New Laptop - Dual Boot Help.

SinDinero

Hi.

The short. I need a new laptop and I want to start with a Linux OS, BUT, as I use iFollow (for football now fans still can't attend) and also NowTV I'll need to run them on Windows (as they don't seem to work on Linux when I had a trial run on my old laptop via a USB boot).

How easy is it to set up a dual boot (bearing in mind I am not really a techie - I'm very much plug and play). Will it be easier to do this by buying a Windows Installed Machine and the Installing Linux or the other way around (assuming I can get hold of a Windows bootable USB)? Or perhaps one without an OS at all?

As this will be a new laptop to replace and old one (so I expect it to last 4 years at least) I need to 'future proof it to some degree). So minimum requirements would be 8gb RAM and probably an i7 processor equivalent (Ryzen/AMD - whatever that is).

Also as I am planning a new post Covid life working online I'll need to be able to connect to the internet through a cable (not Wifi - a requirement of the job I'm hoping to get) - so that probably means it will need an Ethernet port (which don't seem to be that popular) and as I sometimes connect to TV for the football an HDMI cable. And probably a couple of USB ports as standard.,

Screen size should be 15.6 (as I can't hack watching films etc. on anything smaller).

Max price £700

Any ideas? I did find one that seem pretty good (it was actually listed as a Gaming laptop - ASUS) but when I looked at the specs I was absolutely shocked to see that it only had 1 port listed (A USB 2.0). Seriously? in 2020?

Savvy_Sue

I don't know much about dual boot, but I've only ever known it done by starting from a Windoze base.

And I have also found that my assumptions over essentials in a laptop don't always match the reality.

So I would have told you that it's possible to get a USB to Ethernet converter, BUT if you've only got one USB port ... of course you can get USB hubs, but I believe they can slow things down?

It could be worth googling to see if there's a Linux Users Group local to you. Ours* is meeting online of course, but there's also a fair bit of friendly email support going on. 

* I say 'ours': I mean DH's. I'm on the dark side, but I've dabbled when someone else has set it up for me!

fwor

SinDinero said:

How easy is it to set up a dual boot (bearing in mind I am not really a techie - I'm very much plug and play). Will it be easier to do this by buying a Windows Installed Machine and the Installing Linux or the other way around (assuming I can get hold of a Windows bootable USB)? Or perhaps one without an OS at all?

It's been around a year since I last did a dual-boot install and things might have changed, but I doubt it.

In my experience, it's easiest to install Windows and then install Linux after. The tools to do it are built-in and easily available in Linux. Perhaps they are also available the other way round, but MS have never wanted to acknowledge the existence of Linux, so you should not expect them to make it easy to retain Linux when you install Windows.

Linux comes with a good partition manager (Gparted) built-in, so you have as much control as you want over how you split your hard disk up when you do the Linux install.

I should add that I doubt you need anything i7 based unless you're doing something really unusually processor intensive. I watch HD TV (under Linux) on a Celeron-based NUC (Intel HD graphics 500) and it has no issues at all - so unless you're doing something like transcoding which you need done fast, I would think a midrange CPU would be easily enough.

Neil_Jones

Dual boots are easy - Linux installers take care of it all, so its easier to install Windows first (or have a machine with Windows already on it), and then pick your flavour of Linux.  Doing it the other way round isn't impossible, but OEM versions of Windows will assume they are the only operating system on the disk and build accordingly.

mksysb

Yes, start with Windows installed.  Then use Windows to shrink the partition so you have free space to install Linux.  Linux can do the shrinking but safer to do it in Windows first.

grumpycrab

So starting with Windows appears to be the easiest option.  And you can now run Linux from Windows (worth a shot unless you really want to dual boot).
https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/ubuntu-on-windows

SinDinero

Hi. Thanks for the replies.

What would be the minimum HD memory I'd need for a dual boot?

I should stress, as I'm not sure if I made that clear. But I am currently 'computerless' and am looking to buy one.

In short it seems I should get a Windows laptop and then hope I can install Linux on it. I guess the main problem with that is that Windows laptops sometimes won't allow Linux to be installed for some reason - certainly not for beginners at least.

I have read about all kinds of basic problems (like wifi not recognised etc.) that can only be sorted out with knowledge.

