Installing linux along with Windows 10

General Linux Question
10

If you start from scratch do this:

  • Disable secure boot
  • From Linux live dvd prepare partitions using GParted, let say:
    200 GB NTFS for Windows
  • Install Windows to that partition, it will create boot-efi partition too
  • You can install Linux now (it automatically detect boot partition, being UEFI environment GRUB2 will go there), just create swap partition (2 GB more than your RAM, if RAM=4GB, Swap=6GB) and one partition for Linux. If you want more than one distro prepare some partitions instead of only one, let say not less than 50 GB each. Every time you install Linux choose the partition manually.
    Done.
    GRUB2 will find Windows automatically, if for some reasons it is not on the list, pressing the button at boot (F9 or ESC or another one, not always the same depends on the machine) you will get Windows bootloader: selecting Windows start it, selecting Ubuntu (or whatever) GRUB2 comes out.
    You can’t access Linux from Windows, can access Windows from Linux if Windows closes properly, sometime it does’nt close properly and can’t do nothing for what I know.
    The most common workaround is to make a NTFS partiton and keeping the data that you want secure access from Windows and Linux there.
    Some Windows software allow access to Linux but apparently is not a safe way.
    Suggested distro: Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition, it is the best for Linux noobs.
    Cheers!

Edit
You can also install Linux before Windows, in this case better to prepare boot/efi partition (fat32) manually too. If Linux is the first installed you will need to work on the boot loader after installing Windows because Windows boot loader overwrites GRUB2

If already Linux installed and GRUB2 does’nt show Windows you can try with the command

sudo update grub

assuming you are on Debian based distro.
If that does’nt solve the issue, reinstall GRUB2 following this procedure (UEFI environment):
https://wiki.ubuntu-it.org/AmministrazioneSistema/Grub/Ripristino/Uefi
(Sorry, Italian page that one)
Alternately, you can add Windows to the GRUB2’s file 40_custom, something like this one:

menuentry “Windows 10” --class windows --class os {
insmod ntfs
search --no-floppy --set=root --fs-uuid 1D584C40586B2873 # uuid, set yours here
ntldr /bootmgr
}

Source: DualBoot/Windows10 - Debian Wiki

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