Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: rbowman Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Subject: Re: Thinking about moving to Linux permanently, should I keep my Windows drive? Date: 10 May 2026 18:21:55 GMT Lines: 41 Message-ID: References: <10tpgp5$8gg7$1@dont-email.me> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net PQILotNfr//KPy5kBBZ3HQ79U+xb4qBgio6HGAbSEnxTYLnJBA Cancel-Lock: sha1:zVVo2ZODyCxmuC5r5gnf2O0C0aU= sha256:/XFVw6Tj8yqLaLLsB2+C13h5xpHwkz3mnAUnqAkw0kA= User-Agent: Pan/0.162 (Pokrosvk) Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:86344 On Sun, 10 May 2026 11:48:36 +0300, Oguz Kaan Ocal wrote: > Another part of me thinks that would be stupid and I'd eventually need > something from the old system again. > > So lately I've been considering installing Linux on a completely > separate SSD and just keeping the Windows drive disconnected and > untouched instead of wiping it. > > Did anyone else here transition this way? Not exactly. I have a couple of Windows laptops, Win 11 and XP, that I keep as Windows systems just in case. I've been using Linux for a long time so most of my projects are either on Linux or lend themselves to cross platform development so I could transfer them from Windows. My music and photos are spread over thumbdrives and a WD Passport backup. I understand the psychology and suffer from it myself but in reality if it's something I haven't used in years I don't need it. > Also interested in hearing whether people still dual boot in 2026 or if > most have moved to VMs / secondary machines / old preserved drives > instead. The last dual boot I did was about 2012. It was a Dell box that came with Windows 7 and I added SuSE. I found I only ever booted to 7 to make sure it still worked. When I redid it I went with straight Fedora. I did the same with a mini and Lenovo laptop that came with Windows 11. However, I do have multiple machines and still have a straight Windows 11 laptop if I need it. Keeping the Windows drive sounds like a plan. Even if your machine is SATA a SATA SSD is a real improvement. If you have an extra bay just unplug the Windows drive, plug in the SSD and start fresh. At least when doing the install I'd suggest unplugging the Windows drive to avoid confusion.