[GTALUG] two or three tricks for installing Linux as a second OS on a Windows box

[William Park]

I used to dual-boot, but now I use separate Linux computer.  If I need 
to copy files, I use ssh/scp in WSL Ubuntu.  Samba is proper answer, but 
can't be bothered.  Less headache, and I'm not getting younger.
--William

On 3/4/22 11:27 AM, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
> Most computers come with Microsoft Windows.  If you insist on buying a
> computer without Windows, you have less choice and may have to pay more.
> Besides, once in a blue moon Windows is useful.
> 
> To install Linux, you can either blow away Windows (easy!) or your can
> install Linux beside Windows.
> 
> If you want to install Linux beside Windows, you usually have to get
> Windows to relinquish some disk space.  (Alternatively you might be able
> to add another disk.)
> 
> Windows has a way of reducing the size of a volume but it is unwilling to
> relocate a structure that is in the middle of the volume.  So it is only
> willing to give up slightly less than half of the volume.
> 
> I use gparted (ntfresize is underneath) to shrink a Windows NTFS volume,
> because I always want to shrink in to less than 50% of its original size.
> I do this from a live Linux flash drive.
> 
> Here are the tricks that are not so obvious:
> 
> - if Windows is using bitlocker, you need to turn that off in Windows.
>    Otherwise gparted cannot do anything with the partition.
> 
>    Our newest computer came with bitlocker enabled (with no password).
>    That's probably a good idea but not for us.
> 
>    After bitlocker is turned off, gparted can operate.
> 
>    Perhaps you can turn it on again after resizing.  I don't know.
> 
>    (On Windows: Settings: Privacy & Security: Device Encryption)
> 
> - By default, Windows assumes that it can leave the filesystem in an
>    inconsistent state when it shuts down.  It assumes that you'll boot
>    Windows again when you power the system up.  Apparently this speeds
>    things up a little bit.
> 
>    This is very unhealthy if you are going to boot Linux next,
>    especially if you are going to run gparted to muck with the NTFS
>    filesystem.
> 
>    You can fix this by going to Windows' Control Panel (which is something
>    different from Settings), Power Settings, and untick "turn on fast
>    startup (recommended)".  It is slightly tricky because you have to click
>    some option to allow you to change the fast startup option.  Sheesh.
> 
> - (old advice; may be obsolete; I don't wish to find out the hard way that
>    it is still needed.)
>    After you have resized the NTFS partition, reboot to Windows.  Don't do
>    anything else with the disk in Linux first.
>    Why: it used to be the case that gparted got something slightly wrong in
>    the NTFS partition, something that a Windows boot fixed silently.
>    After booting Windows, you can reboot to a Linux install medium safely.
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