How To Install Ubuntu Alongside Windows 10

Brief: This detailed article shows you how to dual boot Ubuntu with Windows 10, step-by-step, accompanied with proper screenshots.

Previously I had written about dual booting Ubuntu Linux with Windows 7 and 8, but those tutorials did not cover systems that come with Windows 10 pre-installed. The newer systems that come with Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, have UEFI instead of BIOS. This makes thing a little different from the conventional way of dual booting.

In this tutorial, we shall see how to install Ubuntu with Windows 10 already installed.

This tutorial is performed on a newly bought Dell Inspiron 7437 that has Core i7 fourth generation processor, 256 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM and built in 1 GB Intel graphics. I’ll cover all the steps you need to do in order to successfully dual boot Linux with Windows 10 UEFI. If you have already done some of these steps, just skip to the next one. If you have a fresh system, even better.

The steps mentioned here are applicable to other Ubuntu based Linux distributions such as Linux Mint, Elementary OS etc. Cutting the chit-chat, let’s see how to dual boot Linux on a UEFI secure boot enabled Windows 10 system.

Dual boot Ubuntu with Windows 10 and Windows 8.1:

Though I have used Ubuntu 14.04 here, it is applicable to all versions of Ubuntu, be it Ubuntu 15.10 or Ubuntu 16.04. There are various prerequisites to install Ubuntu on a UEFI system. I’ll list them for easier read here:

• Ubuntu ISO burned to a USB or DVD (we’ll see it)
• Windows backup (optional)
• Windows 10 bootable USB (optional yet recommended as it will save your day if anything goes wrong)

Let’s see the steps of installing Ubuntu along side Windows 10.

Step 1: Make a backup [optional]

It is always nice to make a back up, just in case if you mess up with the system. There are numerous articles on the web to show you how to backup your system. You can follow this tutorial here.

Step 2: Create a live USB/disk of Ubuntu

The next thing you need to do is to create a live USB or disk. I recommend Universal USB Installer to create a live USB of Linux OS in Windows.

Step 3: Make a partition where Ubuntu will be installed

Assuming tat you have a fresh system, the first thing we need to do is to make a partition to install Linux. The 256 GB in my system was already had several partitions from manufacturer but mainly for backup and other purposes. Main partition was C drive, of around 220 GB, where Windows 8.1 was installed.

If you have just one partition like this, you need to make some free space out of it for Linux. If you have several partitions of considerable size, use any of them except C drive because it may erase the data.

To make a partition in Windows 8, go to Disk Management tool. You can find disk management tool by searching for ‘disk’ in Control Panel.

In the Disk Management tool, right click on the drive which you want to partition and select shrink volume. In my case, I shrank the C drive to make some free space:

You can leave the free space as it is. We shall use it while installing Ubuntu.

Step 4: Disable fast startup in Windows [optional]

Windows 8 introduced a new feature called “fast startup” for quick boot. While it is not mandatory, it would be better to have it disabled.

Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > System Settings > Choose what the power buttons do and uncheck the Turn on fast startup box.

Step 5: Disable secureboot in Windows 10 and 8.1

This is the most important step. The new secure boot feature of Windows 8, originally intended for security feature for rootkit viruses, prevents dual booting of Windows with Linux. To dual boot Windows 8 with Linux, we must disable secure boot in UEFI.

Step 6: Installing Ubuntu along with Windows 10, 8.1

Once you have disabled secure boot, it’s time to install Ubuntu. I hope you already created the live USB as mentioned in step 2. Plug in the USB and boot the system from it.

To boot from USB, will have to choose boot from USB option from within Windows itself. Either with PC Setting (like for UEFI) or pressing shift key while clicking on Restart.

Once you have booted in the live USB, you will be presented with option to try or install Ubuntu. Click on install. You will be presented with few screen options to choose the language. It will then do some checks on available space, power and internet connection etc. Just click on Continue.

The main screen which you should pay attention to is Installation Type. Choose Something else here:

Remember we had created some free space beforehand? We shall use the free space to create Root, Swap and Home. Select the free space and click on the + sign.

It will provide you with option to create Linux partition. We are creating the Root partition. Any thing above 20 GB is more than sufficient for it. Choose the size, select Ext 4 as file type and / (means root) as the mount point.

Clicking on OK in previous step will bring you to the partition screen. Next we will create swap. Like previously, click on the + sign again. This time use the file type as Swap area. Suggestible swap size is double of RAM.

In similar fashion, create a Home partition. Allocate it maximum space (in fact allocate it rest of the free space) because this is where you’ll save music, pictures and downloaded files.

