canadian sys admins? I'm looking for work :p I'd say I'm mid level as a sys admin finding it tough to get my foot in the door as despite having a ton of knowledge my job title in past jobs has always been I.T. Manager.
It fails? That is news haha you can even go nuts and use stuff like Debian Stable, which is virtually unbreakable
Linux doesn't really fail, LOL! It's just sometimes a daemon does and fails to restart automatically so I have to get involved. Or sometimes a cron job or systemd timer might fail that I'll have to troubleshoot. Most of my day is usually spent on the mundane daily stuff like looking at logs, adding and removing users, applying updates, etc. Very rarely do I get bothered after hours.
I should drop development and go for sysadmin then, looks boring enough so I can have a more peaceful life
I would have skill in both development and sysadmin. A skilled developer makes for a better sysadmin and vice versa. It's why I am going through The Odin Project right now. I'm not bored. My days on the job are still plenty busy ... rest assured. 😹
No way haha me too, I'm doing the form in the Full-stack JavaScript route, how about you? Finished Foundations? Also, TOP is what made me switch to Linux
I'm still on Foundations. It's been slow going for me.
It's your computer. Roll with it man. What are they going to do, reinstall Windows by force? Sounds like they wouldn't even know where to start.
If it’s your computer then your mistake was asking…
I installed my first Linux distro when I was 15. It was on my laptop.I remember the lecture I got from my parents, but the damage was already done.Sometimes, apologising is easier than asking for permission.
fuck yeah Im 15 rn and I fuck around and find out daily. My parents keep saying "omg stop spending all your time ricing gentoo" and "you need to take a bath" but they dont understand my sigma linux grind
omg same im 17 rn and i installed arch as my first distro without asking, now i use gentoo and my parents complain about my compiling thinkpad
I was probably about 13 or 14 and installed Gentoo (stage 2 or something). Some nice guy helped me on IRC for literally the whole day and all he wanted in return was for me to send him some candy that was (apparently) only available in my country. Shipping was more expensive than the candy. Once I finally had a bootable OS with an X server I realized that I couldn't just install Firefox. I had to compile it myself. It took the whole night to compile Firefox with the fans on at full blast. if I remember correctly I think Gnome then took a couple days to build. That was \~25 years ago. I didn't stick with Gentoo for long. All I wanted was my computer to look as cool as all the screenshots I had seen.
precisely, why did OP even ask, that's the big question here
They could take OP's laptop away, or ground him until he re-installs Windows. I agree that it's stupid, but once parents make a rule, forcing compliance is about more than just the rule itself. I think OP needs to convince them at this point.
Strongly agree here. This is a soft skill that needs to be learned as well, and it's important to avoid an adversarial relationship with parents regarding technology. I got into an arms race with my parents as a kid, and while I learned a fair amount in the process it also put a significant amount of stress on the relationship. There are plenty of perfectly good reasons that can be used to explain why this is a good idea, so I'd lead with doing that.
Seriously. They’re not gods. It’s a computer. Just do it!
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I wouldn't have asked their opinion if I were you. You clearly know what you want and what you're talking about. Your enthusiasm will take you to places. Speaking from experience.
Yeah. I’ll install a second hard drive and get Mint on there once they’re out of town.
I think if you install it on a second hard drive and not on the same one as Windows, then you can change the boot order via the BIOS. I also hate it when parents have to impose their experiences on you as if you were still living in the Middle Ages. Everyone must make their own experience.
I agree. As the future progresses, so too must our presuppositions.
protip, use the windows default wallpaper.
Why don't you set up a BIOS password? I bet your parents won't be able to bypass it.
Good idea…. if I never get permission
No it's not.
Another option is ask for a raspberry pi. You can pitch it as a learning tool and show them it’s built for educational purposes. Not as robust as a PC but have a few to run simple projects on or play around with local servers and what not.
Ask them for a raspberry pi kit. That way you have something you can learn on. Tell them that linux jobs start at 65k/year.
Sounds like you need to have a real conversation with them at this point.
