Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

andyp67 · 2023-07-16 17:18:05

A "safe, slow and stupid," computing method is genuine computer lingo.
This is done with Windows 10, I bet 11 is the same.

The following method will not touch the Windows Boot Manager on your computer (which sometimes can for sure break it;) this method is super oldschool booting with an external storage device, nowadays not a floppy disk but a USB stick. Using an external bootloader/boot manager, is how I boot my computers.

Put all your movies and stuff on a stick and free up all that space on you hard drive, shutdown, power on.

First, defrag, Menu - Windows Administrative Tools - Defragment and Optimise Drives.
Shutdown (when a LED light on your laptop has gone off, it HAS actually powered down/off.) Power on.

Second, shrink your Windows hard drive to free up some space to create a partition to put Linux on.
Perhaps certainly the best way is to use Windows Disk Management, Menu - Windows Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management.
Right-click the shaded box (probably C:.)
Shrink Volume.
Shrink space, say your 'hard drive' is 64GB, 16GB (16384MB,) is quite plenty indeed, even for a full-fat Linux distro.
Do the safe slow stupid thing and shutdown and power on your computer because Windows will appreciate that, after the changes.

Tasks;
Procure any old USB stick, the smaller the better.
Download rufus and download refind (refind-flashdrive zip file,) and unzip (extract,) the zip file (right click it.)
Run rufus and 'install' refind on the stick.
Subsequently, Windows will show that it does not recognize the stick, power off your computer and remove the stick.

Howto boot your Devuan stick.
The simplest way to not boot Windows but boot the USB stick is to go into bios/firmware.
Power on and at the same time tap tap tap and keep tapping away at the F2 key (some computers it's the ESC or DEL key.)
When you get into bios, TAKE CARE.
First, absolutely essential, disable fastboot and secure boot, save and exit and tap tap tap back in again.
Navigate to Boot Menu, obviously you need to boot the stick.
(Another way is to determine which F (Function key,) is for Boot Menu (often ESC.))
Install a real, not toy, operating system, partitioning manually is super easy, install on that 16GB free space you created, forget swap partition - we're not pre 1970's, IMPORTANT, install ****'Continue without boot loader.'**** When you finish and reboot, as it reboots, you can tap into bios and push the power button and it will power off immediately.
Plugin your refind stick, boot menu refind, there you go, tab to, or click, the big red D. (Laters, I have edited refind.conf textonly textmode 0.)
Very very most gravely sadly, another bootloader, super grub2 disk hybrid, works on my mini desktop, but not on my laptop.
refind will not work on old computers (pre EFI bios,) perhaps super grub 2 will.

Be most most proud of your patience and endurance using your grey matter to do something creative, when I was a newbie certainly it was all gobbledygook to me.
Learn how to add 'noatime,' to /etc/fstab, to protect your SSD.
I suppose the best way to write a Devuan iso to a stick, is to use rufus (that other standalone dd tool is problematic,) in rufus, if you are offered the option, choose dd.
rufus is excellent, always shows the stick, whereas if Windows don't like the stick, it don't show jack nothing.

Last edited by andyp67 (2023-07-16 19:52:47)

danuan · 2023-07-28 08:16:08

My simplified sequence of install

I have installed every which way but always end up with grub find windows and being the main loader at the end.

depending on sequence and bios vs uefi.

if windows is installed last then you need to chroot in to you linux install from rescue or live disk or your own usb install
and run grub update , grub install sequence.

if linux installed last , some times windows bugs out even if grub only touched the mbr or uefi partition
and needs a repair from a windows install disk, and again if it was mbr install grub needs a update install

Last edited by danuan (2023-07-28 09:29:29)

delgado · 2023-07-29 08:36:49

The title includes "dual-boot" and "best method".

20 bugs for an addional SSD - it's worth it.

One operating system per physical drive is a clear approach.
Installations can be done in a way that each drive can boot its operating system independently.
Since only one drive can boot as default, other drives may be selected through the "BIOS boot menu" ([F12] on my computer).
But grub can detect and start most operating systems anyway.

Altoid · 2023-07-30 13:15:01

Hello:

delgado wrote:

One operating system per physical drive is a clear approach.

