Dual Boot Windows Linux

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  1. Dual Boot Windows Linux Encrypted
  2. Dual Boot Windows Linux Separate Hard Drives
  3. Dual Boot Windows Linux Secure Boot
  4. Dual Boot Windows Linux Time Problem
  5. Dual Boot Windows Linux Wrong Time
  6. Dual Boot Windows Linux 2 Hard Drives
  7. Dual Boot Windows Linux Grub
  8. Ubuntu

The clock keeps track of time, even when the computer is off. By default, Windows assumes the time is stored in local time, while Linux assumes the time is stored in UTC time and applies an offset. This leads to one of your operating systems showing the wrong time in a dual boot situation. Linux is often best installed in a dual-boot system. This allows you to run Linux on your actual hardware, but you can always reboot into Windows if you need to run Windows software or play PC games. Setting up a Linux dual-boot system is fairly simple, and the principles are the same for every Linux distribution. This tutorial will guide you on how you can perform the installation of Ubuntu 19.04, Ubuntu 18.10, or Ubuntu 18.04 in dual-boot with a Microsoft Operating System on machines that come pre-installed with Windows 10. This guide assumes that your machine comes pre-installed with Windows 10 OS or an. How to Dual Boot Windows 10 and Linux? First, for doing dual boot windows 10 and Linux you must install a program to run the system smoother while installing the Linux and windows. We are doing this in a Windows 10 installed computer. First, all you need is to take a System in which Widows 10 is installed then these steps will guide you to do.

Brief: This detailed article shows you how to dual boot Ubuntu with Windows 10, step-by-step, accompanied with proper screenshots.

Previously I had written about dual booting Ubuntu Linux with Windows 7 and 8, but those tutorials did not cover systems that come with Windows 10 pre-installed. The newer systems that come with Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, have UEFI instead of BIOS. This makes thing a little different from the conventional way of dual booting.

In this tutorial, we shall see how to install Ubuntu with Windows 10 already installed.

This tutorial is performed on a newly bought Dell Inspiron 7437 that has Core i7 fourth generation processor, 256 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM and built in 1 GB Intel graphics. I’ll cover all the steps you need to do in order to successfully dual boot Linux with Windows 10 UEFI. If you have already done some of these steps, just skip to the next one. If you have a fresh system, even better.

The steps mentioned here are applicable to other Ubuntu based Linux distributions such as Linux Mint, Elementary OS etc. Cutting the chit-chat, let’s see how to dual boot Linux on a UEFI secure boot enabled Windows 10 system.

Dual boot Ubuntu with Windows 10 and Windows 8.1:

Though I have used Ubuntu 14.04 here, it is applicable to all versions of Ubuntu, be it Ubuntu 15.10 or Ubuntu 16.04. There are various prerequisites to install Ubuntu on a UEFI system. I’ll list them for easier read here:

  • Ubuntu ISO burned to a USB or DVD (we’ll see it)
  • Windows backup (optional)
  • Windows 10 bootable USB (optional yet recommended as it will save your day if anything goes wrong)

Let’s see the steps of installing Ubuntu along side Windows 10.

Dual Boot Windows Linux Encrypted

Step 1: Make a backup [optional]

It is always nice to make a back up, just in case if you mess up with the system. There are numerous articles on the web to show you how to backup your system. You can follow this tutorial here.

Step 2: Create a live USB/disk of Ubuntu

The next thing you need to do is to create a live USB or disk. I recommend Universal USB Installer to create a live USB of Linux OS in Windows.

Read this screenshot tutorial to learn how to create a live USB of Ubuntu Linux in Windows.

Step 3: Make a partition where Ubuntu will be installed

Assuming tat you have a fresh system, the first thing we need to do is to make a partition to install Linux. The 256 GB in my system was already had several partitions from manufacturer but mainly for backup and other purposes. Main partition was C drive, of around 220 GB, where Windows 8.1 was installed.

If you have just one partition like this, you need to make some free space out of it for Linux. If you have several partitions of considerable size, use any of them except C drive because it may erase the data.

