In this article
- What the Linux Migration Companion does
- 1. Check workflows, not just application names
- 2. Choose a distribution for your everyday needs
- 3. Distinguish hardware detection from working functions
- 4. Try Linux before installing it
- 5. Prepare data migration and a way back
- 6. Choose a migration strategy that fits the evidence
- Where is your migration plan stored?
- Frequently asked questions about switching
- Start with your most important workflow
- Sources and project documentation
If you want to switch from Windows to Linux, start with the jobs your computer needs to do: applications, games, devices and files. Finding a suitable distribution matters little if an essential workflow stops working after the move.
My Linux Migration Companion guides you through that preparation. It is a free browser application with German and English support, helping you record requirements, unresolved questions and test results in a local migration plan. This article explains the decisions worth making before installation.
What the Linux Migration Companion does
The Companion helps you assess your needs, compare distributions and plan software, hardware and live-environment tests. You can then prepare data migration and the first steps after a possible switch.
It explains its recommendations and distinguishes known information, user-reported details and functions you have actually tested. It does not calculate a supposed probability of compatibility.
The application does not install packages, partition disks or write USB drives. Its purpose is to help you carry out the next steps deliberately outside the tool.
1. Check workflows, not just application names
Write down what you need to accomplish. “Office work” is often too broad. A simple document, collaborative editing and a spreadsheet with specialised macros are different requirements.
Finding a Linux application in the same category does not prove it can replace your workflow. Test a representative file and check the handoff to colleagues or other devices.
| Area | A practical test |
|---|---|
| Documents and spreadsheets | Open, edit and return a typical file in the required format |
| Creative work | Check an existing project, plugins, fonts and export requirements |
| Work or study | Test the required VPN, meeting software and prescribed applications |
| Games | Check the titles that matter, including multiplayer and input devices |
Mark requirements as essential, replaceable or optional. Important software and workflow limitations can constrain the Companion's migration assessment even when a distribution otherwise looks appealing.
For gaming, the individual title matters. Successfully launching one game says little about another. Multiplayer, anti-cheat and additional launchers belong in that game's test. Check current information and perform a representative test yourself.
2. Choose a distribution for your everyday needs
How much maintenance do you want to handle? How comfortable are you with troubleshooting and terminal commands? Do you want a familiar desktop or a deliberate opportunity to learn something different?
Those questions are more useful than a universal “best Linux distribution” ranking. The Companion connects your answers to reasons and trade-offs. A recommendation still does not replace testing your essential applications and devices.
Start by comparing a small number of candidates. Record why each one is suitable and which unresolved requirement might rule it out. That keeps the choice manageable.
3. Distinguish hardware detection from working functions
A model name is a starting point for research. It does not prove that every function works reliably on your particular computer.
The Companion preserves those distinctions in its hardware section. You can document information yourself and optionally import a local hardware snapshot. The supplied collector tools read selected hardware information. A detected adapter still differs from one whose required functions have passed a test.
Focus on what you use every day: networking, displays, audio, sleep and resume, printers, scanners or specialist peripherals. On a laptop, include the camera, microphone and keys that matter to you.
A display producing an image after boot does not establish reliable sleep and resume or a working second monitor. Describe a specific test instead of recording only “hardware works.”
4. Try Linux before installing it
A live environment can let you try Linux on your computer while keeping Windows installed. Follow the distribution's official instructions for creating boot media and entering its try mode.
Ubuntu, for example, provides a guide to trying it before installation. That is an example of the testing approach, rather than a blanket distribution recommendation.
Use the live environment to check basic device functions and record the results in the Companion. Live testing has limits: a full installation, driver setup or longer use may reveal additional issues. A short live session may also be unsuitable for a representative gaming test.
The Companion provides guided function checks and records missing evidence. You do not need to settle every uncertainty immediately, but you should know which ones determine your decision.
5. Prepare data migration and a way back
A folder of copied files is not a complete migration plan. Some data can be copied directly, while other data needs exporting, synchronising or configuration in a new application.
Check documents, photographs, browser data, email and project files individually. Include local data that is not automatically stored in a cloud account.
Before changing partitions, prepare an independent backup of important data and a known recovery route. Open sample files from the backup and check whether you could actually continue working from that copy. Keep credentials, recovery keys and licences in the secure locations you normally use for them.
The Companion's data section helps you record the different transfer methods. It does not copy the files itself or assume that every application stores its data the same way.
6. Choose a migration strategy that fits the evidence
| Strategy | When it may be useful |
|---|---|
| Continue testing | Essential applications or devices still need representative tests |
| Keep Windows for specific tasks | An indispensable workflow still requires Windows |
| Plan dual boot | You need both systems on one computer and accept the additional administration |
| Use Linux as the main system | Essential workflows are demonstrated, with data migration and recovery prepared |
Keeping Windows for selected tasks can be an appropriate decision. The Companion accounts for those dependencies and can report insufficient evidence or a blocked migration.
The useful outcome is a documented next step: test a printer, export a project or check a specific game. A general feeling of readiness cannot replace that evidence.
Where is your migration plan stored?
The migration plan is stored in your browser's local storage. You can export it as a JSON file and import it later. Save an export before clearing browser data or moving to another browser profile.
The application has no account and does not send your plan or an imported hardware snapshot to an application server. Loading the website still creates the usual hosting connections.
A list of your applications, devices and workflows can reveal quite a bit about your daily life. Planning here does not require you to leave that information with another online service. You retain control of the plan and decide whether to share an export.
The application does not encrypt local browser storage. Do not enter passwords, private keys or other secrets into notes. An exported plan can also reveal personal software choices and hardware details, so inspect it before sharing.
Frequently asked questions about switching
Can the Companion guarantee my PC supports Linux?
It can organise information and test results. A detected component or a recommendation is not a complete compatibility guarantee. Test the required functions on your own computer.
Does the tool install Linux for me?
No. It helps with preparation and explains the next steps. Installation, boot media and changes to drives happen outside the application.
Can I use it without replacing Windows?
Yes. Testing, documenting unresolved requirements and keeping Windows for selected tasks are useful possible outcomes.
Start with your most important workflow
Open the Linux Migration Companion and start with the task that must continue working on your computer. Work from that requirement towards an appropriate strategy.
To learn the command line alongside your planning, my Linux Terminal Academy offers guided exercises in a fictional browser environment. The real systems behind the projects are documented in the Home Computing Lab.