I suspect a lot might be to do with 'driver problems'? As Windows seems to install them all and Linux possibly not so?

Neil_Jones

Why exactly do you want Linux?  You've said why you want Windows but not why you want Linux?  What benefit is it going to bring you?

Linux, if you get the versions with a pretty interface, are all well and good, but they can require a more hands on approach if it goes wrong.  Windows, for all its own faults and quirks, is probably more straightforward if you just want a "Plug and play" approach to your computing.  Linux will do "plug and play"  as such, but if you're used to the way Windows works, it can be a different ball game.

Linux is quite often based around the concept of generic drivers, which is fine for the most part until you find a piece of hardware it doesn't recognise, which is where the fun starts.  Often lots of typing of commands in, hoping you have the right driver, if not finding something else... none of that applies with Windows (by default anyway).

debitcardmayhem

I would have an SSD for the system disk and a Data disk. My ACER laptop has a 256GB M2 and 1 TB SSD which I has a 190GB partition for Windows + 60GB for Linux + 100MB Efi partition and 1GB Boot Partition. The data drive which is now SSD  (swapped out the Spinner) split 800GB Linux(I use Linux mainly day to day but the data disk includes 2 windows Virtual Win 10s 1 Pro  and 1 Preview) + 200GB windows. But the choice is really down to you.

It also has a Nvidia Gfx card (that's fun on Linux) but rarely have problems worrying about drivers, a lot of "stuff" in the kernel these days.

mksysb

SinDinero said:

Hi. Thanks for the replies.

What would be the minimum HD memory I'd need for a dual boot?

I should stress, as I'm not sure if I made that clear. But I am currently 'computerless' and am looking to buy one.

In short it seems I should get a Windows laptop and then hope I can install Linux on it. I guess the main problem with that is that Windows laptops sometimes won't allow Linux to be installed for some reason - certainly not for beginners at least.

I have read about all kinds of basic problems (like wifi not recognised etc.) that can only be sorted out with knowledge.

I suspect a lot might be to do with 'driver problems'? As Windows seems to install them all and Linux possibly not so?

Manjaro or Mint are quite good at discovering what hardware you have and loading the correct drivers.

Make sure you turn off Secure boot in the bios, and fast startup in windows first.

SinDinero

Neil_Jones said:

Why exactly do you want Linux?  You've said why you want Windows but not why you want Linux?  What benefit is it going to bring you?

Linux, if you get the versions with a pretty interface, are all well and good, but they can require a more hands on approach if it goes wrong.  Windows, for all its own faults and quirks, is probably more straightforward if you just want a "Plug and play" approach to your computing.  Linux will do "plug and play"  as such, but if you're used to the way Windows works, it can be a different ball game.

Linux is quite often based around the concept of generic drivers, which is fine for the most part until you find a piece of hardware it doesn't recognise, which is where the fun starts.  Often lots of typing of commands in, hoping you have the right driver, if not finding something else... none of that applies with Windows (by default anyway).

Because I HATE Windows 10 and always have done. In fact, amusingly enough I think I commented here in 2018 how much I HATE WINDOWS 10. Enforced updates are the worst, I have an older family member that has in the last year started using a compute and they are periodically phoning another family member about their 'computer not working like they used to' and the vast majority of them are because of stuff Microsoft has forced on the computer. The latest being the Microsoft Edge browser and Bing. It's very simple for us guys that grew up with computers, but one slight change for someone that's not even a bit tech savvy and it's basically a disaster.

I hate those enforced updates too and all the bloatware on the computer that you can't get rid of. . . oh and all the hidden spyware too.

And if that useless piece of **** Cortana was a person I would be serving a real life imprisonment with no chance of parole..

Unfortunately as I said, as as you refer to, I need Windows for 2 things that I use regularly. Linux in that respect is a victim of it's own open so(u)rcery (haha) in that there are too many versions and not really a standard plug and play for beginners. And any attempt as visiting the help forum can be daunting as they soften peak in simple terms for 'programmers' that the average person hasn't got a clue about.

Obviously the problem isn't helped by the monopoly that Microsoft has on the majority of 'anti-Linux companies.'

Even Covid 19 is better than Windows 10.

I HATE WINDOWS 10. It's the worst thing EVER!