To make a partition in Windows 8, go to Disk Management tool. You can find disk management tool by searching for ‘disk’ in Control Panel.

In the Disk Management tool, right click on the drive which you want to partition and select shrink volume. In my case, I shrank the C drive to make some free space:

You can leave the free space as it is. We shall use it while installing Ubuntu.

Step 4: Disable fast startup in Windows [optional]

Windows 8 introduced a new feature called “fast startup” for quick boot. While it is not mandatory, it would be better to have it disabled.

Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > System Settings > Choose what the power buttons do and uncheck the Turn on fast startup box.

A spider will appear on your screen in the dress of white and blue color. Spiderman games pc windows xp.

If you need more hints, follow this screenshot tutorial to disable fast startup in Windows.

Step 5: Disable secureboot in Windows 10 and 8.1

This is the most important step. The new secure boot feature of Windows 8, originally intended for security feature for rootkit viruses, prevents dual booting of Windows with Linux. To dual boot Windows 8 with Linux, we must disable secure boot in UEFI.

It is better that you follow this screenshot guide to disable secure boot in Windows 10 Windows 8.1.

Step 6: Installing Ubuntu along with Windows 10, 8.1

Once you have disabled secure boot, it’s time to install Ubuntu. I hope you already created the live USB as mentioned in step 2. Plug in the USB and boot the system from it.

To boot from USB, will have to choose boot from USB option from within Windows itself. Either with PC Setting (like for UEFI) or pressing shift key while clicking on Restart.

Once you have booted in the live USB, you will be presented with option to try or install Ubuntu. Click on install. You will be presented with few screen options to choose the language. It will then do some checks on available space, power and internet connection etc. Just click on Continue.

The main screen which you should pay attention to is Installation Type. Choose Something else here:

Remember we had created some free space beforehand? We shall use the free space to create Root, Swap and Home. Select the free space and click on the + sign.

It will provide you with option to create Linux partition. We are creating the Root partition. Any thing above 20 GB is more than sufficient for it. Choose the size, select Ext 4 as file type and / (means root) as the mount point.

Clicking on OK in previous step will bring you to the partition screen. Next we will create swap. Like previously, click on the + sign again. This time use the file type as Swap area. Suggestible swap size is double of RAM.

In similar fashion, create a Home partition. Allocate it maximum space (in fact allocate it rest of the free space) because this is where you’ll save music, pictures and downloaded files.

Once you are ready with Root, Swap and Home, click on Install Now:

Well, you have almost won the battle. You can smell victory now. Next you will be asked to set username password etc. Basically, you just need to click next now.

Once the installation is completed, restart the computer, you should be welcomed by a purple grub screen. Enjoy Ubuntu along with Windows 10 in dual boot mode.

Note: If after installing Ubuntu, you boot directly in Windows, check in UEFI settings for changing the boot order. If you see no option to set the boot to Ubuntu, you need to fix it from within Windows. When you are in Windows desktop, hover the mouse in left corner, right click and select administrator’s command prompt. Then run the following command:

Dual Boot Windows Linux Separate Hard Drives

This should make the Grub default and hence you can access both Ubuntu and Windows from it.

I hope this guide helped you to dual boot Ubuntu with Windows 10 UEFI. If you want to reverse the process, follow this guide to remove Ubuntu from dual boot with Windows. Though this article is written for Ubuntu, it should be helpful for other Linux OS as well. Any questions or suggestions are always welcomed.


Linux is often best installed in a dual-boot system. This allows you to run Linux on your actual hardware, but you can always reboot into Windows if you need to run Windows software or play PC games.

Setting up a Linux dual-boot system is fairly simple, and the principles are the same for every Linux distribution. Dual-booting Linux on a Mac or a Chromebook is a different process.

