Running Linux and Windows 7 on same computer ? How ?

[BKKdreaming]

I have a new Dell Inspiron 15 running Windows 7

I would like to also run Linux

How do I do that without reformating the hard drive ?

How do i switch from one to the other ?

there are just a few programs I would like to try that are Linux only

Thanks for your help

[Tywais]

VirtualBox, VMWare, etc. - http://lifehacker.com/5714966/five-best-virtual-machine-applications

[cooked]

I thought that I was buying an Inspiron with Linus preinstalled, when I got it home It was a Windows 8.1.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19609699

I am now very nervous about installing Linux or booting Linux on this computer.

[ukrules]

I use vmware. Just download an ISO image of the install dvd and run it in vmware.

I've got various different versions of windows and linux running on my Mac's and Windows computers inside virtual machines.

It's great for testing the version compatibility of software.

Edited December 19, 2014 by ukrules

[BKKdreaming]

I use vmware. Just download an ISO image of the install dvd and run it in vmware.

I've got various different versions of windows and linux running on my Mac's and Windows computers inside virtual machines.

It's great for testing the version compatibility of software.

OK....with VMware do I just start it up when I am already in Windows, do what I need to do and then turn it off ?

is it that easy or ????

and do I need a virus protection for Linux ? I know there are not as many viruses , but if I download a file , and then start it up on windows later I am not protected,

thanks again

[ukrules]

I use vmware. Just download an ISO image of the install dvd and run it in vmware.

I've got various different versions of windows and linux running on my Mac's and Windows computers inside virtual machines.

It's great for testing the version compatibility of software.

OK....with VMware do I just start it up when I am already in Windows, do what I need to do and then turn it off ?

is it that easy or ????

and do I need a virus protection for Linux ? I know there are not as many viruses , but if I download a file , and then start it up on windows later I am not protected,

thanks again

Yes, it's simple. Download the free vmware player programm run it and create a new virtual machine. It runs inside Windows and is great for testing things out.

You specify the boot disk as an ISO file when creating the virtual machine - this is used by the cirtual machine as the install disk for the OS you want to load.

Set the memory you want to assign to the VM and run it.

The operating system will then start up and install itself in a window on your screen.

You need plenty of memory to use these properly.

[BKKdreaming]

Yes, it's simple. Download the free vmware player program run it and create a new virtual machine. It runs inside Windows and is great for testing things out.

You specify the boot disk as an ISO file when creating the virtual machine - this is used by the virtual machine as the install disk for the OS you want to load.

Set the memory you want to assign to the VM and run it.

The operating system will then start up and install itself in a window on your screen.

You need plenty of memory to use these properly.

I have 8GB memory , well I would have had 12gb but it would not accept the other 4gb memory stick

thanks

[BKKdreaming]

lets try another idea ,

is there a way to run pure Linux (whatever is the best flavor now) and windows on the same machine

so at start-up you pick which one you want to use and that is the only operating system.

So if I want to run something (security cameras etc) while I am away I can run the Linux version,

But when I get back and need to do something for work (windows) on that machine , then I can restart and pick windows.

I have a lot of desktop older computers to play with

Edited December 20, 2014 by BKKdreaming

[ukrules]

lets try another idea ,

is there a way to run pure Linux (whatever is the best flavor now) and windows on the same machine

so at start-up you pick which one you want to use and that is the only operating system.

So if I want to run something (security cameras etc) while I am away I can run the Linux version,

But when I get back and need to do something for work (windows) on that machine , then I can restart and pick windows.

I have a lot of desktop older computers to play with

Sure that can be done (it's known as dual boot) but I've never done it. I'm sure someone will be along who knows all about this.

[NanLaew]

Make a bootable Ubuntu USB memory stick.

Once you have downloaded it on your PC and installed it on the stick, reboot your computer and enter the BIOS setup and elevate USB devices in the boot device hierarchy.

On restart, that will give you the option to run Ubuntu from the stick or the installed o/s on your computer. If you really like Ubuntu and need faster speed (the USB host will always be slower) there's also the option to actually install Ubuntu from the stick onto the HD and make your computer a standalone dual-boot system.

Google for it.

[KittenKong]

I thought that I was buying an Inspiron with Linus preinstalled, when I got it home It was a Windows 8.1.

If you didnt pay extra for it and get an installation DVD and activation key/sticker then it is surely a pirated version and you may as well erase it and start again.

The shop told you nonsense anyway. You can change the display language of Linux without installing Windows or reinstalling Linux.

[cooked]

I thought that I was buying an Inspiron with Linus preinstalled, when I got it home It was a Windows 8.1.

If you didnt pay extra for it and get an installation DVD and activation key/sticker then it is surely a pirated version and you may as well erase it and start again.

The shop told you nonsense anyway. You can change the display language of Linux without installing Windows or reinstalling Linux.

Thanks I have an authentication code but come to think of it I don't have a disc. Will go back on Monday to be unpleasant.

[RKASA]

I thought that I was buying an Inspiron with Linus preinstalled, when I got it home It was a Windows 8.1.

If you didnt pay extra for it and get an installation DVD and activation key/sticker then it is surely a pirated version and you may as well erase it and start again.

