Sophia was tired of using Windows 10 on her computer. Her computer started to operate slower as each month passed.
To make matters even worse, she received a notification from Microsoft telling her that her computer was not eligible for an upgrade to Windows 11.
“Microsoft can kiss my ass! I am not buying a new computer in order for me to use Windows 11,” Sophia said angrily.
Sophia’s computer had some beefy specks; it contained:
- An i7 processor.
- 32 Gigabytes of DDR4 memory.
- A fairly up-to-date Nvidia graphics card.
- A modern SSD with one Terabyte of internal storage.
She remembered a conversation that she had with her boyfriend, Jason; he was telling her how great Manjaro worked on computers.
“Oh, I have got to give Manjaro a try,” Sophia said in a quiet tone of voice.
A few seconds after, Sophia was on Manjaro’s website. Since she was new to Linux, she thought to herself that it would be safer for her to go along with one of Manjaro’s official editions; Sophia thought that the Xfce desktop looked dated, the GNOME desktop appeared to be too strange-looking for her liking and that the Plasma desktop resembled Windows 10.
After a few deep breaths, Sophia pressed the download button underneath the Plasma desktop image.
Luckily for her, she saw her boyfriend, Jason, creating bootable ISO images with the help of balenaEtcher on more than one occasion (So, the process of creating a bootable ISO image with Manjaro would be child’s play for her).
Sophia also knew which function key on her computer she needed to press in order to access her UEFI settings because she was the one who installed Windows 10 on her computer when it first came out.
She followed the directions in the Calamares installer (she found the Calamares installer to be very intuitive) and the rest was history!
Sophia’s hazel-coloured eyes were deeply focused on the screen in front of her, “Wow! I cannot believe that I installed Manjaro on my computer,” and began exploring Manjaro with the Plasma desktop environment.
You Have Every Right To Continue Using Your Computer Despite Its Age
It is common practice for people to purchase computers every three years (My cousin follows this practice).
Truthfully, I have no problem with a person buying a new computer every three years.
What I have a problem with is a person discontinuing the usage of their three-year-old computer (Little do they know is that they can make it operate as good as new by installing Linux on it).
Also, why in God’s/Goddess’s name should you let Microsoft tell you that your hardware is no longer useful?
By the way, you can install Linux on hardware that is older than three years of age (All Linux users are aware of that fact).
So, why not add new life to that computer of yours by installing Manjaro on it?
Manjaro Is Very Easy To Install
A lot of people are intimidated by the idea of installing Manjaro on their computer (They are worrying themselves too much because Manjaro is very easy to install).
For starters, knowing how to install Manjaro will put you at ease and you would be surprised to learn that the process is not rocket science (If you do not believe me, have a look at, How to Install Manjaro Linux [Beginner’s Guide] by Atharva Lele).
The best part of all is that you can use Manjaro via your USB flash drive in live mode before you install it (Doing so will enable you to know for sure if Manjaro is compatible with your computer’s hardware).
Manjaro Is Popular On YouTube
YouTube vloggers (especially those who specialize in Linux) will highlight the greatness of Manjaro whenever there is a new release of it.
As a matter of fact, Dereck Taylor, the creator of the YouTube channel, DistroTube, recently uploaded a video called, Manjaro Makes Desktop Linux Look Good (I recommend having a look at that video of his).
By the way, YouTube is also filled with Manjaro tutorials (Anyone who is interested in learning how to use Manjaro should look them up).
It Is A Lovely Gateway Into Arch Linux
For the record, the Manjaro developers have stated that Manjaro is not Arch Linux; it is a distribution of Linux that is based on Arch Linux (Much in the same way that Ubuntu is based on Debian, but cannot be referred to as being Debian).
Some people who started off with Manjaro eventually made their way to vanilla Arch Linux.
Then there are those who use both Manjaro and vanilla Arch Linux (There is nothing wrong with a person using both distros at intervals).
Manjaro Users Adore The Simplicity Of Updating Their Computers
We Arch Linux users have grown accustomed to using the terminal for updating our computers, installing new software, uninstalling software, clearing the cache and getting rid of orphaned packages, etcetera.