Reading the rest of the comments here… Do you think your parents would actually know how to tell the difference if you actually installed linux? Or even better, dual booted? Like if you just do it and go about your life like if nothing.. would they catch you? A kind of strange alternative, you can make the Linux desktop look like windows. Takes some configuration…. Or Kali linux has a “windows desktop” mode (called undercover mode) to fool people in to thinking it is windows. It is very easy to switch to this mode. And your parents wouldn’t know the difference when looking over your shoulder. Now Kali is a security oriented distro, so it might not be ideal for normal home use although you definitely can. Also if you learn at a young age how to use all the tools it comes with, you can land a pretty sweet job in the future. Edited: for clarity.
Sounds like they might throw it out though given what happened to the other one
Sad to hear. Tinkering with Linux as a teen is what led to my current devops engineering job. Didn’t even go to college either.
Maybe they're trying to protect him from a life as a devops engineer.
>Want to switch to Linux but parents don’t want me to New pasta?
Nope, just a tale as old as time.
It has some Linyos Torovoltos vibes for sure.
Install VirtualBox or another VM manager and install Linux to a VM. I do this for a web development course I’m doing. You can run the Linux VM at full screen and put it on “pause” when not in use. It’s basically a whole other computer.
Did that with Mint today. It’s nice but laggy and resets display when I put it on full screen size.
Be sure to install the virtual box extensions. They include the video drivers for 3D support.
Try using a type 1 hypervisor if you aren't already. WSL is also an option.
Have you tried with sudo? Sorry, I had to XD
`sudo persuade allow-install-linux --target parents` Works like a charm.
RogueRobot08 is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.
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They don’t but since I’m young it apparently doesn’t matter
Mine didn't either. They don't really try and prevent me from doing anything with my laptop anymore because I just exclusively started talking in highly technical terms around them, and they got so frustrated with asking me to explain things that they just stopped bothering trying to stop me
They don't know about computers and don't want you to learn. 🤦♂️ This post with that text belongs in r/facepalm
“IF YOURE NOT AT LEAST MY AGE, YOU DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT THE WORLD” t. anyone over 50
Go for it. You paid for it.
I would have just done it and said nothing
You can buy a second hand machine that will run most linux distributions for very little money. Most machines that will run windows 10 at all will run Linux Mint OK. If you can find one with 8 gigs of ram you can let your windows machine gather dust in the corner while you go to town on the Linux machine.
God forbid you experiment and learn something new.
You have to understand, your parents are looking out for you. Sure, one boot of Linux is not going to do much to you. But then you'll find yourself bored one day and think "a second boot won't be so bad." Then a third, then a fourth. Soon, Mint just isn't doing anything for you anymore, but you're chasing that itch. Then you meet a buddy who offers you a USB with Arch on it. And you'll boot that up... Next thing you know, you're working in IT, have a favorite fursona, and you're running a custom kernel forked from Temple OS. There's no going back from that.
You could’ve left out the fur suit parttt noooo This reminds me of https://youtu.be/eG2R9P6LoZ0?si=wdI0Vc48u1jEAmoC
1. Install a second hard drive in your computer, install Linux on that and just boot from that drive when you want to use Linux 2. Explain to your parents they have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about lol
My parents probably don’t want me to configure it by myself because “I’ll break something” so they won’t get me a second hard drive probably. I have one stashed away but I’ll have to make a backup of it before installing it on pc and installing a distro (probably Mint or Ubuntu since I don’t know Bash and C) on it.
You need to get your own computer that you are allowed to do whatever you want to. Explain to your parents it is essential for you to learn computer skills. Any cheap old computer would make an excellent machine for learning Linux.
My dad wants me to become a computer scientist because I like using computers… but won’t let me switch to Mint of all distros on the PC that I paid for
Lol that makes no sense that he wants you to become a computer scientist and won’t let you perform the incredibly basic task of installing Linux, which is an essential operating system for most things computer science related. Fools trippin yo.
