Windows might be your bread and butter, but you can dual-boot it withLinuxif you want to tinker, or play around with a wider range of open source software. Whether you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 11, you can install a range ofdifferent Linux distributions as a secondary operating system to give you the best of both worls.

Here’s how to dual boot Windows and Linux.

Difficulty

What You Need

Two USB drives

Another PC with Windows installed

A blank hard drive in your PC

Start by installing Windows

The first step is to install Windows, assuming you’re starting from scratch. We have a full guide onhow to install Windows 11, so make sure to keep that handy if you need extra detail. For dual booting, the process is largely the same minus one key difference.

Instead of allowing Windows to take up all of the space on your hard drive, you’ll allocate it a partition. If you have multiple hard drives for dual booting, you can allow Windows to take up the full space on your hard drive. This process works for Windows 10 and Windows 11, but we’ll be using Windows 10 for our example.

If you don’t have an extra Windows PC to create installation media, you can install Windows first before installing Linux (though you may need to fullydefrag your hard driveto create a partition for Linux).

Step 1:With your spare PC,download the Windows Media Creation Tooland follow the steps to create installation media on one of your blank USB drives. Note: you may be asked to format the drive, which will remove all of the data.

Step 2:Leaving your installation USB drive plugged in, turn off your PC. Turn it back on and select theF12on your keyboard rapidly while the computer boots. This will take you to a boot menu. Select your Windows USB drive and continue.

Step 3:Follow the steps for the Windows installer until you reach theWhat type of installation do you wantpage. ChooseCustom: Install Windows only.

Step 4:You need to create a partition on your hard drive. You’ll likely see multiple partitions here unless you’re using a brand-new hard drive. Assuming you want to start from scratch, delete the partitions (note: this will removeallthe data on your hard drive, so make sureyour hard drive is backed up).

Step 5:Select your hard drive and selectNewto create a new partition. Set how large you want the partition to be and confirm. This will be the total amount of space Windows has access to, and you’ll need extra space to install Linux. We recommend splitting the empty space in half, allocating half to Windows and half to Linux.

Follow the remaining installation steps to finish.

How to Install Linux

Installing Windows first is a good idea because it makes installing Linux much easier. If you already have Windows installed, you can still dual boot Linux, but you’ll need tocreate a new partition on your hard drive.

We’ll be using Ubuntu for our example, but the process is similar for most Linux distros.

Step 1:Download the latest version of Ubuntuand store it somewhere you can easily access. Grab your second blank USB drive and insert it into your computer.

Step 2:Download balenaEtcherand open it up. Select your blank USB drive and your Ubuntu image and run the software to create your bootable Linux media.

Step 3:Keeping your Linux USB drive plugged in, restart your computer and rapidly press theF12key to enter the boot menu. Select your Linux USB drive to boot into the installation screen.

Step 4:You will be able to try or install Ubuntu, so if you’re unsure about Linux, try out the OS first. It can run off of your USB drive, though with decreased performance. Once you’re settled, selectInstall Ubuntuto continue.

Select your keyboard layout and language and opt for aNormal installation.ensure to check both boxes under theOther optionssection on this screen.

Step 5:Ubuntu will automatically detect if you have Windows installed. SelectInstall Ubuntu alongside Windows 10on this screen. The other option,Erase disk and install Ubuntuwill remove Windows from your PC.

Step 6:If you started with a blank hard drive, you’re done. Finish the installation and use the boot menu referenced above to choose which OS to boot into (select the hard drive partition you want).

If Windows is taking up the entire drive, you’ll see a screen that allows you to allocate disc space to Ubuntu. Choose how much space you want to allocate and continue. Wehighlyrecommend creating a partition through Windows first, however, to avoid accidentally deleting data.

Most Linux distros will launch into a boot menu that allows you to select between Linux and Windows, but you may need to use the boot menu to choose which OS you want to load into.

How to dual boot Windows and Linux FAQ

Does dual boot slow down a PC?

No. Dual booting does restrict that quantity of storage space you have access to within each operating system, since you’ll need to dedicate drive space to not only the operating systems themselves, but their respective services, drivers, and applications. However, when you’re using either of the operating systems, you are not using the other one, so they don’t slow down your PC at all.

How do I share files between Windows and Linux on a dual boot?

The same way you would share files between two different computers running Windows and Linux. you may use aflash drive or external hard driveto manually transfer files between the two installations – the only difference is you don’t have to unplug the drive. You coulduse a cloud storage providerfor the same purpose, or set up a shared folder on a partition both operating systems can access.

Depending on the files you’re transferring, there can be compatible issues, however, so consider the best way to transfer the data for your needs.