ubuntu dual boot ubuntu and windows

[Ted Aplin]

I have an old windows 7 computer which is very slow and I was thinking of dual booting Ubuntu Linux on it so that I can run that instead so it is faster but I can also switch over to windows if I want to mainly as a project but also so that I can still use it and don't have to do anything to it.

but first I have some questions:

1. is this a good idea?
2. there are two disk drives on the computer and one has not been used at all and is 120GB big can I just download it onto that disk without having to make a backup or wipe the computer?
3. is this just a complete waste of time?

[ProjectBox153]

What are the specs of the computer in question?

[Cryosec]

1. it's not a bad idea

2. Yes, you can use the second drive for Ubuntu, just make sure you unplug the windows drive before installing ubuntu

3. nope, Linux will always be better than Windows, IMO

 

if your pc is quite old, don't download  "standard" Ubuntu, go with something with a different environment (things like Ubuntu Gnome, Ubuntu XFCE, Ubuntu MATE)

[bobthemac]

it is possible to install ubuntu or any other linux distro on a separate drive so I would say thats the quickest option without having to mess with windows you will just have to point you bios to linux as the boot drive and it's bootloader GRUB should be able to see windows. This can cause issues with windows update failing so if that happens just change back to windows only boot run the update then change back to linux drive. I have been running this type of setup for years and it works well.

 

You don't need to unplug the windows drive to install as long as you select the right drive in the ubuntu install this will mean GRUB is configured right and you don't have to go into linux to update it and make it find linux. 

[nzc]

1. Yes, it is a good idea

2. You can use the 2nd (empty) disk drive to install Ubuntu on it, just make sure to select the 2nd drive when you are installing to don't wipe out your windows installation. Ubuntu should automatically detect your Windows installation and it should configure it as dual boot via Grub

3. It depends

 

Maybe Ubuntu is not the best choice if you are interested in performance on relatively old hardware

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/SystemRequirements#Lightweight_GUI_alternative_.28Xubuntu_and_Lubuntu.29

Quote

If you have an old or low-spec computer or want to get the most out of your hardware, using a medium-lightweight desktop system such as Xubuntu or a lightweight such as Lubuntu is recommended, as they make more efficient use of your system's resources. Of course, even if you have the newest equipment out, you could still use these two.

 

[r3d3mpt10n]

47 minutes ago, Cryosec said:

1. it's not a bad idea

2. Yes, you can use the second drive for Ubuntu, just make sure you unplug the windows drive before installing ubuntu

3. nope, Linux will always be better than Windows, IMO

 

if your pc is quite old, don't download  "standard" Ubuntu, go with something with a different environment (things like Ubuntu Gnome, Ubuntu XFCE, Ubuntu MATE)

I second this, Lubuntu or Xubuntu would be great.  Just unplug your WIndows drive so that nothing gets written to it. You would then manually select what drive to boot from in bios boot menu, vs from grub

[Jskn]

It's fine dual booting from the same drive unless you don't uninstall grub correctly. Pain in the neck to rebuild mbr if windows refused to work