Dual Boot Windows and Linux

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We generally find Linux on a dual-boot system. This facilitates easier switching during boot time between development work via Linux and regular work using Windows.

Setting up a dual-boot for Linux on a system which already has Windows installed to it is very simple.

Basic outline

  • Install Windows first.
  • Make room for Linux as an OS takes a substantial amount of space(you don't want to run out of space right after you dual-boot your computer).
  • Install Linux second.

Install Windows first

You'd probably have Windows preintstalled so I won't go into the depth. However if you are starting from scratch, a little suggestion- select Custom install and tell Windows to use only part of the hard drive thus saving you from the trouble of going through the second step.


Make room for Linux

Now if you already had Windows installed on your system, you need to resize your Windows partition size to create some room for Linux. It's absolutely no problem if you have a chunk of unallocated space or even an additional hard drive but if you don't, then you'll have to free some space.

Out of the several ways to do so is doing this during the time of Linux installation. Most Linux installers allow you to resize Windows NTFS partitions. However it is advisable to resize partiotion from within Windows itself to avoid any potential problems.

Note: You won't be able to resize your partition if you are using BitLocker encryption. You'll need to open Control Panel, access the BitLocker settings page and click Suspend protection to the right side of the partition you want to resize. BitLocker will be re-enabled on the partition after rebooting your computer.

Now open the disk management utility by typing diskmgmt.msc into the run dialog box(Win+R), press enter to open. Right click on the system partition(usually the C: drive) and select Shrink Volume. 

Shrink volume size to free up some space for Linux.


Install Linux second

Next, you'll need to make an installation media for your Linux system. You can download an ISO file and burn it to a disk or create a bootable USB drive. Reboot your system and it should automatically boot from your Linux installation media. 

Note: Disable Secure Boot before proceeding to the installation because some computers will refuse to boot from your installation media. The newer Linux distributions will probably boot even with Secure Boot enabled but not all Linux distributions will do you so good.

Go through the installer until you reach the option of where/how you want to install Linux. The view depends on the Linux distribution you are installing. Here you'll want to choose the option which allows you to install Linux alongside Windows. Remember there is this option to replace Windows with Ubuntu, this will completely wipe out Windows from your computer so be careful.


Now Ubuntu will install Grub2 boot loader on your system which becomes your default boot loader. Here you can select which OS you want to work with. You can also customise Grub2 to even set your default OS.

Now you can even triple or quadruple multiple versions of Windows alongside Linux. 

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