How to Dual Boot Linux Mint and Windows 10: Easy Tutorial for Linux mint dual boot windows 10

Alright, so I wanted to try out Linux Mint, but I didn’t want to ditch my Windows 10 setup. Figured I’d do a dual boot thing. Here’s how I went about it.

How to Dual Boot Linux Mint and Windows 10: Easy Tutorial for Linux mint dual boot windows 10

First off, I headed over to the Linux Mint website and grabbed the ISO file. This is basically the installation file you need. They’ve got a few different versions, but I just went with the default one, Cinnamon.

Next, I had to get this ISO file onto a USB drive. I used this program, I forgot its name but you can search “how to make bootable usb”, and it’s easy to find. Anyway, that made the USB into a bootable drive.

Then, the tricky part. I restarted my computer and went into the BIOS settings. This is usually done by pressing F2 or Del when the computer starts up, but it depends on your machine. You might have to search for instructions for your specific model. In the BIOS, I changed the boot order so that it would boot from the USB drive first.

With that done, I restarted again, and this time it booted from the USB. I got a menu to either try Linux Mint live or install it. I picked the install option.

The installation was pretty straightforward. It asked me a bunch of questions like language, time zone, and all that. When it came to the installation type, I chose the “Install Linux Mint alongside Windows Boot Manager” option. This is the one that sets up the dual boot.

Set up partitions

I had to partition my hard drive, which is like splitting it into sections. There’s an automatic option, but I did it manually because I’m a bit of a control freak. I made a root partition, a home partition, and a swap partition. You can probably get away with just a root partition, though. The size is up to you, I gave Linux Mint about 100GB to mess around with.

After that, the installer did its thing, copying files and whatnot. Once it was done, it asked me to restart.

Now, when I start my computer, I get a menu asking me if I want to boot into Linux Mint or Windows 10. Works like a charm!

So yeah, that’s how I set up a dual boot with Linux Mint and Windows 10. It’s pretty cool having the option to switch between the two. If you’re thinking about doing it, just make sure to back up your important stuff first, just in case something goes wonky.