Thanks for the A2A.
Given you have found me, because I’m on top of the most read writers in the Arch Linux category, you can imagine, what I’m going to say.
Arch Linux is not hard to deal with at all and derivatives like Manjaro are even easier to deal with and VERY newbie-friendly.
In case you don’t believe me, you might want to take a look at this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZCW8PVW
This ebook actually teaches total beginners how to start with Linux without any prior experience whatsoever. And it uses Manjaro, which is an Arch Linux derivative!
If you think, Arch Linux is hard to deal with, you a) have never installed Linux back in the ’90s, when there was no Internet, no Youtube, no help,… and when even with a manual it took like 3 days to figure out the driver settings for your graphics card and b) you never understood Linux.
Because Arch Linux is Linux at it’s core. It’s based on LFS (Linux From Scratch). Arch Linux doesn’t do the job for you. With Arch Linux you HAVE TO manage you system. Which you actually should do, no matter what. Even with Windows! There is no clicky-thingy installer that mounts partitions for you. You do it manually the old-school way. The real Linux way.
The reason why you find Arch Linux hard to deal with is, because it does it in a different and very basic way, that you are not used to. Otherwise it’s actually very simple and does the same as every other installer out there. But with Arch, you do it yourself manually by hand, instead of the installer doing it for you.
Arch Linux is a do-it-yourself-from-scratch distribution! YOU manage it. YOU build a CUSTOM setup!
But guess what… you install the basic file system, you change the language settings and keyboard layout to your liking, you modify the device name, you enter a root password, you install the boot loader… anything here that another installer does not do?
Linux is not an operating system. It’s a KERNEL. Around it are a mass of modular tools. The whole point of Linux is, to adjust it to your own purpose and taste. That’s what Arch Linux does better than any other option out there. See rankings, like on Slant for example!
Arch Linux encourages you, to utilize the STRENGTHS of Linux at it’s core. It encourages you, to learn the basics and understand your system. Arch Linux also gives you a very versatile and stable basis. No Arch Linux setup ever broke upon upgrade in my case. And I use it on like 10 devices around the clock day in and day out.
Once you understand Arch Linux, you understand a lot about operating systems and Linux. You learn to understand the inner workings of Linux. It enables you to do stuff other users like those of Ubuntu wouldn’t even dream about. Stuff like installing it on a bay trail device with 32 bit boot loader and 64 bit kernel. Stuff like taking over wireless drivers from Ubuntu to Arch for the Banana Pi M3. Replacing library files by hand. Troubleshooting all kinds of systems and distributions. Moving full dual boot setups (with Windows), including licenses, settings and data. These are actual examples of things I’ve done with Arch Linux.
With Arch I’ve learned more about Linux in a year than I’ve learned in more than a decade with other distros like SuSE and Ubuntu. And you won’t believe how easy it actually is, once you understand it.
Linux is just a kernel. If you think, Arch Linux is hard to deal with, you are not getting it! The whole point of Linux and it’s ultimate strength is in the versatility that allows you to customize it to your own purpose and taste. And Arch Linux encourages that like no other distro out there. It’s actually not that hard to use at all. It’s just not the clicky-thingy you are used to.
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If this answer was helpful for you, please don’t forget to upvote it on Quora: https://www.quora.com/Why-are-Arch-based-Linux-distributions-so-hard-to-deal-with/answer/Chris-Bailey-364