I'm planning to switch from Windows 10 to Linux soon. Before installing it, I want to back up my photos, videos, and other multimedia from my phone folder. Can I copy that folder to a flash drive and transfer it back after Linux is installed?
I also need advice choosing a distribution. I'm new to Linux but want to learn, keep playing games, use emulators, and run supported online games such as Overwatch, Rocket League, and Street Fighter 6. I'm currently considering Bazzite, Nobara, Zorin OS, Linux Mint, and possibly CachyOS.
My hardware is an MSI B550 Tomahawk motherboard, Ryzen 5 5600X, 16 GB DDR4-3200 RAM, RTX 3060 Ti, a 1 TB NVMe SSD, and a 2 TB SATA SSD.
3 Answers
Yes, copying the multimedia folder to a flash drive is a perfectly reasonable way to back it up. Make sure the files are actually readable from the drive before wiping Windows, and ideally keep another backup if the data is important. After Linux is installed, you can copy everything back normally. For a beginner, Zorin OS is a friendly choice, and many Windows games work through Steam Proton or tools such as Lutris. Emulation is also well supported.
If you install games on the separate 2 TB drive, consider backing up anything on it and formatting it as ext4 rather than NTFS. Linux can read NTFS, but running games from an NTFS partition can cause permissions, launcher, and compatibility problems. Also check game compatibility before switching, since anti-cheat support varies between titles.
Linux Mint is probably the safest starting point because it is familiar and has plenty of beginner documentation. Your hardware should run it easily. Bazzite or Nobara may be better if you want a gaming-focused setup, but they can involve more specialized troubleshooting. You can always try a few distributions from a live USB before installing one.
That’s helpful—especially the advice about the second drive. I’ll check my important games first and make sure the multimedia files are backed up before installing anything.