Guess what?
Manjaro users have it easy when it comes to updating their computers; they use Pamac for that as well as for the other things that vanilla Arch Linux users do via the terminal (Using the terminal is optional in Manjaro’s case).
Manjaro’s Forum Is Helpful
If you ever encounter a technical issue with Manjaro or with one of its software, you can get help to rectify things via Manjaro’s forum.
In the past, some people were disrespected when they voiced their complaints via Manjaro’s forum.
Today, Manjaro is doing its best to ensure that its users are treated fairly via Manjaro’s forum.
It is advisable for users to check Manjaro’s forum before updating their computers; they would be alerted of any troublesome updates and they would also be provided with solutions pertaining to those troublesome updates.
Manjaro is a rolling release (And there are the occasional technical hiccups that tend to make their way out of the proverbial woodwork; that is the nature of a rolling release model, my friend).
Final Thoughts
Why should you allow Microsoft to tell you that your computer (which is only a few years old) is too old to use?
You can prove Microsoft wrong by installing Manjaro on it.
Dear friend, it is your computer. Therefore, you are the one who should decide whether or not, your computer is too old to use.
Let it be known, that Linux on the whole is capable of working well on both new and old hardware (So, do not be too eager to throw out that old computer of yours).
The next time you see someone discarding an old computer of theirs, you should ask them, “Have you ever thought of installing Manjaro on that thing?”
I guess it’s time to install it in my Windows 10
LikeLike
😧 Huh? Install it on your Windows 10? Or do you mean using Windows 10 to download Manjaro?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup. That.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s not how it works, Harlyn. You don’t use Linux in Windows, it’s not an app. It’s either Windows or Linux.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I thought it’s an alternative if you can’t update to windows 11. So it basically would make it Linux. No windows. Thanks for the explanation, Orca.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not just basically, Harlyn. For whatever reason you’re following this path – being pissed off with Windows is a good reason btw – it is a lifechanging decision. Linux is basically a Unix system, so closer to MacOS than to Windows. And all the better for it. =^.^=
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love customization. And although I get a handful from Windows, I’ll like to try Linux out.
LikeLike
You are a brave man, Renard!
Yes, for you and me Manjo might seem eezi peezi but is it? Really? I guess for a first foray into GNU/Linux something like Mint is still the better choice.
LikeLiked by 2 people
🙂 Thank you for your valuable input, Orca.
LikeLike
Hi Renard, thank you for sharing. Weaving Manjaro installation process in a real life story is brilliant. Once again, thank you 🙏😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 You are welcome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love it when I learn new things, and I always seem to learn new things from you. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 You are welcome, Lori.
Thank you for reading and commenting!
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing this information, Renard. Perhaps, this is something I can try on my old computer. I’m bookmarking your post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 You are welcome, Eugenia.
I am pleased to know that you have bookmarked my post.
Do enjoy the rest of your day, my friend.
LikeLike
This is very interesting! Thanks I’ve never heard of Manjaro before. Any info on if Windows Office would still run smoothly on this OS?
LikeLike
🤔 Unfortunately, you will have to use the web-based version of Microsoft Office on Manjaro.
The good news is that you can use LibreOffice (which is an alternative to Microsoft Office) on Manjaro.
LikeLike
Plasma looks interesting, for a windows/Linux user like myself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😉 Plasma is certainly interesting, Neo.
Thank you for participating in the discussion.
LikeLike
It’s all a scam to sell more computers. My computer wasn’t eligible for windows 11 too. Out of fear I wouldn’t get updates anymore I caved in. I wished I herd about Manjaro before I replaced it. Thanks for the post, Renard, I’ll keep it in mind next time my computer is running old.
LikeLike
🙂 You are welcome!
LikeLike
Thank you! it is always useful reading your blog which shares useful information. My computer has windows 10 and sometimes I receive same message like Sophia… but when its working fine I don’t respond.
LikeLike
🙂 Thank you for sharing that with me, Shabnam.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing this info. Very interesting.
Anita
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 You are welcome, Anita.
Thank you for reading and commenting!
LikeLike