I came here just for advertising Linux Mint once again. 👍

Mint. It’s not sexy. But it always just works. Never had an update break anything. I’ve got an Nvidia card, which ppl said was notorious for not working with Linux, it just works. The installer just reached out and grabbed the appropriate drivers, so easy. Have yet to have a steam game not work.

10/10 would recommend for anyone.

I put Fedora on a laptop as a whim almost 2 years ago.

My main computers are arch, but. I had an iso handy and hadn’t used anything from based in years.

I am surprised at how quickly it gets updates. Gimp was at 3 before arch stable.

Anyways, I just keep updating the laptop and it just keeps working. I have yet to actually do anything for maintenance on it.

I am responding to you as well as n00bs, or the curious, at large. Debian is your answer, or, fedora and suffer gnome. Following is how I do it.

Debian trixie

Above link is the net installer, download it, burn it to a USB nub, boot to it - be connected when you run it. Think about whether you want to allow root (I do, certainly) and how you want your partitions formatted. I use ext4 for my / (root) partition with noatime and discard and XFS for /home with noatime. Ridiculously fast with an nvme drive. Hot damn. I have 32GB of ram so I do not create a SWAP partition. I can suspend just fine.

When you get to package installation and you’re presented with desktop environments, whatnot - uncheck everything (arrow, spacebar) except system utilities near the bottom…continue the installation, grub options will probably be: no, yes, and if you are not dual-booting, no. Continue to reboot

after reboot…

You will be in a tty, nothing but black screen and a login prompt, it’s cool. Login as root, install sudo and aptitude (apt install sudo aptitude), following, run visudo. Add your uname below root near the bottom. If you’re the only one using this machine add like this: <your username> ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL ctrl+x to close, y, then enter. logout.

Log in as your user. I have a script I run now that installs the apps I use on my desktop - I do not use Gnome or KDE or a desktop environment, but, openbox, instead, for a zillion reasons. Productivity, responsiveness and customization to name a few.

Here is the script:

#!/bin/bash
# Check root
[ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ] && { echo "Must run as root" 1>&2; exit 1; }

# Install packages
echo -e "\e[1mInstalling packages...\e[0m"
[ "$(find /var/cache/apt/pkgcache.bin -mtime 0 2>/dev/null)" ] || apt update  
apt -y install xorg openbox lxpanel thunar thunar-archive-plugin intel-microcode claws-mail polkitd xinit intel-media-va-driver-non-free
apt -y install curl feh bat lsd unclutter numlockx wget whois mesa-utils mesa-va-drivers mpg123 alsa-utils ffmpeg bc jq libnotify-bin mc lshw lsof ncal ncdu inxi psmisc s-tui sed cpufetch dfc sysstat tar unzip zip x11-xserver-utils htop apt-utils at preload pwgen usbutils vnstat xpdf oxygencursors gpicview jpegoptim libimage-exiftool-perl
apt -y install tango-icon-theme keepassxc lxappearance obsession scrot gvfs-backends arandr menu menu-xdg mesa-utils pnmixer bogofilter bleachbit gifsicle
apt -y install geany geany-plugins claws-mail-bogofilter lynx alacritty claws-mail-fancy-plugin claws-mail-pgpmime claws-mail-tools claws-mail-pgpinline claws-mail-vcalendar-plugin
apt -y install rsync xscreensaver gpicview xscreensaver-gl xscreensaver-gl-extra fd-find libxml2-utils starship pulseaudio
apt -y install meld mintstick ips tldr mpv net-tools neverputt gnome-characters mpv gparted bsd-mailx pkexec xclip gsimplecal
apt -y install hwinfo iftop imagemagick acpi lm-sensors python3-pexpect preload pwgen s-tui sensible-utils catfish iotop pithos
apt -y install xdg-user-dirs-gtk xdg-utils xdotool unzip usbutils util-linux vym yelp zenity zip silversearcher-ag galternatives 
apt -y install planner libreoffice libreoffice-gtk3 xfce4-screenshooter smartmontools screenfetch gimp obsidian-icon-theme orage gmrun synaptic yad zim bashtop grc duf

Save it as a file, make it executable (chmod +x) and run as sudo: sudo ./NAME.sh

When it’s done you’re fabulous. Log in to the emptiness of openbox by issuing: startx at the command line. Right-click and find the menu.

