Choose your OS: Windows or Ubuntu.
Choose your OS: Windows or Ubuntu.
Purchase an internal hard drive case and an additional SSD for Linux. This setup allows you to replace drives freely. No dual-boot required.
Test Linux on a virtual machine or start with a USB drive. Installing Ubuntu might be tricky if you don’t like it—it’s not that easy to remove once you’re in.
Based on my observations, uninstalling Ubuntu often leaves the GRUB bootloader intact, preventing a clean Windows install unless you remove GRUB first. I used Boot Repair to clear it out before proceeding. The instructions I found seem consistent, but I might have misremembered steps. If my recollection is off, double-check the process. Also, I recall trying to install Windows directly from a USB without GRUB working, which didn’t go well—probably best to start with Ubuntu off the USB first.
This happens because the bootloader is set up on a different storage device than the operating system you're using. Always disconnect all other drives before installing an OS—unless you specifically want to multiboot across different systems, which can be risky. Windows also tends to do the same thing. It's possible your Linux installer added GRUB to another drive just to detect the existing Windows bootloader.
I used just one external drive during the installation of Linux. At that time, I was assembling my initial computer and chose Ubuntu to avoid purchasing a Windows license. The setup took place on a brand-new drive with nothing else connected to the system.