Escape Windows
Whether you’re a complete novice or Windows has driven you to seek out other operating systems, Ubuntu can help.
Windows 11 has been rolled out through the Insider program since late last year. All Windows 10 users will have been offered the upgrade, in all likelihood, by the time you’re reading this. There’s nothing like a new Windows release for motivating people to switch to Linux. So here’s a quick guide for recent Windows apostates.
You may be tempted to dual-boot Windows and Ubuntu together. This might sound convenient, but it’s rich with pitfalls so not something to rush into. Ubuntu will install alongside Windows, but there’s no telling if down the line Windows Update will, on a whim, decide the Linux partition(s) is no longer necessary. For this reason we don’t recommend installing both OSes to the same device. A 250GB SSD is ideal for your first Linux explorations, and you can get this new for around £25.
Our next prudent bit of guidance is perhaps overly cautions, and a little inconvenient, but it’s the only way to be sure Windows won’t touch your Linux: unplug the SSD prior to booting to Windows. Yup, it’s hard to remember and potentially awkward to carry out (if your case is under the desk, say), but at least you can describe your install as ‘airgapped from Windows’.