Help a windowsuser getting started with linux dualbooting

[manutd]

Hi!

So, im fairly new to linux but regarding the direction microsoft/windows is going im thinking of switching more to linux.

The thing is (sadly) I cant give up windows entirely since there are games and software I cant run on linux (mostly because of kernel/anti-cheat).


I do run windows on a nvme and a second nvme connected as storage drive. I also have a ssd sata-disk connected and im thinking of using that one as the linux-disk.


Thats why im thinking of dual booting. But I have a few questions.


My pc is running a AMD 9800X3D, Nvidia 5070ti, 32GB ram and 2 monitors.


Which dist would you recommend regarding dual boot, tpm, drivers etc. ?


Since im somewhat a beginner I want it to be a straight forward installation as possible.


All help/input/guides with this would be much appreciated!

Best regards

 

[kc1di]

Hello @manutd
Welcome to the Linux.org forum, Almost any of the major Distros should work for you. Nvidia can be problematic at times but can usually be done. And if you run into trouble this is a good place to get help. Mint would be a good place to start.

 

[Brickwizard]

any of the more popular Linux will have a graphical installer that will take you through the process, as to which why and how see the links in my signature below

and Welcome to the forums

 

[manutd]

Thank you both for the quick replies! Really appreciate it!

I will check them out and decide wich one of them I find interesting.

 

[MikeWalsh]

@manutd :-

Hallo.....and

to Linux.org.

You'll find they're a good bunch here. We'll do what we can to help.

Here, I'm rocking a Core i7-8700, 32GB DDR4, and a GT 1030. I don't use this latter for owt serious; lightweight, occasional video-editing, and the odd half-hour with Linux-native indie games (if I get a wee bit bored).

I run a very lightweight distro called 'Puppy' Linux. This loads from compressed, read-only files & runs entirely in RAM for the session. This leaves me almost ALL of my RAM to do what I want with. She's not everybody's cup of tea, but I've been with her since 2014 when I wiped XP (and Windows in general) out of my life, literally overnight.

Don't hesitate to ask questions......and please try to provide appropriate information wherever possible. We're not there in the room with you, looking over your shoulder, and we're NOT mindreaders! We only know what YOU tell us, so.....the degree of help ya get is really down to you.

Stick around.....and enjoy the atmosphere!


Mike.

 

[manutd]

I ended up installing Fedora and it was straight forward without any hassle setting up the os, displays software and so on. I will try it for some time and see how I feel about it in the long term.

Is there anything I should do, look up etc? Any specific driver for gpu or just go with the drivers the update manager gives me?

Again, really appreciate all of you helping me with this!

 

[johnblackwood1]

You dont need windows! There is tools like steams proton that i think can bypass kernel anti-cheat so you could play all your windows games. And theres other versions of proton if you dont have steam. Older game? Wine. Newer game? Proton/Steam. Oh and almost forgot there is linux native versions of games because of the growing userbase of linux. Good Luck

 

[beanburrito]

The thing is (sadly) I cant give up windows entirely since there are games and software I cant run on linux (mostly because of kernel/anti-cheat).

I consider kernel level anti-cheat software to be rootkits. I wouldn't play any of the games which have them, no matter how entertaining. Here's a brief document on it, it's part of my opinion on the technology. The paper is dated as 2024, much has changed but some things remain the same.

If It Looks Like a Rootkit and Deceives Like a Rootkit: A Critical Examination of Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat Systems

I've played several games in Linux and often they performed better than in Windows. However, I eventually grew out of gaming for various reasons and found complex feature tools/utilities more interesting to toy/learn with than gaming. Learning/research could be considered a form of gaming, I suppose.

I ended up installing Fedora and it was straight forward without any hassle setting up the os, displays software and so on. I will try it for some time and see how I feel about it in the long term.

Is there anything I should do, look up etc?

This is not a complete answer, but some links for your information. Mailing lists are often more technical than forums, depending on the source of course.

Communication in Fedora, Fedora discussion boards (warning: annoying board software)

Which distro would I recommend? Debian. (I ran Sid/unstable for awhile and never encountered a problem, but I wouldn't recommend Sid for a newbie - Stable is fine unless you need bleeding edge - see this for more information) But, I would recommend trying a number of other distros first along with Debian and see what works for you. I detest RPMs and thus wouldn't recommend Fedora/SuSE and the like.

Most of all, have fun!

 

[The Duck]

Although it's for Linux Mint and or Ubuntu it should be useful for most mainstream Linux distros.

How to create a dual boot when preserving Windows seems impossible

Easy tips, tweaks and tricks for Linux Mint and Ubuntu, both for beginners and for advanced users. Complete starter's guide with simple how-to's.

easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com

 

[Goatmilk]

I shouldn't say anything, still being a rookie myself, but I also couldn't let go of my old Windows (and mine is a real antique). While it might be possible to replace the old stuff with steam and whatnot, I'm a creature of habit and I like to take a stroll through the "old neighborhood" every now and then.

What I did do is install both systems, each one on its own hard drive, to avoid the two os getting in the way of each other. It might be even more important if you have a newer Windows that still needs updates. It might have changed by now, but at least in my time a Windows update was the equivalent to a digital wrecking ball.

I hope Fedora works for you - and if not, have a look at MX Linux.

 

[Brickwizard]

95% of what you do on Windows can be done on Linux either natively or using a compatibility layer, most steam/proton games rum better in in Linux, the caveat is security, Linux will [at the moment] not allow games with anti-cheat to embed themselves