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.
If you need more hints, follow this screenshot tutorial to
disable fast startup in Windows.
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.
Source : https://itsfoss.com/install-ubuntu-1404-dual-boot-mode-windows-8-81-uefi/
