Windows 7 has been with us for 10 long years. However, nothing lasts forever, and, after several months announcing it, in January 2020 this operating system came to an end. As of now, Windows 7 is no longer supported, does not receive updates or security patches, and the slightest flaw detected in this system will endanger all users. Same as with Windows XP. Users who still have this operating system installed must choose either upgrade to Windows 10, or make the leap to an alternative operating system, such as Ubuntu .
Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions we can find. This distro is based on Debian and brings users a perfect balance between ease, usability and Linux philosophy. This is one of the best distros to start learning this operating system, although we may eventually be interested in opting for an alternative distro with other features and benefits.
This distro is one of the best options for Windows 7 users who do not want to switch to Windows 10. Ubuntu offers a clear and simple to use environment, with a good set of packages and programs installed by default as well as offering security and security. the characteristic performance of these systems, even in relatively old computers. However, moving from Windows to Linux generates a lot of fear on the part of the users, who ask themselves a lot of questions about what they will gain, lose and everything they should know about this new operating system that will become part of their day to day.
Installation differences between Windows and Linux
Both operating systems are similar. For example, both are distributed in ISO format, we have to burn it to a DVD or USB memory to install it and boot the computer from said installation medium. In both cases the installation process is based on copying all the system data to the hard disk and completing an initial configuration. And formatting a drive implies the loss of all the data in it. Installation wizards include their own formatting tool.
However, there are also important differences between both systems. For example, in the case of Linux we can run the operating system in RAM with Ubuntu Live , to test it before installing it on the PC.
There are also many changes to the file system and partitions . Windows, for example, names all partitions with letters (C: /, D: /, E: /, etc.), while Linux does so with mount points (/ dev / sda1 (first partition (1) of the first disk hard (a)), / dev / sdb3 (third partition (3) of the second hard disk (b), etc.) On Linux, partitions are mounted on “mount points”, for example, / home for the partition of the personal folder, / data for a data partition, / games for a game unit, etc.
The file system is different too. Windows, for example, uses NTFS, while Ubuntu bets on EXT4.
Everything we gain or lose
Broadly speaking, moving from Windows to Linux we lose almost nothing. Although it is true that many things can get too complicated. The first thing to keep in mind is that Linux has its own programs, and they are different from Windows. There are programs that we can find for both operating systems, but other programs, such as Office or Photoshop, do not have a version for Linux. This means that we must either look for alternatives to these programs (such as LibreOffice or GIMP), or we must use tools, such as Wine, to install and use Windows programs on Linux.
What we do gain is a lot of advantages over Windows. For example, Ubuntu (like most Linux distros) is completely free. We will not have to pay licenses, nor look for activators with malware, to have our Linux completely legal and updated. Distros updates such as Ubuntu are usually much more frequent than Windows, especially in terms of security, so our PC will always be protected.
Security is another fundamental aspect of Linux. Although there is malware for Ubuntu and other distros, the probability of getting infected with it, or of being victims of a computer attack, is practically nil. We don’t even have to install an antivirus on our PC, so the performance will be much better.
And this is another of Linux’s strengths: performance. Linux distros consume much less resources than any version of Windows. Therefore, if we make the leap to this distro our computer will go faster and lighter, being able to enjoy it much better.
Finally, indicate that Ubuntu offers two ways to install on the computer. The first one is the normal way , installing the standard programs and applications next to the operating system, and the second one the minimum, much smaller and lighter form that gives us more control over the packages and programs we want or need.
Ubuntu is updated every 6 months (like Windows 10), but each of these versions has a 9-month support. We recommend you download and install the LTS editions. New LTS leave every two years, with all the news, and its minimum support is 5 years. Much more comfortable.
Different ways to use Ubuntu with Windows 7
There are many ways to configure Ubuntu if we start from a Windows 7 computer:
- Virtualize: the simplest, but less recommended. If we do not want to turn our backs on Windows 7, we can use a VMware or VirtualBox virtual machine to install Ubuntu on top of Windows 7 and be able to test this system before physically installing it on the PC. We continue running Windows 7, therefore, the dangers are the same as if we didn’t use Ubuntu.
- Dual Boot : we can choose to install Ubuntu next to Windows 7. For this a second partition or a second hard disk and a bootloader is used . We have both operating systems, and when we turn on the computer we can choose which of the two to boot.
- Multi-boot : same as dual-boot, but with three or more operating systems. For example, Windows 7, Windows 10 , Ubuntu and Hackintosh.
- Replace Windows 7 . This option removes Windows 7 from the hard drive and install Ubuntu instead. The process is destructive, so before carrying it out, we must make a backup copy of all the data on a hard disk or an external drive.
Let’s choose the option we choose, the Ubuntu installation wizard itself will guide us through the process. What we recommend from ITIGIC is to first try Ubuntu in a virtual machine and, if it convinces you and the installation is not a problem, make a backup of the data and replace Windows 7 with this Canonical distro. The installation wizard itself provides an option for this.
How to upgrade to Ubuntu
Canonical has published a guide to upgrade from Windows 7 to Ubuntu. However, we don’t know why, this guide is unnecessarily complicated and confusing. The only thing we should do for this is to download Ubuntu (we recommend the LTS) from the following link and, once we have the ISO on our PC, create an installation USB with some tool like Rufus.
We make a backup copy of all the data on our PC (in another partition, on an external hard drive, in the cloud, etc.), turn off the computer and start with the Ubuntu Live USB. We choose the Spanish language, install Ubuntu and we will follow the steps until the end. The only point where we must pay attention is to choose if we want to replace Windows with Ubuntu or install it in a Dual-Boot.
When the installation process is finished we will have replaced Windows 7 with Ubuntu. Our security and computer performance will have multiplied. We can begin to learn how to use this new operating system, something that, even if we are bad at computing, will not have any difficulty.
