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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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How to distro hop in a VM? (self.linux)

submitted 2 weeks ago by countrypunk to c/linux@lemmy.ml

21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A friend of mine mentioned that a much more efficient way to distro hop is to do it in a VM rather than boot an ISO every time. I've only ever used WINE and am unsure how to go about doing this.

What's the best way to try distro hopping and what are some easy-ish distros to try out temporarily?

I've been using Linux Mint Debian edition for a while now and am happy with it on my main machine, but want to try out some others on my spare just to make sure there's not another one that I like more.

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[–] Lemmchen@feddit.org 13 points 2 weeks ago (12 children)

I'd say the best way for beginners is to install VirtualBox. You will be able to take snapshots before you try something stupid, so you can always restore to a known good state. The GUI is also pretty much fool-proof.

[–] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Definitely VirtualBox in my opinion. I used it before. Recently switched to libvirt with virt-manager (Qemu+Kvm), but this is really a bit more advanced and need more understanding and setup. VirtualBox is much easier and simple.

Snapshot feature of VB is fantastic (not to any reader, snapshot is not an screenshot, rather a temporary image point of the entire system you can revert back anytime like a backup). Binding and accessing directories from your host system is also relatively easy, if I remember right. It's been a while since I used VirtualBox.

[–] data1701d@startrek.website 3 points 2 weeks ago

Virt Manager does have snapshots as well.

As for the host system directory mounts, you got me there. There seems to be an option in the Virt Manager GUI, but it is kind of difficult to get working.

I've never used Virtualbox on Linux - it was what I used back when I was on Windows.

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