Advice for a savvy Linux user learning Windows

I have an acquaintance who needs to install and learn Windows, but he finds the environment a bit "weird." Since he isn't local, I'm unable to help him in person.

What advice should I give him to help him get started? Specifically, how should he go about getting familiar with Windows basics?

He is already a very savvy Linux user, so he understands the core concepts; he just needs to learn the Windows-specific procedures.

Tell him to check out tutorial on this forum for questions he has for Windows.

Make sure he knows to use the search box. If he's Linux savvy, he won't have a problem. Or, he can do what I did when I got my first Apple device. I was completely lost. Buy the dummy book. https://www.amazon.com/Windows-Dummies-2nd-Alan-Simpson/dp/1394289049

To get him started, here's the very basics. Meet Windows 11: The Basics - Microsoft Support

You can also use one of the 3rd party remote desktop apps to access his computer to answer his questions, show him what to do, or completely control his system. Most are paid but there are some free ones.
For a free remote desktop app in 2026, top choices include Chrome Remote Desktop for ease of use, RustDesk for open-source flexibility, and Helpwire for fast, cross-platform support. Teamviewer and AnyDesk offer robust free versions for personal use. Microsoft Remote Desktop is ideal for Windows users

x509 said:

I have an acquaintance who needs to install and learn Windows, but he finds the environment a bit "weird." Since he isn't local, I'm unable to help him in person.

What advice should I give him to help him get started? Specifically, how should he go about getting familiar with Windows basics?

He is already a very savvy Linux user, so he understands the core concepts; he just needs to learn the Windows-specific procedures.

Click to expand...

Load up any live distro with the KDE desktop or Linux Mint. Both these systems have a GUI that is "reasonably Windows Like" so for Linux experienced person in learning Windows would be a good start. Another way is to create a Windows VM using the built in Linux Virtual Machine manager (KVM) . Don't forget if you do this then as well as the Windows iso image get the Virtio Windows driver iso as well --this sets up the equivalent of vmware tools / vbox additions using other virtual machine programs and gives full access to video, mouse, disk, network settings improving the performance etc. Install of course ON THE GUEST !!!!

Unlike Linux remember that Windows is a single user environment (assuming not running a Windows server) and compared with Linux windows updates etc are a bit more complicated to do (nothing simple like dnf upgrade !!!!) and you have confusingly 2 sets of command options --powershell and the basic command system and for many things you need to run in administrator mode . As for basic Windows operation - plenty of free guides on the Internet and also you can enable remote assistance (even on a Windows VM running in KVM on Linux) so a remote user can view your windows session and optionally enter commands etc.

Cheers
jimbo

The best is to install Windows, configure it for him and then install the same applications, where possible, he used in Linux such as Firefox, Libre Office etc. With a ready to use system he won't have to hurry and can explore Windows at his own pace. Also show him how to open Settings and the "traditional" Control Panel. As he is not familiar with Windows, I recommend searching for a setting in the modern Settings app first, and if not available, search in Control Panel. For users that are familiar with older versions of Windows is the other way around, search in Control Panel first, and you will be redirected to the respective Settings page. If you cannot find it in Control Panel, search Settings. Also as with every Linux distro, same in Windows, Google is your friend. Especially today with Google AI, is even easier. You just ask, like you would ask a friend, "how I do this in Windows 11" and you get a step-by-step guide, even for advanced stuff using PowerShell commands. If he can read English, also reading and asking in this Forum helps a lot.

He can even copy some icons from Linux and put them in Windows and adjust the colors to feel more at home. Not sure how to extract icons from Linux, but he can either find these online or, in worst case, take a screenshot of them and use them as an uncompressed BMP image file (icons in Windows can be either .ico or .bmp or .dll files). However customization, especially icons replacing, is a little more advanced. Better you do it for him or he does it after he gets some experience. Tools to use: Customizer God, Resource Hacker. See Customization threads for details.

Tell him to ask ChatGPT anything he can't figure out. Such as, 'how do I move files in Win 11?'

As for customising, tell him to leave everything standard for now. Customising Windows is not for novices!

If it were me, I would install a remote-desktop program* so you could walk him through any issues.

Persuade him to buy Macrium Reflect and a decent external USB SSD or HDD and do a full disk image in case he borks it.

Make a list of the router model number and default password and details of his computer and accessories.

*TeamViewer is free and good.

I posted your question into ChatGPT and think its response is excellent.


or, as a PDF that you could send him.

kelper said:

Tell him to ask ChatGPT anything he can't figure out. Such as, 'how do I move files in Win 11?'

As for customising, tell him to leave everything standard for now. Customising Windows is not for novices!

If it were me, I would install a remote-desktop program* so you could walk him through any issues.

Persuade him to buy Macrium Reflect and a decent external USB SSD or HDD and do a full disk image in case he borks it.

Make a list of the router model number and default password and details of his computer and accessories.

*TeamViewer is free and good.

Click to expand...

TeamViewer is free for limited access plus lately you need a create an account and add to that every computer you want to remote access. If you access it too often you will see a warning that commercial use is detected and you might be not able to use TeamViewer anymore. A better alternative was AnyDesk, but this again after too many times will give you a warning again. Unless you use version 5 or 6 which is very old and doesn't check user access. Let's hope you won't have to help him too often.

I believe you, but I support friends and family and never get that warning. I'm glad there is still a free version, don't buy the single user version.

I think you can just ask the person who needs help to download their QuickSupport app. No need to add your account.