Microsoft’s latest security update has ruined dual-boot Windows and Linux PCs
www.theverge.com
The update wasn’t supposed to reach dual-boot PCs.

My GF recently said I can install Linux on her laptop. Then I saw Windows broke dual boot systems.

Is it safe to do a dual boot if she already has the update that broke dual booting?

Should I just figure out how to install Windows in a VM for her?

Appreciate any insight y’all can offer

  • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl
    0·
    2 months ago

    If you pick a recent distro (2022 or newer), sure. Make sure to install it in UEFI mode, though, BIOS mode will randomly break no matter what operating system you dual boot. The problem only occurs with two year old versions of Grub.

    If the USB installer boots, the distro should boot too. If it doesn’t, well, find a better distro, I suppose.

    Also, if you boot Windows from the Linux bootloader and have Bitlocker (disk encryption) enabled, make sure you know the recovery key. You will need to enter it once (only once) to make Windows trust the Linux bootloader enough to unlock the disks.

    I’d also recommend doing the disk resizing in Windows for this reason (unless you’re putting in a second SSD). Linux can resize most Windows partitions these days, but Windows itself struggles to keep its filesystem intact when doing advanced resize stuff and their driver isn’t even based on reversed engineering.