Dual Boot Linux Mint 20.3 and Windows 11

Linux Mint is one of the popular Linux distributions available. It is known for its stability and timely updates. The latest version released is the 20.3 codename Una. Let’s see how we can Download and Dual Boot Linux Mint with Windows 11.

Prerequisites

• Secure Boot Disabled
• 20GB Free Space
• 8GB USB

Dual Boot Linux Mint

Downloads

First, we need to download some files. For that, we need to visit their official website and download the latest ISO image. There are three versions of Linux Mint. But we will download the Cinnamon Edition, which is the most popular one. We also need the Rufus program, to create a bootable USB drive.

Creating Partitions

We need to create a separate partition on our drive to install the OS. Right-click on the Windows button and open Disk Management. Here we will right-click on the D Drive and then select shrink. Now choose the desired size, above 20GB. And then create the partition. Also right-click on the Disk0 and under the volume tab, check your partition type. We will need this information later.

Bootable USB

Open the Rufus program and choose your USB drive. Now select the downloaded ISO image of Linux Mint. In the partition scheme choose GPT, if the partition type is UEFI otherwise choose MBR. Now start the process, it’ll pop up some warnings. So read it and proceed. It’ll take some time and your bootable USB will be ready.

BIOS and Boot Menu

We need to Boot into our BIOS and disable Secure Boot, if not done already. After that, we need to Boot into the Boot device options menu. You can check the images for your Boot key. Select your USB from the list and then select the first option for Linux Mint.

Installation

The installation will not start immediately. Instead, we will be taken to the Live version. You can explore around and test things out. To install we need to click on the Install Linux Mint icon. This will start the installer window. First, we need to select our language and connect to WiFi, which is optional. Now we have the option to install a codec for the media player, this is also optional.

Dual Boot Linux Mint

Now we have the option to install Linux Mint as primary or replace a partition. We need to select the Something else option. It’ll load all the Partitions available. Locate your partition by its size, click on it and select change. Now select Ext4 Journal System and in the mount point select (/), which is root. Also, make sure to tick the format partition option. Now we can proceed to install the operating system. Accept the warnings and continue with the process. After we need to choose our time zone and then create a username and password. Then the installation will begin and it’ll take time.

Linux Mint Cinnamon

After the installation is done, it’ll ask to restart the system. When restarting we need to remove the USB drive and press enter. After a while, we can see the Dual Boot menu. From here we can choose between Linux Mint and Windows 11.