Windows is best run in a VM in Linux. Who knows what the hell it does when it’s running on bare metal. Do you trust Microsoft not to poke around in your Linux disks when you boot into Windows? I don’t.
Windows, as any operating system, is best run in a context most useful to the user and appropriate for the user’s technical level.
Need to run Windows apps/games and aren’t afraid to tinker around if and when something doesn’t work as expected or your software simply isn’t supported? WINE/Proton.
Need to run mostly light Windows apps and don’t want to tinker around? VM.
Need to run Windows apps/games that don’t rely on Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat, want direct hardware access and aren’t afraid to tinker around, especially if you only have one GPU, and when something doesn’t work as expected? KVM
Need to run any Windows app/game without things constantly breaking or the need to tinker around and staying on top of things? Dual-Boot from different disks, utilize LUKS/FDE and be done with it.
dedicated, air-gapped Windows box used for legacy industrial software
Aside from “lightweight apps in VM” this is the only solution I use now. (Unless you count Proton, but having Steam games Just Work barely feels like a “solution” as it requires zero effort on my part)
I don’t even trust Windows to dual boot off a separate disk without trying to break something anymore.
This would work but assumes the primary use of the machine is Windows and derates your performance under Linux significantly due to USB speeds. Even if you’re storing your data on the Windows HDD, NTFS drivers are dog slow compared to EXT4 and other *nix filesystems.
Also some BIOSes are a pain to get to boot off removable drives reliably so it really depends on what your machine is.
I’ve used Linux as a primary dev system for well over a decade now, and with the current state of Windows I’d really recommend just taking the leap, keep your Windows box if you need Windows software and build a dedicated Linux workstation.
I actually tried it before for my TV PC that I wanted to also use as a miniserver, with gpu pass through and everything. It was painful to get it working properly, was like 30-40% slower. I also had constant problems with USB peripherals not connecting properly, or going in a sleep state and not waking. Many games didn’t work properly.
Then I decided to just buy a cheap second second hand PC and never looked back.
Windows is best run in a VM in Linux. Who knows what the hell it does when it’s running on bare metal. Do you trust Microsoft not to poke around in your Linux disks when you boot into Windows? I don’t.
Windows, as any operating system, is best run in a context most useful to the user and appropriate for the user’s technical level.
You’re missing one:
Aside from “lightweight apps in VM” this is the only solution I use now. (Unless you count Proton, but having Steam games Just Work barely feels like a “solution” as it requires zero effort on my part)
I don’t even trust Windows to dual boot off a separate disk without trying to break something anymore.
What about running a Linux to go removable disk and just pull it when you need to boot windows?
This would work but assumes the primary use of the machine is Windows and derates your performance under Linux significantly due to USB speeds. Even if you’re storing your data on the Windows HDD, NTFS drivers are dog slow compared to EXT4 and other *nix filesystems.
Also some BIOSes are a pain to get to boot off removable drives reliably so it really depends on what your machine is.
I’ve used Linux as a primary dev system for well over a decade now, and with the current state of Windows I’d really recommend just taking the leap, keep your Windows box if you need Windows software and build a dedicated Linux workstation.
You can keep only grub on the USB so windows can’t touch it. Avoids all those issues since the main install remains on the SSD.
Personally I just boot windows from usb. Rufus has the ability to install it there
This is a pretty good idea, my wife dual boots and I’ll suggest it to her as Windows keeps trashing the EFI partition.
I actually tried it before for my TV PC that I wanted to also use as a miniserver, with gpu pass through and everything. It was painful to get it working properly, was like 30-40% slower. I also had constant problems with USB peripherals not connecting properly, or going in a sleep state and not waking. Many games didn’t work properly.
Then I decided to just buy a cheap second second hand PC and never looked back.
I don’t trust them in literally any manner at all.
Well I have my Linux partition encrypted with a unique password. But I don’t dual boot anyway …