Guides / Moving from Windows
Check essential games and applications, plan backups, compare installation choices and test your setup before moving a gaming PC from Windows to Linux.
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Plan the move around your needs · 1. Check essential games and applications · 2. Check graphics, networking and peripherals · 3. Back up and prepare recovery options · 4. Decide whether to retain Windows · 5. Choose a distro and maintenance model · 6. Install Linux using the selected project’s guide · 7. Set up Steam and the launchers you need · 8. Test games and peripherals · 9. Troubleshoot one symptom at a time · Ready to rely on the new system? · Related reading
Plan the move around your needs
Moving to Linux changes the operating system, software installation and some game-launching paths. Familiar tasks remain: browse the web, manage files, install applications and sign in to a game store. Your goal is a workable PC for your needs, not a commitment to replace everything at once.
Write down essential games, multiplayer modes, stores, work applications and peripherals. Separate what you need on day one from what you are happy to investigate. If one essential item has no workable Linux route, keeping Windows available can be a sensible outcome.
1. Check essential games and applications
Use the Game Compatibility checklist for each essential title. Check the exact storefront and multiplayer mode, the date of the evidence and whether it describes the hardware you will use. Do not treat a report about a single-player mode as confirmation that competitive multiplayer works.
Steam’s Proton can run many Windows games on Linux using compatibility software. It does not turn every Windows application into a supported Linux application. Anti-cheat can be a decisive limitation: Valve documents game-specific enablement for supported systems and limits for kernel-space anti-cheat. Valve compatibility documentation
Read Understanding Proton for the concepts before copying game-specific settings. A different distro is not a reliable workaround for a publisher’s unsupported anti-cheat configuration.
2. Check graphics, networking and peripherals
Identify the GPU model, not just AMD, NVIDIA or Intel. Hybrid laptops can have two graphics devices. Check drivers, display outputs, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, audio and your controller. Basic keyboard or mouse input does not confirm that a vendor’s configuration software is available. Use the Hardware hub.
3. Back up and prepare recovery options
Copy important documents, photos, local game saves and configuration files to independent storage. Confirm that you can open the backup. Do not assume every game uses cloud saves or that a successful cloud sign-in proves every local save is protected.
Record your recovery options for the existing Windows installation and keep necessary account or disk-recovery information accessible outside the PC. Follow current operating-system and device documentation for encrypted disks. A backup that sits only on the drive you plan to erase is not an independent copy.
4. Decide whether to retain Windows
Dual boot keeps both operating systems available but adds disk and boot-management decisions. Replacing Windows simplifies the final layout but removes that installation. A separate test machine or spare drive may let you evaluate Linux before committing your main setup.
Follow the exact distro’s current installation guide. Mint documents an alongside route; Nobara discourages same-disk dual boot, and CachyOS warns about its alongside option. Do not apply one installer’s steps to another. Mint installation, CachyOS installation
5. Choose a distro and maintenance model
Use the Distro Hub to compare update and application models. Mint offers a general desktop with gaming added. Bazzite prepares more of the gaming system in an image. Nobara combines gaming preparation with a traditional desktop package model. Choose based on your hardware and preferences, not a universal winner.
6. Install Linux using the selected project’s guide
Use the download and installation instructions linked from your chosen distro guide. Confirm the image matches the device and follow the project’s verification instructions. Prepare installation media and keep the guide available on another device.
- Identify the target disk and the partitions that must be retained.
- Review the installer’s final disk-change summary before committing. Stop if it does not match your plan.
- After installation, restart into the installed system and complete its welcome steps. If keeping Windows, check that you can still start it.
Installer screens, firmware requirements and supported layouts differ. The Mint installation guide is an example for Mint; use the equivalent project instructions for another distro.
7. Set up Steam and the launchers you need
Follow Linux Gaming Setup for updates, graphics, Steam and Proton before adding optional tools.
List which stores own your games and which launchers they require. Tools such as Heroic or Lutris may provide a route for particular stores or games, but do not assume every account feature or launcher update works. Follow the distro guide for installation rather than adding several competing versions of the same tool.
8. Test games and peripherals
After installation, follow the Setup Guide. Test one essential game at a time: launch, controls, sound, saves, multiplayer where needed and a later relaunch. Also test sleep/wake, external displays and your everyday applications. Keep notes about what worked, what failed and which change affected the result.
A live USB can help with initial device checks, but does not reproduce every installed driver or gaming session. Keep the old setup or verified recovery route until the installed system meets your needs. These are planning recommendations, not a claim that GamingLinux tested your machine.
9. Troubleshoot one symptom at a time
Separate a game that will not launch from blocked multiplayer, missing controls or low performance. Record the symptom and recent changes, then use the troubleshooting workflow. Keep your recovery route until the installed system meets the needs you wrote down at the start.
Ready to rely on the new system?
- Your essential games and required modes have been checked.
- Your everyday applications and peripherals meet your needs.
- Backups are readable and the recovery route is still available.
- Any remaining limitations are recorded, with Windows retained where you need it.
Related reading
- Distro Hub — compare installation and maintenance models.
- Game Compatibility — research essential titles before disk changes.
- Linux Gaming Setup — continue after installation.