My kid wants linux instead of windows

maxastaberger · 2026-07-03 09:39:25

Hey,

my kid is 15 and he asked me if he can install Linux on his pc, I dont have any clue about linux so I wanted to ask if linux is suitablew for a 15 year old. Last year i bought him a programming course for kids and I believe that he take the inspiration from there.

Which linux do you recommend?

Nikolai5 · 2026-07-03 10:24:33

Hi, This forum is really dedicated to Arch Linux.

To answer your question though, look into Linux Mint.

////// · 2026-07-03 12:04:50

Nikolai5 wrote:

Hi, This forum is really dedicated to Arch Linux.
To answer your question though, look into Linux Mint.

mint is ok, other could be Fedora linux.

Ubuntu is for starting linux users.

maxastaberger wrote:

... so I wanted to ask if linux is suitablew for a 15 year old ?

absolutely. if (s)he wants to learn computer stuff Linux is the way.

Last edited by ////// (2026-07-03 12:08:35)

ewaller · 2026-07-03 14:49:37

Nothing would be better for a kid who is interested in computers. I started with computers around that age and I now at retirement age.

As has been pointed out, Arch Linux is different than some of the other distributions. Some distributions such as Ubuntu and Mint come pre-configured and make it easy to install and are solid replacements for Windows for those interested in Linux.

Arch Linux is more of a do it yourself system. The installation guide https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Installation_guide will guide him through the steps of installing a basic system. Then he gets to decide how to build it from there. He has his choice of different graphical environments he can set up (KDE, Gnome, Sway, Hyprland -- these all take the place of the Windows Desktop). https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Genera … mendations

Linux can be installed along side Windows and which one to be used can be selected at boot time.

In particular, these forums are a fantastic resource and are a fairly healthy environment as far as Internet stuff goes. He would be well received here provided he is willing to put in the effort to learn and, of course, if he follows our community standards: https://terms.archlinux.org/docs/code-o … irect%3Dno

Last edited by ewaller (2026-07-03 14:52:59)

owain · 2026-07-03 16:30:59

My one concern is whether he needs to ensure access to the computer for things like homework. He can't do any physical damage, but by exploring Linux he might end up with something that can't get online, can't open a graphical environment, etc. - things he will learn loads from by solving the problems, but pretty inconvenient if an essay is due!

He could install VirtualBox on his existing system, and try out various Linux options in a virtual machine before taking the plunge on his main hardware. Another option would be finding a very cheap (or ideally free) old computer he can use to tinker with Linux on, while keeping Windows working, until he's at the point where he knows he can get things up and running, perhaps with a dual-boot setup. Anything less than 10 years old (or even 15) will run most versions of Linux (called 'distros') happily.

5hridhyan · 2026-07-03 16:50:52

Which linux do you recommend?

my kid is 15 and he asked me if he can install Linux on his pc

Just say yes, because there is none perfect recommendation in Linux distributions. Give him time, and let him explore aka distro hopping and he will himself choose one which suits him

topcat01 · 2026-07-03 18:14:41

I think using an old computer for testing Linux is a great idea. Linux is extremely efficient, and can be configured to fly on hardware which will cause Windows to crawl (I am using such hardware). I feel that running in a VM is not quite the same as you miss out on how to configure/troubleshoot real hardware. As for the distro, Arch forces you to understand all the little details of your system, which in the long run is incredibly useful, no matter which distro (or even OS) you end up using. It helps develop critical reasoning and learning skills, rather than just powering up something shrink-wrapped from a third party, and knowing nothing about your black box, or how to fix things.

If I had a child and they wanted to install Linux, I'd cry with joy. You are lucky. Please encourage them.

SimonJ · 2026-07-03 18:50:45

topcat01 wrote:

If I had a child and they wanted to install Linux, I'd cry with joy. You are lucky. Please encourage them.

To be fair, a parent doing research on the subject is also a big thing, good on ya for doing this.

topcat01 · 2026-07-03 19:01:45

SimonJ wrote:

To be fair, a parent doing research on the subject is also a big thing, good on ya for doing this.

