Disclaimer: I accept and claim no responsibility for any unintended consequences that may happen to your devices or data as a result of following this tutorial. Perform these steps at your own risk. Always back up your data before conducting any changes to your device(s). Check out my full Terms of Service for more details.
At this point your computer is primed and ready for an awesome dual boot setup with Windows 11 and Linux. In this part of the guide we will boot from the USB, step through the install process and partition the hard drive properly all while leaving Windows intact. You’ll see each step screen by screen, knowing exactly what to do. I’m so excited for you, lets get it going!
Changing the Boot Order
We need to tell the PC to boot from the USB instead of your hard drive. In order to do that, you’ll need to access your computer’s BIOS (Basic Input Output System). It is similar to opening the hood of your car to work on the engine, but unlike car engines, this part is easy:
1. Look up your PC model number
Type in “system information” in the search bar at the bottom of your screen to pull up the model number of your PC. You can also look for a sticker on your PC (if your PC is a tower, it might be printed on the front or back of the tower where your ports are) or laptop (Laptop manufacturers often put a sticker near the touchpad or the bottom of the laptop).
You’ll see a screen that looks like the one below. Check out where it says “System Model.” Write down your system model.
Look up how to access your PC’s BIOS
Go to your preferred search engine and search for “How to access the BIOS for (paste in your System Model from the previous step here). Write down the steps that you find.
As a reference, here are the steps that most PC’s follow:
1. Restart your PC and immediately hold F2 when the manufacturer logo appears.
2. Look for a tab that says something like “Boot Options,” “Startup,” “Boot Order,” etc.
3. Find the section that determines the boot order.
Note: This section will show a list that shows items such as “Hard Drive,” “CD-ROM Drive,” “Network boot,” etc. Take note of the item that is currently in the number 1 position, as that is where your Windows install is.
4. Move “USB” or something like it to the top of the list
Note: Normally you’ll need to use the “+” or “-” buttons to move USB up or down the list.
5. Save Changes and Exit
Note: Many PCs have an option that says “Save and Exit.” Select that option and restart your computer.
IMPORTANT: If you follow these steps and it doesn’t work, no worries. Restart your computer, re-follow the steps and try the process again. It’s taken me multiple times to get this process to work properly before too. Don’t give up!
If you follow these steps and your computer boots from the USB . . . NICE WORK! Let’s move on to the next steps!
Dual Boot Instructions
1. Click “Install Zorin OS”
2. Select your preferred language, then click “Continue”
3. Select your preferred Keyboard layout, then click “Continue”
4. Choose if you’d like to connect to Wi-Fi (I recommend that you do connect to Wi-Fi in order to have the best install experience) then click “Continue”
5. Choose if you’d like to have third-party updates installed (I personally choose to install third-party updates but you may choose what you like) then click “Continue”
6. WARNING: On this step DO NOT click on “Erase disk and install Zorin OS” as it will erase your Windows 11 Installation. Instead, click “Install Zorin OS alongside Windows Boot Manager” and then click “Continue”
7. When you see the “Write the changes to disks?” dialog box, click “Continue”
8. Choose your time zone
9. Fill out the required information, then click “Continue”
10. At this point it will go through various install screens.
11. Once installation is complete, you’ll see this dialog box. Click “Restart Now”
12. Follow the instructions when you see this screen
Next, test your installs! When your PC reboots and you see the GRUB Menu, boot into Zorin OS.
If you see this screen once the desktop loads, then your Zorin installation worked!
Now boot into Windows. If you can successfully log into your desktop, then you have successfully created a dual boot setup on your PC! Now you can explore Linux safely while your Windows install remains intact!
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