Installing an Alternative Operating System: A Practical Approach Part 1: Picking a New Operating System
Installing an Alternative Operating System: A Practical Approach Part 1: Picking a New Operating System
A simple guide to choosing and installing a different operating system on your computer
Last Updated: January 25, 2025 Fact Checked
- Picking a New Operating System
- Creating a Boot Disk
- Changing the Boot Order
- Installing the Operating System
- Video
- Expert Q&A
- Tips
- Warnings
Is it time to upgrade the operating system on your PC? Do you want to try a new operating system, such as Linux? Maybe you want to try dual-booting two operating systems at the same time. This Pcsolution7article teaches you how to install a new operating system on your computer.
Things You Should Know
- Installing a new operating system will erase all data on your current drive. Back up all data you want to keep before continuing.
- Download an ISO file from the operating system distributor's website and use it to create a bootable disk drive.
- You'll need to change the Boot order in the BIOS in order to boot from a bootable disk drive.
Picking a New Operating System
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1
Check the system requirements. If you've decided that you want to install a new operating system, you'll first need to figure out which one you want to use. Operating systems have varying system requirements, so if you have an older computer, make sure that your computer can handle a newer operating system. The following are some of the system requirements for different operating systems:
v Windows 11 — 64-bit 1 gigahertz (GHz) dual-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB or larger hard drive, UEFI, Secure Boot capable, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0, DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver, 9" HD (720p or greater) display with at least 8-bit color, Internet connection.[1]
v Window 10 — 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor, 1 GB RAM for 32-bit processors or 2 GB RAM for 64-bit processors, 16 GB hard drive space for 32-bit processors or 20 GB hard drive space for 64-bit processors. DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver, 800 x 600 or greater display.[2]
v Linux Ubuntu — 2 gigahertz (GHz) dual-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, 25 GB Hard drive space, VGA display with at least 1024x768 resolution, CD/DVD ROM or USB port, Internet connection.[3]
v Linux Mint: 2 GB or RAM (4 GB Recommended), 20 GB hard drive space (100 Recommended), 1024 x 768 (or higher) resolution.[4]
v Linux Fedora: 2GB RAM, 25 GB hard drive space, Dual-core processor, Bootable media.[5]
v Arch Linux: 512 MB of RAM, 2 GB hard drive space, 64-bit (x86_64) processor, internet connection.[6] Arch Linux is a stripped-down, lightweight version of Linux, but it also has a complicated installation process. Arch Linux is not recommended for beginners.
v macOS — macOS is designed to run on Apple computers only. While it is possible to install macOS on a non-Mac computer, it is a long and complex process, and it requires your PC to have very specific hardware. macOS simply will not run on many PCs.
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Backup your data. When you are installing a new operating system, it is likely you will need to erase the entire hard drive in order to install the new operating system. This means that you will lose all of your files on the computer unless you back them up.[7] Always make sure that any important files are copied to a backup location before starting the installation process. You can use an external hard drive to back up your data. You can also use cloud storage, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, or OneDrive.
v If you are installing the operating system alongside your existing one, you most likely will not have to delete any data. It is still wise to back up important files just in case.
v You cannot backup programs; they will need to be reinstalled once you have finished installing your new operating system.
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Research your software compatibility. Make sure that the operating system you want to install supports the programs that you want to use. If you use Microsoft Office or Adobe products for work, you won't be able to install those programs on a Linux machine. There are similar programs, but they may lack functionality. Likewise, many games that work on Windows do not work on Linux.
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