I plan to do a pc upgrade very soon. Alongside that I plan to start with Mint or Fedora. Is there any real or big downsides to dual booting ? Aside from the harddrive space lost ?

If I like or really like my time with Mint I would probably switch permanently but I felt like I wanted to test it for a couple of months before making a complete switch.

Im a big freeze-gamer so that impacts my consideration. Dont really play much multiplayer shooters so I dont have a problem with kernel anticheat games not working.

  • ChaosMaterialist [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    2·
    18 days ago

    Some thoughts from a long time Windows and Linux user:

    • I have a dedicated Win10 box for gaming. No shame. I’m too lazy to migrate everything over right now. I use other Linux computers or duel boot to do important tasks, like shitposting on https://chapo.chat/. However the Win10 sunset is pushing the migration up my priority list.
    • Duel booting works fine almost all the time. After you finish the install you won’t have to think much about it. Mostly…
      • Others have said how Windows likes to mess with Duel Boot systems occasionally. In my experience this happens during Windows Updates, and usually it blows away the boot order. Often I can go into the BIOS and manually choose the Linux partition and fix the boot from there.
      • All that said, backups, backups, backups!
    • Back up your Windows partition before setup just in case something goes awry.
    • Try the LiveUSB environment out first to check compatibility, like WiFi drivers, and get a feel. Many linux distros, including Mint and Fedora, come with a LiveUSB by default.
      • Very often distros let you run the installer from inside the Live environment, giving you the benefit of a full desktop GUI, tools, and Internet access during the install. If you have WiFi issues, for example, it’s much easier to fix them in the Live environment and let the Installer bootstrap from there.
      • I know Mint LiveUSB comes preinstalled with a bunch of useful programs out the gate. I just fired up the latest Mint liveusb, and the Backup tool lets you save both your Home directory and any software you installed through the Software Manager, which can give you a bit of permanence across restarts before you take the plunge.