How Dual Boot Windows & Linux on Your Computer

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Easily install Linux on your Windows PC with this dual-boot guide

Written by Stan Kats | Edited by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: February 23, 2026 Fact Checked

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Before You Begin

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Create a Linux Install Drive

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Shrink Your Windows Partition

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Run the Linux Installer

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Video

If you want to run Linux on your PC without getting rid of Windows, it's easy to set up a dual boot environment. Whether you want to dual boot Windows with Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or any other Linux distro, installing Linux on a Windows PC is easiler than ever, and totally beginner-friendly. We'll walk you through the process.

Quick Steps

Download a Linux installation ISO file.
Create a USB install drive from the ISO.
Boot from the install drive to start the Linux installer.
Choose the option to install Linux alongside Windows.
Click Install Now and follow the on-screen instructions.
When the installer finishes, reboot your PC.
When it comes back up, choose whether to boot into Linux or Windows.

Section 1 of 4:

Before You Begin

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What you'll need
- A blank USB flash drive - You'll want one that's at least 8 GB.
- At least 30 GB of disk space - That's at a minimum. If you plan to install and use software on Linux and want some wiggle room, aim for 50GB or more.^{[1]
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- A Linux install image - There are more than 600 Linux distributions available, so you have a lot of options.^{[2]
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  Research source} If you're new to Linux, try Linux Mint or Ubuntu, as both are widely used, somewhat Windows-like, and have plenty of software, documentation, and user resources available. To create the installation drive, you'll need to download an ISO image of the installer media. Here are a few options:
  - Ubuntu
  - Linux Mint
  - Debian
  - Fedora
  - CentOS
  - openSUSE
- Rufus - This is the tool you'll use to create the bootable USB flash drive you'll use to install Linux.
- A Windows PC with a UEFI - A UEFI is a sort-of upgrade to a traditional BIOS, and fortunately, most motherboards have had them since 2007. To check, type system information into the Windows search bar and press Enter. If you see "UEFI" next to "BIOS Mode," you're good. If you see "Legacy," check your documentation to see if you can switch to UEFI mode.
While dual-booting Windows and Linux is safe, you'll want to make sure your PC is backed up before you begin. Check out our backup guide to learn how to back up your Windows PC.

Section 2 of 4:

Create a Linux Install Drive

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Insert your flash drive and open Rufus. If you haven't already downloaded Rufus, you can download it from rufus.ie/en/#download.
- Make sure your flash drive is empty. Once you use Rufus to create the installation media, its contents will be erased.
- Rufus doesn't need to be installed. Just double-click the downloaded file to run it.
Click the "Device" menu, then select the name of your USB flash drive.^{[3]
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Navigate to the ISO image you downloaded and select it. Once selected, you'll see its name under "Boot selection."
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Click Start. There's no need to change any of the default settings. When you click Start, you'll see a few prompts:
- First, when prompted, choose "Write image in ISO mode" and click OK.
- Then, you'll see a warning that the data on the flash drive will be erased. Click OK.
- When Rufus is finished creating your install drive, you can close the program.

Section 3 of 4:

Shrink Your Windows Partition

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Open Disk Management. To do so, right-click the Start menu and select Disk Management. You'll be using Disk Management to allocate some space on your hard drive for Linux.^{[4]
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- This section is not mandatory, as most Linux installers will prompt you to create a partition for Linux during the installation process. If you'd rather use Linux to shrink your partition, jump to Run the Linux Installer.
- If you feel more comfortable managing partitions in Windows, continue with this section.
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Shrink your primary drive to allow room for Linux. In most cases, your C drive will be your main drive, and it's usually dedicated to Windows. To install Linux on the same drive, you'll need to allocate some of that space to Linux by creating a partition–at least 30 GB (or more, if you want room to install more software). Here's how:^{[5]
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- Right-click the drive with the space you want to use and select Shrink Volume.
- Enter the desired size of your Linux partition in MB. For example, 40000 MB = 40 GB.
  - Keep in mind this will subtract the amount of space from your main Windows drive.
- Click Shrink.
- When you're finished, you'll see "Unallocated space" the size of your future Linux partition. Instead of formatting the partition in Disk Management, you can close the program and instead use the Linux installer to format it.

Section 4 of 4:

Run the Linux Installer

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Boot your PC from the USB flash drive. Here's an easy way to do this without having to mess around in the BIOS/UEFI to change the boot order:
- Right-click the Start button to open the Power User menu.
- Hold down the Shift key as you select Shut down or sign out > Restart.
- Continue holding down the Shift key until the "Choose an option" screen appears.
- Select Use a device.
- Click the name of your flash drive.
- After a few moments, your PC will reboot from the flash drive.
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Start the installer. The process to install Linux is going to be different for each distribution, but the steps will be similar. You'll typically be asked if you want to install Linux or "Start Linux," which will begin the process of guiding you through installation.
- In Linux Mint (and some other OSes), booting from the installer will take you to the desktop instantly. On the desktop, you'll see the Install Linux Mint icon, which you'll need to double-click to start the installation.^{[6]
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- If you're installing Ubuntu, you'll first be asked to choose your language, set up your keyboard, and connect to the internet. Then, you'll be asked if you want to install Ubuntu alongside your current operating system. Once you select the option, choose Interactive Installation to start the installer.^{[7]
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The wording of this step will vary, but it'll usually be something like Install Linux Mint alongside Windows Boot Manager. When you choose this option, you will see a list of drives and partitions–including that unallocated space you got from shrinking your main drive.^{[8]
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Verify the partition and click Install Now. In the partition creator in most distros, including Linux Mint and Ubuntu, you'll see the partitions on your current drive, and Linux will ask you if you want to adjust the size of either partition. You shouldn't need to make any changes here unless you don't see a partition that's the size of the one you allocated for Linux.^{[9]
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- If you didn't shrink a larger drive or partition earlier, you can drag the bar to allocate more or less space for Linux. Remember, you'll want Linux to have at least 30 GB, but likely more if you plan to install a bunch of software.
During installation, you'll be asked to create a user account for Linux–the password you create will also be the one you use to run sudo commands.
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Restart your PC. When the installation is complete, you'll be prompted to restart your computer. Choose the option to do so, and you'll be presented with the option to boot into Windows or Linux. You are now dual-booting Linux and Windows!
- Unplug the USB flash drive to prevent your PC from trying to boot from it.