The shop told you nonsense anyway. You can change the display language of Linux without installing Windows or reinstalling Linux.

Thanks I have an authentication code but come to think of it I don't have a disc. Will go back on Monday to be unpleasant.

Look for the sticker with the product key on the bottom of the laptop or back of PC (has hologram on it)- you don't always get the dvd with pre installed. Make a back up image to a separate drive or ext drive after doing updates and setting your user accounts and burn the recover disk to a CD. The recover CD just allows a means of connecting the back up image to the PC to be recovered. Even if you decide to wipe this windows - make the image and recover CD as something to fall back on. It can be reinstalled from that even if the drive is empty.

If you don't find a key anywhere then yae maybe do have a hack.

If you do have windows run it native - virtual is not as good for games and then you can run as many linux as you like as applications from the desk top using virtualbox or vmware. Run the network adapter in bridge mode and the lan will see the virtual as a completely separate PC.

Dual booting is still possible but rare is it necessary anymore and windows does not always play nice with boot loaders like grub - which is just another thing to deal with.

[keeniau96]

I have worked with various setups of Linux, Windows, Mac OSX, and even some others. You can set up a dual boot on one HDD, selecting Linux or Windows as the OS when you start. I have had as many as five such in multi-boot (WinXP, Win7, OSX, Linux Mint, Fedora), but that was just to test some possibilities, too much of a nuisance for everyday work.

I have found the simplest and most reliable setup is with Linux and Windows each on a separate HDD, then select the boot drive at computer startup. This works by pressing F7, F12 or F10 (depends on your motherboard BIOS) at the very instant of startup, which will show the readable drives, so just pick the one with the OS you like eg. Mint.

I am in Mint about 95% of the time, rarely in Win7. In Mint I also have VirtualBox installed with both WinXP and Win7 and guest Os, so can run the very few Windows programs that I need for special purposes. The Windows boot OS I use for games eg. Call of Duty.

Yes, my main computer if fairly powerful but that's mostly for the Win7 game usage. Just about any current desktop box can be set up with the dual-HDD (but I would really recommend SSD instead, with a large HDD for file storage). 4GB is adequate memory but as always, more is better, particularly when running the VB with some large Windows programs.

[innerspace]

Keeniau has good advice. When I was dual booting I used separate hdd for each and bios to switch (mine was f8 though).

Advantage is both are fully independant and no reliance on a dual boot MBR(master boot record). Trick is remove the other drive while installing each OS.

Otherwise you can run both on separate partitions of the same drive but be careful with the MBR. First (and only actually) time I tried that way I wiped out the win7 MBR and made it unbootable despite all files still their. Never looked back and been on linux since.

Mint is a good OS for linux novices and pros alike and virtualbox inside win is a great way to get windows without rebooting if linux becomes your primary.

[dharmabm]

OP has a laptop, so while your advice is good it does not apply

sent from my slimkat 1+ using tapatalk

[ukrules]

You can often download the Windows ISO's from the internet. I believe I've downloaded them from Microsofts website before but this was a long time ago so things might have changed recently.

[KittenKong]

Thanks I have an authentication code but come to think of it I don't have a disc. Will go back on Monday to be unpleasant.

Is your key on a sticker that looks something like this:

If not it is probably fake.

You dont always get a Windows disk with a new PC but if you dont then you do normally have a function on the PC to make a system restore disk yourself, as others have described.

[RichCor]

Thanks I have an authentication code but come to think of it I don't have a disc. Will go back on Monday to be unpleasant.

Is your key on a sticker that looks something like this:

If not it is probably fake.

You dont always get a Windows disk with a new PC but if you dont then you do normally have a function on the PC to make a system restore disk yourself, as others have described.

This any good?

That code is only used with the manufacturer (OEM) to quickly identify the mix of hardware that went into making your computer.

If you have a valid Microsoft code, it will be on a colored sticker either on a piece of cardstock (if retail version) or on a sticker applied to the hardware (if oem version). The only instance of not having a sticker is when purchasing the download version.

Oh, and NEVER EVER post a valid Software Product Key to the internet!

Not only will doing so get you banned from the site, but cause you a world of headache trying to prove you are the true valid licensee of the product.

Edited December 20, 2014 by RichCor

[BKKdreaming]

and if it is not on the back, pull the battery and look in there, Dell often "hides" the sticker there

[jpinx]

Maybe the OP would like to experiment with a live usb linux OS. If the OP decides he loves linux he can make a dual boot system which will use the whole hardware spec of his laptop in either OS. Using VMWare or similar is more convenient but requires more hardware resources - especially RAM and CPU power. I can run vbox on my linux eeepc and I have windows and a few other OS's for testing various things, but there is certainly a hardware limitation.

[KittenKong]

From the partial response to a deleted post I assume that the OP posted an image like this:

As mentioned, this is a Dell service tag number and is not a Microsoft product activation key (a Microsoft activation sticker is visible in the same photo, just below the Dell service tag).

All Dells have a service tag made up of 7 letters/digits which is used for warranty/service purposes.

