VailuxOS

Reader supplied reviews for VailuxOS Average rating 8.3 from 3 review(s) Please select a rating in the range of 1-10. Please write at least a few sentences about the distribution while limiting your review to 4080 characters. What are your thoughts on VailuxOS? Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system. Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review. Version: -- 1.61.5.1 Rating:    -- 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 out of 10 Your review (minimum 250 words): Past reviews - sort by: DateVotes Version: 1.6 Rating: 10 Date: 2026-01-14 Votes: 0 I think Vailux OS is a good distribution. I have tested many distros such as Arch, Manjaro, Debian, MX Linux, and many more. Personally, I never really liked the design of most of them. Vailux OS may look similar to Windows, but it still has the advantages of Linux, such as better privacy, many customization options, and more control over the system. That is exactly why Linux is not the same as Windows, even if a distribution looks similar. The distribution was also quite easy to set up and use. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 1.6 Rating: 8 Date: 2026-01-08 Votes: 5 I'm a regular Linux MX Xfce user, and for some tasks I still need Windows. However, when it comes to helping relatives and friends who dislike Windows 11 but want a smoother transition (familiar GUI, File Explorer, and Settings layout), I'm always on the lookout for better alternatives to MX Xfce. In the past, I tried "Winux Skins" and similar projects, but they offered little real customization for the File Explorer or Settings, so I wasn't convinced (see below for more details). I also tested AnduinOS, which had a more comprehensive Windows-like GUI concept, but it still didn't fully win me over. Now, regarding VailuxOS 1.6 (tested in VMware): - I'm torn between the slick, fast, and low-resource Xfce (which I love) and the highly customizable, modern but resource-heavy Plasma desktop (which can struggle on systems with less than 4–6 GB of RAM). On older machines or those with 8 GB or less, Plasma might cause noticeable performance issues. - Regarding icon sets like Win10Sur: I appreciate that they make things easier for casual Windows migrants, but I would prefer some subtle custom branding — something that's clearly "near Windows" without being a complete copy. Using Microsoft Office icons for LibreOffice also feels unnecessary in my opinion. - Windows 11 taskbar & layout: It might be smart for VailuxOS to also offer (or prioritize) a Windows 10-style taskbar, Quick Launch, etc. Many users still prefer the Windows 10 interface over 11, and a lot of potential migrations could happen this year from people unhappy with 11. In other words: those fleeing Windows 11 might not be thrilled to find yet another near-carbon copy of the Windows 11 taskbar they dislike. - Overall, I'm very impressed with the distribution's GUI features — especially the taskbar, File Explorer, and Settings concept. I immediately switched to Dark Mode (which I prefer almost everywhere). That said, not everything feels fully polished yet: some translations are incomplete, and there are still minor bugs or unfinished areas. - App discovery / software installation: Compared to MX Linux, I noticed that many applications I normally install are only offered as Snap or Flatpak in VailuxOS. Several of them caused problems (e.g., LibreWolf, Signal — possibly due to Wayland compatibility issues or passwords stored in unencrypted locations). In the end, I had to manually install .deb packages or use other sources — something I rarely need to do in MX Linux. - Wayland: The situation remains challenging (not just for VailuxOS, but across many distros). Some software only works properly after switching to an X11 session. In VMware, features like copy-paste and shared folders are unreliable under Wayland. I hope these issues will improve significantly over the next 1–2 years, but right now it's still quite annoying. Final thoughts I'm very close to recommending VailuxOS to some friends — or even installing it here and there. It gives the best "feels like Windows but actually different" experience I've tested so far. I might wait for the next version to see further improvements in polish and bug fixes. At the same time, I'm hesitant because of the apparently small development team and questions about long-term support. Still, it's currently the strongest Windows-like Linux option I've encountered for ease of transition. Highly recommended for anyone looking to escape Windows 11 without losing the familiar feeling — just keep an eye on system requirements (RAM) and be prepared for occasional manual tweaks. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 1.6 Rating: 7 Date: 2026-01-08 Votes: 0 I assume this is a new distro. It definitely has some bugs to work out. For example, the installation process was normal in Calamares. However, when I went to upgrade in the terminal, z was in place of y on the keyboard and vice versa. Next I went to look for another distro via Firefox and the browser was in German. Lucky for me I had multiple distros on my ventoy drive. The KDE DE was fixed, no alteration could be made. Snap was enabled in discover. Just another reason to look for another distro. But before I do that I am installing Cachy OS lol. Something solid to install with no hiccups. I will say this, before Valiux, I installed GLF OS with it's customized refind bootloader. Cachy OS wouldn't even install after the GLF nightmare. No other distros would install, except Valiux. So in a way it reminded me of Mint. Which I used as a failsafe when distros went wrong before. To fix the system before installing another distro. Howevet, I didn't have Mint on Ventoy, but I did have Valiux. So I guess that is a positive thing to say about this distro. But it's not from r me for now. Maybe after some tweaks and improvements it will be worth taking another glance. Good day! Was this review helpful? Yes No