this post was submitted on 31 May 2024
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Moving from Nobara to Bazzite (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 months ago by BlackArtist@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Hi all,

I'm very much a Linux newbie. I originally read that Nobara was great for gaming (and it is) but I've read even better things about Bazzite and want to give it a whirl.

My question is, am I able to download it to a usb and just do a clean install without issues or do I have to do anything beforehand. I originally installed Nobara using btrfs if that makes any difference.

Like I said I'm really new at this, hopefully it's ok to post this here but if not please let me know where would be more appropriate.

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[–] Deckweiss@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

Nobody actually answered your question so far, so here I go:

You can just install it over the other.

Make sure in the installer you have to tell it to use the whole drive where you want to install it to.

Some distros try to be smart and keep the /boot and /home directories, but then the installer has a checkbox to keep or delete it.

If you want to be extra sure, boot into the Bazzite USB stick. Then before installing, fire up the partition manager (there should be one, but idk what it is called) and just delete all partitions on the disk where you had Nobora installed on before.

[–] Para_lyzed@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

The partition manager should be KDE Partition Manager on the KDE Bazzite, and Disks on the GNOME Bazzite (I don't think GParted is installed by default)

[–] BlackArtist@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That's the thing that has me worried, deleting partitions. A long time ago (15 years or so) I deleted a partition in windows and it really messed everything up, that's what has made me question whether it is a simple case of just running the Bazzite installer and it holding my hand all the way.

I'm planning on doing it next weekend as this weekend just became busy. No doubt I'll be back here asking more questions.

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far it's been very helpful.

[–] Deckweiss@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Deleting partitions shouldn't mess up anything, unless the partition was still in use by something else.

So if you have a disk that is just used for Nobora, deleting all the disks partitions will not mess up anything. If you have multiboot from the same disk then yes, you have to be a bit careful to not mess up whatever you want to not delete.

But as I said this is just to make extra sure. First try just installing Bazzite over Nobora, it should probably delete everything. If not, then you can delete partitions and reinstall again.

[–] BlackArtist@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

That sounds perfect, thank you so much for your replies & time. I'm gonna give it a go next weekend.

[–] Guenther_Amanita@slrpnk.net 9 points 3 months ago

Like I said I'm really new at this, hopefully it's ok to post this here but if not please let me know where would be more appropriate.

Perfectly fine, we're here to help!

but I've read even better things about Bazzite and want to give it a whirl.

Imo, you're right. Bazzite > Nobara. Just don't expect better performance. But yeah, image based distros like Bazzite are way easier to use and maintain themselves.
Just remember that those kind of distros are a bit different from mutable OSs, like regular Fedora.
If you need certain CLI or other tools not available in your software center, use Distrobox and try to not install anything on your host if possible.

My question is, am I able to download it to a usb and just do a clean install without issues or do I have to do anything beforehand. I originally installed Nobara using btrfs if that makes any difference.

They should have the same installer. Just install Bazzite the same as you did Nobara, and select "Free up disk space" or however it's called. That will wipe all the Nobara stuff.

In general, you shouldn't have any problems. In my opinion, Bazzite is one of the most user friendly distros out there. Just learn how to use containers if you do more advanced stuff, that's the biggest difference between that and other classic distros :)

[–] DmMacniel@feddit.de 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Keep in mind that Bazzite runs an entirely different approach as Nobara, as it is immutable. You won't be able to use yum/dnf to manage packages and flatpak is the preferred way to add software. To add systemwide new packages/applications you need to use rpm-ostree instead of yum/dnf.

[–] BlackArtist@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Good to know. I use flatpak in Nobara atm too. My main concern with being totally new to this would be not being able to install Bazzite over Nobara. It's a steep learning curve for me but I do enjoy things like that.

[–] FlexibleToast@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

Another thing to note, it seems that immutable is the future of linux. The Fedora project roadmaps the Atomic desktop taking over the traditional Workstation. OpenSUSE also looks to be moving to it as the default in Leap 16. Being new to the ecosystem might be advantageous because you don't have the old habits.

[–] MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 months ago

Hopefully without adding too much confusion, using rpm-ostree to add systemwide new packages/applications is generally to be avoided, keep your main OS clean and stable (thankfully bazzite has done the heavy lifting here for you already for all the gaming stuff, codecs etc). General apps (office, media etc) are usually installed via flatpak (using kde discover or gnome software).

If / when you want to explore the deeper (CLI / obscure things without flatpaks) Linux world open a terminal and enter

distrobox-create --name fedora-mutable --image fedora:latest --home ~/fedora-mutable
distrobox enter fedora-mutable

You can now go ahead and use dnf, install whatever with no risk of breaking your main system. But wait, there's more, 'exit' out of fedora-mutable, type

distrobox-create --name arch --image archlinux:latest --home ~/arch
distrobox enter arch

You now have all the AUR (Arch User Repository) at your disposal, install practically any Linux program in existence, and use 'distrobox export' to put it in your main OS applications list. It's pretty glorious. Remember to make homes for your distroboxes so they don't pollute your main home.

[–] boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They have an ISO on their website, after you enter what version you want.

If you want to keep any data, that is not possible to my knowledge. Back it up to another device and do a clean install.

[–] BlackArtist@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I'm not concerned with keeping any data as the things I need are on separate a HD & SSD's. I just wondered if I might not be able to do a clean install of Bazzite over Nobara, I am really new to all this but learning from you guys & as I go.

[–] boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 months ago

You can always delete all data and install fresh, all installers support that.

When fiddling with the /etc/fstab if you want to automatically mount stuff, make extra sure to add the nofail flag next to the line, otherwise if the drive is missing your OS wont boot.

[–] Para_lyzed@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

Oh, that should be no worry. You can always do a clean install of one distro over another. Just make sure in the setup that when you select your data partitions on your other drives that you don't remake the partitions (at that would delete them). You'll also have to deal with differences in config files in your home directory since there is variance between Nobara and Bazzite. You can just grab the ISO and install normally, deleting the Nobara partitions.

[–] warmaster@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Flash a USB, install the same way you did before: by using the whole disk and thus erasing whatever was in it before.

Have fun! Bazzite is probably the best gaming distro out there.

[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world -1 points 3 months ago

Switching your distro isn't going to change your gaming performance, if that's what you're saying here.