@Linux4Everyone

@HistoPol

Hi, does the HP omen 17 have a usb port? Do you have a USB stick? You can try several OS very easily. For example: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/try-ubuntu-before-you-install#1-getting-started

I am assuming you know about #libreOffice and office365 (online) but you still want to run excel on Linux. you either need to use a compatible layer thing called #wine or #crossoversoftware for Linux not sure which.

@Linux4Everyone @linux

@Linux4Everyone @linux

I hope I don't lose any of the helpful new contacts who responded to my initial question by adding something I found from 4 (!)years ago re/ my PC:

"utsukushii_rei

I'd advise against hp laptops if you can find an alternative it would be much more simple of an install process. Gaming motherboards by themselves have been known to have excessive bios/uefi settings...

@HistoPol @Linux4Everyone @linux I have that laptop and Ubuntu runs well on it. Make sure you are running the latest Nvidia graphics driver. It's an Optimus laptop which game me problems running a second screen on it, but I work around it by setting it up to use the DGPU all the time (sudo prime-select nvidia from the terminal). Probably not smart for battery life to do that, but everything is gravy for me after doing that.

@HistoPol @Linux4Everyone @linux

If you want to experiment with it you could try a live Linux USB. it just requires a spare USB drive and there's no permanent changes.

Try googling hardware compatibility.

Ubuntu is the friendliest start, but there are many good options. The office tools are excellent, I've used them exclusively for years and years. Steam has excellent gaming options and runs many windows games just fine.

Linux distributions in my experience have supported all hardware I've used with it. NVIDIA graphics cards sometimes don't play nice due to drivers but in general your laptop should be supported. In regards to which distribution generally Ubuntu would be a good choice, I've also heard that Zorin OS is pretty good when moving over from windows and should feel a bit more familiar. Linux Mint could also be a good pick. In general most of the major distributions will work out fine.

In regards to Office I think you might be out of luck. Would the web version be sufficient for you? I personally have moved from MS office to ONLYOFFICE full time. Its quite similar and might not have all the features but its sufficient for me. There are other options like LibreOffice as well.

As you say if you've installed many other systems before this should be quite easy. You just need to download your chosen distributions iso and create a bootable USB in a program such and Rufus or balenaEtcher and just follow the installation process once you boot in.