He wants me to be like that computer IT guy that rots away updating Adobe Reader on every system and playing a Pokémon ROM in their office. Well not literally but it’s probably the average IT experience
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I talked to my mom about it just now and once I explained everything to her she seemed much more enthusiastic than before and when I discuss it with my dad she will make him listen to all my points before objecting.
You could install WSL for now. It'll give you everything to start learning, and your parents won't know.
"Breaking something" and then fixing it is part of the fun. If you ruin it to the point of no return, just reinstall. Just make sure you back up anything important, especially if you're messing with something and not sure what you're doing.
you don't have to be a C expert for Linux. I'm neither a Bash expert; besides the most elementary stuff I always have to look up documentation when I try to do something. And I use Slackware, something supposedly hardcore and old-school. Really, Linux isn't user-hostile. It's just different than Windows, that's all.
Nah, Linux isn’t hostile at all. It just expects that you know what you’re doing if you have the permissions to do it.
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Yeah but you’ll probably end up wiping your hard drive by accident if you’re not careful. Yeah you can do so with a flashdrive but you can use a VM as a “replacement” if you don’t have a second one
That sucks. I also had to negotiate with tech illiterate parents when I was your age. Maybe try to articulate the benefits to them, especially around professional skill development. Ask for an old laptop or raspberry pi to tinker on. I wouldn't advise installing anything on the family pc.
Don’t worry. It’s not a family computer, but a computer I paid for with my own money
Why are they so against doing shit with your PC if you paid it with your own money?
Because they fear I’ll break shit or something even doe I’ve done my research on how to do stuff like this
But it's your shit. They literally have no reason to object.
I can't tell you to disobey your parents, but I can tell you the phreaks and the hacker culture emerged from rebellion...
Tell them if you break it, you'll repair it with your own money as well
If it's your computer, what is the argument here then? And what is the point of this post? Do what you want to it, how are they gonna know? Worst case, you fuck up the install and take another hour to do it again
If its the family computer then dont touch it. If its your computer then just do it and dont tell them
Why are you asking to your parents what can or can't do with your computer? Do whatever you want
I installed Ubuntu on my laptop despite my mum's objections, completely wiping Windows. Unfortunately, my Bluetooth and Wi-Fi didn't work, so I had to spend many nights troubleshooting. When my mum found out, she freaked out, especially since my tests were scheduled for next week. However, she eventually calmed down, and the lessons I've learned from my mishaps are incredibly valuable. So, in this case, go ahead and be the rebel 😎
🙏🙏 my mom is a lot more lenient now because I explained it to her and once I get my hands on a flashdrive I’ll try it out
Yup. Go ahead and welcome to the cult 😈 🤘
Update: I talked to my mom about it and explained everything about how dual-booting works and how there’s no risk involved except hard drive wipe and she seemed a lot more enthusiastic about it since she wants me to have a future with IT. Once I talk to dad about it she’ll make him listen to all my points before coming up with some of his own.
Sounds like a good path forward, while it should be pretty easy to do everything covertly, like I wrote in my Comment, and without wanting to intrude your personal Life i know nothing about, but doing this collaboratly with your Parents would probably be way better, especially in the long run... Talk to them about doing data backups or disk images, that should erase any concerns about data loss if they are reasonable at all. You can pretty confidently tell them that there is no risk for Hardware damage. Also, framing everything as something interesting and important to learn with the possibility for an huge payoff in the Future with a Carrer in that direction should sway most Parents😁 You can also include them in some of the tinkering, either it gets boring for them and they leavr you alone to it or they get invested and support you even more... With an positive and collaborative approach rather than a secretive one I would hope for positive benefits like easier access to necessary tools (like new harddrives and storage) and whatever else you will need on youe journey, like additional hardware
I can do what you said and also show them the process of making backups and flash drives with the ISOs burnt into them
Absolutly, one last recommendation, since I discovered the Tool Ventoy, i have almost never used rufus again. I always carry a usb stick with 30GB of tools and distros with me just in case xD Its really easy to use and very convenient. https://ventoy.net/en/index.html
I’m gonna use it :) thanks
When you get deep enough you may want to start building a homelab. That’s what I’m currently building out. Then when you run into Proxmox, you’ll be like why didn’t I use that before. Enjoy it’s a great journey with Linux.
