I have an official licensed version of Windows 10. Would this whole process be easier if I installed Ubuntu or Mint erasing Windows 10 during installation and then attempted to add 10 after? Or would that make the process that much more complicated?

just saw some article saying that some windows versions are locked down with the hardware, but i can't find it right now...

meanwhile:
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2205660

Definitely harder - don't do it that way. Dual booting Windows 10 and linux is no problem, but rule of thumb #1: have Windows installed first. The reason is that Windows tends to expect to be the only operating system on the computer, and completely disregards any boot loaders that may be present, overwriting things with its own boot code. Linux distros, on the other hand, will simply add an existing Windows installation to the operating system list in whatever boot loader you choose to install (often GRUB).

Cheers,

I have tried every suggestion and guide listed. I have ended up with one of two things every time. I either end up with the same problem of there being no option to boot into whichever version of Linux I installed or I end up with neither one booting and getting a prompt that says: grub rescue>

Had to create a boot repair usb to fix the second one.

I even talked to a local computer repair guy that told me he got Ubuntu to run on a laptop the same model as mine a few months ago. He attempted to get it running on my laptop to no avail. I don't know if Lenovo has made some sort of change in the models of this laptop released recently or what.

Whatever is going on it seems Lenovo has intentionally made it extremely hard to create a dual boot system on this laptop.

When you used Boot Repair, did you see the option to reinstall GRUB ? That may be worth a try. You have to use it in Advanced mode.

While in boot repair I tried options to both repair and reinstall grub. Both of them came back as unsuccessful. Even thought they said they were unsuccessful I tried to boot after each just to see if they had worked. Both times my laptop just booted straight into windows.

.. I'll admit, this is a tough nut to crack at a distance .. It would be useful seeing the partition layout of your disk. Do you have access to a GParted Live ISO ? Or are you familiar using Windows Disk Management applet ?

I can run the diskmgmt.msc from Windows. Would I just need to take a screenshot and post it after it pulls up?

Here is a pic of disk management screen (assuming I uploaded the pic correctly)

Attached Thumbnails

 

One more pic with the status portion extended to show the partition types

Attached Thumbnails

 

OK. I don't see a partition that you would have tried to install linux to. Could you specify which one ?

I had just went in and remerged the partitions before you asked me about that. In the event someone came up with another guide or suggestion to follow I wanted to start from scratch. So the partition that I had installed to is gone. I assume I could try to reinstall once again and then post another screenshot

Ah. Well, if you want to try again, these are the steps I would follow:

1) What is the 25 GB ntfs partition named LENOVO used for ?

2) Decide how much disk space you want for linux.

3) Use either the above-mentioned 25 GB partition by deleting it and creating a linux ext4 partition and a swap partition using GParted Live ISO. .. OR (more complicated):

4) Delete the 25 GB partition and free up some space as well by shrinking down your main Windows partition using Windows Disk Management. Then create the ext4 and swap partitions as above using combined freed up space.

5) Boot live ISO of linux distro you choose - be sure to boot in UEFI mode, since it is clear from the above pictures that your system is UEFI. Identify the ext4 partition you created above to install to - it should already detect the existence of the swap partition.

6) Pay attention when you get to the part where you have to choose and install a boot loader - I believe that's where everything went wrong the first time around. If it's GRUB, you have to make sure your distro uses the command to install it to the EFI System Partition (ESP). With a distro like Mint (I believe this was your choice), your hand should be firmly held in this step, figuratively speaking. But in doubt, check back here while you are doing it if given a choice you are unsure of.

Cheers,

I won't get a chance to try again until later tonight or tomorrow. Quick question before I do. I have no idea what the 25 gb Lenovo partition is or has on it. I do know it has been there since I bought the computer. My very uneducated guess was something like drivers for my hardware are stored there or something. Since I can't say for sure what is on it would I be better to leave it alone?

Also I plan on giving at least 300 gig of my hard drive space to whichever distro I install.

And I am not locked into Mint. If Ubuntu would be easier to get installed I am all for it. I have used Ubuntu a little in the past and liked it. Was only trying Mint to see the difference.

The 25 GB LENOVO partition is assigned drive letter D: in your Windows installation. You should check whether there is anything of value in there. If not, then you can consider using it according to one of the scenarios above. If it does look like it contains something important, you can either move that stuff onto your C: drive or just leave the D: drive alone.

Definitely do not touch any of the other smaller partitions. One (the first one) is your ESP and some of the others are Windows recovery partitions.

To use 300 GB for linux, you'll be shrinking your main Windows partition down. Be sure to use Windows Disk Management to do that part - don't use any non-Windows tools (like GParted).

As to which distro, as you may have guessed, I personally like to build on a bare bones installation myself - hence my choice of Arch. If I had to choose between recent incarnations of Ubuntu or Mint, I would probably choose Mint .. It seems a little less bloated than Ubuntu, and I am not a huge fan of Unity or even Gnome.

Let us know if you need some help along the way !