Hi. I’ve not really used Windows since the early 2000. Even then not much.
I have a single mini PC with windows on. And use it only for device firmware updates. As a ham radio nerd. You get many devices that can only be modified via windows.
Anyway it was set up with dual boot the normal way. Windows first as it came with it. Then make a real Linux partition to use the PC on my boat while travelling.
Now the issue is I am upgrading the Mini PC. Basically replacing memory and the tiny 128gb ssd. So need to install it all from scratch.
I have order a copy of windows 11 from ebay. (At a price I consider acceptable for the crap)
But its going to take several days to arrive. And I would like to be more efficient.
So I am hoping folks can advice me on the best way to set up the PC with Linux first then install Windows 11 later. Knowing windows has a habit of messing up grub etc.
Why wait for a copy of windows when you can just download the ISO from Microsoft?
Honestly, now a days USB pass through is so good that a virtual machine works well enough for firmware upgrades. Especially true if you have a separate usb controller and you pass the whole PCIe device! It’s extremely rare I ever need bare metal.
-73
You can use windows in indefinite trial version with Activate Windows watermark. Grab a windows iso from the website. Put it on USB stick (I use Ventoy). And install. I would keep windows bootlaoder and grub on separate partitions.
You can also activate Windows very easily. Search for “github massgravel”. It’s one command you need to run in Powershell as administrator.
There’s a lot of people saying not to pay for windows or not to use eBay or to download from Microsoft directly or to use massgrave instead but there are very few possibly no responses explaining why that’s a better option than buying from eBay.
First things first, and I know this is gonna get some people responding with the ol’ “nuh-uh”, but there’s compromised counterfeit install media for sale. You most likely don’t know how to tell the good from the bad. The bad can also look very, very good.
If you want to know you’re getting the good stuff straight from Microsoft, use uupdump to create an updated install media for whatever sku(version of windows) you want and use rufus to make the usb installer (you’ll need to be inside a windows vm or on your old version of windows). The reason I say use Rufus is because it gives you the opportunity to turn off some stuff like requiring a Microsoft account in the 11 install process.
Once that’s done and installed, you can activate however you like, either with massgrave or with a key for your sku purchased from Microsoft directly.
Really the only thing you have to do after installing Windows (if Linux was the first) is to reinstall your bootloader from a live Linux environment.
If it’s Grub, you can look here: https://pendrivelinux.com/restore-grub-after-windows-install/
If I’m right, during the restoration of the bootloader, Grub will find your Windows installation too, and will add it to the menu.
Installing Windows will always nuke the existing bootloadet with the Windows one. You can install Linux just fine now, then Windows, but you’ll need go back and set the bootloader back to grub or whatever your distro prefers. If you don’t know how to do this yet, just look it up. You’ll need to know how to do it in the future, since Windows Updates will randomly do this again in the future.
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Thanks. That was exactly what I needed. I’ll look it up.
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If windows was installed once on a motherboard if you install windows from USB again on the same motherboard even after wiping it will remember your purchase and not make you pay again
This is true. There’s even a Linux command to grab the license key. The key won’t work on any other hardware tho, so it’s kind of useless :)
You can go through the activation troubleshooter and say you replaced the motherboard, I did this with my brother’s computer and used a licence from a 5 year old netbook on a modern desktop. It might’ve needed a Microsoft account though.
