I'm eager to set up a dual boot on my HP Victus 15 (Model 15-fa0031dx), which has an Intel Core i5-12450H, 8GB of memory, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, and a 512GB SSD. I've previously experimented with different Linux distros using VMWare and VirtualBox, but now I want to run Linux natively. I can't switch completely due to some software I need for college, so I really want to make this dual boot work. Can anyone advise if this is possible, along with any precautions I should take before starting? Also, could you recommend a good Linux distro? I've tried Arch in the past and it didn't work out for me, so I'm looking for something easier!
1 Answer
Absolutely, you can dual boot on your HP laptop! I suggest trying Linux Mint or Fedora; both of these distros are user-friendly and great for transitioning from Windows. They'll detect your Windows installation and set up dual booting automatically. Just make sure to back up all your important files before you start messing around with disk partitions—you don't want to lose anything important. Also, you can live boot these distros first to test them out! As for your desktop environment, Mint is pretty straightforward and feels more familiar if you’re coming from Windows. Fedora can be a nice change too, but its GNOME desktop can be a bit of an adjustment. Consider joining a live session to see what you prefer!
I've played around with both Mint and Fedora in VMs. I'm looking for something visually appealing and user-friendly. Any recommendations between those two?