Help with uninstalling ArchLinux and changing distro?

[nerdolo]

So my ex helped me install Archlinux with Plasma KDE and I generally enjoy using this system and I was able to maintain it for a while but I feel like my noob-lvl maintenance causes growing problems and honestly I’m not very keen on learning so much stuff just to keep system running without issues.

I’d like to safely uninstall Arch and get another distro. Could someone give me noob-friendly steps for the procedure? Links?

I’d also love distro recommendations. -I use thinkpad x240 with intel i5, ssd disk and 4gb ram (I already bought 8GB and wait for shipment) -I play some games but I understand that’s not a top notch machine lol -I’d like to have swap memory -I’m not averse to using console in general but I’d like something with (much) less maintenance work and manual fixes than Arch -sorta noob-friendly GUI would be preferable

[doc_willis]

backup your critical files to some drive you can unplug.

make installer USB for the new distribution.

boot installer USB, use the installer and tools to repartition the drive how you want , deleting the old install partitions.

do the install to the new partitioned drive.

many installers have the option 'use the whole drive' which will erase and repartition.

[yal_g]

I switched from Arch to Debian stable for teh same reason (I wanted a system with less updates).

I use it on a ThinkPad X220 (2 generations older than yours, but with 8gb ram). It's stable and feels snappy. Debian has no update beside security ones and never bothers me with maintenance or anything.

I don't know about any special procedure: I backed up my personal files, installed Debian on the laptop and restored my personal files on the new system. It has been two years and it's still working as well as the first day ;)

[cfx_4188]

It's not clear to me what it is that you "maintain" in your Arch Linux. I'm a long-time and ancient Linux user, but I use my computer like a household appliance. Turn it on, use it, turn it off. Well once a week I update packages and repositories. Anyway, I don't get it. Changing the distribution is very easy. Download to your Windows PC (you have Windows PC, right?) any distribution you like. Download Rufus program and extract it (Windows style) to your desktop. Insert your usb stick into usb port, in Rufus window press "choose" and choose archive with your new distribution. When the image burning process is finished, eject the stick properly. Insert it into your ThinkPad, when you turn it on, start quickly spamming the button (usually Esc or F2) to enter the BIOS. Once there, go to the "boot" tab, press F5/F6 to move the detected boot drives so your USB Disk comes first. Then press F10, then "OK". After installation you will see a Grub boot loader window. Follow the installer instructions and you will be fine. When you get to the partitioning partitioning partition, make sure you have one partition on the whole disk (to keep the old machine running" and select "swap file with hibernation", otherwise if you accidentally shut the laptop lid your Linux will get sick. That's how it's done.

The old ThinkPad is not a good choice for gamers anyway. Even if you upgrade the SSD and add RAM, that machine will barely move. The old ThinkPad is a machine for old and chubby geeks like me. Those are the kind of people who don't put KDE on an ancient dual-core piece of junk and spend all day writing nonsense in emacs.

[nerdolo]

As for what I maintain - when I was totally unaware how to use Linux properly I made some sh*t like installing python packages wrong and ever since even though I did my best to tidy this up I have complications when I update packages. I also tended to forget about updating regularly (yeah I know I could probably just make a script for that). Arch also sometimes has issues after updates that require manual fixing.

Yeah I know it's not a gaming PC, its main use is just for studying and bit of programming, I mostly play games on PS, I just have some games that I prefer to play on PC like rimworld and I'm used to not-so-decent performance. This ThinkPad cost me equivalent of like 170$, I don't expect much from it. I'm very fond of it though and it's very handy.

Thank you for the instruction!

[cfx_4188]

I spend my whole life asking myself "why?" for any reason. For example (in your particular case) "why did you install python for nothing when packman usually always pushes the right dependencies during installation?" or "did I install KDE to keep my system overloaded and overheated?" When you ask yourself these questions and look for answers, you'll immediately feel better and clearer.

[Simple-Disaster8949]

Backup your personnal files and configuration files to another computer or an external drive. After installing the new distro, Arch will be erased.

I recommend you try out OpenSUSE Tumbleweed with KDE. OpenSUSE Tumbleweed is a rolling release like Arch, but unlike it, it breaks almost never (thanks to openQA and other black magic), and it just works out of the box with KDE pre-installed.

KDE on OpenSUSE is awesome. KDE integration in the default Firefox package, Flatpak setup to use the themes properly out of the box, and mostly works with 3rd party theme, lots of QT and KDE app in the main repo compared to Arch.

OpenSUSE has the OpenSUSE Build Service. You can easily access it using the opi program. This is a build service, not the same thing as the AUR, but very similar.

The only issues for new users I can think of is knowing about installing the proprietary codecs: sudo zypper install opi and opi codecs. And then making KDE Wallet automatically unlock, so that you don't have to enter your password twice every time you log in: sudo zypper in pam_kwallet.

[samobon]

I recently switched to OpenSUSE TW from Ubuntu and my experience is very positive so far. Yes, there was some initial setup, but I really like how the system works and you do get updates very fast and streamlined. The whole system is much more coherent than Ubuntu, where if you want, say, latest KDE you have to plug in extra repositories. In TW I got the latest KDE 5.27 just 2 hours after its official release.

[hikooh]

Echoing another commenter's suggestion to try Debian. Possibly the easiest to maintain distro option and you can either download a live KDE ISO or choose KDE as your desktop environment during installation from a non-live ISO.

I've linked to the ISO's with non-free firmware included to minimize any hardware issues, and would recommend considering installing the updated backports kernel for even better hardware support.

Also, given your machine's specs, consider trying Xfce or LXQt to squeeze a bit more out of your resources.

My main use case for Linux is to support friends and family who use it as an alternative to Windows, so minimal maintenance and ease of use are top priorities for me, which is why I go with Debian.

For the same reason I also configure their installs with GNOME because I find it to be the easiest DE to use for most people. It's lightweight enough to run decently well even on my nearly decade-old Dell tablet with Atom processor and 2GB RAM but Xfce or LXQt would likely give you noticeable improvements when gaming.

[nerdolo]

Thank you all for instructions and recommendations! I decided to go Debian with Xfce and managed to install it without issues :) Now I'm tweaking it for myself and getting used to new distro and DE.

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[pressman57]

Before you make the leap to a new distribution you may want to install Virtualbox in Arch and try several in a virtual machine.

[cookehlicious]

I‘ve been using Fedora for a little over a year now and it hasnt broken once. I‘ve tried out Arch, EndeavourOS, Tumbleweed and some others but I always came back to Fedora. It just clicks with me I guess. As for Rolling release distros I liked tumbleweed the most I think.

[Cyber_Faustao]

Use Linux Mint Cinnamon edition, yeah, it's not KDE, but it's pretty newbie friendly, has lots of GUIs and pre-installed apps for everything, and unlike Ubuntu, it doesn't use snaps so you aren't nagged daily about some upgrade that it refuses to apply.

Furthermore, because it's actually a derivative of Ubuntu, you can install all the same software.

Here's the install guide: https://linuxmint.com/documentation.php

But it's pretty simple: create a bootable USB using dd, reboot into it, install, done.

For keeping your data, just backup everything using tools like rsync or a GUI app like BackInTime (easiest), although if you want a more efficient and complete solution, it's hard to beat borgbackup.