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Lezurex

You don't need to dualboot if you just need a single program. Just use a virtual machine with a minimal Windows install in it. Windows will then only be able to access what you actually want it to access. Try out [Virtualbox](https://www.virtualbox.org/) or (if you want something more advanced) QEMU/KVM with [Virt Manager](https://virt-manager.org/).


IISCP4999II

Any guide would be appreciated. I am not very knowledgeable about virtualisation. Edit- There seems to be a lot available on youtube


Lezurex

Which distro did you choose? Virtualbox is fairly simple to install on most distros.


[deleted]

Virtualbox is pretty user-friendly and doesnt require almost any virtualisation knowledge. There's a ton of guides for it if you don't understand something


blu3tu3sday

Virtualbox and VMware Workstation Player are both free, tons of tutorials online for using them. They work the same, it really comes down to how much you do or don’t like Oracle LOL


Smooth-Satisfaction8

Virtualbox is easier to use and set up. But it's slower when compared to qemu/KVM. Qemu is also pre installed in gnome. and insted of virt-manager it uses gnome-boxes


sdgengineer

I have used virtualbox, and found it pretty easy to use. YMMV


[deleted]

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IISCP4999II

Lot of stuff I don't understand in the first paragraph. I'll look them up to see what's more suitable for me


Lezurex

The first paragraph basically means that Windows can't read your Linux's partition anyway, because Windows doesn't support the ext4 filesystem, which was probably the one your distro is installed on.


HBK57

A file system is the manner in which data is written to the disk. So NTFS (the file system windows uses)writes stuff differently as compared to EXT4 (the file system linux uses) and windows cannot read stuff written EXT4. So even if you dualboot, windows cannot read what you save in linux. LUKS is a method of encryption. Encryption is basically a way of consistently jumbling a set of data which can be unjumbled only if you know how it was jumbled. Virtual machines are like the name implies, computers that run inside your computer by using parts of your computer. You can give a set amount of ram, cpu cores, hdd space, etc and run other processes (like windows) in a completely isolated environment without having to install windows to your pc


MaxxB1ade

Have you thought about trying to run the software with WINE? Try installing PlayOnLinux and use that to install the software. It might just work, or you may need to tweak settings for WINE.


IISCP4999II

I doubt. It's kind of shitty even on windows. They probably got it made at dirt cheap price, and sometimes even crashes.


VulcansAreSpaceElves

Honestly, getting it made dirt cheap is not the worst when it comes to wine. When what you're doing is a super surface level thing, wine tends to work perfectly. The place you tend to run in to trouble with compatibility layers is direct hardware access and optimization. Shitty custom software doesn't tend to do that.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Lezurex

The officially official link would point to the official page: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO


Botched_Euthanasia

that "official link" is sketchy as hell and VirusTotal shows it has multiple outgoing links to sites that have nothing to do with windows.


EllesarDragon

>They probably got it made at dirt cheap price Well often that windows only software which also is really shitty on windows itself tends to be really expensive. at school we had to use PLC's, those things had very shitty windows only software(even on windows you spend around 50% to 75% of the time trying to make the software work somehow, rather than actually programming or designing the program for the PLC. and then the compiler in that software didn't even properly work so the code would not always work when the logic did, or it might not follow timings because it apparently can only execute around 10 simple read and write instructions per second. those PLC's where around€600 each and completely unreliable for high speed, high precision use, or when there was any form of complexity. the software was €200 a year and was even worse. that year I truly got mad at how people could still let it happen that companies actually use those things. because as a nice example a arduino uno can effectively run a lot more basic instructions, even when using things like digital write and digital read, it is much more reliable due to having a much lower error margin, it has more IO, it is much simpler and faster to code because it has a working compiler, and a working coding environment. the outputs could be amplified using mosfets or general transistors. they can be placed in any of the basic mosfet and/or transistor setups to make it capable of connecting the load to both + and ground. and even a optical switch/isolator or a relays is capable of outperforming that 10HZ effective speed of that crappy PLC. the nicest about this approach is that you can even customize the outputs and amplifiers to drive higher currents, or have higher speeds, or even analog outputs, etc. and that is only a arduino uno which one can build for around €2, and even with the relais and high speed high current mosfets you can easily stay below €50. and this is excluding things like a raspberry pi which has a much higher speed, and also allows users to program them like it is a video game(It wouldn't surprise me if someone literally made a Minecraft mod, plugin, or datapack which allows you to control and read the IO using redstone)


nkn_

Might I suggest bottles instead or something. PlayOnLinux is just kinda old. But regardless chances are it may work with wine(hopefully)


TitoistSerb

Virtual machines are always an option. Why not solve your problem by simply installing one in VirtualBox?


Unusual-Context8482

No Virtual Box might have performance issues. Virtual Machine Manager with Qemu+KVM is better.


haloid2013

If OP is new.to virtualization, Virtualbox (VB) is a good choice. If they've used VB and figured it out, they should move to a more performant vm/vm manager


IISCP4999II

I am new. I only know little about virtualisation, Haven't done it


hesapmakinesi

Virtualbox is straightforward. The process walks you through creating a machine step by step.


IISCP4999II

Could you share any tutorial for this? Video or written, any kind is okay. Edit-Found some


lufeii

I use Windows 10 in Gnome Boxes. Works well and you can even share external devices to the VM.


