You can download the Windows ISO from Microsoft. The Windows License information is stored in your BIOS, IIRC
this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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You can download the windows iso from windows webpage, but if I remember correctly you have to do it in Windows since it depends on a downloader program. Then you should store the windows cd-key just in case, you shouldn't need it and there are ways to recover it from Linux if this is an OEM machine, but it's always better safe than sorry.
With all that being said, a bit of unpopular opinion now. Why do you want to do that? I kept a windows partition for years because I never knew if I would need it, it was only when I realised I hadn't touched Windows in months that I felt comfortable removing it, and at that time I didn't cared if it could be reinstalled. The reason I'm asking is because if you have to ask about it you probably never installed windows on a machine, so you don't know how to do that, and it's a lot more complex than Linux because Windows needs all of the drivers to be manually installed to work properly, and while Windows 10 is a bit better in finding those drivers automatically it's still a Pain in the ass to ensure it got the correct things and wait the thousands of reboots to apply all updates because updates are cumulative in Windows.
You can download the windows iso from windows webpage, but if I remember correctly you have to do it in Windows since it depends on a downloader program.
It only forces you to use the media creation tool on Windows, everything else it gives you a link to download the ISO.
I kept a windows partition for years because I never knew if I would need it, it was only when I realised I hadn't touched Windows in months that I felt comfortable removing it
I'm exactly the same.
everything else it gives you a link to download the ISO.
Then that's new, you had to jump through some hoops to get the iso before, I remember just giving up and going to my sister's computer to download it back then.
You can get the Isos from the installer page too installer is just there for people who don't know how to/don't want to flash it themselves
The media creator runs perfectly in wine. But isos are easy to find as well.
Since presuming the computer came with Windows activated preinstalled, then the license key is likely embedded into the BIOS of the device. Reinstalling Windows will not void that license key because you already paid for it with the "windows tax." I've reinstalled windows on my pre-built "gaming" PC and the license activated automatically.
There are some pains getting a USB bootable installer image with Windows on a full GNU/Linux system, but it is entirely possible. It's also possible to virtualize windows with GPU pass-through or use Wine/Proton which should always be examined before attempting to reinstall Windows (which is always a last resort).
I just want to reiterate that it is a major pain creating a bootable Windows installation USB drive on a Linux or macOS system. It'd be prudent to create it before installing Linux or make sure you have another Windows computer accessible to you to avoid some headaches if needed.
Ventoy, Ventoy, Ventoy .
I do not know about W11 (using only Linux since 2000) but usually when installing Windows this is going to wipe out your whole disk, including any other os. That is why to have two (three or four) os you should install windows first, then any other os, the opposite is more like...a problem.
Can confirm, Windows does not give a single fuck about anything else you're trying to do, will assume every drive is just more space for Windows and steamroller your entire system lol. Much easier to just let it do what it wants first, and then repartition everything to the correct shape when you install Linux afterwards.
You can install windows to a selected Unallocated Space and it will create its partitions, but if it detects an EFI partition, even in a different drive, it uses that for windows.
I do not use windows since year 2000. What windows version started that? Remember that there was a windows bootloader that could do this but i did not care to learn about, it was not worth of.
Perfect, thanks a bunch for the replies! Seems I'll be trying to go full Kubuntu soon then, now that Steam's Proton is doing so well!
What desktop was it? I'm probably not getting anything anytime soon, but I'm curious for future
I got a lot of great advice on another thread recently (which I still need to go through) on how to get the dual boot going, would be nice to have it be like that out of the box.
Also one thing that might be relevant, sometimes reinstalling windows may cause issues with extra features tied to a particular version. This is second hand experience, a friend replaced an SSD and could no longer use certain features (bitlocker?) because they were only on the pro version of Windows. Somehow they were enabled before.
So I guess it's less of a problem and more of "you may lose things that windows decided you weren't supposed to have"
is it possible he forgot to select pro in the install menu a pro license will activate home no problem