I am a linux user for a while now. And i have got a ASUS gaming laptop , which has some really fancy features … But I want to use linux for my work and use windows 10 for casual gaming…
Would it affect my laptop performance on either of the Operating Systems ?
Also i want to use it for long time…
So should I dual boot it?
No, dual boot will not harm your machine. When you’re in Windows you are running a pure Windows computer. When you’re in Linux you’re running a clean Linux machine. Essentially, you have two separate computers in one device.
In Linux you can see the Windows partition and can copy files. You should not write files from Linux to Windows, though, as the write may step on existing Windows files. For Windows to see files in the Linux partition there’s an app you have to install in Windows. I find the easiest and safest thing to do is to use a USB stick, formatted as exFAT, to transfer files from one OS to the other. (I almost never need to do that.)
Windows MUST be installed first, as it requires a specific location on the disk. Linux gets installed (or re-installed) next. My experience is with Ubuntu. I bought a laptop with Win10 already installed. After shrinking the Windows partition as much as possible (you do this inside Windows, it would only go down to 90 GB) I installed Ubuntu in the freed up area.
The GRUB menu lists Ubuntu as the first option on the list and is the default. If, after 10 seconds, you’ve not made a choice of which OS to boot into it will boot Ubuntu.
Thanks, don.karon for the detailed explanation.
If I use a primary hard drive to install windows and ubuntu. and keep my every file in a secondary slot hard drive.
Then would(2nd HDD) it work on both Operation Systems.
So that I don’t have to worry about the files I used in different operating systems ( as you mentioned that I have to use a USB stick or an app for reading files in different operating systems ).
I believe that Windows will insist on being installed on the C: drive which is what your primary drive should label itself. Ubuntu has no such install drive restriction.
Keeping all your data on the second drive will work but you’ll want to divide that drive into two partitions. Part of the issue with file sharing across the two OS’s is that they use different file systems. Windows uses NTFS. You have your choice of file systems for Ubuntu. (I use ext4.) Ubuntu natively supports NTFS but you need to add an app in order for Windows to use the Ubuntu partition. This link will get you started but I’ve never installed this function. There may be several apps to choose among:
https://www.diskgenius.com/resource/read-ext4-windows.html
One danger is, I’m told, that a write from Ubuntu to the Windows partition bypasses the Windows file manager and can inadvertently overwrite an existing file. I don’t know if that’s a risk going in the opposite direction, i.e., a write from Windows to the Ubuntu partition.
Thanks, donkaron, you have been really helpful.
I have primary 512 gb(m.2 SSD) + secondary 1TB HDD.
Should I make two partitions for two operating systems in my 512GB SSD?
like 256GB for windows and 256GB for ubuntu.
and use 1TB for storing my files.
this would work great .right?
If I were you, I’d put the 2 OS on the SSD - it’s plenty of space, I reckon, and keep the 1TB HDD for data.
If you dualboot, and plan to share drives (partitions) between OS’s, disable Windows fast startup feature. It can cause weird surprises, even data loss.
Yes, your plan to use the 512GB drive for the OS’s and the 1TB drive for data will work very well. Remember, though, that Windows and Linux use different file systems, so the 1TB drive will also have to be split into two partitions.
oh, I never thought about that. thanks