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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Do I need to update Windows 11 on a Windows / Linux Mint dual boot system? (feddit.org)

submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hey guys,

I use my laptop with a Windows 11 / Linux Mint dual-boot system.

Since I actually use Linux Mint 98% of the time, I wanted to ask if it is still necessary to do the system and security updates for Windows 11 as long as Windows is not needed?

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Yes, I’ve also read about problems with dual-boot systems after Windows updates, which is why I’ve refused to use Windows too often to make the updates worthwhile.

Sometimes Windows just overwrites GRUB (or whatever you use on your system) bootloader. But it's relatively easy to fix using your distro's installation media. Just in case this happens you need to refer to your distro's documentation or community forums to fix it.

I do recommend however in the future to not put Windows and Linux on the same disk, but have 2, each for respective OS. That way, there's no way Windows will ever touch your Linux bootloader, and you can still allow GRUB (or other bootloader) to chain-load Windows boot manager from the other disk.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I’m not sure if I had two separate boot partitions (on separate drives), but I know for certain that windows will try to fuck with bootloaders on other drives during install and certain updates. Has happened to me enough times over the decades to realize the only safe way to keep windows away is an air-gap