Figuring out how to dual boot Windows 11 and Linux on a single system can be painstaking. We’re here to simplify the process with this quick guide.
Linux OS is one of the most popular open-source operating systems out there, with many variations of distros. Each distro has its own set of features. Sometimes we need both OS in our machine. Windows OS can be your daily driver, as it supports many professional software and games. And you may need Linux to try out its feature.
You may need a dual boot to manage your personal/work OS. Here in this tutorial, we will install Linux (Ubuntu) in Windows 11. Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux OS, and you check out its features here.
Prerequisites
To get started with this tutorial, you will need a Windows 11 machine. We focus on making Windows 11 machine bootable to Linux (Ubuntu).
Some prerequisites are as follows:
- Around 40+ GB of free disk space.
- ISO file of your favorite Linux Distro.
- USB flash drive with 8+ GB storage capacity.
How to Dual Boot Windows 11 and Linux
Once you have the requirements all set, you need to create a bootable drive for the system for both Windows and Linux too.
Create USB Flash Drive Bootable
As I said earlier, we need to create a USB drive bootable to install Linux ISO through BIOS (UEFI). To make the USB bootable, we are going to use Rufus. Rufus is a very lightweight tool that facilitates this feature.
- Download Rufus from here.
- Download your favorite Linux ISO from their trusted sources.
- Launch Rufus and select your USB Drive.
- Click the “SELECT” button to import the Linux ISO you downloaded.
- Now select GPT and UEFI, as shown in the above image.
- Now click the “START” button to make your drive bootable and select Write in ISO image mode.
Partition your disk for Linux installation
It will take a solid 5 min to 10 min to make your flash drive bootable. Meantime, we can set up your disk to manage the space needed.
- Click “Win + X” on your keyboard simultaneously and select Disk Management.
- Now right-click on your desired partition to free up the space you need and click the “Shrink Volume” option and select the desired capacity (Min 40 GB) like this.
3. Once you have unallocated around 40 GB of space, you can restart your PC to BIOS mode.
4. Go to Settings > System > Recovery > Advance startup > Restart Now.
- Once your PC boots to BIOS, find Boot Order Priority and move USB to the top of this list. This gives Bootable USB the highest priority.
6. Now find Fast Boot or Quick Boot and disable it along with Secure boot.
7. Once done, click Save and Exit button. Now your PC will be restarted, and your Bootable device will be loaded instead of your Windows 11.
Install Linux (Ubuntu)
Now your USB will be used to boot your PC, i.e., Linux OS in your USB Flash drive will be booted. In our case, we have used Ubuntu, but any Linux Distro can be installed.
Once you exit BIOS, you will be welcomed with Setup Wizard like below.
- Select your compatible language and click the “Install Ubuntu” button.
2. Now select a Keyboard layout and click “Continue”.
3. Now select Normal installation, which includes basic features like browsers, games, media players, etc. It is optimal for most users, but if you want a minimalistic Linux OS, you can select Minimal installation.
4. Enable, the Install third-party software option to include more features and click “Continue”.
5. Now, you can manage your disk. Click “Install Ubuntu alongside Windows Boot Manager” and click “Continue”.
6. Select the free space and Add(+). You can allocate space for the root directory in the size field.
7. Allocate the other space to the home and click “OK”
8. Finally, click on Install now. Accept any prompts that appear on-screen. It may take some time.
9. Once done, select your time zone and click “Continue”.
10. Now, a prompt will ask you to set up your user. It includes your username, computer name, your name, and password. You can also change these from your setting anytime you want.
11. Now, the final installation may take up to 30 minutes, so do not panic and let it do its thing. Once completed, you click on the “Restart Now” button.
12. You can finally disconnect your USB flash drive because your OS is now installed on your local drive.
13. On reboot, you will be asked to choose the OS you want to boot to because you have 2 OS on your machine right now.
14. To reboot to Ubuntu, select Ubuntu and hit Enter. To reboot to windows, press the down arrow key to boot to Windows OS.
Remove Linux From Dual Boot
This is a fairly simple task. It contains mainly 2 parts: first of all, you have to delete the Linux partition from Disk Management and then remove GRUB files from the partition.
- Open disk management by pressing “Win + X” and selecting Disk Management.
- Now, Right-Click on the Linux partitions you allocated earlier and click on “Delete Volume”
- Then, open the command prompt in Administrative mode and run the following commands:
DiskpartList disk
- Now locate your system disk and type the following command:
sel disk # – here # is the disk name
- Now, we have to select our partition in that disk. First, list all disks like this:
List partition
- Then, locate and select your partition like this:
select partition #
- Now, carefully execute the following commands in the given order:
assign letter=xexitx:cd EFIdir
- Now, there will be an ubuntu folder in the given directory. To delete this folder, type the following command:
rd foldername /s
And press Y to accept.
Once done, you have successfully deleted Dual boot from your Windows machine.
That’s it! You will now have a system that is capable of running not just Linux Ubuntu, but the latest version of Windows 11 too. Albeit, there are quite a few steps involved in getting the dual-boot system running, as long as you stick to the guide above, it should all go down smoothly.
If this guide helped you, please share it.
