Which is better Dual Boot or Virtual Machine to install an operating system?

 

In the world of operating systems, Windows 11 is the most popular and best system due to the many features it provides in addition to periodic and regular updates, which include the addition of new great features and important security improvements. However, other operating systems such as Linux can do many things that Windows does not support and in these in this case, you will need to install Linux on your Windows machine in order to take advantage of the features of each.

 

There are many other motives that make you want to install a different operating system. You may be curious and want to try a new and different operating system, or you want to try programs for other operating systems. In order to do so, you will have two options, either Dual Boot or Virtual Machine. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages, and on the basis of that, you can know which one is more appropriate for you according to your goal of installing the operating system as well as the capabilities of your device. In the following lines, you will clarify the difference between each of them and what is best for you.

 

When do you use Virtual Machine?

 

The virtual machine installs a different operating system as a separate system from the current system, such as installing Linux on Windows, for example. When the computer needs to switch between the two operating systems, you can do so simply by turning the program on or off. However, what is wrong with the VM is that it consumes a lot of the capabilities of the device because it allows the two operating systems to run at the same time, and on the basis of these advantages and disadvantages, certain uses are determined for it The most important of which are the following:

 

The Virtual Machine is suitable for powerful devices

 

In general, all the resources and capabilities of the device are allocated in order to run only one operating system on the computer, let's assume that it is Windows, for example, but when using two operating systems at the same time, which is what happens through the VM, the capabilities become divided on each of them, and thus so that there is no delay or slowdown Strong in operation, your computer must have strong capabilities, specifically with regard to the processor, RAM, and the rest of the components as well.

 

But if your computer is old or has limited capabilities, then the best will certainly be the dual boot of the two operating systems "Dual Boot", as this allows you to direct all the capabilities of the device to one operating system every time you turn on the computer except for simple things such as Consuming part of the hard drive for each operating system, and the type of operating system to be installed as a second system should also be taken into account, as running a light distribution of Linux on Windows 10 will be much simpler if you are using a Mac system and want to install Windows 10 on your system.

 

Experiment or use a new program

 

Sometimes the goal behind installing another operating system on your current system is to run certain programs for the other operating system. For example, if you are using Linux as a platform on your device, but you work as a photographer and you want to edit your photos through Lightroom, in this case, you can Use the Virtual Machine to install the Windows system and then run the program on it. In such cases, Dual Boot will not be a good option at all, as it does not make sense to boot into an entire operating system in order to run only one program.

 

Test another operating system

 

As we mentioned to you, Windows 10 is the current operating system that most computer users use, but have you heard of Linux before and are seeking to try it? In fact, the Linux system has many features that may make it better for you than the Windows operating system, and if you seek to try it, you can either use Dual Boot or Virtual Machine, but for the first time you can use the Virtual Machine specifically for many reasons, the most important of which is that you can switch between The two operating systems are easy, and this you may need a lot since you do not depend on Linux as a platform. The second reason is that installing or deleting a VM is much easier than the Dual Boot, which may result in major problems in the device when doing any error.

 

Test suspicious software or visit malicious websites

 

Another feature of the Virtual Machine is the ability to test malicious software on your device while protecting the original operating system from any problems or dangers that may affect it. For example, you can install a different system on the Virtual Machine and then browse the Internet through it and visit sites that may be suspicious or download Programs that you may suspect about its security and if you find that it is really malicious, you can delete the VM and reinstall it easily. On the contrary, using Dual Boot will not be the best option, as it may infect your device with viruses and it will not be as easy to remove them.

 

When do you use Dual Boot?

 

One of the most important advantages of a Virtual Machine is that it allows you to multitask as you can switch two operating systems quickly and easily at any time and run different programs on both of them as well as transfer data between them, but what if you do not want all that and you want to run one OS at the same time and you want to focus on it for a long time? Certainly, in this case, VM will not be the most suitable option for you, as it will not allow you to take advantage of the full features of the device, nor will it provide you with features that you do not need, so, in this case, Dual Boot will be the most appropriate for you.

 

Run powerful programs and games

 

If you want to run very powerful programs on another operating system such as photo and video editing programs, etc. or powerful games that consume a lot of processor and graphics card, always consider Dual Boot because the Virtual Machine will not be suitable in this case even if you have A device with strong capabilities, and the reason for this is that when you run a specific program on the Linux system within the VirtualBox program, for example, the basic Windows operating system will continue to consume part of the device’s resources, and this will certainly not allow you to take advantage of the full capabilities of your device.

 

    

 

The most important feature of the SSD is that it is very fast, which allows you to turn the سon or off the computer very quickly, and on the contrary, the HDD can take up to 10 minutes to turn off and turn on the computer, and this is what you will need a lot when relying on the Dual Boot method, so If you have an SSD hard drive, Dual Boot will be a good option for you if you do not want to multitask and run more than one OS at the same time, but if you have an HDD, the Dual Boot experience will be very bad as you will need to wait a lot of time in every time you switch between the two systems.