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Dual-booting Windows and Linux is an effective way to have access to both operating systems natively on one computer.

Installing two operating systems on one computer is fairly straightforward; the trick is getting the boot menu to recognize them both as bootable options. Fortunately, there is an easy way to do this.

Part of the "easy" dual-boot process involves choosing the right Linux distribution. For this tutorial we will use Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com) as the example. The Ubuntu installer is very simple and comes with all the tools that you need.

In order for the dual-boot process to work easily, Windows will have to be installed first.

Below is the step-by-step guide to dual-booting Windows and Linux the easy way.

1. If Windows is not installed already, then install it as you would normally.

2. Get yourself a copy of Linux (We will use Ubuntu), put the disc into the CD/DVD drive and boot from the CD (ie Reboot your PC with the disc in the drive. If the disc is not auto-detected and booted, then you may have to change the boot device order in your BIOS so that the CD drive boots before the hard drive).

3. From the Ubuntu menu, choose to option to install Ubuntu.

4. Most of the installation is simple, so choose the options that you like.

5. When you reach the part of the installation about disk partitioning, be sure to choose the option that reads something like "Resize IDE1 master, partition #1 (hda1) and use freed space". This will take the free space left over after Windows and allow you to use the "guided" partitioning to make room for Linux. Whatever you do, DO NOT choose to "use the entire disk." That will delete your Windows installation. If you are feeling adventurous or want more control, then you can choose to manually partition the hard drive.

6. Complete the installation process.

7. Ubuntu's default bootloader, GRUB, should automatically detect your Windows installation, so when you boot your computer next time, you will be given the option to choose Ubuntu, a couple other Ubuntu options, and Windows! Select the option that you want and your computer will boot with that choice. Ubuntu normal mode is the default so after a few seconds the PC will boot into that if no selection is made. In order to make Windows the default you will need to edit the GRUB menu (/boot/grub/menu.lst) from within Linux and change the "default 0" to match the number of the Windows partition (eg "default 4").

Remember that in order to dual-boot the easy way, you must have Windows installed first. If you already have Linux on your machine, then please refer to "dual-booting the difficult way."

Learn more about this author, Joseph Liau.
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