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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[–] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 9 months ago

I'm going to go against the grain a bit and suggest trying Linux in a virtual machine instead of dual booting.

In case you haven't heard of them, virtual machines are like a computer inside your computer. You can set up as many as you like, as long as you have the space, and if they go wrong, they won't affect the rest of your computer. You can set them up to share a folder with Windows for accessing your files.

The reason I'm suggesting a virtual machine is because you use your computer for school. Linux is very user friendly these days, and pretty easy to set up, but this seems to be something that you're new to, so you won't know how to fix any problems that come up.

If you've got school work due and something goes wrong, you don't want to be fixing the computer instead of doing your work.

Once you've got some experience, then look at dual booting.

P.S. Mint is a great choice :)