[aarn]

It looks like BKKDreaming wants to experiment with a 'dual-boot' system. This is what I do, although in the past two years virtualization soft ware (vmware, virtual box) have become much more user friendly.

I agree with NanLaew, if you want to try dual-booting it is important to 'practice' with linux first. Download a stable linux distribution .iso file of your choice ('shop' [for free!] at distrowatch.com). Download unetbootin for windows from sourceforge.com. Unetbootin is very friendly towards ubuntu-family distributions. I have had good experiences lately with linux-lite and LXLE, the ubuntu mothership is somewhat unweildly.... Insert a 2+ Gb usb stick into your machine and make a bootable system, then play with it. Reboot your machine with the bootable usb in place. During the reboot get into BIOS (which on a Dell machine usually entails continuously tapping the F2 key during startup). Then scan through your options to boot from the usb stick, F10 for save changes to BIOS, and then you should boot into linux.

So, if you want to dual boot, you first need to boot into windows and create an empty space on your win7 machine (from memory, open Start and type "disk management'). Then select 'shrink drive' or somesuch and free up ~ 20Gb of space. Needless to say, back up all your precious files prior to doing this.

Then you can reboot from the usb stick, select the 'Install linux/ubuntu' option, and after a few entries concerning language choice and location, you can select the option 'Install linux alongside windows'. Obviously it is a steep (but rewarding) learning curve.

In my experience:

keep all your precious files backed-up;

install linux after installing windows (but there are more sophisticated tolls to alleviate any problems);

Windows 10 preview is free, works better than win 7, and is available via http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/765146-windows-10-technical-preview-online/.

You can research 'dual boot' at places such as askubuntu.com and LinuxBSDos.com. Good luck, AA

[cooked]

Thanks I have an authentication code but come to think of it I don't have a disc. Will go back on Monday to be unpleasant.

Is your key on a sticker that looks something like this:

If not it is probably fake.

You dont always get a Windows disk with a new PC but if you dont then you do normally have a function on the PC to make a system restore disk yourself, as others have described.

This any good?

That code is only used with the manufacturer (OEM) to quickly identify the mix of hardware that went into making your computer.

If you have a valid Microsoft code, it will be on a colored sticker either on a piece of cardstock (if retail version) or on a sticker applied to the hardware (if oem version). The only instance of not having a sticker is when purchasing the download version.

Oh, and NEVER EVER post a valid Software Product Key to the internet!

Not only will doing so get you banned from the site, but cause you a world of headache trying to prove you are the true valid licensee of the product.

Thanks. I just found out that I don't have a hacked copy, I have an illegal copy of Windows Enterprise, KMS client. This means that the license will be running out soon, and I won't be getting a free upgrade to Windows 10.

Just saying

[balo]

What is the easiest way to add win 10 on same computer as win 7 , I want to create a dual boot option, thanks.

Edited August 5, 2015 by balo

[aarn]

Here's maybe just what you were looking for

http://www.howtogeek.com/197647/how-to-dual-boot-windows-10-with-windows-7-or-8/

Cheers, AA

[jpinx]

What is the easiest way to add win 10 on same computer as win 7 , I want to create a dual boot option, thanks.

Any specific reason for wanting dual boot? It'd be much easier to run win10 in a virtual machine

[balo]

What is the easiest way to add win 10 on same computer as win 7 , I want to create a dual boot option, thanks.

Any specific reason for wanting dual boot? It'd be much easier to run win10 in a virtual machine

I don't have any experience with virtual machine, I have an available partition on my drive for dual boot,

Any disadvantages with normal boot vs virtual machine ?

[jpinx]

What is the easiest way to add win 10 on same computer as win 7 , I want to create a dual boot option, thanks.

Any specific reason for wanting dual boot? It'd be much easier to run win10 in a virtual machine

I don't have any experience with virtual machine, I have an available partition on my drive for dual boot,

Any disadvantages with normal boot vs virtual machine ?

If you already have W7, you can install W10 on a virtual machine and use both at the same time, enabling comparative testing of how they behave on different tasks. If the system is dual boot, you need to reboot to do the comparison. The disadvantage of using the virtual machine is that it runs on virtual hardware, not on your PC/laptop hardware, so there might be some differences in how things behave, or how fast things work. Hence my inferred question -- why do you want W10 as well as W7 ?

[drupopuppis]

I am running Ubuntu on my machine and never wanted to go back to windows, however, in some cases, when in need to test some windows only software I do run XP or 7 on Virtual Box.

Ubuntu can be tested on a DVD or USB stick, then installed to your main Hard drive.

During the installation process Ubuntu will ask you if you want to wipe the disk and install Ubuntu as sole operating system or if you want to install it alongside your current OS.

If you pick the later option, Ubuntu will install itself in a portion of your main hard drive or in a different partition of your choice, then it will modify the master boot record in order to add itself to the boot process.

Once you have finished the installation and restart the machine you will be asked first thing which operation system to run, (no need to press special keys on keyboard, just scroll down with the arrow to your selected OS and Press enter).

Please remember that the Best option still remains the one of running Ubuntu from USB or in Virtualization as they are more stable and overall secure for your system.

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