Do I need to reformat all my drives to switch from Windows to Linux?

You don’t need to format every drive. Linux can read and write to NTFS, so your files should remain accessible. However, NTFS support is less seamless than using a native Linux filesystem, and permissions, performance, or repair issues can occasionally come up. It’s best to avoid using NTFS for Linux-installed games, especially games launched through Proton; use a Linux filesystem for those if possible.

A common setup is to install Linux on its own drive, leave Windows on another drive if you still need it, and use a separate exFAT or NTFS drive for files shared between both systems. Linux can access Windows files, but Windows programs and .exe files won’t automatically run in Linux; you’ll need Linux versions or compatibility tools such as Proton or Wine.

NTFS is generally fine for storing shared files such as photos, videos, and documents. You can mount the drives and access the data normally. For a drive shared between Windows and Linux, exFAT is another practical option, but changing filesystems requires backing up and reformatting the drive.