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  <title>Getting Started — Your Linux Guide</title>
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          <li class="breadcrumb-item active" aria-current="page">Getting Started</li>
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      <header class="mb-5 reveal">
        <span class="kicker">topics/09-getting-started</span>
        <h1 class="display-5 fw-bold">Getting <span class="gradient-text">Started</span></h1>
        <p class="section-lead mt-2">Theory is nice — but Linux clicks the moment you sit in front of it. Here's how
        to try it <em>risk-free</em>, install it properly, and pick the right way to run it.</p>
      </header>

      <!-- ===== Live USB ===== -->
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        <span class="kicker">start/live-usb</span>
        <h2 class="section-title" id="liveusb">Step 1 · Try Linux without installing — the Live USB</h2>
        <p>Every major distro offers a <b>live session</b>: boot the whole operating system straight from a USB stick,
        play with it, and shut down without touching your hard drive. Nothing is installed, nothing is changed.</p>

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            <span class="timeline-year">01 · Download the ISO</span>
            <h5>Grab the image file</h5>
            <p>From your chosen distro's official website — e.g. a file like <code>linuxmint-22-cinnamon-64bit.iso</code>
            (a few gigabytes). Only ever download from the official site.</p>
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          <div class="timeline-item purple-dot reveal">
            <span class="timeline-year">02 · Flash it to USB</span>
            <h5>Write the image to a stick (8&nbsp;GB+)</h5>
            <p>With <b>balenaEtcher</b> (Windows/macOS/Linux — select ISO, select USB, flash) or <b>Rufus</b> (Windows,
            pick the ISO and press Start). This erases the USB stick, so use an empty one.</p>
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          <div class="timeline-item reveal">
            <span class="timeline-year">03 · Boot from the stick</span>
            <h5>Restart and open the boot menu</h5>
            <p>Keep the USB plugged in, reboot, and tap the boot-key during startup — usually <code>F12</code>,
            <code>F9</code>, <code>Esc</code> or <code>F11</code> depending on your PC brand. Pick your USB drive in the menu.</p>
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            <span class="timeline-year">04 · Choose “Try”</span>
            <h5>Welcome to your live session</h5>
            <p>Select &ldquo;Try&rdquo; (not &ldquo;Install&rdquo;). You'll get a full desktop: browse the web, open the
            terminal from topic 04, connect Wi-Fi — everything works, straight off the stick.</p>
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        <div class="callout warning"><i class="bi bi-exclamation-triangle"></i>
          <span><b>Heads up:</b> unless you enable &ldquo;persistence&rdquo;, a live session forgets everything on reboot —
          that's the point. Also, some Windows PCs require disabling <b>Secure Boot</b> or <b>Fast Startup</b> in the BIOS/UEFI
          before the USB will boot; your distro's guide covers it.</span>
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      <!-- ===== Installing ===== -->
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        <span class="kicker">start/install</span>
        <h2 class="section-title" id="install">Step 2 · Install for real (when you're ready)</h2>
        <p>The installer lives right on that same live session desktop — double-click <b>Install Linux</b> when you like
        what you see. Modern installers are easier than most Windows installers:</p>

        <ul class="text-muted-custom" style="line-height:2">
          <li><b class="text-light">Back up first.</b> Copy anything you care about to an external drive or the cloud. Always.</li>
          <li><b class="text-light">Language, keyboard, timezone</b> — the usual wizard screens.</li>
          <li><b class="text-light">Disk setup</b> — the big choice: <em>&ldquo;Install alongside Windows&rdquo;</em> (dual boot),
          <em>&ldquo;Erase disk&rdquo;</em> (Linux takes over), or <em>&ldquo;Something else&rdquo;</em> (manual, for later).</li>
          <li><b class="text-light">User account</b> — your name, username and a password you'll remember (it's also your <code>sudo</code> password).</li>
          <li><b class="text-light">Install &amp; reboot</b> — remove the USB when asked, and GRUB (topic 08) will greet you.</li>
        </ul>
        <p>The whole thing usually takes <b>10–20 minutes</b> — including copying. Welcome home.</p>
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      <!-- ===== Dual boot vs VM ===== -->
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        <span class="kicker">start/dual-boot-vs-vm</span>
        <h2 class="section-title" id="dobvsvm">Step 3 · Dual boot vs virtual machine</h2>
        <p class="section-lead mb-4">Two popular ways to keep your current OS <em>and</em> run Linux. Both are legit —
        pick per your patience and hardware.</p>

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                <h3 class="h5">Dual boot — real metal</h3>
                <p class="text-muted-custom small">Both OSes live on your drive; GRUB asks which one to start at boot.
                Linux gets <b>100% of your hardware</b>: full speed, GPU, battery life.</p>
                <p class="small mb-2"><b>Choose if:</b> you want the real, permanent experience.</p>
                <p class="small text-muted-custom mb-0"><b>Watch out for:</b> partitioning needs care (and a backup),
                swapping OSes means rebooting.</p>
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                <h3 class="h5">Virtual machine — a PC inside a window</h3>
                <p class="text-muted-custom small">Apps like <b>VirtualBox</b> or <b>GNOME Boxes</b> run Linux as a program
                inside your current OS. Zero risk to your disk — delete the VM and it's gone.</p>
                <p class="small mb-2"><b>Choose if:</b> you want instant experiments with zero commitment.</p>
                <p class="small text-muted-custom mb-0"><b>Watch out for:</b> noticeably slower, needs spare RAM (8&nbsp;GB
                host recommended), and 3D graphics are limited.</p>
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              <thead><tr><th style="width:28%"></th><th>Dual boot</th><th>Virtual machine</th></tr></thead>
              <tbody>
                <tr><td class="fw-semibold">Risk to existing system</td><td class="text-muted-custom">Small (partitioning)</td><td><span class="flag-chip green">None</span></td></tr>
                <tr><td class="fw-semibold">Performance</td><td><span class="flag-chip green">Full speed</span></td><td class="text-muted-custom">Shared/slower</td></tr>
                <tr><td class="fw-semibold">Setup time</td><td class="text-muted-custom">~30–60 min</td><td><span class="flag-chip green">~15 min</span></td></tr>
                <tr><td class="fw-semibold">Hardware access</td><td>Everything (GPU, battery)</td><td class="text-muted-custom">Virtualized/limited</td></tr>
                <tr><td class="fw-semibold">Best for</td><td>Daily driving Linux</td><td class="text-muted-custom">Quick try-outs &amp; testing</td></tr>
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          <h2 class="section-title" id="quizHeading">Which distro is for <span class="gradient-text">you</span>?</h2>
          <p class="section-lead mx-auto">Four quick questions. One honest recommendation. Take the quiz — your answer
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