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Would it be possible to run Ubuntu Server 16.04 alongside Windows 10 Pro? Or, because it is a server, you would need to just run it without windows at all?

I am fairly new, but a very quick learner. I am just a bit confused. Let me know, thanks.

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    What do you mean by "running along with"? Do you mean dual boot?
    – Pilot6
    Feb 15, 2017 at 13:47
  • 2
    Check this Ubuntu official document for dual boot
    – BDRSuite
    Feb 15, 2017 at 14:14
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    It's not "a server", it's an operating system designed for usage on computers that are supposed to be servers.
    – gronostaj
    Feb 15, 2017 at 19:03
  • One thing that may work would be to install the latest Insider build, enable Windows Subsystem for Linux, and then replace the default Ubuntu 16.04 build by Ubuntu Server, using the unofficial "distro changer" tool (the one that allows you to install Linux Mint or Fedora instead of Ubuntu)
    – zdimension
    Feb 15, 2017 at 21:02
  • Intel, or AMD CPU? If intel, intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005486/… shows if your server hardware supports virtualization in its hardware. support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/… shows some of their CPUs which do, but unable to find a universal answer.
    – K7AAY
    May 16, 2018 at 18:03

4 Answers 4

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Yes you can install both in a dual-boot situation and then run one or the other, but no, you can't run both OS's at the same time.

However, if you used Virtualbox... then you could run both OS's at the same time. You install Virtualbox into Windows 10 (Host OS), and Ubuntu Server (Guest OS) into Virtualbox.

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    Alternatively, as the Pro edition of Windows 10 is being used, one could enable Hyper-V for virtualisation - Ubuntu Server is a fully supported guest environment. Feb 16, 2017 at 9:25
  • "You install Virtualbox into Windows 10, and Ubuntu Server into Virtualbox" or vice versa.
    – idmean
    Feb 16, 2017 at 9:39
  • @idmean just as I said. Virtualbox is just another app to Windows, and Ubuntu Server is just another guest OS to Virtualbox.
    – heynnema
    Feb 16, 2017 at 13:07
  • @heynnema: Idmean is pointing out that you can do it the other way around. Feb 16, 2017 at 13:20
  • @LightnessRacesinOrbit that won't work. Ubuntu Server doesn't have a GUI, and VB/Windows requires GUI.
    – heynnema
    Feb 16, 2017 at 13:24
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There is another option that let's you run ubuntu inside1 Windows 10 Pro. Since Windows 10’s Anniversary Update (Windows 10 Anniversary Update build 14393) you can install Windows Subsystem for Linux.

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This will install the desktop edition however. However the differences are small between desktop edition and server edition and are within reach with some instructions.

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It is currently in beta and not Ubuntu server by default. There a some applications that won't work (as well) as on a "real" ubuntu machine 1

This is the first release of a brand new technology. There will be gaps. We know some of them, and we’re certain you will find many more. Again, this is a beta release – expect things to fail. Some tools will crash and/or not run. But please be sure to let us know when you run into issues – we’re working hard to fix problems and dramatically improve WSL over time.

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    This is probably the best answer for OP. Feb 15, 2017 at 22:54
  • Isn't this just a Bash shell? No GUI?
    – heynnema
    Feb 15, 2017 at 23:19
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    But it doesn't have the functionality of a server, does it? I thought it would just run standard bash shell commands... ls, more, cd, etc. No?
    – heynnema
    Feb 15, 2017 at 23:22
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    @heynnema it has full apt-get support. Some apps will work, some won't.
    – Thomas
    Feb 15, 2017 at 23:24
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    It's really just a Bash shell. It doesn't even run systemd, so you wouldn't even be able to start your server software unless you manually open the terminal and run it. No iptables either, and probably a ton of other stuff is missing. I wouldn't recommend wasting your time with that. Feb 16, 2017 at 11:22
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In the context of Ubuntu, the "server" edition by default does not install a GUI, and has some other default packages that are useful for server installations, but is not limited to being used as a server, it just doesn't have the workstation/desktop software by default (Although you can install them).

(The desktop version by default has a GUI, as well as other useful software such as office/productivity, web browser, etc...)

If you're looking to learn Linux, and want to learn the command line, I would install it into a virtual machine such as VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation Player, much simpler to work with and if you tick the wrong box at installation you won't wipe out your Windows stuff. (You can install the GUI version in a VM if you have a powerful enough system, but for VM use I'd recommend a lightweight version such as Lubuntu or Xubuntu)

As far as running alongside Windows in a dual-boot scenario, even with it being a "server" it will still work just fine.

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Yes, it is possible if your computer supports hardware virtualization technologies (Intel VT-x/AMD-V and Intel VT-d/AMD-Vi for your purposes).

One simple example is using Unraid (https://lime-technology.com/), which boots off a USB drive and which you can configure to run both Windows and Ubuntu in parallel as virtual machines and give each specific hardware assignments (eg. graphics card to windows). There are other alternatives also, but I have not used them.

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  • Having hardware virtualization such as Intel VT-x/AMD-V and Intel VT-d/AMD-Vi or the AMD equivalent en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… makes virtualization much easier. If you don't have hardware support, Xen en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xen should be considered.
    – K7AAY
    May 16, 2018 at 16:45

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