Question Install Linux aside Dual Windows 10.

[MousTea]

Hi All,

Currently I have a dual windows 10 boot. I am gonna buy a new drive.
How could I install linux on that drive and be able to choose at startup which windows or Linux I want to boot?

Thanks!

 

[Math Geek]

best option is to disconnect EVERY drive except the new one for linux. install linux to that drive and once it is up and running, then reconnect the other drives.

in the BIOS, set the boot order so that the proper default OS will start (the one you will use the most) at boot up. if you want the other OS to start then F8 at start-up will open the boot menu and allow you to select the OS you wish to boot. that's the easiest way to avoid complications with the already existing windows installs.

if you only wish to thinker with linux and don't need it to have all the resources, then a VM is an even better way. you just turn it on when you want to use it and then turn it off when you are done. the rest of the system will function as it does now.

 

[MousTea]

best option is to disconnect EVERY drive except the new one for linux. install linux to that drive and once it is up and running, then reconnect the other drives.

in the BIOS, set the boot order so that the proper default OS will start (the one you will use the most) at boot up. if you want the other OS to start then F8 at start-up will open the boot menu and allow you to select the OS you wish to boot. that's the easiest way to avoid complications with the already existing windows installs.

if you only wish to thinker with linux and don't need it to have all the resources, then a VM is an even better way. you just turn it on when you want to use it and then turn it off when you are done. the rest of the system will function as it does now.

Hmm, normally Linux has the option to install aside windows. However I don't know if this works if you already have a windows dual boot setup.
I think it would be better to do it this way, but idk if it will work, does anybody have experience with this?

 

[Math Geek]

Did not say the option was not there. What I said was the best way to do it was the way I described. Linux should add itself to the multi boot menu. I've done it before as well. However, it does not always work the first time or can have issues after it seems to be good to go.

Feel free to do it this way as it will probably work. But the way I described always works

 

[MousTea]

Did not say the option was not there. What I said was the best way to do it was the way I described. Linux should add itself to the multi boot menu. I've done it before as well. However, it does not always work the first time or can have issues after it seems to be good to go.

Feel free to do it this way as it will probably work. But the way I described always works

Alright thanks for the help man!

 

[Grobe]

I think it would be better to do it this way, but idk if it will work, does anybody have experience with this?

My idea to deal with this issue is to make a backup - a disk image of the boot device. Depending on how much stuff you've filled in (i.e. is it a 256GB SSD or a 6TB HDD) you need another reliable storage device that has at least that amount of storage space left.

If done right, if the Linux installation goes wrong somehow - you should be able to read back the disk-image file to the boot drive.

 

[kiwipaul]

in the BIOS, set the boot order so that the proper default OS will start (the one you will use the most) at boot up. if you want the other OS to start then F8 at start-up will open the boot menu and allow you to select the OS you wish to boot. that's the easiest way to avoid complications with the already existing windows installs.

Agree this is by far the safest method for dual booting because each system is independent of the other and their is no single point of failure with regard to disks.

I've had Windows since it came out but 2 years ago I installed Mint on a 32GB usb drive (cost $20) and it works faster than my W10 SSD. Both my C: and D: are accessible from Mint but W10 cannot see the Mint system disk (not really bothered to make it available).