Hi all,
I’m currently using Zorin OS, but I’d like to perhaps explore other Linux distributions. Is it possible to dual-boot another distro, and then if I’m satisfied and after having installed all the apps I need, to erase my Zorin OS partition and only use the other, new distro?
Max-P ( @Max_P@lemmy.max-p.me ) 15•4 months agoYou can install as many as will fit on the drive, there’s no limit other than your own sanity
But will I be able to eventually remove OS #1 and switch to the one installed afterwards?
Max-P ( @Max_P@lemmy.max-p.me ) 4•4 months agoYes, you just boot a live USB and use GParted to delete what you don’t want anymore and grow the rest.
Based. Btrfs it is. Sounds like a really cool filesystem.
Dima ( @Dima@feddit.uk ) English5•4 months agoIf you’re using BTRFS and know how to/are prepared to learn, just create separate sub volumes instead of multiple partitions. Means that you don’t need to decide how to split up space between different partitions and they are easy to delete without a live USB.
Artopal ( @Artopal@lemmy.ml ) 7•4 months agoIt would be easier to just try the live systems (booting from USB).
flashgnash ( @flashgnash@lemm.ee ) 5•4 months agoPersonally having tried dual booting I’ve found every time I have a problem I just ran back to windows
As long as you’ve got a machine that isn’t critical for work I’d just install bare metal and get a windows VM as a stopgap
I’m currently daily driving Linux so I’m not planning on ever going back to Windows. No need to worry about that.
flashgnash ( @flashgnash@lemm.ee ) 1•4 months agoAh sorry misread there are quite a few “should I dual boot to switch from windows to Linux” posts
It’s definitely possible to dual boot different distros but what I said still holds true, if you want to try it just installing it as the full os is the way to go. You can always backup and transfer your home directory to keep everything how you’d expect
wobfan ( @wobfan@lemmy.zip ) 2•4 months agoyes, no problem at all. as long as you’re careful about partitioning when you’re installing the second distro (it should be able to do that automatically, if not, you’ll need to identify the EFI partition manually) it won’t be a problem. you can afterwards just remove the distro you no longer want. after that, you just gotta update grub so it can remove the no longer existant from it’s os table and you’re good to go again.
Matt ( @DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml ) 1•4 months agoInstall any Linux distribution, and then install VMware Player and Windows to it.
ion geddit
miss phant ( @missphant@lemmy.blahaj.zone ) 1•4 months agoI can recommend Btrfs for testing distros on bare metal. You can install them onto subvolumes without needing to change the physical partition layout, then once happy with one delete all the other subvolumes to reclaim your space. Only downside is not all distros’ installers support them natively so it needs some manual work occasionally.
If I understood correctly. Btrfs is a file system? So I’d need to re-install my distro using Btrfs? Let’s say I do that, I reinstall Zorin on Btrfs, and then I want to also install Silverblue. Would I be able to then remove Zorin and keep only Silverblue?