How can I run Linux also Windows at the related time on the same hard drive?
Typically, a computer will only have one operating system installed; however, individuals who wish to dual-boot different operating systems, such as Windows and Linux, must make certain adjustments and provide the ability to pick which OS to boot manager from during startup.
A boot manager or multi-boot loader gets in handy if you wish to boot more than one operating system (“OS”) on a single machine.
The boot loader is simple to create and configure a boot menu that OS to boot, set a timeout so specific OS is booted if no keys are pressed for a certain amount of time, and even prevent specific operating systems booting a particular password is not entered.
It’s worth noting that specific operating systems, such as most (if not all) free Linux variants, already have a boot manager that allows you to dual boot or triple boot Linux, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and other systems.
Top 4 Free Boot Managers Dual Boot Windows And Linux
If you partition your SSD or hard drive into two drives, you may install two operating systems. The Grub boot manager is usually installed when you install a Linux distribution.
If Windows is already installed, Grub boots instead of the Windows boot loader at boot time, enabling you to pick the operating system, you wish to boot by changing the Boot Configuration Data.
1. Grub2Win
On Windows 10, 8, 7, and XP, Grub2Win supports 64 and 32 bit EFI and BIOS. Dual-boot Windows and Linux from GPT or MBR drives securely. Grub2Win executes GNU Grub version 2 code natively.
On your Windows C: disk, everything is housed in a single 20 MB directory. A few tiny modules are installed to your EFI partition on EFI computers.
Grub2Win may be installed quickly and safely using the simple Windows GUI and instructions. Choose from a variety of operating systems. Antergos, Android, Ubuntu, Debian, Suse, Fedora, Mint, Clover, including Windows are all supported. ISO files can also be booted. For each menu item, you may insert your custom commands.
- EFI firmware (64 and 32 bit), as well as BIOS firmware, are supported.
- Installs on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows XP.
- Only one directory on the Windows C: drive is required, with roughly 20 MB of storage space.
- Grub2Win may be set up in seconds using a simple Windows GUI.
- Allows you to change the boot sequence of your EFI firmware from within Windows.
- The nine available graphic backdrop themes may be seen and customized.
- All filesystems are supported, including Mac hfs and Btrfs.
- Can find and boot a partition based on its label.
- Advanced scripting is supported.
- Up to 128 primary partitions per drive on both GPT and MBR drives.
- It supports vast drives and partitions (above 40 TB).
- Multiboot Windows, Antergos, Android, Ubuntu, Debian, Suse, Fedora, Mint, Clover, and other operating systems in a secure manner.
- Grub may be customized from Windows; no Linux configuration is necessary.
2. rEFInd Boot Manager
The rEFInd boot manager for systems based on the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and Unified EFI is a derivative of the Small rEFIt boot manager (UEFI).
REFInd, like rEFIt, is a boot manager, which means it offers the user a menu of options when the machine first starts up, as shown below. rEFInd is not a boot loader, which loads an operating system kernel and gives it control.
3. EasyBCD
EasyBCD gives you complete control over your boot loader, allowing you to dual-boot to your heart’s content.
MS-DOS, Windows 9x, Windows Me, and Windows 2000 are among the older platforms that Microsoft does not support. EasyBCD is designed for a wide range of users.
EasyBCD is the key whether you merely want to add an entry to your old XP disk or build a duplicate for testing; if you’re going to troubleshoot the Windows Kernel or septuple-boot your seven test operating systems.
- Boot any operating system, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and BSD!
- USB devices, ISO images, virtual disks, and other media may all be booted from and into.
- Create bootable USB drives containing repair utilities that you may carry with you wherever you go.
- Defend yourself against calamity –
- To prepare for a rainy day, create entries to boot into recovery utilities or safe mode.
- Effortless entry editing: Add, rename, remove, customize, and reorganize entries as you see fit.
- Troubleshooting Windows, backing up and repairing the bootloader, and more can all be done with EasyBCD.
- With NeoGrub, you’ll be able to conceal partitions, modify active flags, and build complicated boot situations with ease.
4. Clover EFI bootloader
As a substitute for the EDK2/Duet bootloader, this is an EFI-based bootloader for BIOS-based systems. Clover is a running system boot loader for machines that use either UEFI or traditional BIOS technology. (U)EFI may or may not be supported by an operating system (OS) (macOS, Windows 7, 8, or 10, Linux) (Windows XP).
The legacy boot is employed for the last one, which means the old BIOS mechanism is used to handle boot sectors.
- On a Mac or PC, including UEFI or BIOS firmware, boot macOS, Windows, and Linux in UEFI or legacy mode.
- Boot straight from UEFI firmware or through CloverEFI UEFI firmware emulation.
- Themes, icons, typefaces, background pictures, animations, and mouse pointers may all be customized.
- After the default timeout, the ability to boot a previously chosen boot entry
- If the screen resolution is too weak for the menu, the boot entries menu scrolls.
- Customize boot entries and offer support for different operating systems by creating custom boot entries.
- Using the Clover boot entry tool from the GUI, create a Clover boot entry in NVRAM.