Linux is a popular operating system nowadays. There is already a fair number of Linux users and more are joining. Besides, Linux is a powerful, reliable and secure OS. Despite that, there aren’t enough number users of Linux yet.
One of the biggest reasons for this is not enough availability of apps. You might be eager to try Linux or switch to Linux but you held back for this reason.
And might switch back to windows after some time. But you don’t need that. There is a perfect solution for this problem “Dual Boot”.
Few Words Before Starting
To use Linux and windows in one machine, we will install both of them in dual boot mode. This article is an in-depth tutorial on installing Linux in dual boot with windows.
I will be using Ubuntu Linux as an example. But you can install pretty much any Linux distribution with this method.
Besides, the partition creating part and the aftermath are the same for every Linux Distribution. The graphical installation part will be a bit different but you will figure it out eventually.
I will assume that you have Windows already installed windows. If not then Install windows first and then follow this tutorial.
Installing Linux in Dual Boot With Windows
Follow this step-by-step guide to install and dual boot Linux with Windows.
Everything You Need Before Installation
- The latest version of the Linux distribution is Ubuntu in my case.
- A USB drive with at least 4 GBs of space
- A backup of your important data in case anything goes wrong
- And a Backup of the windows you have already installed.
After this, you are all set to advance to the next step.
Step 1: Creating Bootable USB Drive
- Connect your USB drive to the PC
- Re-format it to fat32. you can use the default window tool.
- Right-click on the USB drive then format ==> select fat32 ==> click format.
- After that, download and install UNetBootin.
- Now select the disk image and click on three dots.
- Select the download ISO image of the Linux distro and click ok.
- Now, this tool will automatically create a bootable USB Drive.
Step 2: Making Space For The Linux Installation
You will now shrink some space from your Hard drive to make room for Linux. Just follow the steps below.
- Open Disk management in the Windows. To open it, right-click on My PC==> Manage==> Disk Managment.
- Now you will see partitions of your disk.
- Find out the partition with the largest space and right-click on it.
- Click on Shrink Volume option next.
- Now allocate whatever size you can but keep in mind that it should be at least 20 GB.
Now you are all done. You have successfully created room for Linux installation. It’s now time to move on to the next step.
Step 3: Installing Ubuntu In Dual Boot
As you already know that I am using Ubuntu as an example but the process in this step will be easy for every Linux distro. You will get the basic Idea and others stuff can be handled easily with On-screen instructions.
- Now shut down the PC and turn it back on.
- After that, you will need to boot into the boot-order menu.
In the boot-order menu, you can select the media from which you want to boot. You just need to press the right key. This key will be different for different manufacturers. So Find out the hotkey in your case.
- In the menu select the USB drive. you will now boot through USB.
- You will now be booted into Ubuntu Installation.
Here you will also find the option ‘try Ubuntu’. You can use this option to directly boot into Ubuntu without installation but this will be temporary and no data will be stored permanently, SO move on to the next step for the permanent installation.
- Click on “Install Ubuntu” to install Ubuntu.
- Select the language and click continue.
- Here you will find various options to choose from, don’t choose them according to your PC’s capabilities. Or you leave them unchecked and click continue to save time.
Now comes the important part. The next step decides whether you want to install Ubuntu in dual boot or not.
- Now select the option “Something else” and click continues.
Now, remember that we have created some free space at the start of the tutorial. It is time to use that space. Here you can use this free space to create three partitions which are Root, Swap and Home.
Creating Root, Swap and Home Partitions
Root partition
- Now click on free space and then you will see a “+” icon, click on it.
- Another window will now open displaying the partitions option.
Here, select the primary and beginning of the space. In the use as tab, select ext4 journalizing filesystem. In the mount point option, select “/” and click Ok. you have now created a root partition.
Swap partition
- Again click on “+” icon.
- Select Primary, Beginning of the space. In the “Use as” option, select the Swap area.
Swap partition creation is now complete.
Home Directory
- Again, click “+”.
- After that, Select every option as you did in the Root partition.
- But in the mount Point option, select “/home”.
- Now click Ok.
You are now all set to install Ubuntu.
Just click the install now and the installation will start. That’s it, folks, After installation is complete, restart your PC. You will now see a menu where you can choose the operating system you want to boot in.
Video Guide To Install Linux in Dual Boot With Windows 10
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
These are some of the frequently asked questions related to how to install Linux Dual Boot with Windows.
Can I install Linux as dual boot?
A dual-boot machine is frequently the best way to install Linux. This lets you to run Linux on your actual hardware, but if you need to run Windows software or play PC games, you can always reboot into Windows. It’s easy to set up a Linux dual-boot system, and the principles are the same for all Linux distributions.
Is dual-booting Linux worth it?
This implies dual-booting gives you more access to hardware components and is faster than using a virtual machine. Because virtual machines are often more system-intensive, running Linux or Windows inside one necessitates some serious hardware.
Why is dual boot not recommended?
If something goes wrong with the OS in a dual boot setup, it can easily affect the entire system. This is especially true if you dual boot the same type of OS, such as Windows 7 and Windows 10, because they can access each other’s data. A virus has the potential to corrupt all data on the computer, including data from other operating systems.
How install dual OS Windows 10 and Kali Linux?
First, download the current version of Kali Linux from the link provided above.
The next step is to create a bootable USB after downloading Kali Linux.
Let’s get started on creating a bootable USB.
You should now see a screen similar to the one below.
Final Verdict!
Linux installation is a bit different from other OSs. but no need to worry, this tutorial has got you covered. Just follow this tutorial and you are good to go. I hope this article has helped you.
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