Hi everyone! I'm just starting my journey with Linux and want to set up a dual boot system with Windows 11 since I need it for certain applications. I've done some reading and found that Windows can sometimes mess with Linux installations, especially after updates. To mitigate this, I've learned that it's best to keep my Linux Mint installation on a separate drive from Windows.
Here's what I have:
- C Drive: 220 GB (for Windows 11)
- D Drive: 1 TB (for Linux Mint and additional storage)
I'm planning to allocate around 300 GB for Linux Mint and leave the rest of the D Drive for Windows to use as storage. My main concern is whether this setup will still put my Linux installation at risk from Windows updates. Any advice would be appreciated!
3 Answers
It's possible that Windows could overwrite the GRUB bootloader, but that’s no biggie! You can easily repair it using a live disk. Just check out the Boot Repair documentation [here](https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair) if you run into that issue.
If you're setting this up, I suggest disconnecting the Windows drive when you install Linux Mint. That way, the Mint installer won't mess with the Windows EFI partition. Afterward, you can reconnect the drives and just set the boot order in your BIOS to boot Mint by default. Here's a [guide](https://linuxbsdos.com/2025/03/20/dual-boot-windows-11-linux-mint-22-pc-2-drives/) that shows a similar setup which might help.
The main issue with Windows messing up Linux happens when both OSes use the same drive for booting. If you keep their boot partitions on separate drives, you should be fine! As long as you've got the Linux boot parts on a different drive from Windows, updates shouldn't cause you any headaches.
Awesome, thanks for confirming that!