Startech does a M.2 SSD to 2.5" SATA drive adapter.
dr_jekell
joined 11 months ago
- Linux is not Windows
Do not expect things to work as they do in Windows.
- The terminal is not to be feared (it only bites when told to)
While you can get most things done via a GUI option using the Terminal is much more powerful and gives more information.
- Not all hardware works with or works well with Linux
This pertains mostly to Laptops and peripherals, but always do a quick Google search to check for any issues.
One of the big issues for people is sound, a lot of computer & parts makers like to use the cheapest no-name parts they can because Windows lets them require "drivers" aka software fixes for poor hardware whereas Linux tends to give unaltered output leading to complaints about sound quality.
- Not all software works on or works well on Linux
You are not going to find software from Adobe, Microsoft office 365 etc running on Linux even using WINE.
Some games will not work on Linux even using the Proton compatibility software.
- Linux software is often lacking in the visuals but has lots of options under the hood.
There is a lot of software made for Linux are made by devs who focus more on the under the hood performance than making the software GUI look pretty. So don't be put off by the looks of a lot of Linux software.
- Alternative to is a great website.
I highly recommend Using the Alternativeto website to (as the name implies) find alternatives to software you use on Windows.
- Backup's are your friend
Setup an external device be it an internal hard drive, external hard drive or NAS as a backup target for your files.
You can use Timeshift to backup the entire drive (and it can reload a chosen backup directly onto the drive), Lucky backup to sync specified folders (either one way or both ways) to your drives or as I do use both.
And backup before doing major updates.
I have Timeshift setup to backup the entire drive (including $home) to a separate internal HDD and Luckybackup set to backup my important folders to an external USB HDD.
- Accidents will happen
As you are learning how to use and navigate you will have accidents that will require a full reinstall, don't fear this has happened to everyone else and why you backup your files so it's an annoyance instead of the end of the world.
What you can do is have a 1-2Tb SSD and use that as your day to day drive then use Timeshift to regularly backup the entire drive to a HDD.
He didn't specify what sort of M.2 SSD he has so I thought that I would throw it out there as an option.
Plus as he said it was for an older computer & was looking for the cheapest adaptor that works, I guessed that he wasn't too concerned about getting the most performance possible out of the setup.