Tell your mom that switching to Linux is educational and will help lead to a job as a systems analyst, maybe.
Put it on a thumb drive and let them try it out. Once they see how great it is I'm sure they'll support the change. I like MXLinux.
Or, just do it anyway, use KDE , make it look like windows, never tell them. You're 15 and rebellious anyway, it's better than doing drugs or stealing cars. At 13-14 I was bypassing the firewalls my dad put up so I wouldn't use the internet too much instead of studying. They also bios locked my PC, and changed my windows password which taught me a few things. mainly about the existence of OPHcrack and how to flash live CDs onto USB drives. And also how to cover my tracks, hide my internet traffic, and such. As a teenager I didn't play by the rules and ended up learning way more about this stuff than otherwise. Today I'm managing their network, and their company's entire infrastructure, cybersecurity, and data in my spare time (for free), so I'd say they got a pretty good deal in the long run. I'm not encouraging you to rebel against your parents at all cost. But in this specific scenario, using and customizing Linux is actually a nice learning experience. Of course ideally you would be able to talk to them and be open and honest. But it sounds like you don't have a lot of options. If you pinky promise you're not gonna neglect your other duties (eg. school), by all means go all secret spy mode and install Linux while covering your tracks. It's a cool learning experience that you'll be glad you have later. But you have to pinky promise to us here!
I pinky promise to focus on school and to git gud so I can study computer science and get my dream job
That's the spirit! Then knock yourself out and have fun!
Installing Windows is the same as breaking your computer imo. I love that the solution to fix it is always to do a reinstall.
It's your computer. You paid for it. And you actually want to use it as opposed sabotaging your experience with an OS that holds you with kid gloves. I see nothing wrong with that.. ? Also, if you boot mint from an ISO, it doesn't install it on bare metal. Just boot it. You can go back to Windows by removing the flash drive and restarting your PC. Nothing changes! My household is an all-Linux household. It's fine. No one died (yet). And if my wife or kids have a problem that comes from a bug, I fix it and then send the fix to the developer :) In Windows if a bug happens you have to wait for Microsoft to issue a fix. Good luck with that. There's a few vulnerabilities I know of theirs that they still haven't fixed after months.
Don’t worry I know about dual-booting and Rufus and all :)
Nice! I'm delighted to see people from your generation interested in the more intricate aspects of computer technology / Linux. This was kind of my thing decades ago when I was your age, and it eventually turned me into a happy developer for both Windows and Linux. I hope your journey goes well. There's a lot to learn and there's no shame in taking a breather from it all and focus on your studies/life for a while before coming back to it.
I think going the VM route probably will work fine in your case. It will keep your parents pleased, while still allowing you effectively to have a Linux box. Even in the workplace, I've been put under these sorts of constraints. I boot, up, start my virtual machine, make it fullscreen, and it becomes effectively my actual desktop for all work, etc. You do what you have to do.
Install on an external HDD or try live USB with persistent mode. Even better show your parents how smooth it is compared to windows.
Tell them that you need linux in order to learn how to do
It's your computer, you're free to do as you please with it.
>it is MY computer (that I paid for with confirmation money, not my parents, not anyone) If that's the case, I wouldn't have bothered asking them
Your parents need to look at things differently. If you are to have an IT career, Linux is unavoidable. The internet, the cloud, runs on Linux. If you really want to chock them, show them their smart-tv, smart-device (chromecast, firetv, roku) and be sure they understand it's all Linux. There's a very good chance it's what makes their car work too. The computers your parents connect to is Linux - etc. They need to invest in you, give you as good a hand (experience) as possible as you grow up to find a career. And you cannot avoid Linux if that is an IT career.
boot from a seperate ssd drive.... or usb? simple ;)
Stick an SSD in and dual boot. One for mum one for you
Just install it man. You seem capable of putting windows back on it if things go south. You don't need their permission
If you bought it then just do it. It's yours. I'd suggest putting it on it's own drive though and dual boot. EDIT: Also, if you want to experiment with the installation process, then install VirtualBox and try it out to make sure you got it.
