How to Dual Boot Any Linux Distribution With Windows – and Get Rid of It When You Need To

Dual booting Linux and Windows is a popular setup for developers, as it allows you to leverage the strengths of both operating systems. You can use Windows for tasks like testing web apps in Internet Explorer/Edge or running Windows-only IDEs, while enjoying the performance, security and tooling benefits of Linux for backend development, DevOps work, data analysis and more.

According to the 2022 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, 40% of professional developers use Windows as their primary operating system, while 26% use Linux. However, many developers use both operating systems depending on the task at hand. Dual booting makes it easy to switch between the two without the performance overhead of virtualization.

In this expert guide, I‘ll walk you through the entire process of installing Linux alongside Windows in a dual boot configuration. I‘ll provide detailed, command-line level instructions suitable for developers of all levels. I‘ll also show you how to remove Linux from your system if you decide you no longer need it.

Why Dual Boot Linux and Windows for Development Work?

As a full-stack developer, you likely need to work with a wide range of technologies. While the majority of web development and DevOps tools are available on Linux, there are still some scenarios where Windows is necessary or preferred:

• Testing web applications in Internet Explorer or Edge to ensure compatibility for Windows users
• Developing .NET applications using the full Visual Studio IDE (as opposed to Visual Studio Code)
• Building cross-platform desktop apps with the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) or Windows Forms frameworks
• Creating builds of Electron or Qt apps for Windows
• Gaming during downtime using the superior selection of games available on Windows

At the same time, Linux provides several benefits for development work:

• The majority of web servers run Linux, so developing on Linux ensures a consistent environment and avoids cross-platform issues
• Tools like Git, Docker, Kubernetes, and most programming languages have first-class support on Linux
• The command line and scripting capabilities of Linux allow for efficient automation of development tasks
• Many AI/ML and data analysis tools like TensorFlow and Jupyter Notebook are easiest to install and use on Linux
• Linux is free and open source, allowing you to fully customize your development environment

Dual booting gives you the flexibility to use the best operating system for each task, with the full performance and native experience of each. It‘s a great way to leverage the strengths of both Windows and Linux on a single machine.

Preparing to Install Linux

Before we dive into the installation steps, there are a few key things to do to prepare your system:

1. Back up any important data on your Windows partition. While the risk of data loss is small, it‘s always better to be safe than sorry.

2. Ensure you have at least 20 GB of free space on your hard drive for the Linux installation. More space is better if you plan to install a lot of software or work with large datasets.

3. Disable Fast Startup in Windows, as this can cause issues when dual booting. This can be done by:

   • Opening Control Panel
   • Navigating to Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do
   • Clicking "Change settings that are currently unavailable"
   • Unchecking "Turn on fast startup" and clicking "Save changes"

4. Disable Secure Boot in your UEFI firmware settings:

   • Reboot your computer and press the key to enter setup (often F2, F12 or Del)
   • Find the "Secure Boot" option (usually under the "Security" or "Boot" menu)
   • Change the setting to "Disabled"
   • Save changes and exit

With these preparatory steps completed, you‘re ready to start the installation process.

Step-By-Step: Installing Linux

For this example, we‘ll be installing Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, one of the most popular Linux distributions. The process will be similar for other distributions, but some specifics (like the installer UI) may vary.

Create Bootable USB Drive

1. Download the Ubuntu ISO from the official website: https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
2. Flash the ISO to a USB drive using a tool like Balena Etcher (https://www.balena.io/etcher/) or Rufus (https://rufus.ie/)

Boot from USB Drive

1. Plug the USB drive into your computer
2. Reboot and press the key to enter the boot menu (often F12)
3. Select the USB drive to boot from

Configure Partitions

1. On the installation type screen, choose "Something else" to manually partition

2. Select the free space on your hard drive and click "+"

3. Create a partition for the root filesystem:

   • Size: at least 15 GB
   • Type for the new partition: Primary
   • Location for the new partition: Beginning of this space
   • Use as: EXT4 journaling file system
   • Mount point: /

