How to Dual Boot Linux Mint and Windows 11

Complete Beginner-Friendly Installation Guide

Dual booting allows you to run Linux Mint and Windows 11 on the same system, letting you choose the OS during startup. This guide follows the exact process shown in the reference video and explains everything in a clean, structured way.

📌 What You Need (Pre-Requisites)

Before starting, make sure you have:

Windows 11 or Windows 10 installed
A USB drive (8GB or larger)
Minimum 30GB free space on your drive (recommended: more)

💽 Step 1: Create Free Space for Linux Mint

Linux Mint needs unallocated space on your disk.

Steps:

Open Disk Management:
- Press Start and search diskmgmt.msc
Right-click the partition you want to shrink (usually C Drive)
Click Shrink Volume
Enter the amount of space to shrink:

Minimum recommended: 30,000 MB (30GB)
Example from video: 150,000 MB

Click Shrink → You will now see Unallocated Space.

⬇️ Step 2: Download Linux Mint & Rufus

Download Linux Mint

Visit the official Linux Mint website
Download the latest Cinnamon Edition ISO (recommended)

Download Rufus

Go to the official Rufus website
Download the latest version

Save both files in an easy-to-find location.

🛡️ Step 3: System Preparation (Recommended)

Create a System Restore Point

Search Create Restore Point in Windows
Open it and click Create
Name it and save a snapshot of your system

Disable BitLocker (If Enabled)

If using Windows 11 Pro, disable BitLocker temporarily.
Windows Home users usually don’t need to do this.

🔥 Step 4: Create Bootable Linux Mint USB

Open Rufus and insert your USB drive
Select:

Device: Your USB
Boot Selection: Linux Mint ISO
Partition Scheme:
  - GPT (for UEFI systems)
  - MBR (for Legacy BIOS)

Click Start and follow prompts
Wait until the bootable USB is ready

⚙️ Step 5: Modify BIOS Settings

Turn OFF your computer
Turn it ON and repeatedly press:

Common BIOS Keys:
F2 | F9 | ESC | DELETE

Inside BIOS:

Enable USB Boot
(Optional) Disable Secure Boot
Set USB as Primary Boot Device

Save & Exit

If USB doesn’t boot automatically, open the Boot Menu and select the USB manually.

🐧 Step 6: Install Linux Mint

Once booted into Mint Live Session:

Connect to the internet
Click Install Linux Mint
Choose:
- Language
- Keyboard layout
Enable Install multimedia codecs
Select installation option:

Install Linux Mint alongside Windows Boot Manager

Set:
- Time zone
- Username & password
Click Continue and wait for installation.
Restart when completed and remove USB when prompted.

🧩 Step 7: Configure GRUB Boot Manager

After restart, GRUB boot menu should appear.

Change GRUB Timer (Optional)

Open terminal in Mint and edit GRUB configuration:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Change timeout value (example):

GRUB_TIMEOUT=30

If Windows entry is missing, uncomment the relevant line.

Save & exit:

CTRL + O  → Save
CTRL + X  → Exit

Update GRUB:

sudo update-grub

Restart your system — Windows and Linux options should now appear.

❌ Step 8: How to Remove Linux Mint (Optional)

If you want to go back to Windows only:

Remove Linux Partition

Boot into Windows
Open diskmgmt.msc
Locate Linux partition (healthy, ~150GB)
Right-click → Delete Volume
Extend C Drive using Extend Volume

Remove GRUB Bootloader

Open Command Prompt as Administrator:

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0
list partition
select partition 1
assign letter=R
exit

Then:

R:
dir
cd EFI
dir
rd /s /q Ubuntu

Restart the system → it should boot directly into Windows.

🎥 Reference Video

Video	Link
Linux Mint + Windows 11 Dual Boot Tutorial	https://youtu.be/dmSymuoxoNA?si=-bVY-uZcnTE54_PQ

✅ Final Tips

Always back up important files before partitioning.
Use GPT + UEFI on modern laptops.
Minimum 30GB works, but 50–100GB+ is recommended for smooth Linux usage.
Keep Secure Boot disabled if you face boot issues.

You now have a clean dual-boot setup with Linux Mint and Windows 11.
Switch between operating systems anytime from the GRUB boot menu. 🚀

How to Dual Boot Linux Mint and Windows 11 (Step-by-Step Guide)