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I want to get Linux to practice some coding (I'm a total noob at this), but I don't want to get rid of my windows desktop. I was wondering if there was a way to have Ubuntu as just an application I can run whenever I want to use Linux, or if there was an easy way to transfer all of my files to Ubuntu.

Elder Geek
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PoisonIvey
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    There are several ways to go back and forth, but not as an application. Really depends on what you actually need, but I'd guess VirtualBox would be the closest. – mikewhatever Jul 29 '16 at 22:35
  • @PoisonIvey ,what exactly is your purpose in having Linux ? coding can be practiced on windows as well. What sort of coding you want to do ? Depending on your purpose you may or may not choose between cygwin, virtual machine, or even dual-boot – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy Jul 29 '16 at 23:01
  • I would ask the same question and add to that also that there might be some additional options that might be worth considering. Especially if you are thinking about experimenting with setting up or coding network services or web applications. If so it might be worth considering making use of an old machine or even getting yourself a cheap server to play with rather than working on your primary system. Doing so can make the learning process less painful in the event of creating accidental security exploits since it would isolate development from your important files on your main system. – MttJocy Jul 29 '16 at 23:41
  • I'm not sure if it would suit your needs, but you could also look into Installing Windows Subsystem for Linux – wjandrea Jul 30 '16 at 00:22

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You have basically two options to have both Windows and Ubuntu installed on the same machine:

  • Dual boot:

    You free up some unpartitioned space on your disk and then install Ubuntu there directly, next to Windows. On every boot you will see a menu where you can chose whether to load Windows or Ubuntu. Switching between the OS always requires a full reboot, but both systems will run with optimal performance.

  • Virtual machine:

    You install a virtualization tool like VMWare or VirtualBox in your host system (Windows), then you can emulate a virtual computer running as application on your Windows system. You can install Ubuntu in this VM. As Ubuntu then only runs inside the VM application on Windows, you can quickly switch between the Ubuntu guest and the Windows host. Ubuntu will be slow though because it's running in a VM instead of on real hardware.

Byte Commander
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    If you go the VM route, you can also swap host and guest operating system (Ubuntu/Linux as the host with Windows running as a VM). – David Foerster Aug 02 '16 at 08:45
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There are a number of ways.

For example you could dual boot. This is the way I did it until I ditched Windows entirely.

or you could run in a VM like virtualbox. Installing Virtualbox under Windows would be off-topic here but here's a page on superuser that covers it.

Installing Ubuntu on Virtualbox is however on topic as seen here

Note that there were some issues with Win 10 and Virualbox but I believe they have been resolved in the latest release

Community
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Elder Geek
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I haven't used this since I don't have Windows, but it has been all over the internet. If in Windows Update you are in the Fast Ring, you can install Windows Subsystem for Linux. It takes a bit of setting up, but the rest is Googleable.

Stephen Angelico
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