I've built a couple of computers over the years, one running Windows 11 and the other Windows 10 with Plex. Since I'm retiring the Windows 10 machine soon, I want to switch it over to Linux to keep it running Plex. However, my first attempt with Ubuntu was pretty frustrating. I followed some guides and made a boot disk with Rufus, but when I tried to install it on a new hard drive, it ended up installing on the USB drive instead, making it unbootable. After messing around with the boot options and trying to understand the partitioning process, I couldn't get it to work and reverted back to Windows 10 so I can use Plex tonight.
My setup is AMD based with a Gigabyte motherboard and I have a TV tuner card for recording shows. I'm mainly looking for guidance on which Linux version is easiest for Plex, how to update the graphics driver for transcoding, and how to connect it to my home network for file transfers. Should I consider building a new PC with Windows 11 for this task instead? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
From my experience, installing an OS can be equally challenging on both Linux and Windows. It sounds like you might have skipped over the option for installing in expert mode, which would give you better control over where to install the OS. Make sure to check your BIOS settings too; features like secure boot and fast boot might need to be turned off before installation.
Setting up Plex is surprisingly easy with Docker, so you can choose almost any Linux distro to run it on. For transferring files, you can create a network share. If you're finding Linux networking tricky, just share a folder from your Windows PC and connect to it from Linux for straightforward access.
If the installation options are limited, double-check your BIOS setup. Features such as secure boot or RAID settings can definitely complicate Linux installs. Also, don't forget about selecting the ‘Something else’ option during installation; that lets you choose the partition manually, which is essential for avoiding mistakes.
If your chosen distro is Debian-based, consider using the package manager for a direct install; it makes things much simpler.