If you are trying to learn programming, Linux can be a great way to get some experience and understand the underlying works of the computer. Many people believe Linux is not user friendly and it is unusable for general purposes, this is not true. Many Linux distros are comparable to Windows in user friendliness and they will probably make your computer run faster because they are so light. In this tutorial, I will show you how to dual boot or replace Windows with Linux.

Choosing a Distribution

One of the great things about Linux is that there are so many distributions to choose from. A distribution is like a version, but since Linux is open source, there are hundreds of versions to choose instead of just Windows 10 or Windows 7. Any distro should work for this guide, but here are a few I recommend

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro available. It’s fast, extremely user friendly, and great for beginners. I am currently using Ubuntu on my main computer and I highly recommend it. One drawback of Ubuntu however is that the interface is slightly different that Windows, and it might be a bit difficult to adjust for people who have only ever used Windows, but since you are going to dual boot alongside Windows, it shouldn’t be a problem. I will be using Ubuntu for the rest of this guide, but you should be able to follow the same steps for any distro.

Linux Mint

Linux Mint is another popular distro for users coming from Windows. Linux Mint was designed to be very similar to Windows in terms of design, while at the same time preserving all of the great things about Linux. I would recommend Linux Mint for those who would like to completely replace Windows with Linux.

Create a Bootable Drive

The next step is to create a bootable drive. This will allow you boot into a Linux installer where you install your distribution. In order to create a bootable drive, you need to first download your distro’s iso.

Download the ISO

Every distribution has their own iso file. This file contains the instructions for the computer to boot into an installer for that distro. You should easily be able to find the iso for whichever distro you are choosing on their website. Here are the links for Linux Mint and Ubuntu‘s download page.

Flash to USB Drive

After you have downloaded the iso, the next step is to create a bootable drive by flashing it to a USB Drive. The distribution you choose should have shown the USB Drive size requirements on the downloads page. For Ubuntu you need a 4GB USB Drive and 25GB of space on your laptop. Once you have found a drive that will work, head over to Balena Etcher and install it on your laptop. Once it is installed open it and you should see a page like this

Next, select plug in a USB Drive and select it as the target. Then, select flash from file and select the iso that you just downloaded. Finally, hit flash. Now you will need to wait some time and once it is done you are ready to install Linux.

Install Linux

Boot into Linux

Now that you have a bootable drive, you need to boot into it. To do this you need to open the one time boot menu. Every manufacturer has a different way of doing this, but it usually involves restarting, and then as soon as your pc starts up, you hit a specific key. This website lists all of the different hotkeys for different manufacturers. So find your model in the list, and use the key under “boot menu.” If that doesn’t work, or your laptop isn’t on the list, you may need to look up how to do this for your specific machine. Once you have entered the boot menu, you should see the USB Drive as an option to boot into. Select it and you should be good to go.

Configure the Installation

Once you have booted into your drive, you should see a menu like this

Now select the correct language and press “Install Ubuntu.” After this most of the steps are self explanatory. The most important step which you need to pay attention to is this one

This step asks you if you would like to replace Windows 10, or dual boot. For anyone who wants to have more control over the partitions, you can select “Something else”, but for most people, just select “install Ubuntu alongside Windows 10” for dual booting and “Erase Disk and install Ubuntu” for replacing Windows. Finish up and now you have successfully installed Linux on your pc!

How do I get back to Windows?

If you have dual booted you pc, you may be wondering how you can go back to Windows. All you need to do is restart your pc and you should be given a menu where you can select Windows or Linux.

Conclusion

If you are a beginner, and are unsure where to begin, be sure to check out Linux Journey. It is a great place to learn about Linux command line and more. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please feel free to leave a comment down below. If not, I’ll see you next time.