Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Which distribution? Can't help more if you won't point out which one. Basic start steps are same..get image file..burn in media or put on usb+bootloader and then restart PC and go to boot menu and select boot from selected device and then follow on-screen instructions.
Distribution: Cinnamon Mint 20.1 (Laptop) and 20.2 (Desktop)
Posts: 1,672
Rep:
Welcome to Linux Questions.
You might like to search some of the threads within the forum, as this question is one of the most asked and we would rather that you spent some time doing some research rather than us spoon feeding you. In the long term you'll learn more.
Your choices are either to dual boot or use something like VirtualBox to run Linux as a Virtual machine.
Both solutions can be found by searching for similar requests.
in broad terms:
Choose which distribution of Linux you want
try it with a live cd to see if your pc is happy with it
backup your Windows data to an external disk
launch the install itself (most linux installers will let you shrink the existing Windows partition)
during the linux install, it will ask you if you want that existing Windows partition to be a menu entry of your boot.
It should work just fine, but you've got some researching to do before actually performing it
A lot of distributions have a wiki at their web site, or even a pdf guide you can download, like this http://www.linuxmint.com/documentation.php
It's always a good idea to read about what you're going to install and how to do it before you actually try!
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.