The Basics

Here’s the basic process you’ll need to follow:

  • Install Windows First: If you already have Windows installed, that’s fine. If not, be sure to install Windows first, before you install the Linux system. If you install Linux second, it can set up its boot loader properly to happily co-exist with Windows. if you install Windows second, it will ignore Linux, and you’ll have to go through some trouble to get your Linux boot loader working again.
  • Make Room for Linux: You’ll need free space on your Windows system drive to install Linux, or possibly a second entirely different hard drive if you have a desktop PC. You’ll usually need to resize your Windows partition to make room for Linux. If you’re installing Windows from scratch, be sure to leave some free space on the drive for Linux. This will save you some time later.
  • Install Linux Second: Choose your Linux distribution and put its installer on a USB drive or DVD. Boot from that drive and install it on your system, making sure you select the option that installs it alongside Windows — don’t tell it to wipe your hard drive. It’ll automatically set up a Grub2 boot loader menu that lets you choose your preferred operating system each time you boot your computer.

Although the broad outlines are simple, this can be complicated by a number of issues including UEFI Secure Boot requirements on Windows 8 PCs and disk encryption.

Dual Boot Windows Linux Secure Boot

Install Windows First

Your PC probably already has Windows installed on it, and that’s fine. If you’re setting up a PC from scratch, be sure to select the “Custom install” option and tell Windows to use only part of the hard drive, leaving some unallocated space left over for Linux. This will save you the trouble of resizing the partition later.

Make Room For Linux

You’ll probably want to resize your Windows system partition to make room for Linux. If you already have some unallocated space or a separate hard drive for Linux, that’s perfect. Otherwise, it’s time to resize that existing Windows partition so you can make space for a new Linux partition.

You can do this in several ways. Most Linux installers allow you to resize Windows NTFS partitions, so you can do this during the installation process. However, you may just want to shrink your Windows system partition from within Windows itself to avoid any potential problems.

To do so, open the Disk Management utility — press Windows Key + R, type diskmgmt.msc into the Run dialog, and press Enter. Right-click the Windows system partition — that’s likely your C: drive — and select “Shrink Volume.” Shrink it to free up space for your new Linux system.

If you’re using BitLocker encryption on Windows, you won’t be abne to resize the partition. Instead, you’ll need to open the Control Panel, access the BitLOcker settings page, and click the “Suspend protection” link to the right of the encrypted partition you want to resize. You can then resize it normally, and BitLocker will be re-enabled on the partition after you reboot your computer.

Dual Boot Windows Linux Time Problem

Install Linux Second

RELATED:How to Boot and Install Linux on a UEFI PC With Secure Boot

Next, make 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 computer and it should automatically boot from the Linux installation media you’ve inserted. If not, you’ll need to change its boot order or use the UEFI boot menu to boot from a device.

On some newer PCs, your PC may refuse to boot from the Linux installation media because Secure Boot is enabled. Many Linux distributions will now boot normally on Secure Boot systems, but not all of them. You may need to disable Secure Boot before installing Linux.

Go through the installer until you reach an option that asks where (or how) you want to install the Linux distribution. This will look different depending on your Linux distribution, but you want to choose the option that lets you install Linux alongside Windows, or choose a manual partitioning option and create your own partitions. Don’t tell the installer to take over an entire hard drive or replace Windows, as that’ll wipe away your existing Windows system.

Dual Boot Windows Linux Wrong Time

Choosing an Operating System and Customize Grub2

RELATED:How to Configure the GRUB2 Boot Loader’s Settings

Once you’ve installed Linux, it will install the Grub2 boot loader to your system. Whenever you boot your computer, Grub2 will load first, allowing you to choose which operating system you want to boot — Windows or Linux.

You can customize Grub’s options, including which operating system is the default and how long Grub2 waits until it automatically boots that default operating system. Most Linux distributions don’t offer easy Grub2 configuration applications, so you may need to configure the Grub2 boot loader by editing its configuration files.

You can use this process to triple or quadruple-boot multiple versions of Linux along with Windows, multiple versions of Windows along with Linux, or multiple versions of each. Just install one after the other, ensuring there’s enough room for a separate partition for each operating system. Be sure to install Windows before you install Linux, too.

Dual Boot Windows Linux 2 Hard Drives

Image Credit: Paul Schultz on Flickr

Dual Boot Windows Linux Grub

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