I tried a few distros when switching to Linux, but always gone back to Mint; it works out of the box, my VPN connects with no problem, wifi connects automatically on my laptop, my 2nd screen resolution is good, and there’s a choice of DE.
You can download the live cd from https://linuxmint.com/download.ph, and try it before you install.
linux mint mate I use for all the nieuwbie’s and the only problem is / was the printers /copiers
no issues in finding the setup for the ex windows user the age group from 30 till 80 and smooth sailing, special the older group did well on it .
I absolutely do not agree!
Why should the interface look like windows?
Why drag traumas from windows?
The interface of windows needs to be forgotten.
Beginners go to ubuntu 16.04.
Linux Mint. Noob friendly. (… not that you’re a noob but best to play safe anyway…). In fact it’s so noob friendly you can’t be too stoopid for it. I’m the proof.
A person who wants to switch from Windows to Linux is a brave soul with lots of guts. There is a lot of hype surrounding that Linux is difficult. But it is same as driving a car. I have advised my wife to drive straight/steady and do not change lanes. Other drivers will notice and steer clear.
The best distros are Ubuntu and Mint. Stick to basics and give yourself some time to familiarize yourself. Keep on reading about Linux and now getting on It’s FOSS will certainly help you.
Welcome aboard.
I still consider myself novice and just recently started to try Arch derivatives. I started with Ubuntu then transitioned to Mint. My opinion is the Mint is a great way to transition away from Windows or Mac.
Lubuntu has a desktop similar to Windoze and is a full Linux distro ,even running well on 13 years old hardware .
I find it an excellent distro for people to migrate from Windoze to Linux
Frank , EI7KS
It’s just you. Manjaro looks good until you try doing something to customise it.
Newbies are best served by Debian / Ubuntu based distros. My current favourites are Xubuntu and LMDE3. I am also trying Korora 28, and loving it.
Mint is fantastic for beginners and more advanced users. Very intuitive, easy to use, super stable and most, if not all, things work properly out of the box.
I agree - Mint is a great distro for beginners
I would say OpenSuSE LINUX hands down. It is a very familiar, user-friendly environment for someone moving from Windows to LINUX. It pretty much just finds and installs everything you need including correct print drivers and software. The software installation interface is very easy to use for a first timer.
All this would be considered bloated and cumbersome to a savvy LINUX user, but for a person moving over from Windows it is a great starting point while you get your feet wet. Add the software Crossover and you can even still install and use a lot of your favorite Windows office, graphics, and gaming software.
I agree for MInt : stable, easy for beginer. I tested too Ubuntu/Gnome with several persons and they could adapt with no (not too much) difficulties.
Manjaro is definitely easy to use but I don’t know that is the best beginner distro. Being Arch based there are a few quirks that you don’t have with Mint. Once gaining a basic understanding of how Linux systems function I think Manjaro is the best introduction to Arch based (or just non - Debian based systems)
I like Linux Mint Xfce and also run MX17 LXDE and Mageia 6 Xfce. I have only 512MB RAM on my 32 bit machine and have had no problems with any of the forums regarding these distros.I prefer the Opera browser to Firefox which tends to hang from time to time on me.
Linux Mint definitely, it’s easy to use and comes bundled with all the necessary stuff for the beginner. It’s clean and lean.
There’s a big difference between liking Windows, and liking the familiarity of the WIMP style interface. As advocates of Linux, we need to understand that people switch for many different reasons, and that some who make the switch quite like to work with a desktop paradigm which is familiar (I include myself here). Mint is an excellent, reliable and well supported distro, and a great first choice for people new to Linux. It may offer dektops which resemble Windows, but it definitely isn’t Windows. Having got into Linux a few years back, I’ve experimented with a variety of distros, including Arch and Fedora, and desktops (Gnome, KDE, Xfce, MATE, Cinnamon and even Openbox). Having left a few distros behind, I find Mint is one I tend to keep, and having played around with desktops, I find I like the more ‘traditional’ - Xfce and MATE being my favourites.
Linux mint is what I use and it’s user friendly especially coming from a windows background.
I see what you did there with Win(DOZE) 
I think probably Mint or Ubuntu. However, burn one of the two to a dvd and try it as a live dvd boot. That way you don’t have to install it and yet you can try it very easily without permanently changing your hard drive. However, better than a dvd is burn the iso image to a flash drive If you know how to do it. Then set your PC to boot to the flash drive. That will give you the best test of how they really operate without making any changes to your system
Bob
Linux Mint, can’t beat it for a new user.