Now, openbox uses 3 files: autostart, menu.xml, and rc.xml and it gets better from there in your terminal with a functional .bashrc, .bash_functions, and .bash_aliases. You will likely edit ~/.profile as well to include any bin directories

# set PATH so it includes user's private bin if it exists
if [ -d "$HOME/bin" ] ; then
    PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"
fi

# set PATH so it includes user's private bin if it exists
if [ -d "$HOME/.local/bin" ] ; then
    PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
fi

if [ -d "$HOME/.local/share/scripts" ] ; then
    PATH="$HOME/.local/share/scripts:$PATH"
fi

Of course I have tweaked-out files replete with functionality and customizations. This is a set it and forget it desktop that will remain bullet-proof on Debian. Nothing is free, esp functionality you want/demand - it’s your box on Linux, you will create it.

I usually install the liquorix kernel, as well, like this, from a terminal, as a regular user:

curl -s 'https://liquorix.net/install-liquorix.sh' | sudo bash

If you do that, reboot after installing. It’s a modified kernel for desktop use, makes things a little faster, easier. I have a game that plays smoother after I install it and boot to it.

People ask for easy set-and-forget Linux distributions all the time completely ignoring the fact that the OS they are typically coming from, WIndows, is definitely not. It’s a haughty demand, actually, especially when there are a zillion ways to get set-and-forget in Linux.

Now, the above script will install a wicked desktop, but, you must edit ~/.config/openbox/autostart and put what you want started when you login in there; for example, I use the lxpanel, unclutter, numlockx, and some other stuff, following are some of those entries:

sh ~/.fehbg &
unclutter &
numlockx &
lxpanel &
#orage &
pnmixer &
#redshift &
(sleep 4s && ~/bin/fastcompmgr -o 0.4 -r 12 -c -C) &
(sleep 4s && ~/bin/frank) &
(sleep 15s && xscreensaver -no-splash) &

In my ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml file I have some handy keybinds:

<keybind key="A-F2">
   <action name="Execute">
     <command>gmrun</command>
   </action>
 </keybind>
 <keybind key="W-p">
   <action name="Execute">
     <command>planner</command>
   </action>
 </keybind>
 <keybind key="W-e">
   <action name="Execute">
     <command>x-text-editor</command>
   </action>
 </keybind>
 <keybind key="W-f">
   <action name="Execute">
     <command>thunar</command>
   </action>
 </keybind>

IN ~/.config/openbox/menu.xml I have completely customized it and it’s fabulous - you don’t need an app to do this, just open the file…

Behold, my menu; I get to it by hitting win+z (rc.xml file entry)

Here is my menu entry for scrot, that I rarely use because the functions are bound to keys in rc.xml:

<menu id="scrot" label="Scrot" icon="/usr/share/icons/Dracula/apps/scalable/screenie.svg">
      <item label="click and done" icon="/usr/share/icons/Dracula/apps/scalable/screensaver.svg">
		<action name="Execute">
		<execute>
		scrot -q 100 '%Y-%m-%d_$wx$h_%X.jpg' -e 'mv $f ~/scrots/'
		</execute>
		</action>
		</item>
		<item label="delay 5" icon="/usr/share/icons/Dracula/apps/scalable/shotwell.svg">
		<action name="Execute">
		<execute>
		scrot -q 100  '%Y-%m-%d_$wx$h_%X.jpg' -d 5 -e 'mv $f ~/scrots/'
		</execute>
		</action>
		</item>
		<item label="Select Area" icon="/usr/share/icons/Dracula/apps/scalable/shutter.svg">
		<action name="Execute">
		<execute>
		scrot -q 100  '%Y-%m-%d_$wx$h_%X.jpg' -s -e 'mv $f ~/scrots/'
		</execute>
		</action>
		</item>
		<item label="screen with 20% thumb" icon="/usr/share/icons/Dracula/apps/scalable/silicon-32.svg">
		<action name="Execute">
		<execute>
		scrot -q 100  '%Y-%m-%d_$wx$h_%X.jpg' -t 30 -e 'mv $f ~/scrots/'
		</execute>
		</action>
		</item>
</menu>

That will get you started - there are so may helpful and useless tutorials out there, you will find a good one.

Additionally, I am a terminal user because it’s fast and beautiful, esp alacritty and kitty. You may customize each, check this out:

Or, this:

I get that not everybody likes to use the terminal as much as I do but I would be remiss if I neglected to bring it up, for its amazing functionality. The bash functions and aliases I use are handy and fast bring me wicked function, I even type: wc to get a gorgeous weather report.

