Using Linux along with Windows
Three ways to use Linux Operating system (OS) along with Windows Operating system (OS) on the same computing device
A few years back during my sixth semester of electrical engineering, I wanted to learn Robot Operating System (ROS) but for that, I had to shift to Ubuntu Operating System (OS). But since most of my work was to be done on Windows OS, therefore, I couldn’t uninstall Windows OS and instead install Ubuntu OS on my laptop. Since most of us are familiar with Windows OS therefore no one is willing to replace it with Linux OS. The question might also arise as to why Linux OS if we are already using Windows OS. The answer is that sometimes we are compelled to shift to Linux OS like if you want to learn Cybersecurity you might need Kali Linux or Parrot OS etc.
Here are three ways where you can use Linux OS in your computing device without uninstalling Windows OS:
Dual Boot:
In the dual boot, you install two operating systems on the same computer. You have to first make a partition in your computer’s hard disk and then the new partition would be exclusively dedicated to the new OS installed. In this way, two OS are installed on the same device, you can switch between the two OS during the start of your computer as shown in the figure below:
Using dual boot you can now experience the environment of both the worlds i.e. Linux and Windows OS on the same computing device.
You can also install more than two OS on your computing device using Multi-Booting depending on your computer’s hard drive capacity.
Virtual Machines:
Virtual Machine is to run a new OS(guest OS) inside already installed OS(host OS) using a hypervisor like VMware, Oracle’s VirtualBox, or Microsoft’s Hyper-V, etc. that acts like a computer with its own CPU, memory, and storage allocated by the Host OS.
The above video is an example of a virtual machine that shows Kali Linux is installed inside a Windows OS using a VMware (Non-commercial or free) hypervisor. You can also create multiple virtual machines/install multiple OS using the commercial VMware version or using Oracle’s open-source VirtualBox hypervisor depending on your computer hardware.
Live USB:
The third way to use Linux OS without uninstalling the Windows OS from your computing device is by using a live USB. Rufus is used to converting your USB flash drive into a Linux live USB or a bootable USB of Linux OS. But remember that any data stored on the live USB will be lost every time you reboot since the data is not stored permanently. You can solve this issue by creating persistent storage on the live USB.
Hope you would have found this helpful if so kindly give it 👏 applause!
