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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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Use work laptop as personal device by dual booting on a separate internal drive? (lemmy.one)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I currently have a Dell laptop that runs Windows for work. I use an external SSD via the Thunderbolt port to boot Linux allowing me to use the laptop as a personal device on a completely separate drive. All I have to do is F12 at boot, then select boot from USB drive.

However, this laptop is only using 1 of the 2 internal M.2 ports. Can I install Linux on a 2nd M.2 drive? I would want the laptop to normally boot Windows without a trace of the second option unless the drive is specified from the BIOS boot options.

Will this cause any issues with Windows? Will I be messing anything up? For the external drive setup, I installed Linux on a different computer, then transferred the SSD to the external drive. Can I do the same for the M.2 SSD – install Linux on my PC, then transfer that drive to the laptop?

Any thoughts or comments are welcome.

Edit: Thank you everyone! This was a great discussion with a lot of great and thoughtful responses. I really appreciate the replies and all the valuable information and opinions given here.

(page 2) 45 comments

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

I work in IT and that's what I do lol

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

🙃

How badly do you need your job?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

For anyone wondering about the security issues caused by this, even if the windows partition is encrypted, it's still possible to get secrets from the Windows install.

If you have root access to a Linux machine, you can easily replace the Windows kernel loader with one that looks just like Windows, but does nothing other than steal your encryption password on login/boot.

Secure Boot/TPM would protect against this, but Linux users (especially those that are more lax about security) tend to disable it as part of installing Linux.

[–] naonintendois 4 points 9 months ago

I knew someone who did this but swapped out the physical hard drive each time. I wouldn't dual boot because then it's much more obvious to IT what you've done.

This is only realistically feasible though if the hard drive is easily accessible. If it's something like a Mac or soldered in dual booting is your only choice. As others have said, this could get you in a lot of trouble with your company. Check the docs you've signed

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

I think this is a good idea. You may want to use a different MAC on Linux, true.

Also only use the personal drive at home if you fear being spied on.

The chance that your company embeds spyware in the BIOS is like 0%. If you can press F12, Windows is off and you will not be spied on.

Otherwise make sure to do real reboots and use this shutdown command to really turn off windows, as otherwise it hibernates only.

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