I left a lot out for you to find. Linux is amazing, as most of us know, but it requires you to work with what is available, or, create it yourself. What is available, however, is amazing and will more than fit your needs. As far as folks complaining about specific apps, please. If blender doesn’t do it for that function you need then don’t use blender, find another way, or stick to windows and make the best of it. Or, change your expectations.

As far as system snapshots, backing up, stuff like that - there are a zillion ways. I keep it simple and rsync my ~ to a USB nub. Fast and reliable and I’m not adding a bunch of supporting nonsense or overhead to my system. I use firefox and install it with another script:

#! /bin/sh
sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings && wget -q https://packages.mozilla.org/apt/repo-signing-key.gpg -O- | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/packages.mozilla.org.asc > /dev/null && echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/packages.mozilla.org.asc] https://packages.mozilla.org/apt mozilla main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mozilla.list > /dev/null && echo '
Package: *
Pin: origin packages.mozilla.org
Pin-Priority: 1000
' | sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/mozilla && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install firefox

This system can do anything and most of it with keybinds. Most of the apps I use daily can be customized to great affect, as well the desktop. If you want tiling it’s easy enough to install cortile or the like and have at it. Put an entry for it in your autostart file.

There is a bit more I do like add this to ~/.profile to autostart from startx: [ "$(tty)" = "/dev/tty1" ] && exec startx

Could some of the instability issues you have on arch could come from what you are installing from AUR?

I use AUR for a few things and it is a great resource but the packages are maintained by users and can cause issues.

I update those packages carefully, remove them if I am no longer using them and reconsider which ones i actually need installed in the first place.

While doing this I have only had a handful of issues pop up while updating and usually there is a recent thread describing the issue and how to fix it after a quick search.

Basically every distro is based on either arch or debian (some exceptions). I’ve been perfectly happy with debian, even as a gamer.

Debian is a good option but I’d actually recommend Fedora. It’s been very stable for me.

i’m trying out Aeon at the moment. it’s from the opensuse people.

it auto-updates, it snapshots itself so any failed update will just silently revert, and it does flatpaks or distrobox only.

if you’re okay with gnome, try it.

I never wanted a hobby, but rather an operating system. I’ve been using Pop! for over six years. I only had one stretch where I felt like I was chasing annoying bugs and I don’t remember it clearly enough to remember how long it lasted.

Debian. I’ve had installations which went trough several major version upgrades, I’ve worked with ‘set and forget’ setups where someone originally installed Debian and I get my hands on it 3-5 years later to upgrade it and it just works. Sure, it might not be as fancy as some alternatives and some things may need manual tweaking here and there, but the thing just works and even on rare occasion something breaks you’ll still have options to fix it assuming you’re comfortable with plain old terminal.

I stopped using Arch a long time ago for this same reason. Either Fedora (or derivatives like Nobara) or an atomic/immutable distro (like Bazzite, Silverblue, Kinoite) is probably the way to go.

I used to feel like Ubuntu was a good option for this, but it no longer is: too often they try to push undesirable changes that need manual tweaking to fix after release upgrades. Debian Stable is generally good for low-maintenance use but doesn’t keep up as well with newer hardware or newer updates to video drivers and mesa, which makes it suboptimal for typical gaming use. Debian Testing can be prone to break things in updates (in my experience, worse than Arch does).

I saw another comment recommend Rocky/RHEL, but note that their kernel doesn’t support btrfs. Since you mentioned a root snapshot, I expect you probably use it.

I recommend void. It’s rock solid, “stable rolling release”, no systemd, amazing package manager. The installation is a bit more “advanced”, but I guess coming from Arch that should not be a problem for you.

Look. I’ve been there. I started my Linux journey with Arch based distros, then distrohopped a lot, and finally found the best for me, and what I personally consider the best either for normal users or those that don’t want to do any maintenance.

It’s the Universal Blue family of distros: Bazzite (gaming / KDE / gnome) Aurora (standard / development / KDE) Bluefin (standard / development / gnome)

Set it and forget about it. It just freaking works. For GUI apps install from the Discover app store (which uses Flatpak), for cli apps use Homebrew (brew install whatever). If you can’t find something, open Distrobox (already included) create an Arch container, install whatever you want from the AUR, and use it like you’re used to. It works like freaking magic.

If somehow you manage to brick your installation, when you reboot you’ll be able to boot to a past snapshot.

You just can’t fail with this. It’s the best of the best IMHO.

Bazzite, I use it as my daily driver, distro box allows using the aur easily, it is really simple to use.

Bazzite