Installing both windows 8 and linux

[darkn3ss99]

So i want to install both linux and windows 8 on my pc. Right now, i have windows 8 on my 60gb ssd and a 500gb hdd. How do i install linux so when i boot up, i can decide whether to boot into linux or windows 8?

[Moredeath]

If it's ubuntu, i'll give you the choice of installing alongside windows in the ubuntu installer. that way when you boot up, it gives you a list of what's installed

[darkn3ss99]

If it's ubuntu, i'll give you the choice of installing alongside windows in the ubuntu installer. that way when you boot up, it gives you a list of what's installed

Ill figure it out. Another question, which distro of linux is the most begginner friendly? Main reason im downloading linux is because i want to learn to code and i heard that linux is better

[rashdanml]

You have a couple of options:

 

1) Install Windows 8, then Linux. When installing the Bootloader (usually GRUB), it'll replace the Windows bootloader (replacing the MBR).

2) The alternative, while installing Linux, is to install GRUB to an alternate partition, and not the MBR. Then, boot into Windows and use EasyBCD to configure the Windows bootloader. This is a bit of a weird approach, because what it actually does is boot Windows first (by the time you get to the bootloader, Windows is mostly booted), then upon selection of Linux, reboot and boot to the GRUB menu, at which point, Linux is booted. 

 

The reason for option 2: replacing the MBR with GRUB can cause some Windows updates to fail. This is true for Windows 8 anyway, not sure if Windows 7 suffers from the issue. 

Option 1 is the simplest to deal with, except where updates are concerned. You get the GRUB boot menu right away, allowing you to choose between Linux or Windows. 

 

In your case, you will need to install Linux to the HDD, as 60GB is a bit of a squeeze to install both on it. You could attempt to shrink the Windows partition down to 40GB, and use the remaining 20GB for Linux, and use the 500GB for storage, but you'll probably find yourself running out of space on the 20GB partition the more packages you install.

[darkn3ss99]

You have a couple of options:

 

1) Install Windows 8, then Linux. When installing the Bootloader (usually GRUB), it'll replace the Windows bootloader (replacing the MBR).

2) The alternative, while installing Linux, is to install GRUB to an alternate partition, and not the MBR. Then, boot into Windows and use EasyBCD to configure the Windows bootloader. This is a bit of a weird approach, because what it actually does is boot Windows first (by the time you get to the bootloader, Windows is mostly booted), then upon selection of Linux, reboot and boot to the GRUB menu, at which point, Linux is booted. 

 

The reason for option 2: replacing the MBR with GRUB can cause some Windows updates to fail. This is true for Windows 8 anyway, not sure if Windows 7 suffers from the issue. 

Option 1 is the simplest to deal with, except where updates are concerned. You get the GRUB boot menu right away, allowing you to choose between Linux or Windows. 

 

In your case, you will need to install Linux to the HDD, as 60GB is a bit of a squeeze to install both on it. You could attempt to shrink the Windows partition down to 40GB, and use the remaining 20GB for Linux, and use the 500GB for storage, but you'll probably find yourself running out of space on the 20GB partition the more packages you install.

Is it possible to use a laptop hdd to install linux? I dont really like the idea of having an os on my hdd, which is mainly used for storing games and such. I have some unused laptops that still work which i dont mind ripping out the hdd, as long as it will work on my desktop.

[Moredeath]

Ill figure it out. Another question, which distro of linux is the most begginner friendly? Main reason im downloading linux is because i want to learn to code and i heard that linux is better

 

Ubuntu is definitely the most user friendly.

[rashdanml]

Is it possible to use a laptop hdd to install linux? I dont really like the idea of having an os on my hdd, which is mainly used for storing games and such. I have some unused laptops that still work which i dont mind ripping out the hdd, as long as it will work on my desktop.

Don't see why it shouldn't work. Most laptop HDDs are SATA, so it'll definitely work. It'll be slow, but then again, Linux runs great on ancient hardware too. Go ahead.