I’ve been meaning to switch to Linux, it at least dual boot for a couple years now but have a dumb roadblock that has gotten in the way.
I rebuilt my desktop a few years ago, adding a fast new SSD as well as pretty much all new guts (mb, processor, graphics) carrying over an ancient HDD that was home to my win 10 installation and a tiny 60gb ssd.
When I rebuilt, I figured I would migrate Windows from the old HDD to the shiny new SSD, but was never successful in doing that.
My next step was to install another copy of win10 onto the new SSD, thinking I could just drag and drop my various program folders from the old install into the new. Dumb, I know.
Long story short, I’m still booting off of the old HDD and have two copys of Windows that I have to choose from when booting (the one on the new SSD is empty and doesn’t see any of my old programs).
I’ve been avoiding it, but do I have to do a complete wipe at this point were I to attempt a dual Windows/Linux boot? I’d really rather not have to reinstall all of my junk on a fresh build.
I’ve run Linux before, so I’m not a complete noob, but it’s been a few years. I’d switch over completely if I wasn’t dependent on the Adobe CS (another problem I plan to fix in time, I know there are alternatives).
Sorry if this isn’t the right place to post this, but I was hoping a veteran in this community that may have solved a similar situation.
I’ve done basically the same thing with my computer. While I was still stuck with Windows, my main installation broke and took ages to boot. I installed another copy onto the same disk to run some software, then dual (triple?) booted with Mint.
Mine are all on the same physical disk, but the process should be the same.
The Mint bootloader took over from Windows, and presents me with a menu on boot. The default choice is Mint, which automatically boots after a few seconds, but it gives me a few options, one of which is the Windows bootloader. If I choose this, it gives me the same options as before I installed Mint, so lets me boot into either installation.
It goes without saying, but make a backup before you change anything, and remember that Boot Repair is available for most Linux distros :)