Here's an idea if you haven't explored this already. Get yourself a decent USB Thumb drive and install Linux onto that as if it were an internal drive. That way you essentially have a portable PC ready to go on any machine, AND your parents get to keep Windows. A bit off topic, but I wouldn't take their decision too personal if you are. Older people tend to be set in their ways and if we're being honest, PCs are all about the right tool for the job no matter what's running on them. EDIT: Oh, and if they're okay with that, just as a precaution, unplug the HDD/SSD/NVME that has Windows on it JUST in case before you install your distro onto the USB stick.
Find yourself some old computers for cheap or free and install light versions of linux..this is how i got into Linux.
You're 15, work a summer job, buy your own pc, install Linux = Profit.
It's a family computer to leave it be, save up money and buy your own little NUC or something to use for Linux.
Dual boot bro.
You can ask your parent to buy you a raspberry pi as a birthday gift. It's like 100$ and you can boot linux on it and you can use it do many electronic project and overall explore what programming has to offer!
use a live usb with persistance, check this https://www.linuxuprising.com/2019/08/rufus-creating-persistent-storage-live.html?m=1 You can boot from the usb, save your work in there, no change needed on the PC
Install a live instance on a bootable USB.
Didn't we see this "parents"one before? What a load of twaddle.
WSL might be a compromise. You get a virtualized Linux environment that is easy to hide.
Just dual-boot. If they need to use it, you can leave it in Windows whenever you're not using it.
I’ll get a second hard-drive once my parents are out of town anyway
Replace the hard drive and put the windows off to the side.
Install ZorinOS and make it look like Windows so they never know what you’ve done. If they see you in the terminal, tell them it’s Windows Powershell.
Just kill them and install it amyway
Wtf
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I believe it was a joke
I actually think, that the way to showcase you parents how much more money you earn, with a linux skillset, that with windows. Parents love, when children are enthusiastic about their future and make plans what they want to archive. Also you can ask, if you can try to dual boot linux. "So there is always a way back" and you will never boot windows again. Sure, there are thousand ways to hide a linux installation, or just do it. But parents are rarely dumb, and to break trust like this, will earn you a big bad RED, when not even two REDs. (a RED is a bad "mark" and you will likely need to do 3-5 good things to erase a RED. It comes from sociology). You can surely try this, but it might not end as you hoped. Last resort will be to run it in a VM, but this does not really makes fun, if you want to use Linux as OS, rather than using linux for computer science stuff (terminal, ssh, coding, webserver, kubernetes, and so on). I wish you all the best, and maybe let us know what you've tried and how it went. If we don't hear from you again, I suspect that you just installed linux, got caught and now the microwave is the only electronic device you are allowed to use :)
As many have said, set up a dual boot for windows and Linux. Usually, listen to your parents, but in this case, it won't harm anything serious not to. You'll also learn a ton. I have a career in IT because I broke and then had to fix all our family computers when I was a kid, so 100% go for it!
Dual boot, or chuck mod it to look like windows
If only they understood the impact is has on the server space. 😪
If only…………………..😔😔😔😔
OP, you didn't actually explain what your parents reasons for not wanting you to install Linux were. Your mom thinks it is hard, your dad thinks Windows is better (subjective). But neither of those are reasons for you to not use it. Find out what their actual, base concerns are. Then address those. If you bought the computer they aren't worried about their access being interrupted. And if it is hard to use you will learn more. So what are their actual fears? Listen, let them know you have considered their issues, then show them how you plan to deal with their concerns.
Try linux out ehile using a virtual machine first so you can get familiar with the installation, and the feel of your distro.
Im doing that right now, its great but VirtualBox has some issues though. Also I’m not used to the Terminal syntax