[SOLVED] Dual Booting

[ZacOliver22]

Hey so i want to dual boot safely without loosing data. Is that possible?

 

[USAFRet]

Hey so i want to dual boot safely without loosing data. Is that possible?

1. You should ALWAYS have a known good backup of your data. Always.
2. If you make the right selections, you can do it without "losing data".
3. Dualboot with what OS's?
4. On one drive or two?
5. Why?

 

[dmroeder]

To reiterate what USAFRet is saying, take a peak at his signature one more time.

I highly recommend using virtual machines instead. Eliminate the risk of wrecking your system. Install VirtualBox, download your favorite Linux ISO, create a new VM, point the VM to the disk, install the OS. If you don't end up liking that flavor of Linux, delete it.

 

[USAFRet]

To reiterate what USAFRet is saying, take a peak at his signature one more time.

I highly recommend using virtual machines instead. Eliminate the risk of wrecking your system. Install VirtualBox, download your favorite Linux ISO, create a new VM, point the VM to the disk, install the OS. If you don't end up liking that flavor of Linux, delete it.

Yep....I have 6-8 VM's on tap, usually one or two running in the background.
Windows 10, a couple of flavors of Linux, WinServer, etc.
All these VMs live on a secondary drive.

And backups are absolutely necessary, no matter what you're doing. Even just pressing the power button...

 

[USAFRet]

Kali was never mentioned as the other OS.
And Kali is NOT recommended for a beginner in Linux.
Finally, no matter how it is done, a known good full backup is strongly recommended. "without losing data" is never foolproof. Ever.

 

[avg9956]

I dual boot Windows and Linux.
And yes, I highly agree that Kali is not recommended for a beginner in Linux. You need some background knowledge to help you understand how to operate the Linux operating system, because Windows and Linux are entirely 2 different worlds.

You also need to understand how programs are installed in Linux and what dependencies are and how to resolve them.
I also highly suggest (if you're a beginner) to start out with a virtual machine to familiarize with Linux, because its very unforgiving when you break things.

Also for dual booting, it is highly discouraged to use a Dynamic disk when dual booting. Basic disk is the recommended setup.
And if you're still on MBR partition scheme, you need to understand how to install both operating systems in a GPT partition scheme and how to change the boot mode to UEFI on your motherboard. You want both operating systems to be on GPT disks as it is the modern standard and the recommended setup for dual booting.

 

[Koykis]

Let me chip in with my experience with Linux.
I dual boot Linux and Windows the last 8 years or so, with Linux (Kubuntu specifically) being my main OS for work, virtualization, web browsing etc. Whenever I boot the computer with Windows it's basically to be used as a gaming console.
I totally agree with the fellow tech-heads above about trying Linux in a virtual machine before installing it on actual hardware. In the case you decide to install it on a drive, I would recommend the following setup:
Use separate drives for each OS. Install either one on a drive that is the ONLY connected drive on the system. After the process is done, power down, disconnect that drive, connect the second one ALSO ALONE in the system and install the other OS. Use your BIOS/UEFI boot selection to switch between them. The reson for this is that installation and major updates for Windows tend to use ANY other drive than the "C:\" to put the boot loader in.

That, and backup EVERYTHING important to you, ideally both on the clound and on a local drive / NAS / optical / tape / stone tablets.

 

[revodo]

The problem with virtual machines is that even with everything tweaked just right, you'll never get the performance of a native install. You generally run into more problems, as well.

Not saying not to do it, just know that it's a different experience.

 

[revodo]

1. You should ALWAYS have a known good backup of your data. Always.
2. If you make the right selections, you can do it without "losing data".
3. Dualboot with what OS's?
4. On one drive or two?
5. Why?

I'm getting a sneaking suspicion that you work in the data back / recovery field.

 

[USAFRet]

I'm getting a sneaking suspicion that you work in the data back / recovery field.

No, just a software developer for a very large organization.