[SOLVED] Can I have Linux and Windows installed on the same computer?

[widepeeposad]

Hi guys,

I'm a computer newbie so I'm unsure on somethings that I would like help with. Is it possible to have Linux and Windows on the same Desktop?

I was wondering if it was worth having two separate storage devices for each OS, or would I need to have them installed on the same storage device.

Any info would be appreciated

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Hi guys,

I'm a computer newbie so I'm unsure on somethings that I would like help with. Is it possible to have Linux and Windows on the same Desktop?

I was wondering if it was worth having two separate storage devices for each OS, or would I need to have them installed on the same storage device.

Any info would be appreciated

Yes, this is possible.

With 2 physical drives you can have Win on one drive and Linux on the other.
Or
With one physical drive you can partition it, or divide it so that it appears as 2 smaller disks. These disks can be different sizes if you wish, or it can be equal. Then you can install win on one disk and Linux on the other.

 

[Deleted member 1560910]

Yes you can do this 2 ways

1 buy 2 SSD/HDD and install 1 operating system on each

2 if you have a large HDD you can split into 2 partition ( i dont recommend doing this )

 

[widepeeposad]

Yes, this is possible.

With 2 physical drives you can have Win on one drive and Linux on the other.
Or
With one physical drive you can partition it, or divide it so that it appears as 2 smaller disks. These disks can be different sizes if you wish, or it can be equal. Then you can install win on one disk and Linux on the other.

Do you recommend doing this? I want to have a Linux environment for security and for my computer science degree, but I also want Windows for gaming.

 

[Wolfshadw]

I'd recommend running Oracle's VirtualBox and running Linux as a virtual machine.

-Wolf sends

 

[widepeeposad]

I'd recommend running Oracle's VirtualBox and running Linux as a virtual machine.

-Wolf sends

Is there any benefit for running Linux in a VM or is it more personal preference?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Is there any benefit for running Linux in a VM or is it more personal preference?

More secure. Should you get an infection or something it is very hard for it to spread outside of the vm.

It can have a performance hit but on a decent pc it should be fine.

 

[dmroeder]

I'll also add, I like the VM option because:

- It's harmless to try, you won't accidentally goof up partitions
- You don't have to reboot to switch operating systems
- If you don't like the Linux flavor you installed, delete the VM and try another one

You can always dual boot later, but get your feet wet with VirtualBox. Getting dual boot to work adds another layer that often frustrates new users out of using Linux.

 

[USAFRet]

Multiple options:

• Dualboot. Either 2 physical drives, or partitions on a single drie.
• VM. I use VirtualBox for this.
• If you're just getting your feet wet with Linux, a Linux LiveCD or USB. Run it directly from the USB, no changes to your PC needed.

 

[Magical.Enema]

Just a few years ago on a 1.5Tb HD, I had a 50 Gb partition for Win7, a 50 Gb partition for Win8, a small 100 Mb partition for grub, and I made the last partition an extended partition and in that, I made 12 different 50 Gb logical partitions. In 9 of the 12 logical partitions I installed 9 different Linux distros.
I did it just to see if I could do it. On each of the Windows installs, it only saw that it was the only OS on the HD. On each of the Linux installs, they all could see everything else on the HD, and could read and write to the Windows installs. Kept them all up to date and they all co-existed peacefully together. No problems whatsoever.

But anymore I just put 1 OS per HD. I have a slew of HD's at my disposal.

It's Magical!