+1
Fully agree with that.
Provided it is not a netbook/laptop with a single HDD but then that also has the possibility of a fast SD card.
Not sure that can be done for a windows system.

Best,

A.

andyp67 · 2023-08-06 10:33:13

I do not understand how to display an image on this forum.
Images are 2048x1536.

img src="http://www.andyp67.co.uk/CPX01.PNG" alt="" width="800" height="600"
img src="http://www.andyp67.co.uk/CPX02.PNG" alt="" width="800" height="600"
img src="http://www.andyp67.co.uk/CPX03.PNG" alt="" width="800" height="600"
img src="http://www.andyp67.co.uk/CPX04.PNG" alt="" width="800" height="600"
img src="http://www.andyp67.co.uk/CPX05.PNG" alt="" width="800" height="600"
img src="http://www.andyp67.co.uk/CPX06.PNG" alt="" width="800" height="600"
img src="http://www.andyp67.co.uk/CPX07.PNG" alt="" width="800" height="600"

If the Windows GUI defrag is broken/missing, defrag in Windows Command Prompt.
In theory, Windows defrag tools will not hurt an SSD.
The above images show Devuan Daedalus RC8 netinstall on a Asus E203N laptop, common Intel N3350, SSD 64GB mmcblk0 surface mount.

Last edited by andyp67 (2023-08-06 10:55:28)

aluma · 2024-01-04 12:46:30

My recent experience with installing Win8.

I got my hands on a laptop, the Win8 license was stitched into the BIOS. Two disks, 256GB SSD and 500GB HDD. I prepared the SSD, separate sections of UEFI, Windows and Linux.
I downloaded the Microsoft Win8 image and started the installation. And until I gave him the entire SSD drive to be torn to pieces, he didn’t want to install anything!

Although, after installing editing ssd partitions using gparted and installing Linux next to it, it continues to work normally.

The only thing I can notice is that the UEFI bootloader partition, after installing Win (approx. 100MB), needs to be increased to 1...2 GB to install Linux. Otherwise, the Linux partition of the bootloader, formatted in fat32, opens in Windows and can easily be damaged.
Win8 itself does not respond to changes in the bootloader partition; its UUID does not change.

andyp67 · 2024-01-04 13:53:45

aluma,
we are kind of stuck with gparted but it's not perfect, qtparted is|was better.
Can you shrink a volume in Winlose8? is there a GUI Windows Disk Management tool?
Some relevance, rodsbooks dot com is the man.

aluma · 2024-01-04 14:41:28

Yeah, and Partition Magic was even better.

I can’t say anything about Win; I haven’t dealt with him for a long time. Win7 is installed on my work computer with default settings. I only use it to run programs under Win (sony pbm, etc.).

andyp67 · 2024-01-04 15:50:26

I think win7 was probably the best, about a quarter of the size of vista.
I like win7.
Thesedays bill is creating atomic waste, which we will have to get off the planet, ironically will probably need an experimental atomic power station to develop the alloys, it's a work in progress for about three and a half thousand years, I'm not interested.
I'm proud to say that as an artist, I don't have grey matter between my ears, I have a chef salad, after more than a quarter of a century of hard application of effort in Linux, I don't need windows programs.
I'm a photographer, when we get to about 2050/60, maybe, we will nail down the color (US spelling,) balance, which will evolve the human brain. color pictures will be timeless how we percieve monochrome dynamic.
Probably impossible without ffmpeg luma burn.
If I'm abroad and my kit is violently robbed or wrecked, I might need to use artweaver dot de on the fly in an interweb cafe.
Actually now I've turned 55, I have a zero tolerance for violent equipment revision. Wax on wax off. The deepest stratum of your being. You stake your life on your will.
Choices of partitioning tools is very interesting and will always be vital.
Off the top of my head I question that gparted is shoddy.

aluma · 2024-01-04 16:13:23

If you are a professional photographer, then today you cannot do without more or less new top-end hardware and Win.
Programs that process raw images and use artificial intelligence for noise reduction work under Windows or Mac and cost money.
Actually it has always been like this.

