So far I'm just running it from the usb but the difference in speed is already noticeably different and faster. I still need Windows for a couple of things so I guess I'll look into partitioning the drive. It looks and feels just like Windows so I'm pretty happy it's already working. Any hot tips on the best way to set it up to have access to both operating systems? I'm a real newb at this stuff so anything appreciated.
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Linux automatically detects the presence of Windows on your system when you go to install Linux. What it will do is ask you if you want to install alongside Windows. This is what I usually do, and I can assure you it is very easy to set up and works very reliably. It carves out a chunk of your hard drive to install Linux on, of a size you can specify with a sliding bar (it shows you how much of the Windows partition is used, how much is free, and so on.) Then it installs a special program to boot up your computer. What happens when you boot your computer after that is that as soon as the POST process is over, you get a menu asking you which operating system you want to boot up. The default is Linux, with a ten-second timer to continue booting Linux automatically if you don't press any buttons. Or you can select Windows from the menu, at which point Windows boots as normal.
Linux is highly adaptable at customizing this start menu, and automatically updates it if you install yet another Linux version on your hard drive, giving you two versions of Linux and one of Windows.
I've done all of these things over the years with no problems. Then, if you want to delete Linux and go back to Windows (you won't, but ...) you can run some Windows command that will restore the normal Windows boot option if you want. You'll have to look at your particular version of Windows to do that.
This is all very easy and convenient, because you can install both operating systems on the same hard drive, without even having to open your computer's case or buy another hard drive or anything else. Actually, I think installing Linux on a separate hard drive would be more difficult, because the bootloader might not be able to find Linux on the other hard drive. I'm not sure, but the dual-boot, one-hard drive approach is something that is extremely convenient, automatic, and reliable.