Once you are ready with Root, Swap and Home, click on Install Now:

Well, you have almost won the battle. You can smell victory now. Next you will be asked to set username password etc. Basically, you just need to click next now.

Once the installation is completed, restart the computer, you should be welcomed by a purple grub screen. Enjoy Ubuntu along with Windows 10 in dual boot mode.

Note: If after installing Ubuntu, you boot directly in Windows, check in UEFI settings for changing the boot order.

I hope this guide helped you to dual boot Ubuntu with Windows 10 UEFI. If you want to reverse the process, follow this guide to remove Ubuntu from dual boot with Windows. Though this article is written for Ubuntu, it should be helpful for other Linux OS as well. Any questions or suggestions are always welcomed.

Like what you read? Please share it with others.

Installing Windows and Linux On the Same Computer

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Today’s Best Tech Deals

Picked by PCWorld’s Editors

Top Deals On Great Products

Picked by Techconnect’s Editors

SabrinaSouza asked the Answer Line forum how to install Linux onto a PC without losing Windows.

You can pick from many versions of Linux, but I’ll confine my instructions here to Ubuntu. It’s popular, it’s powerful, and it plays well with Windows.

There are other versions that I’ll recommend for specific jobs (such as diagnosing an unbootable PC), but for learning Linux and possibly using it for productive work, Ubuntu is the best choice I know.

You download Ubuntu in the form of an .iso file, which is an image file of a CD—in this case a bootable one. Double-click the file, and a program will likely come up and walk you through the process of burning the disc.

If no such program pops up, download and install the Active@ ISO Burner, then try again.

Another option: Use the Universal USB Installer to create a bootable flash drive out of that same .iso file. I actually prefer the flash drive; it’s faster.

So what can you do with this CD or flash drive? Plenty, but I’ll give you three options:

Just Boot It

Ubuntu is a live version of Linux. You don’t have to install it. You can simply boot it from the CD or flash drive, and, when asked, say you want to run rather than install Ubuntu.

This works for getting a feel for the operating system, but not for actual work. For instance, the contents of Ubuntu’s Document folder disappears when you reboot.

Install Ubuntu Within Windows

You can actually install Ubuntu as a Windows program, although you can’t launch it as one.

Insert the CD or flash drive. If nothing starts up automatically, open the drive in Windows Explorer and run wubi.exe. Select the option Install inside Windows, and follow the prompts.

When you reboot after the install, your PC will boot Linux and start setting it up. This can take a long time—especially if you’re using a CD. Be patient.

The next time you boot, and with every boot afterwards, you’ll get to pick between Windows and Ubuntu. And you can uninstall Ubuntu like any other Windows program.

Install Ubuntu in a Virtual Machine

You can run both OSes simultaneously by installing Ubuntu inside a virtual machine (VM). In a VM, software imitates hardware so that you effectively run one computer inside another.

I can recommend two free VM programs: VMware Player and Oracle VM VirtualBox. Ubuntu installs just fine in either of them. VirtualBox is more powerful, but I find VMware Player easier for the virtual machine novice. (Yes, I know that I recommended VirtualBox just last week, but that was for a Windows 8-specific job.)

By the way, you don’t actually need to burn a CD or prepare a flash drive to install Ubuntu inside a virtual machine. Both VMware Player and Oracle VM VirtualBox can install directly from the .iso file.

Ubuntu Documentation

Introduction

This page describes how to set up your computer in order to dual boot Ubuntu and Windows. While there are some benefits to dual-booting (e.g. better performance for a native install), it is not recommended. Instead, it is best to do a native install of Ubuntu, and then virtualize the other operating system.

Back Up Your Data

Although this may seem obvious, it is important to back up your files to an external backup medium before attempting a dual-boot installation (or any other hard drive manipulation), in case your hard drive becomes corrupted during the process. External hard drives, USB flash drives, and multiple DVDs or CDs are all useful for this purpose.

Have a Windows recovery CD/DVD available

Some computer manufacturers that pre-install Windows provide a Windows recovery/re-installation CD or DVD with the computer. However, many companies no longer ship a physical disc but instead create a hidden partition on the hard drive in which the recovery-disk information is stored. A utility is then usually provided which allows the user to burn a recovery/re-installation CD or DVD from it. If you are buying a new computer and intend on dual-booting, make sure you have (or can make) a physical Windows recovery/re-installation CD or DVD. If neither a CD/DVD nor a recovery partition/burning utility is provided by your computer manufacturer, you may need to contact your vendor and ask for a CD or DVD (to which you are normally entitled under the Windows EULA).

Getting Recovery Media

You may need to request a physical recovery/re-installation CD or DVD directly from your computer manufacturer. See WindowsRecoveryCd.

