Your original question suggests “how long has your current TW install been running”. You have a broad audience here, from “just running a few days” to “for a few years”. Also, folks buy new machines (or hard drive), so that’s a new install.
You can’t really compare that to Windows use. Many hop around to different distros, or other Unix-style operating systems.
For example, my first long time distro was Slackware, which I first installed in mid-1993. Before that , I dabbled with SLS. Before that, I had been running Unix OSes. I’m a published author of a Linux book around the 2000 year timeframe (my intent was to show folks there’s OSes other than Win … plus wrote other tech books).
I also started using S.u.S.E Linux about 1994, so let’s just say I’ve been running some form of “SuSE” for about 30 years
I know that a lot of people distrohop, but I really wanted to know if anyone really used linux like its intended. A few years on the same install. And Ill think right now the answer is “doable, but not as great as windows.” And Ill think that comment apply even if you dont have NVIDIA hardware.
@StaffyStar What do you mean by as intended? All mine work as intended for the tasks required of them?
I wouldn’t say Linux is as good/bad as other operating systems. I have done way more Windows re-installs for folks that I have with my linux setups…
Likewise, when you start using linux, unless your hardware fails it will keep running, next year is going to be a good year for second hand hardware with all the folks upgrading their’s for windows 11…
My on the road Laptop started with Leap 15.3, now on upgrades through to Leap 15.6, so four (4) years and still running. Before that it had SLED on it… I have a 2007 MacBook running Aeon, not fast (Dual core 4GB of RAM), but runs…
I have a backup 2007 laptop (Core2Duo) currently running Leap 15.6 KDE, not fast but runs too. After Win Vista it went through openSUSE (11.x?) then updated/upgraded through several Leap and Tumbleweed iterations, sometimes as “new installs” for beta testing but never because the previous release was unusable.
Date reflects Leap 15.5 install but running openSUSE as a daily driver since the 90’s. This is a Windows-free household and I don’t have any Apple hardware.
I think that’s not a proper comparison, anyway. Tumbleweed is designed to be “bleeding edge”. Any new software version is to be implemented as soon as package maintainers can keep up. (Yes, win gets them first.) An actual distribution upgrade is carried with every zypper dup. I think it’s understandable that more issues can occur than with a win service pack.
I think Leap may be a better match considering the use case - even if software versions are lacking behind win and Tumbleweed per definition.
I actually doubt that any reasonable number of MS users has ever made upgrades over more than one level - say win7 - win8 - win10. (BTW, did anybody actually use win8 unless forced by buing new hardware - as it was with Vista?)
According to experience in my circle of friends win get’s slower and slower with age unless very properly maintained. I even have proof as I have set up two identical laptops a few years ago. One of them I can’t access for regular maintenance and when doing some service - phew, I could throw it at the wall. I’d say the a large number of new hardware buys is just caused by age-induced bad win performance.
I am pretty sure my home server #15 would have been scrapped years ago if it had to rund win.
Well, I didn’t want to (shouldn’t) start a round of win bashing. You have got your Tumbleweed up and running. I hope you’ll enjoy it and you can come back here after a couple of years to report your status. So, as the saying goes:
Have a lot of fun!
This is foreign to me. As an old-time windows user I’ve tried this with that OS and always met with terrible results, even when going between similar hardware (and not from DRM / licensing, though that can be an issue). Hardware drivers and such.
Does Linux just have all the kernel drivers built in, and when moving to new hardware act seamless? Just never worked that way on the OS I’ have many years of experience on and I’m curious if this is a normal linux thing to be able to do (swap boot OS into new machine and it “just work”).
As for me, # stat / | awk '/Birth: /{print $2}' 2024-04-05
It may well Just Work™ because the Linux kernel generally comes with all of its drivers either built in or available as a module, but adjustments will be needed depending on how different the new hardware is to the old. The excellent Arch wiki has a detailed Migrate installation to new hardware page, and a quick search of these forums turned up a relevant discussion: Migrating to new PC.
I’ve been using openSUSE Tumbleweed for about a month now, and I have to say, I’m really enjoying it. I update using zypper dup roughly once a week, and so far I haven’t encountered any major issues. Tumbleweed is rolling release, so it can feel a bit like walking a fine line between cutting-edge software and stability, but I’ve been impressed with how well it’s held up. The fact that it’s built on Btrfs gives me some peace of mind, especially with snapshots, which allow me to roll back if something goes wrong. So, even though I wouldn’t call it completely risk-free, the backup options make it much less stressful.
I also have a second disk with Manjaro for testing purposes, and I use Fedora on my work machine, but Tumbleweed is currently my go-to system. I find it strikes a good balance between stability and having access to the latest software. I’m not saying it’s perfect for everyone, but for me, it’s been quite reliable so far.
As for your question, I think the key is in how you manage updates and backups. If you’re cautious about large updates and take snapshots beforehand, it’s pretty safe to run Tumbleweed for the long term. I’d definitely recommend making regular backups just in case, but overall, I’ve found that it’s a solid and enjoyable OS to run.
Great suggestion, I’ll definitely subscribe to the Factory Mailing List to stay updated on potential issues.
Looking forward to learning more and contributing here!
I actually wanted stability over cutting edge. Didnt know tumbleweed was considered between cutting edge and stability, I just wanted stability but rolling release.
But lets see how stable this can be. Interesting thread
But I have been running Tumbleweed for at least another 5 years before that.
I only reinstalled because I wanted to optimize some installation settings, as I was not experienced enough when I first installed it.
Before Tumbleweed I had been distro-hopping for a few years, but once I discovered Tumbleweed I fell in love with it
I think that distro hopping can be a positive experience. It’s a great way to learn more about Linux as a whole, and understand how different distributions and components fit together. By exploring different distros, you not only discover new environments and features but also gain deeper insights into how Linux works.
As for openSUSE Tumbleweed, it’s a solid and well-structured system. but It could benefit from automating some configurations and installations during the initial setup, like for codecs, repositories, and updates. The confusion between zypper , YaST, Kde Discover and gnome-software (or packagekit) is something I’ve noticed. Improving the integration between these tools would make the experience more streamlined and user-friendly.
Your long-term experience with Tumbleweed is reassuring, especially knowing you’ve optimized the installation over time and gained a deeper understanding of the system. Often, the first install might not be the most optimal, but over time, we can customize it to meet our needs. It’s great to hear that Tumbleweed became your system of choice after years of exploring.
Thanks for sharing your experience—it’s really encouraging!
I have been using Tumbleweed for about a year. I did have more than a bit of experience from the mid to late 90s using Slackware and about 8 years ago or thereabouts thought learning/re-learning Linux may be a good idea. Someone suggested Fedora since they liked it so I started with that one. I agree with @Valios about distro hopping experience, but I call it more distro experimenting. Install, learn whichever one and use it for 2 years or more getting into the nuts and bolts. Tumbleweed is the latest but the other three each one with at least 3 years of trying out and tinkering. First Fedora, then Mint, then RebornOS all of which were suggested by folks I know in person, and now OpenSuse Tumbleweed. Although the different varieties of Linux have differences they often have similarities where if you online search for solutions there may be hints that can be transfered or translated to what you are using and may lead to the solution you may need from other distro forums.
