My current hard installations. I like to poke around with different INITS and Package managers. My favorite? EOS with LXQt 2.4. Lubuntu is ok with LXQt 2.4 … I just don’t like how they do things. (I don’t boot to it often)
MX25 is SysV; antiX I can choose different inits, but my favorite there is dinit; Artix is OpenRC
I got 2 empty partitions … any unique recommendations? 
Currently I use Arch on my both laptops.
I’m thinking, however, about switching my spare laptop to some other distro.
Since I’m already graduated from my studies, which was my primary focus, I’m not planning to power it up really often, unless it’s absolutely necessary, so I guess something Deb-based will suffice.
Been using eos for some time, but had one problem that always came back… if i wanted for use my scanner it did not work… and then i have to grab my laptop (did not update it anymore becaus the scanner worked) but that is not the way… so i went back using LMDE and all works always… if i ever go back using arch i have only 1 to go too >> eos becaus is almost perfect for myself beside this scanner problem (edit) i do still read every day here and always will becaus off the great community and lots off usable info here…
All of my desktops and laptops are using EndeavourOS (not including two devices within the family managed by corporate-IT).
I also use FreeBSD and Ubuntu Server on various servers I manage. I’m exploring the option of migrating the Ubuntu Server based servers to Debian.
I also have a system running OPNsense (FreeBSD based).
I currently have Arch and Debian 13 Trixie with KDE Plasma on my main PC. I sacrificed EOS to free up that SSD and install Steam games there, freeing up space on the Arch and Debian 13 SSDs.
I didn’t replace Arch with EOS due to the current AUR issue, as I need some of the packages in there (such as the printer drivers and their cleaning utility). And even though they’re theoretically not affected by the problem, I preferred to leave Arch alone, since I’m not infected and everything is already configured.
On my old PC, which I used for a while when I had hardware problems with my main PC, which is an i7 3770K with an nVidia 980ti, I initially installed EOS with the AUR 580 drivers. But since I don’t use it often anymore and wanted to keep the latest nVidia drivers available for that card, I opted for Bazzite for this PC. I don’t usually use immutable and/or atomic distros—I don’t really like them—but I think it’s a good fit for this specific use case, while still wanting to stick with a desktop environment with KDE Plasma.
On my mini PC, with an Intel Alder Lake processor, I believe, and an Intel integrated graphics card, I installed Debian 13 Trixie, also with KDE Plasma, but with the LTS xanmod kernel (version 6.18), since I noticed it runs better that way. I opted for this option because this PC isn’t used often either.
In general, even though I’m not a power user, I’ve noticed that some of the software I use on Arch is either missing from many other distros and must be installed via flatpak or from source code, or has external dependencies that must then be installed from source code. Even if you install them, I don’t know why they aren’t detected correctly. Examples include Goverlay, GameScope, and so on. On Arch, you just install them, activate the service where needed, and that’s it, you don’t have to do anything else. On other platforms, however, this isn’t the case; you have more hassle with certain software. So I’ve mainly stuck with Arch/EOS, because it usually doesn’t require any further work, once I’ve installed the things I need.
1st desktop Manjaro KDE on unstable branch installed 5 years ago
with vbox Win10 EOS Gnome Arch Gnome
2nd desktop Fedora 44 updated only since about Fedora 36
with vbox Win11 Fedora 44 KDE Manjaro Gnome EOS KDE Almalinux KDE
3rd Thinkcentre EOS KDE only 4GB ram but runs great installed about 2 yrs ago
I used to try a lot of different Linux distros but as i have gotten older other than at times trying a distro in vbox I just keep what has and is working.
endeavourOS Gnome with no extensions! 
I use Fedora as well. But imo Gnome feels like it runs better on endeavourOS with the zen kernel and a few other minor tweaks. And I love not having to reinstall a new OS every 6 months.
Just keep rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ (What?) 
You don’t have to reinstall every 9 months with Fedora, you can just do an in place upgrade, always worked great when I was running Fedora for a while again.
PC & Laptop: EOS wih KDE Plasma
Homeserver RPI4: debian trixie
Phone: Android
PC for Experiments: CachyOS
PC for testing: KDE Linux
Every time I did an in place upgrade I was always left with weird glitches and janky animations, so while I am aware of that upgrade path, I much prefer a clean install. Much less headache for me to deal with than tracking down weird glitches I can’t reproduce. It’s not a knock on Fedora, it’s probably just my laptop with it’s hybrid graphics intel+nvidia 
I often install Fedora to try and get a bit of distro diversity but I usually end up thinking why am I bothering. I do like having more official repos (e.g. Mullvad/brave) on Fedora but EOS+Plasma is an absolute dream to use for a casual home user.
Arch through and through, it’s a known quantity for me and I have it nailed down. I did glance in Fedora’s direction, then decided I wasn’t gaining anything from switching over. I have zero AUR exposure, and COPR is essentially the same risk with a different name on the other side of the fence. All I need to have right now is a stable, dependable system, and by those metrics, anecodotally, I probably shouldn’t be on Arch. Having said that, Arch is far more stable than people give it credit for.
Would I like to shift to a distro with less mental load? Yes. Do I have the mental energy for that right now with a full-time job and other interests? Heck no. I’m tired boss! 
Gave Fedora 44 KDE plasma a spin. It’s been at least 10 years since I used or tried it last. The installer was much improved. Btrfs was primary file system, set up automatically with needed partitions. Didn’t care for ‘Discovery’ package handler. . . needs work maybe a complete overhaul. . Dnf-ui might be a solution for package installation. Overall . . . interesting experience. Short lived.
I then gave ‘Mageia 10’ a spin for the money. . . an offshoot of the defunct ‘Mandrake’ OS of earlier years. This was throwback experience using Linux from earlier years. . . Overall it was fun, interesting, brought back earlier memories using Linux with older hardware.
Sometimes it good to see how De’s from within the Linux community evolve and spawn from earlier branding. To see what ‘improvements’ have been made in the name of progress if any, and who is still clinging and holding onto the not too distant past. Form has function. Finding the ‘right’ form is all it takes. . .
Now I’m back . . . EndeavourOS . . . on-line installation is unquestionably good. Things are much more comfortable . . I escaped my outer bubble temporarily only to come running back to my comfort zone.
Rich 
Arch is unstable by software release design because it’s rolling, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a stable user experience on Arch.
Switched to Fedora 44 KDE some days ago and it’s working fine for me. Removed a lot of packages and now I feel good.
EOS as daily driver.
I have a System Rescue CD as well as Clonezilla on one of the USB memory sticks. Thats all.
Have not looked at any other distro since I landed on EOS.
have lmde for few days now but thinking for change back to eos as soon i figure out my scanner problem
I’m now running ‘Trixie’ Debian 13 on my mini-pc.(KDE plasma). Installed a ton of packaged software. Runs good but a lot of software is outdated (version wise). I will return back to EOS in a few days. I’m still playing with this. A little more exploration. It’s Amazing what you forget jumping around from disto to distro. Synaptic works well ( better than Discovery I.M.H.O. That’s it for now. . .
Rich
I don’t think saying ‘Synaptic is better than Discovery’ is controversial. Maybe Discovery is ok for what it’s name implies but for actually updating and installing I have found it to be a bit pants. (English slang for subpar).
