A. The Dangers of Installing Linux on a Windows System

Many people have only one computer system, and this system is often running Windows. They still need to use Windows, but also want to learn Linux by installing it on their Windows system (rather than installing Linux on a new system or a used system). Installing Linux on an existing Windows system creates what is called a “dual-boot system”. When you boot (start up) a dual-boot system, you see a menu and you can choose to either boot to Windows, or boot to Linux.

Installing Linux on an existing Windows system can work for some, but can also be a disaster!

Linux Tech Tip: Beware that if you install Linux on a Windows system, you may damage or destroy your existing Windows software setup and lose some or all of the programs and data on the Windows system. Believe me, I know.

I had installed Linux on a Windows system and then removed Linux from the system, after I installed Linux on another system.

And I almost lost everything - data, setups, programs and all!

Fortunately I was able to boot the damaged Windows system with a “live” version of Linux, then do some steps to get the data off the system. After recovering the data, I had to re-install Windows, and all my Windows programs, but at least I got all my
data back!

B. Running Linux from a Linux “Live” CD or DVD

Another popular way to get Linux running is to boot a system, such as an existing Windows system, from CD or DVD with a “live” version of Linux. A Linux live CD or DVD isn’t used to install Linux on a system. It’s used to boot a system and then
automatically run Linux.

When you boot a system with a Linux live cd, the system boots up and then Linux starts up - and runs completely from CD or DVD - without having to be installed!

A Linux live CD or DVD gives you a fully functional version of Linux by simply booting with the live CD or DVD.

One of the reasons Linux live versions are so popular is that you don’t have to install them. Therefore, you avoid the danger of
damaging or destroying the software on an existing Windows system. This is a good solution if you already have a Windows
system, but don’t have a spare system on which to install Linux.

Written by Clyde Boom.