4. Create a partition for swap space:

   • Size: approximately 1x your system RAM for 8 GB or less, or 8 GB for a system with more RAM
   • Type for the new partition: Primary
   • Location for the new partition: Beginning of this space
   • Use as: swap area

5. Create a home partition for user data:

   • Size: remaining free space
   • Type for the new partition: Primary
   • Location for the new partition: Beginning of this space
   • Use as: EXT4 journaling file system
   • Mount point: /home

6. Select the device for boot loader installation (the disk, not a partition)

7. Click "Install Now"

Complete Installation Process

1. Select your timezone
2. Choose your keyboard layout
3. Create a user account
4. Wait for the installation to complete
5. Reboot and remove the USB drive

When your system reboots, you should see the GRUB bootloader menu with options for Ubuntu and Windows. Congratulations, you‘re now dual booting!

Post-Installation Configuration for Developers

With Linux installed, there are a few configuration steps that are particularly useful for developers:

Install Git

Git is a version control system that‘s an essential tool for any developer. To install it on Ubuntu, open a terminal and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git

Configure SSH Key for GitHub

If you use GitHub for version control, you‘ll want to set up an SSH key to securely authenticate. GitHub has a great guide on this: https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/connecting-to-github-with-ssh

Install Docker

Docker is a platform for developing, shipping, and running applications in containers. It‘s widely used in modern development workflows. To install Docker on Ubuntu, follow the official guide: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/

Install and Configure Your IDE

There are many great IDEs and text editors available on Linux. Some popular options include:

• VS Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/setup/linux
• PyCharm: https://www.jetbrains.com/help/pycharm/installation-guide.html#linux
• IntelliJ IDEA: https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/installation-guide.html#linux
• Sublime Text: https://www.sublimetext.com/docs/linux_repositories.html

Choose your preferred IDE and follow the vendor‘s installation guide for Linux.

Set Up a Development Environment

The specific steps for setting up a development environment will vary depending on your tech stack, but some common elements include:

• Installing programming languages (e.g. Python, Node.js, Go) and package managers
• Setting up a local web server (e.g. Apache, Nginx)
• Installing and configuring databases (e.g. MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
• Configuring environment variables and PATH

Consult the documentation for your specific technologies to guide the setup process.

Removing Linux and Restoring the Windows Bootloader

If you decide you no longer need Linux on your system, you can remove it and restore the Windows bootloader with a few steps:

1. Boot into Windows
2. Open the Disk Management utility
3. Locate the partitions for Linux (they‘ll likely be the ones without a drive letter)
4. Delete these partitions and reclaim the space

With the partitions deleted, you now need to restore the Windows bootloader:

1. Open an administrator Command Prompt

2. Run diskpart

3. In diskpart, run:

   • list disk (note the disk number for your system disk)
   • select disk X (replace X with your system disk number)
   • list partition (note the partition number for the EFI partition, usually 100 MB in size)
   • select partition Y (replace Y with the EFI partition number)
   • assign letter=Z (replace Z with an unused drive letter)
   • exit

4. In Command Prompt, run:

   • Z: (replace Z with the letter you assigned)
   • dir (you should see a directory named EFI)
   • cd EFI\ubuntu
   • del shimx64.efi
   • ren grubx64.efi bootx64.efi.backup

5. Reboot your system

Windows should now boot normally without the GRUB menu appearing. You‘ve successfully removed Linux and restored the default Windows bootloader.

Conclusion

Dual booting Linux and Windows is a powerful setup for developers that provides the best of both operating systems. With Linux, you get a great environment for server-side and backend development, with all the tools and configurability you need. At the same time, you retain access to Windows for those times when you need Windows-specific software or want to test on a Windows environment.

In this guide, we‘ve walked through the process of installing Linux alongside Windows, including the preparatory steps, partitioning, and installation. We‘ve also covered some key post-installation steps for developers, like setting up Git, Docker, and your IDE. Finally, we‘ve seen how to remove Linux and restore the Windows bootloader if you decide to go back to a Windows-only setup.

While dual booting does require some setup and maintenance, it‘s a great way to leverage the strengths of both operating systems in your development workflow. Give it a try and see how it can boost your productivity and flexibility as a developer.