I have Windows 10 and i would like to incorporate and learn Linux!

[Cashew9900]

Hello, I have a 500GB SSD, and a separate hard drive I added to my pc that's also 500GB. This hard drive is completely blank and I formatted it for my Windows 10 computer. I was wondering if I can dual boot windows 10 and Zorin OS lite or maybe linux mint(let me know what you all recommend for a beginner), and if there's anything else I need to do to get it on my hard drive (I don't want to lose all my files and games on my main SSD). I'm new to this stuff and am trying to learn, I don't want to mess my computer up but am also eager to learn Linux and want to use it! anyone who can help me would be greatly appreciated! I was hoping id be able to have a hard drive for linux and my current SSD for Windows and be able to use either or and still access all my files and play my games while also learning the new OS. Let me know what you all think or if this is going to be more complicated than I thought lol.

 

[BoringZombie]

Hello, I have a 500GB SSD, and a separate hard drive I added to my pc that's also 500GB. This hard drive is completely blank and I formatted it for my Windows 10 computer. I was wondering if I can dual boot windows 10 and Zorin OS lite or maybe linux mint(let me know what you all recommend for a beginner), and if there's anything else I need to do to get it on my hard drive (I don't want to lose all my files and games on my main SSD). I'm new to this stuff and am trying to learn, I don't want to mess my computer up but am also eager to learn Linux and want to use it! anyone who can help me would be greatly appreciated! I was hoping id be able to have a hard drive for linux and my current SSD for Windows and be able to use either or and still access all my files and play my games while also learning the new OS. Let me know what you all think or if this is going to be more complicated than I thought lol.

You can have one hard drive with Linux and another with windows.

 

[Cashew9900]

You can have one hard drive with Linux and another with windows.

if i put Linux onto my blank hard drive i wont lose any of my files on my ssd right? and can i make it so i can also access them through Linux or will they only be accessible through windows?

 

[Brickwizard]

not a problem, just make sure you save anything important off the HDD first and when you do your installation be sure to select the correct drive to make the installation. Mint is good for beginners

How Do I Install Linux (A General Guide) • Linux Tips

Today, I will try to answer one of the most common questions asked by the newcomer to Linux; “How do I install Linux”

linux-tips.us

 

[BoringZombie]

if i put Linux onto my blank hard drive i wont lose any of my files on my ssd right? and can i make it so i can also access them through Linux or will they only be accessible through windows?

If your files are on another drive you won't lose them.

 

[Brickwizard]

and can i make it so i can also access them through Linux or will they only be accessible through windows?

Linux can read and display any file format that windows uses BUT windows cannot read/display the normal Linux file systems

 

[Cashew9900]

Linux can read and display any file format that windows uses BUT windows cannot read/display the normal Linux file systems

so basically converting to a linux os is easier than converting back to a windows os. would i need to format the hard drive if i reverted back?

 

[Brickwizard]

Windows files systems are Fat32, exFAT, and NTFS, modern Linux use EXT the current version is EXT4 [there are also JFS, ReiserFS, XFS, and Btrfs. but not usually used on desktops]
so if you re-format your hard drive for Linux it would normally be the safer EXT4, so to convert back to windows 7-10 you would have to convert back to NTFS,
now the interesting bit, you can use NTFS for installing Linux, but you then introduce some of the inherent security problems of windows
whichever way you are re-programming, the installation ISO will normally wipe and install the best file system for that installation on your storage drive.

 

[Brickwizard]

Now to continue.

Hello, I have a 500GB SSD, and a separate hard drive I added to my pc that's also 500GB. This hard drive is completely blank

so if i have this right, you have a 500gb ssd which is currently holding a windows' installation, and a new 500gb HDD on which you want to install Linux and keep Windows .. YES?
Simple, follow the installation instructions and when it comes to the the partition and hard drive selection make sure you choose the new blank drive to install to, If you are only putting Linux on this drive let the installer automatically partition this drive by selecting use complete drive

 

[kc1di]

Hello @Cashew9900,
Welcome to the Linux.org forum. You have already been given some very good advise and you should be well on your way to install a linux distro on your HDD. Enjoy the learning. We will be here to help if and when needed. Good luck.
You may want to take a look here as you progress.

Home | Linux Journey

linuxjourney.com

 

[Cashew9900]

Hello @Cashew9900,
Welcome to the Linux.org forum. You have already been given some very good advise and you should be well on your way to install a linux distro on your HDD. Enjoy the learning. We will be here to help if and when needed. Good luck.
You may want to take a look here as you progress.

hi, thanks! I did install Linux mint and am currently using it! I guess I made a bit of a mistake when installing because I can't seem to boot up windows at all or access any of my old files(I'm not too worried if they're gone they weren't important) but now id like to reinstall windows on my other drive and be able to dual boot to use my games. when I try to access my other drive it says it's not mounted. I'm not sure what this means

 

[Brickwizard]

try sudo update-grub from the terminal, if windows is still there it may find it and give you the option on a re-boot.

 

[X104825]

If you would like to try out more Linux distros GNOME Boxes can run up to 10 on a decent performance computer with low glitches but over 50 GB is recommended.

 

[Terminal Velocity]

Switching to Linux is like quit smoking, the best way is to do it at once, format the Windows and replace them with a Linux distribution, and never look back

 

[sujanavan]

You may Test/Learn various distros using Virtual Box or any hypervisor of your choice that runs good with Win10