Agreed, the parent should be encouraged as well

seth · 2026-07-03 19:47:11

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_l … rnel-based

Don't start with arch or anything remotely LFS, get one of the live distros (roll a dice) and toy around with that to get a feel for the basics (basic POSIX stuff, how the system at large works - no details) and figure what you like (shell and otherwise)
If you feel comfortable, install one of the easy distros and use the system. Hope that you'll run into problems because that forces you to learn stuff to fix it.

Once the arch installation guide doesn't look like white noise (you know all the words there and understand what's being talked about) feel encouraged to install it (don't use the archinstall script for this)

Running archlinux w/o any experience around is gonna be frustrating because you're trying to paint a picture w/o knowing what colors are.

mpan · 2026-07-03 20:49:42

I’ll argue against giving him Arch Linux or any distro declaring itself as being “based on Arch.”

Why not Arch Linux? It’s certainly a great way to learn a Linux distro and no less good means of learning responsibility.⁽¹⁾ But one also needs a source of knowledge and guidance. While I believe this opinion is wrong, Arch community gained the reputation of being “elitist pricks.” The perception comes from many people here having low tolerance for cluelessness, spoon-feeding, the lack of self-reliance or thinking. The environment may easily discourage teenagers and kids. Arch also requires responsibility, not only teaches it. If there is something potentially dangerous lying around, there is a warning sign placed, but no fences or gates. You probably already know how well warning signs work for teenagers.

Why not “based on Arch” distros? The intensity of these problems varies between projects, but many suffer from not providing good support and doing things “not the Arch way.” People here may not care what other distros do and if it’s Arch way or not, but combined with insufficient support this means the users of these distros are sent to our support channels. And this generally only causes friction, irritation, and conflict. Which means that your boy is likely to be left with no help, misguided into believing he uses Arch, wrongly expecting help from Arch community, and in the end earning bad memories.

____
⁽¹⁾ If Arch Linux bites, it’s almost universally because the keeper rubbed it the wrong way.

Last edited by mpan (2026-07-03 20:54:53)

topcat01 · 2026-07-04 18:52:41

After reading the above replies, I also agree about not starting with Arch. It can be overwhelming. Yes, better to start with a friendly distro (I usually suggest Ubuntu LTS because of its popularity and easy availability of online guides), while consulting the Arch wiki till it begins to make sense.

maxastaberger · 2026-07-06 18:01:32

Thank you for your answers. We installed Linux Mint and it was easier than I thought, he did it mainly and watched him and also learned it. Thank you all

////// · 2026-07-06 18:16:00

maxastaberger wrote:

We installed Linux Mint and it was easier than I thought, he did it mainly and watched him and also learned it. Thank you all

awesome

one linux (Mint) user more, and that is nice platform to learn coding.

SimonJ · 2026-07-06 20:17:09

maxastaberger wrote:

Thank you for your answers. We installed Linux Mint and it was easier than I thought, he did it mainly and watched him and also learned it. Thank you all

Awesome, it is probably in their setup information but they have their own support forum https://forums.linuxmint.com/

lucasrufkahr · 2026-07-07 16:26:19

I think I started with Ubuntu linux and of course magically found my way over here eventually.

owain · 2026-07-07 16:39:21

maxastaberger wrote:

Thank you for your answers. We installed Linux Mint and it was easier than I thought, he did it mainly and watched him and also learned it. Thank you all

Fab. We look forward to him turning up here in a year or so, armed with a ton of learning and more-than-ready to try Arch.

////// · 2026-07-07 16:41:07

my first were something like SLAX, which was a live CD derivative of Slackware.

Arch Linux

#1 2026-07-03 09:39:25

My kid wants linux instead of windows

#2 2026-07-03 10:24:33

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#3 2026-07-03 12:04:50

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#4 2026-07-03 14:49:37

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#5 2026-07-03 16:30:59

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#6 2026-07-03 16:50:52

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#7 2026-07-03 18:14:41

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#8 2026-07-03 18:50:45

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#9 2026-07-03 19:01:45

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#10 2026-07-03 19:47:11

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#11 2026-07-03 20:49:42

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#12 2026-07-04 18:52:41

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#13 2026-07-06 18:01:32

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#14 2026-07-06 18:16:00

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#15 2026-07-06 20:17:09

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#16 2026-07-07 16:26:19

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#17 2026-07-07 16:39:21

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

#18 2026-07-07 16:41:07

Re: My kid wants linux instead of windows

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