Once you have created a physical backup disc from a restore-image partition on the hard-drive, the restore-image partition can either be removed or left in place. Ubuntu can be installed with it intact without problems.

Install Ubuntu after Windows

A Windows OS should be installed first, because its bootloader is very particular and the installer tends to overwrite the entire hard drive, wiping out any data stored on it. If Windows isn’t already installed, install it first. If you are able to partition the drive prior to installing Windows, leave space for Ubuntu during the initial partitioning process. Then you won’t have to resize your NTFS partition to make room for Ubuntu later, saving a bit of time.

When a Windows installation already occupies the entire hard drive, its partition needs to be shrunk, creating free space for the Ubuntu partition. You can do this during the Ubuntu installation procedure, or you can see How to Resize Windows Partitions for other options.

If you have resized a Windows 7 or Vista partition and cannot boot up Windows, you can use the instructions from WindowsRecovery to fix it.

Install Ubuntu

Download an Ubuntu LiveCD image (.iso) from Ubuntu Downloads and burn it to a disc (see BurningIsoHowto).

Insert the LiveCD into your CD-ROM drive and reboot your PC.

If the computer does not boot from the CD (e.g. Windows starts again instead), reboot and check your BIOS settings by pressing F2, F12, Delete, or ESC. Select «boot from CD».

Proceed with installation until you are asked this question: «How do you want to partition the disk?».

If you have already partitioned the disk and left space for Ubuntu, install it to that and then follow the rest of the steps.

Otherwise, choose one of the next two steps.

Automatic partition resizing (not recommended)

• Choose the first option, which should say «Install them side by side, choosing between them each startup».
• Specify the size of the new partition by dragging the slider at the bottom of the window.
• Click on «Forward».

Manual partitioning

• Choose «Manually edit partition table».
• Listed will be your current partitions.
• Select the partition you want to resize and press Enter.
• Select «Size:», press Enter.
• Select Yes, press Enter.
• Type in a new size in gigabytes for your partition, it’s recommended you free up at least 10 GB of free space for your Ubuntu install. Press Enter when happy with your changes. It may take some time to apply the changes.

Create a swap partition of at least your amount of RAM (if you don’t know, 8000 MB is a good value).
Create a partition for your Ubuntu installation.

Create other partitions if necessary: see DiskSpace

Select «Finish partitioning and write changes to disk».

Master Boot Record and Boot Manager

GRUB2 is the boot manager installed in Ubuntu by default. GRUB2 is an open source boot manager that install the main parts of the boot loaders inside Ubuntu. This means Ubuntu is independent and avoids any need for writing to other operating systems. To accomplish this, the only thing in your computer outside of Ubuntu that needs to be changed is a small code in the MBR (Master Boot Record) of the first hard disk, or the EFI partition. The boot code is changed to point to the boot loader in Ubuntu. You will be presented with a list of operating systems and you can choose one to boot. If you do nothing the first option will boot after a ten second countdown. If you select Windows then GRUB or LILO will chain-load Windows for you at the Windows boot sector, which is the first sector of the Windows partition.

Windows Vista no longer utilizes boot.ini, ntdetect.com, and ntldr when booting. Instead, Vista stores all data for its new boot manager in a boot folder. Windows Vista ships with an command line utility called bcdedit.exe, which requires administrator credentials to use. You may want to read http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=112156 about it.

Using a command line utility always has its learning curve, so a more productive and better job can be done with a free utility called EasyBCD, developed and mastered during the times of Vista Beta. EasyBCD is very user friendly and many Vista users highly recommend it.

Installing Windows After Ubuntu

There are two different approaches:

Recovering GRUB after reinstalling Windows

Please refer to the Reinstalling GRUB2 guide.

Master Boot Record backup and replacement

This method does not work for computers with UEFI boot. In consequence, it won’t work for pre-installed Windows 8 and some pre-installed with Windows 7.

Back-up the existing MBR, install Windows, replace your backup overwriting the Windows boot code:

Create an NTFS partition for Windows (using fdisk, GParted or whatever tool you are familiar with)

Backup the MBR e.g. dd if=/dev/sda of=/mbr.bin bs=446 count=1
Install Windows

Boot into a LiveCD
Mount your root partition in the LiveCD

Restore the MBR e.g. dd if=/media/sda/mbr.bin of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1

Restart and Ubuntu will boot

Setup GRUB to boot Windows

Also see

MultiOSBoot — How to boot more than two operating systems from a single hard drive.

WindowsDualBoot (последним исправлял пользователь tobefree 2015-06-29 08:09:22)

The material on this wiki is available under a free license, see Copyright / License for details
You can contribute to this wiki, see Wiki Guide for details