Linux offers a free and useful alternative to Windows, but the two can be used in parallel to even better effect. By following these simple steps, you can choose which operating system to use every time you turn on your computer.
Step one: Choose a distribution.
Linux comes in a wide variety of “distributions”–versions that are supported by different communities and have slightly different specifics. Ubuntu is a popular distribution that focuses on a friendly user experience, but there are other distributions that are tailor-made for different purposes, such as Lubuntu, which is designed to take up less space in memory. You should also decide whether you want to have the operating system sit on your hard-drive, or on a “live” CD or USB stick. There are distributions like Knoppix that are specifically designed to be run off of removable media.
One big advantage of live distributions is that you do not need to pick which operating system you want to use every time you turn the computer on; it just checks to see if the removable media is plugged in. This also saves room on your hard drive. The disadvantage of course is that you need to take up a removable media slot for your operating system.
Step two: Make a bootable CD or USB stick
Depending on the distribution you want, this should be fairly straightforward. You need the disk-image of the install disk, which for example is the first download you see when you go to lubuntu.net. There are simple programs that will format a CD or USB stick properly, and write the .iso to the removable media. Many computers come pre-installed with the ability to write to a CD, and there are small programs like UNetbootin that can write to a USB drive as well.
Step Three: Change boot priority
You need to do this step regardless of whether you plan to run the OS from a live CD/USB, because you must start the installer on boot. Re-start your computer, and most computers will display a message that says something like “Press F2 for Setup” before they load Windows; you need to press whichever key takes your computer to the setup screen. Some computers do not display this message, and you will have to search online or mash randomly to find out which key to press.
Pressing the setup key takes you to a menu of options for fine-tuning a number of under-the-hood settings on your computer. There should be a heading somewhere called “boot,” where you can set what order the BIOS checks different places for the operating system. Set the first priority to be whatever kind of removable media you put your install disc on in step 2, and the second priority to be your hard-drive. Save your settings and make sure the install disc/drive is attached to your computer, then boot up. You should be taken to the install screen.
Step 4: Installation
Different distributions will have different specifics, but any of them should guide you through the process of creating a separate hard-drive partition and installing Linux onto it. For example, Lubuntu’s installer walks you through every step of the process. Once you are done, re-start your computer and you should be prompted to choose which operating system to start. If you opted to use a live device, your computer will just boot from the highest-priority device that is plugged in. I personally like to keep Linux and Windows on my hard drive, and DOS on a removable stick so that I can run older software easily.
This is a guest post by Torrence Johnson. Torrence is an avid computer gamer with a degree in computer science. He wrote this on behalf of Just Colleges, where you can find an accredited online degree program.
