Hi! Thanks for reading this post.

Disclaimer: I’ve already figured out how to dual boot SteamOS & Windows 10 on my Steam Deck (see this post), but things haven’t gone the smoothest - hence this post and learning more about using Linux in general as a current Windows user.

Recently my Surface Pro 6 laptop, which runs one of the latest Windows 11 updates (23H2), updated to one of the new releases (24H2), and that completely bricked my laptop (bricked as in slow asf). I was able to revert back to 23H2 thankfully, but the fact that Microsoft can brick my device without my consent is unacceptable.

So, I’m hoping to learn how to install Linux and a good distro/DE combo like Fedora KDE. The Steam Deck Desktop Mode runs KDE, which I have to say sits well with my Windows sensibilities.

I also see value in dual booting though. I know about Ventoy and GParted because I used those softwares on my Steam Deck, but I was following a guide and didn’t really understand what I was doing. Ventoy seems better than the alternatives like Balena and Rufus due to the multi-boot functionality.

With that all out of the way, I have questions:

  • How should I get started?

  • What hardware do I need to get started, especially if I want to multi-boot .ISOs from a singular USB drive (e.g. minimum GB size, USB specs, etc.)

  • What software do I need to get started? Is Ventoy and GParted enough, and do I need to configure my hardware in any specific ways so those softwares run as expected?

  • What should I do now to prepare to switch from Windows to Linux? FOSS apps aren’t a big concern to me. I prefer them

  • What other technical facts should I consider when making the switch, like disabling Bitlocker and Fast Boot on my current Windows device?

  • If I were to load Windows 10 or 11 onto my Ventoy, are there any issues I should watch out for, like how Windows 10 overwrote my GRUB file on my Steam Deck, making it instead the default boot .ISO?

  • If I have games that I want to play but I can only play them via Windows 10/11, how would I enable things like Secure Boot, TPM, and other Anti-Cheat methods like what’s required for Battlefield 6 (see above post I linked)?

  • What risks are there in making the switch, and how can I counter those risks or at least mitigate them to protect myself?

  • If things go completely wrong, and I brick my laptop in the middle of switching, or if something happens after I make the switch but I boot into one distro/DE or another, what’s my ripcord? How do I do a complete wipe of my laptop, and will this involve breaking into the hardware to mess around with cables, like if I need to reset the motherboard?

  • Is there anything else that I should keep in mind?

Thanks for the help!

P.S. I’m pretty sure my laptop has these specs, if that helps.

  • Auster@thebrainbin.org
    2·
    1 day ago

    You can make a permanent install, yeah. In that previous computer I had, I kept a dual boot with Win10 and Ubuntu for about 2 years, each taking about half the internal HD’s size. And during install of Linux systems (Android x86-based ones included), usually you can install Grub which lets you choose during boot which system to boot, or if you don’t touch anything, to automatically boot a given system (you can configure which is picked automatically within the OS).

    • Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      1·
      1 day ago

      I’ve heard about grub, thanks for putting it into more context.

      I’m still trying to figure out how all of this fits together.

      BI0S, UEFI, GRUB, bootloaders, kernels, distros, DEs, it’s honestly a mess for someone who’s computer knowledge (thankfully) ends at microcontrollers in college.

      Any sources you can remember for that dual boot you did years ago, I’d be grateful to look into

      • Auster@thebrainbin.org
        2·
        6 hours ago

        I’m still trying to figure out how all of this fits together.

        A suggestion I give, if you feel you hit a roadblock, give it some time to digest the information. Stress/exhaustion can hinder the capacity to absorb all the info.

        And from my experience, a lot of Linux’s workings either are related to each other, or at least the knownledge you get from one thing can be applied retroactively. So, from what I went through back when I was new to Linux, doing that, putting a given project aside for some days while sticking to the overall environment, allowed both things, to digest the information and to learn stuff I could then use back in such projects.

        Any sources you can remember

        Sadly no specific one. I dig a lot and try to sift pieces and bits that are useful.

        Though, in retrospect, Stack Exchange’s subforums, which often appear in researches, often also were sources for several of my solutions, even among some of the super old replies.

        (Also sorry if I’m not very direct in my answers; am bit of a rambler and I have the habit of constructing essay-like answers, intro/development/conclusion)