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So, I wish to dual install Linux into my computer. My concern is suppose there is a program or file which is openable both in Linux and in Windows (eg: text md file), then is there any way to access the windows files from a Linux boot?

Btw I plan on using Fedora.

tryst with freedom
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    There is, you can just mount the Windows drive. But modifying your Windows boot partition from Linux can be risky. It is best to make a separate data partition that will be shared between Linux and Windows, and format it as NTFS (so Windows can read it). – Esther Jul 05 '22 at 16:29
  • What does it mean to mount the Windows drive? And why is it risky actually @Esther – tryst with freedom Jul 05 '22 at 16:30
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    How to mount a device in linux Mounting a device/drive/partition is kind of like assigning it a drive letter in Windows: it allows you to access the filesystem on the device and view/modify data. – Esther Jul 05 '22 at 16:32
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    Windows and Linux use different permissions schemes, and they are not very compatible. Additionally, Linux doesn't know about protected files under Windows and can modify/corrupt them. – Esther Jul 05 '22 at 16:36
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    Also be sure to turn off "fast startup" in Windows – Esther Jul 05 '22 at 16:37
  • Why do you say to turn it off? @Esther – tryst with freedom Jul 05 '22 at 16:40
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    @EthakkaappamwithChai Windows caches some of the file system metadata on closedown, instead of updating the disk itself. That makes it faster to start back up. But Linux boot just sees bad data structures on the disk. It is like hibernating one OS and then expecting it to un-hibernate into a different one. Linux also uses a file system driver called ntfs-3g (a standard package) to deal with NTFS file partitions. – Paul_Pedant Jul 05 '22 at 16:45

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Would I be able to access my Windows files if I am to make a dual boot into Linux?

Yes.

Most desktop environments allow to transparently open NTFS drives just by browsing "My computer" or whatever there is. There's been no need to mount (a Linux console utility) Windows partitions for many years now.

The biggest issue of using Linux along with Windows has been and remains to this day is dual booting. It might get complicated depending on your hardware and partitioning scheme.

Whatever you decide to do, make a full backup of your data and verify you've actually backed up everything. In Linux it's a lot easier to destroy all your data than in Windows.

Installing Linux on a separate disk might be a good idea.

Lastly, please consider using Fedora Live image (Fedora 36: x86_64 Live ISO) for a while to get a feel of it. Linux is so drastically different in many aspects you may decide it's not worth it.

Artem S. Tashkinov
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  • What is a live image? – tryst with freedom Jul 05 '22 at 16:44
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    Live ISO: https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/ - something you can copy to your flash drive and boot from it without touching any files on your disk. It's a safe way of trying Linux and making sure it fully supports your hardware. – Artem S. Tashkinov Jul 05 '22 at 16:46
  • So would the amount of functionality be the same? – tryst with freedom Jul 05 '22 at 16:46
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    Yes, in the Live ISO you can do everything which you can do in in the installed version, except any changes will be lost when you decide to reboot. – Artem S. Tashkinov Jul 05 '22 at 16:47
  • So suppose I want to save a file I downloaded of the internet, would it get saved in the usb or in the harddrive? – tryst with freedom Jul 05 '22 at 16:47
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    It depends on where you'll save it. The default location will be RAM (memory), but you can open any of your Windows drives and save it there. Except don't save it to your System EFI drive - normally it's hidden in Windows. Also, it's normally quite small - around 100MB I guess? Haven't installed Windows for a while, don't know. – Artem S. Tashkinov Jul 05 '22 at 16:49
  • Huh, so does that mean I can't use it for too long? It sounds like if I kept saving more and more file then ram will get eaten up ( I have only 8) – tryst with freedom Jul 05 '22 at 16:50
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    Exactly, but as I said, you can open your Windows drives and save your files over there. – Artem S. Tashkinov Jul 05 '22 at 16:50
  • Thanks that clears up a lot of concerns I had – tryst with freedom Jul 05 '22 at 16:51
  • If you have any further questions you may want to start using IRC and give Linux communities channels a visit, e.g. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicating_and_getting_help#IRC This website is not well suited for such basic questions. – Artem S. Tashkinov Jul 05 '22 at 16:52
  • The GUI file managers can just open Windows file systems (so you don't need the CLI mount option), but under the hood they mount them (in Mint, under a /media/ directory). The GUIs even have menu options like Unmount, Eject and Stop. If you are scripting, you may need the raw mount command. – Paul_Pedant Jul 05 '22 at 16:58