I'm completely new to Linux and have never installed or used it before. My laptop is an Asus Zenbook Flip UX363E with an Intel i5-1135G7, 8GB of RAM, a 13.3-inch OLED touchscreen, and a convertible design. Windows 10 already uses around 35% of the memory immediately after startup, and Windows 11 was even more demanding.
I mainly need the laptop for web browsing and watching videos with VLC—no gaming. I'd like the keyboard shortcuts for volume and brightness, French AZERTY layout, wireless networking, touchscreen support, and the other important hardware features to work properly. Ideally, I'd also like lower memory usage than Windows 10.
I'm comfortable creating a bootable USB drive because I've used Diskpart for Windows installations, but I've never installed Linux. Which beginner-friendly distribution would you recommend, and what should I check before replacing Windows?
3 Answers
Linux Mint is probably the easiest starting point for a complete beginner. Download the live USB image, boot from it, and test the keyboard, Wi-Fi, touchscreen, brightness controls, sound, and video playback before installing anything. You can use the live session without changing the internal drive.
I’d recommend keeping Windows for a while and setting up a dual-boot system rather than removing it immediately. That gives you a fallback if a feature such as the touchscreen, OLED brightness control, suspend mode, or another device doesn’t work perfectly. Boot the Linux installer from USB first and verify the hardware; Linux uses standard drivers for most of the Intel, Wi-Fi, audio, and input hardware, but no distribution can guarantee every laptop-specific feature without testing.
Mint, Zorin OS, or Linux Lite should all be reasonable choices for this hardware. Zorin may feel more familiar if you’re coming from Windows, while Mint has a large amount of beginner documentation. With 8GB of RAM, any of these should be comfortable for browsing and VLC, though browser tabs can still use a lot of memory.
Is Zorin straightforward to install, and should I expect all the Asus hardware and keyboard shortcuts to work? I’m mainly hoping for lower memory usage than Windows 10.