P.S. At one time, Win was needed for Micro-Cap.
It is developed based on open source SPICE. But using Micro-Cap with its “human” interface...

Last edited by aluma (2024-01-04 16:25:35)

andyp67 · 2024-01-04 18:20:06

Last edited by andyp67 (2024-01-04 18:24:43)

golinux · 2024-01-04 18:44:45

@andyp67 . . . you are ballooning the forum logs with personal ramblings that have no place in a technical forum. Please find a more appropriate venue to do that . . .

andyp67 · 2024-01-04 19:32:45

If you are a professional photographer, then today you cannot do without more or less new top-end hardware and Win.
Wrong.

pcalvert · 2024-01-04 21:58:39

aluma wrote:

I got my hands on a laptop, the Win8 license was stitched into the BIOS. Two disks, 256GB SSD and 500GB HDD. I prepared the SSD, separate sections of UEFI, Windows and Linux.

I recently did almost the same thing. Windows 8 was on the HDD, but it hadn't been updated in years, and my attempts to update it failed. It also looked awful.

I copied a Windows 10 22H2 ISO file to the HDD, extracted the ISO to a directory, and ran the installer (setup.exe, I believe) to upgrade to Windows 10. No license key was required. Then I basically wiped the drive, created a 1 GB EFI partition using Linux, and then did a clean install of Windows 10. Rather than create a new EFI partition, I may have just expanded the existing one using gparted. I'm not 100% certain, but that's probably what I did.

During the clean installation of Windows 10, I also ran a wonderful script called Windows 10/11 Decrapifier. On this laptop, which is about ten years old, it made a very noticeable difference. I use the script's default configuration except for one small change -- I enabled the search bar. Since Windows 10/11 Decrapifier is a PowerShell script, and not a typical Windows program, reading this how-to is a must: How to clean up a single Windows 10 machine/image using Decrapifier.

EDIT:

I had a problem when installing Refracta. The installation appeared to complete without a hitch, but GRUB apparently wasn't fully installed because when I rebooted, the laptop went straight into Windows. I was quite puzzled by that. Eventually, I realized that the most likely culprit was Fast Startup on Windows. I thought that I had temporarily disabled Fast Startup, but it appears that the method I used is outdated and no longer works.

Last edited by pcalvert (2024-01-04 22:12:43)

andyp67 · 2024-01-05 00:49:59

Boot into bios, f2 or whatever, & boot what you wish.
Your problem is not unique.
It's easy to go via bios isn't it, what a pain in the backside.
Usually one can organise things in bios.

andyp67 · 2024-01-05 01:06:15

andyp67 · 2024-01-05 01:08:50

I know what time it is in your locale.

andyp67 · 2024-01-05 01:16:25

andyp67 · 2024-01-05 01:18:13

andyp67 · 2024-01-05 01:29:55

Last edited by andyp67 (2024-01-05 01:31:59)

steve_v · 2024-01-05 01:36:53

Dude, shuddup (or sober up). Your posts are barely coherent at best, and swearing at the admins isn't going to win you any popularity contests.

andyp67 · 2024-01-05 01:38:23

The officially official Devuan Forum!

#1 2023-07-16 17:18:05

Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#2 2023-07-28 08:16:08

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#3 2023-07-29 08:36:49

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#4 2023-07-30 13:15:01

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#5 2023-08-06 10:33:13

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#6 2024-01-04 12:46:30

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#7 2024-01-04 13:53:45

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#8 2024-01-04 14:41:28

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#9 2024-01-04 15:50:26

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#10 2024-01-04 16:13:23

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#11 2024-01-04 18:20:06

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#12 2024-01-04 18:44:45

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#13 2024-01-04 19:32:45

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#14 2024-01-04 21:58:39

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#15 2024-01-05 00:49:59

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#16 2024-01-05 01:06:15

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#17 2024-01-05 01:08:50

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#18 2024-01-05 01:16:25

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#19 2024-01-05 01:18:13

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#20 2024-01-05 01:29:55

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#21 2024-01-05 01:36:53

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

#22 2024-01-05 01:38:23

Re: Howto install dual-boot Windows Linux best method

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