Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Can Linux be dual booted on a computer with Windows? (lemmy.world)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by shadowSprite@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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I have a Lenovo Yoga running Windows 10 on a 1TB SSD and at some point will probably have to upgrade it to Windows 11. I use it for school and have to keep Windows on it for now because of what I'm currently doing. I want to start getting into Linux in hopes of making the switch sometime down the line. Is partitioning the disk and dual booting Windows/Linux a thing and is it possible/easy to do? If so, what distro would anyone recommend? (I've heard good things about Mint). Back in the day I had gotten bored one night, installed Ubuntu on an external drive and played around with it a very tiny bit before forgetting about it, but that's the extent of my Linux knowledge, so kindly keep explanations ELI5 :)

Edit: Thank you everyone! You've given me lots of good advice and knowledge, some terms to Google, and some good places to start. I appreciate it! Looking forward to joining the wonderful world of Linux!

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[–] Fryboyter@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 9 months ago

A dual boot system is not a big problem as long as you boot in EFI mode and use GPT partitions. I have been running a dual boot system (Windows 10 and Arch Linux) for years without any problems.

You should allocate around 500 MB for the EFI partition. This allows you to install Windows and a Linux distribution and still have reserves if you want to install additional Linux kernels, for example.

If you want to change partitions, first make a data backup on another data medium. Because something can always go wrong. Even if it's just a power failure.