Dual boot is one way to install multiple operating systems on the same computer. Unfortunately, Windows makes this practice more difficult than ever.
Dual booting (and triple booting, etc.) involves dividing the storage drive into multiple partitions, with one operating system on each partition, and a bootloader that lets you choose between each operating system at startup. In some cases, each operating system needs at least one or two other smaller partitions (such as the swap area for Linux-based operating systems). This method is commonly used by people who want to use Linux, but still need to keep Windows around other programs or tasks that are not compatible with Linux.
Windows never works All so well With dual boot – depending on the setting, it can. It overwrites its own custom bootloader when updating or causes other problems. More recently, BitLocker disk encryption in Windows has been a headache for dual booting, since the contents of an encrypted disk are inaccessible unless they are unlocked first, which requires a backup key or Windows starts.
Microsoft says on its support pages that “modern Windows devices are increasingly protected with BitLocker Device Encryption out of the box,” and some computers store BitLocker keys in the TPM. Fedora Linux developers have been discussing why there is a problem with the project mailing list, saying “Bitlocker’s encryption key is not locked unless the boot-string measurement by the TPM matches the expected values in the TPM PCR. When shim + GRUB is in the boot chain, as in our default dual boot installation, the measurements are wrong, meaning that entering the GRUB menu to boot Windows will not work. The user is dropped to the Windows Bitlocker recovery page.”
Ubuntu, another popular Linux distro, has noticed problems with BitLocker disk encryption. A support article says, “If you use BitLocker, the contents of your hard drive will not be accessible, and it will appear as random noises. This means that the Ubuntu installer cannot set the data correctly, and further installation cannot be performed safely without data loss. “
While BitLocker is a great security feature, Microsoft clearly doesn’t make it easy for other operating systems to be on the same drive. At this point, the easiest solution is to not use dual boot at all – consider adding a new drive to your computer and sticking to one operating system for each drive. This isn’t always an option, since many laptops don’t have space for an additional drive (or even the ability to replace the original drive), but it’s worth considering whenever possible. You can even quickly install operating systems on an external SSD. With a USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt connection, you won’t notice much difference in speed.
Solving conflicting software should never involve buying more hardware – you own your PC, so you should be able to use any operating systems you want. Unfortunately, without more cooperation between Microsoft, PC manufacturers, and Linux developers, it becomes difficult for Linux (and other systems) to coexist with Windows. Meanwhile, support for Linux on Apple’s new ARM-based Mac computers is still in the early stages.
If you plan to use Linux on a PC all the time, rather than constantly switching between Windows, one of the best Linux laptops might be worth considering. Deleting Windows completely from a Windows PC works too, but PCs built for Linux often has fewer driver problems. The Dell XPS 13 Plus is now certified for Ubuntu 22.04 (and optionally ships with it), and HP just launched a “Dev One” in partnership with System76 developer Pop! _OS Linux.
Sources: Fedora Project
Via: Voronex