If you donβt respect the bootloader, you donβt get a seat at the table.
this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2026
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There's a chance I'd still have a windows install alongside Linux, if windows would just mind its own business.
Windows modified my partition layout after a forced update. I felt violated...
Don't worry windows. You may be back as a small virtual machine for some obscure rarely used reason.
Just got my printer working so even my virtual Windows can go away now π₯³
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A pivotal moment in my life was when I first installed Linux to the entire hard disk instead of a separate partition.
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I did dual booting for a month just to make sure there wasnβt a single use case for windows left. Not ONE use case for me.
Just so ppl aren't dissapointed Daws like ableton and fl studio don't have support (Reaper and Bitwig do tho, some others too)
Visual programs like touch designer and resolume don't work (seen workarounds but they have issues)
Davinci resolve may crash, it worked fine on arch but on bazzite it freezes my pc when loading projects
On the gaming side obv there are the games that won't function without anticheat like wrc, iracing, f1, etc. No game pass ofc.
I still wouldn't swap back to windows and I barely use it, maybe once a month if I really want to use something not on Linux.
Main downside is lack of piracy. Houdinifx should work fine on linux natively, but lacks a crack. So even if the paid software does work, if you pirate to use this stuff as a hobby than you'll have to swap to something like Blender/Inkscape that is free and works on linux. Only crack I've found was for Davinci Resolve.
Linux has plenty of free and capable alternatives for paid software, I like that it has me using Foss more. Went from learning Houdini + Davinci to just sticking with Blender for my hobby visuals, not mad about it, prefer that I was forced to focus on one.
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I did it for almost a year. Went back over once just to get files I missed moving the first time.
how about four booting instead?
I remember when I was dualbooting Windows and Linux. The year was 2006 and many devices needed special drivers that were closed sourced and available only for Windows. Laptop cameras, WiFi, memory card readers... Linux would run on most laptops but many things still didn't work right. Similar thing with some software. You would buy a smart watch or something and it would require running some weird Windows only app to set it up. We're so lucky those strange times are behind us now.
You would buy a smart watch or something and it would require running some weird Windows only app to set it up.
Unfortunately still the case for most BIOS updaters, RGB/cooling setups, and proprietary HID stuff. You need Windows for anything beyond the basics.
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I switched to Linux the first time couple of months ago. Thinking I would switch between Linux and Windows until I get evertything working under Linux. But after installing Linux, I never went back to windows xD but it's still installed
I set up dual boot just in case, but I can't remember the last time I even booted Windows. When I get a chance I'll probably just nuke it.
My VR set up simply will not work in Linux yet, or at least not correctly. Once that's fixed I'll nuke my windows part
literally the only reason I ever boot into WIndows now is for doing online exams for college that use spyware shit and throws a hissy fit if you'reon linux (both browser and app... well, if you can even get the testing app on Linux...)
I don't want to tinker around with something that determines my entire grade nor do I want to take my test on a school device because there might be files and programs I need, so I just switch to my Windows partition for that awful 5 hrs or so. But once I graduate that shit is getting nuked.
Yeah Iβd done the same a while back just to play D2 (fucking Battle Eye), but found I just never booted into it and said fuck it Iβll live w/o games that have incompatible anti cheat.
"But I need..." No you don't. Commit and learn a new way to do the thing you swear you need Windows for.
How do I run my WMR kit on Linux to play modded Beat Saber? I can mod beat saber on Linux but I prefer to sweat in my WMR kit instead of my expensive Index.
For the noobs to Linux, heed the words of your endlers: don't dual boot. The operating systems have a way of killing each other's bootloaders. It might even run fine for a while, but then one day there will be an update and one OS will be unbootable. Not worth the risk as a noob. If you're really worried you might need a Windows program, then just run a Windows VM within Linux. If you want to keep the option for gaming, then you could dual boot, but don't do it on a work critical machine.
Dual boot is fine, you just need to choose some good options.
Method 1: Most recommended. use Refined as your boot loader and two drives, not partitions. This is the easiest, safest, and frankly nicest way to deal with this. At boot, before either system starts you get a nice graphical interface to choose which OS to go into.
Method 2: Partition style. Disable window fast startup. Disable windows hibernation (never hibernate windows before going into linux). Use UEFI and GPT no legacy methods. Don't encrpyt windows with bitlocker.
That said, my desktop and traveling laptop have been windows free for years, I have no need for it, and your advice is the safest way overall. A vm in linux with virtualmanager works very well.
The operating systems have a way of killing each otherβs bootloaders.
Windows has a way of killing Linux bootloaders.
I've never heard of it happening the other way around.
I thought about dual booting on my PC when I built it like a year ago, but after reading about pros and cons a little bit I just said nah I'm good, let's do this, Linux. When my wife recently got a used computer from her sister, they didn't give us the login password, so instead of calling them and asking I just put my flash drive in there and said bye bye windows. My favorite part about installing Linux is how fast it is. I don't have to sit and click through a 20-step installation wizard where every step takes 20 minutes to do whatever it's doing.
Eh. When ditching W10, I did install on a separate partition; I have one piece of software that I knew would be troublesome.
Then one day I needed space, and just nuked windows. Didn't boot it in months anyway.
I have a separate drive for windows. I've heard tales of how windows can simply break or eat Linux partitions or something. It's only there so I can run games that won't run on Linux.
It would wipe the boot loader, might still do that it's been a long time size I dual booted, and from what I remember would get massively confused if it couldn't boot in to windows during one of its update/reboot x3 cycles.
Also would eat kittens given half a chance
i think it's in fact possible to install windows on btrfs or linux on ntfs.. and have them on one partition.
Both of these sound like terrible ideas
they are indeed lmao
Ewβ¦
I did dual booting for a long time, because β¨ proprietary drivers β¨ , To this day I can't use my wifi (there's no patch for now) or bluetooth, but it's acceptable price for not being under microsoft's feet
My first ever Linux install, I just went for it. I backed up my media, played around in the live environment for 5 minutes or so, then I wiped the drive and installed. No dual boot, no VM, just bare metal. That was 10 years ago, and I have never looked back.
I have Win10 IOT installed in VirtualBox, but I haven't booted it in almost a year. I don't have any use for it, that Linux can't handle.
I got curious last week with how windows is now and decided to just spin up a copy on an extra 250gb ssd I had. I had a windows 11 usb stick so I just installed it. big mistake. during the MANY updates post install it decided to "upgrade" the bios on my thinkpad and now the volume controls (up, down, mute) are "backwards". I had to go into the bios to set the F1 thru 12 keys to enable without the use of the FN key to be able to use the FN key with them. it's so stupid.
Also thank god when I installed windows I used a throw away email to setup the account because it immediately got spammed with microsoft emails.
Never again.
I wish I didnβt have a purpose for Windows. I need to dual boot because I canβt get FL studio on my Steamdeck.
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I think most other linux distros get the same treatment to be fair. I know I usually just nuke / and use the old /home
I'm dualbooting Linux. Mostly because I'm in the process of switching distros and I've been dragging my feet for a long time.
My windows install is safely on a drive nicknamed "STORAGE".
I use arch, btw.
I forgot I even had a Windows partitionβ¦
And that was the moment Padme chose violence
Ok thats funny
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