Remember to do this on a machine you don’t care about, or are prepared for Windows to no longer work. Windows doesn’t play nice with other operating systems.
One could try a Live version for the distros that have that feature. For those unaware, the Live version is merely the bootable cd image (or USB image). Does no harm to the underlying OS. If you like it you can then install it.
Edit to add: If you use bitlocker (copy your keys), it can have hooks in the TPM/bios settings as well. Disable bitlocker prior to attempting a live boot.
Beware of BitLocker though - I had no idea it was enabled on my wife’s windows tablet and when I came back from a Linux live image her windows drive was locked. The keys were not in her Microsoft account and we couldn’t find them anywhere else so I ended up having to erase the device. Luckily she didn’t use it for much but find and copy your keys before attempting a live Linux boot.
Good to know and thanks for mentioning it, but it is odd that this happens if nothing is done to the host’s hardware. Did you ever discover the why of it?
find and copy your keys
A good piece of advice regardless of what one is doing. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard that keys weren’t found in someone’s account.
Edit to add: It appears bitlocker has hooks in the TPM/bios settings as well. Disable bitlocker prior to attempting a live boot.
Windows generally works fine alongside Linux, but then randomly one day you could log on and it boots straight into Windows and to fix it you need to learn the “fun” task of fixing your system with arch-chroot.
If Windows overwrites your EFI partition then you won’t be able to boot into grub. It absolutely happens, I’ve had it happen with my main computer within the past year.
It technically shouldn’t happen unless you don’t create a separate EFI partition for your Linux install.
It is generally recommended that you create a separate EFI partition for Linux specifically so that windows cannot mess with your Linux install when it updates.
I could see a bios update having some affect though.
Remember to do this on a machine you don’t care about, or are prepared for Windows to no longer work. Windows doesn’t play nice with other operating systems.
https://bazzite.gg/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/you-can-try-linux-without-ditching-windows-first-heres-how/
Play with this first if you want
https://distrosea.com/
One could try a Live version for the distros that have that feature. For those unaware, the Live version is merely the bootable cd image (or USB image). Does no harm to the underlying OS. If you like it you can then install it.
Edit to add: If you use bitlocker (copy your keys), it can have hooks in the TPM/bios settings as well. Disable bitlocker prior to attempting a live boot.
https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=9145
https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=430251
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/bitlocker-and-tpm-blocks-the-hard-disk-after-booting-from-usb-and-pressing-try-ubuntu/57833/17
Beware of BitLocker though - I had no idea it was enabled on my wife’s windows tablet and when I came back from a Linux live image her windows drive was locked. The keys were not in her Microsoft account and we couldn’t find them anywhere else so I ended up having to erase the device. Luckily she didn’t use it for much but find and copy your keys before attempting a live Linux boot.
Good to know and thanks for mentioning it, but it is odd that this happens if nothing is done to the host’s hardware. Did you ever discover the why of it?
A good piece of advice regardless of what one is doing. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard that keys weren’t found in someone’s account.
Edit to add: It appears bitlocker has hooks in the TPM/bios settings as well. Disable bitlocker prior to attempting a live boot.
https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=9145
https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=430251
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/bitlocker-and-tpm-blocks-the-hard-disk-after-booting-from-usb-and-pressing-try-ubuntu/57833/17
You act like the everyday user knows how to boot from alternate sources.
BIOS/UEFI/Secure Boot anyone?
Edit: I’ve been running Linux since 2011, but I’m not an average everyday user.
Doing one you actually use helps you commit
But always back up data or swap ssds
Yeah. Get a new ssd for the install is a good idea
Windows generally works fine alongside Linux, but then randomly one day you could log on and it boots straight into Windows and to fix it you need to learn the “fun” task of fixing your system with arch-chroot.
That will never happen if the default boot is into GRUB
If Windows overwrites your EFI partition then you won’t be able to boot into grub. It absolutely happens, I’ve had it happen with my main computer within the past year.
It technically shouldn’t happen unless you don’t create a separate EFI partition for your Linux install.
It is generally recommended that you create a separate EFI partition for Linux specifically so that windows cannot mess with your Linux install when it updates.
I could see a bios update having some affect though.