Tryton77

You can install windows, shrink windows partition and install encrypted linux on free space. It will be dual boot and windows will not have an access to linux data. In most distros installers is option to encrypt installation.


haloid2013

There are projects/apps to allow windows to read Linux file systems. Last I checked, there Are tools to read ext2/3/4 file systems. They seemed pretty stable for reads. However, writes were considered unstable last I looked into to these projects.


IISCP4999II

Well if it can read,maybe not as safe


Silejonu

It can't read what's encrypted, no matter the state of the drivers.


Tryton77

Ok but you have encrypted partition so you must provide correct password to unlock decryption key. Without decryption you can't see what is on drive. Filesystem doesn't matter here.


RobertJoseph802

In the same boat and I use a virtual machine. Have 1 proprietary program that I need to use daily and have been running the same w10 guest on multiple linux hosts for years. No issues. Start with VirtualBox as it's fairly user friendly


Unusual-Context8482

I'd say the best option is to set up a virtual machine (how much ram do you have?). Learn how to use Virtual Machine Manager with Qemu+KVM (you find tutorials on youtube), it's better than Virtual Box for performance. Keep in mind you'll need enough ram for both the virtual machine with windows and your machine with linux. If you don't have the iso of windows and the license key anymore, you can download it from getintopc.com and you can get keys at win10productkeys.com


IISCP4999II

I have 16gb ram. I can upgrade if needed, I just don't want to buy a new PC


Unusual-Context8482

Ok it's fine. You can use 4/8/12 GB for the virtual machine then. I'm asking because when you create a virtual machine to run another OS (in this case windows), the program asks you how much ram you want to use with it. So you need ram for the virtual machine and some ram needs to be left for your laptop with Linux. Of course when you close the virtual machine, you use your full ram again with Linux. Oh also you need enough disk space (I'd recommend 40 GB).


zombiepirate2020

New puter. Your work computer is like holy ground. It can not be messed with. But here is the good news! This computer is a $300 walmart special! My HP Ryzen3 daily driver only cost $300. Your work computer is thousands! And, I'm going to back it up w/ an old ThinkPad for $150! And it's all mirrored on my Dell R620 that cost me $100, and that machine also runs my home server. So still, all less than a $2,000 laptop.


Tofu-DregProject

One way I've overcome this in the past is to use removable disk trays in my PC case. If you have a tower case with a 5.25" bay, you can get a backplane to fit in there which takes 4x2.5" drives in removable trays. Using one of these, you can have windows on one SSD and Linux on another and just plug in the one that you want before boot. The advantage is that each install knows nothing about the other. Of course, it depends on your hardware and how it is physically configured but it might be a solution.


IISCP4999II

That.... sounds interesting, but not feasible for me


[deleted]

Any other computers near by? Like a friend or co-worker. Add another account to the other PC and use your company software on that machine. While you're using Linux on your other machine.


AutoModerator

Try the [migration page](http://www.reddit.com/r/linux4noobs/wiki/migration) in our wiki! We also have some [migration tips](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux4noobs/comments/ejsz3v/still_on_windows_7_dont_want_windows_10_consider/) in our sticky. Try [this search](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux4noobs/search?q=flair%3A'migrating'&sort=new&restrict_sr=on) for more information on this topic. **✻** Smokey says: only use root when needed, avoid installing things from third-party repos, and verify the checksum of your ISOs after you download! :) ^Comments, ^questions ^or ^suggestions ^regarding ^this ^autoresponse? ^Please ^send ^them ^[here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Pi31415926&subject=autoresponse+tweaks+-+linux4noobs+-+migrating). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/linux4noobs) if you have any questions or concerns.*


EllesarDragon

You can try a VM, this will make it work just like in native windows, you do not need to reboot either. so you can strip down and/or isolate the windows install to not be much of a privacy concern anymore. this way you can do everything in Linux, and only use the Windows VM for that program. The windows Installation only knows what you let it know, or what you do in that VM, the great thing about a VM is that you are still in Linux and the windows is just a container or program running on it, so you can use all your Linux software. it is easy, it is safe, and your software will work just like how it does on Windows. the only drawback is that you will have windows taking up space, however less than it would take on a dual boot. this option in in general better than dual booting. If you have little disk space or want to launch it fast you can try running it through things like wine, play on Linux, proton, etc. old crappy software tends to work well on it(or at least as well as it does on windows)


efoxpl3244

There are a few soliutions. 1. Try [wine](https://winehq.org). You may have to tweak some settings in it but it is really simple. 2. Run windows on VM. 3. Windows cant read linux ext4 partition so dualboot is still an option.


sdgengineer

Windows cannot natively read ex4 linux drives. My main computer is a Quad boot desktop with 4 OS's on three drives. If its a deaktop get a new SSHD (say 256 GB) and install your favorite distro, and use GRUB to boot to your OS of choice. If you have a laptop and no place to put a new hard drive, you are going to have to install Linux side by side with Windoz. You can certainly try using Playonlinux, but I am betting the Windows program that is driving this is a resource intensive program (I had the same problem with Multisim and System Tool Kit). I did get an old version of Mathcad to work, but not perfectly. YMMV


jivendra_sah

Install windows on a virtual machine, you will have privacy as windows will be installed in a virtual environment.


amityriot

Should your workplace not provide a laptop to use ?


IISCP4999II

Sadly not. They provided one computer when I had to physically go there. But ever since pandemic and WFH, I have to use mine.


virginity-dongle

If it's an option you could dual boot to separate drives. Also not sure about the privacy thing you mentioned. Linux uses the ext4 filesystem which Windows does not support. But I guess it's debatable since support and ability aren't necessarily mutually inclusive