Linux conversions in Prestwich and Manchester
Linux is a community-made operating system - the alternative to Microsoft Windows that the rest of the internet quietly runs on. If your Windows PC has gone slow, or you're sick of the adverts and the forced Copilot software and the sense that your own computer is no longer really yours, I can wipe it and put Linux on it instead. The machine usually feels brand new afterwards, and you stop being a marketing target every time you open the start menu.
I'm in Prestwich and can travel around Manchester for this, or you can drop the machine off with me.
Pricing
The base price is £200 for an hour's work, or £100 if you qualify for the discount (charities, co-ops, artists, and sustainable businesses - same deal as my charity web development page).
An hour is usually plenty to wipe a single computer and get Linux installed and configured, but the price goes up if you need me to handle the backups and restores - those can take a while because everyone's data is in different places and copying it all off and back on takes as long as it takes.
So the cheapest version is: you sort your own backups, I do the install. You should have a backup strategy you trust regardless, and if you don't, get in touch and I can help you build one.
Why bother switching?
The most common thing I hear is "my computer's gone slow". Sometimes that's because Windows itself has bloated up over the years; sometimes it's that the printer and scanner drivers are running heavy services in the background that you didn't ask for and don't need.
In 2025 there's also the Windows 11 problem, where Microsoft has decided your perfectly good machine is now "unsupported" and won't run their new operating system - which conveniently means a lot of people are being nudged into binning a working computer and buying a new one. Windows 10 support ended in October 2025, so we're talking about millions of computers heading for landfill for no good reason. If you're not in Manchester and want to do this elsewhere, endof10.org is a directory of people offering exactly this service.
Linux is built around what users want, not around what makes Microsoft money - which means no ads, no forced updates that reboot you mid-sentence, no Copilot peering at your screen, and no slow creep of new "features" you never wanted. It's also flexible enough that there's a version (a "distro") that suits older or weaker hardware, so a 10-year-old laptop that crawls under Windows can be perfectly snappy on the right Linux setup.
Some success stories
The super low-maintenance computer. I set a friend up years ago with a tiny Ubuntu machine that plugged straight into his TV - all he wanted was web browsing and YouTube. It ran for over ten years quietly updating itself in the background, and to my knowledge required no maintenance at all in that time.
Reviving a knackered laptop. A community organisation was getting by on an underpowered laptop that strained under Windows, and paying monthly for Microsoft Office licenses on top. I put Ubuntu on it, switched to LibreOffice (a free Office alternative), and set up Nextcloud for backups. The laptop felt brand new and the running costs went down to nothing.
The savvy retiree. I helped a retiree spec and build a Framework laptop, then put Ubuntu on it. They'd been spooked by friends getting caught by online scams and wanted to feel more confident. We worked through Bitwarden for password management and got them comfortable with their browser, and they're now happily online without that nagging feeling that something's about to go wrong.
The gaming machine. Built a desktop with a high-end graphics card running Pop!_OS (system76.com/pop), which is a Linux distro tweaked specifically for gaming. The teenager it was for had no trouble at all picking up the "different" operating system - turns out kids care more about the games working than the logo on the start menu.
What I can help with
For laptop and desktop conversions I'll usually do a full Windows wipe and replace it with Ubuntu, which is the friendliest distro for anyone coming from Windows. I'll handle data migration from whatever you were using before, and check the hardware works properly with Linux - including any printers or scanners you rely on. Turnaround is normally a day or two.
I cover Prestwich, Bury, Whitefield, Radcliffe and most of north Manchester for collection and delivery, and the wider Manchester area beyond that. You don't need to come to me unless you want to.
How the conversion goes
The order of operations is roughly: data backup if you've asked me to handle it (so all your documents, photos and important files are safe before anything gets wiped), then a clean Ubuntu install using the latest long-term support version, then software setup where I install free alternatives to whatever paid Windows software you were using and set up Firefox with a decent ad blocker, then a hardware check to make sure your printer, scanner, webcam and so on all work properly, and finally a sit-down to walk you through the basics so you can actually use the thing on day one.
Honest hardware advice
A small minority of computer peripherals only work with Windows, usually because the manufacturer can't be bothered writing a Linux driver. If yours is one of them I'll usually be able to point you at a better, universally-compatible alternative. In the rare case there isn't one - some specialist medical or industrial bits of kit, for example - you might be stuck with Windows. Boo!
For ongoing Linux work, server administration or trickier custom configurations, see my Linux consulting services.
Get in touch
If you're tired of Windows and want to give Linux a bash, fill in the form below.