Welcome to Linux for Windows

Welcome to Linux for Windows. If you are interested in Linux but only have a Windows computer, this is the site for you. We will discuss multiple options available to get an instance of linux running under your Windows operating system. Also keep in mind, it may not be a full version of Linux you need. We will go over some more options for that as well.

Background

Linux For Windows

There are 2 main operating systems in use on personal computers and servers. The operating system, or OS, will either be a version of Microsoft Windows or a version of Linux.

Both operating systems are awesome. Both have been around for many years. Microsoft released Windows on November 20, 1985 and Linux was released September 17, 1991.

Microsoft focussed its intension for Windows primarily for desktops and servers. Linux spanned its reached to not only include desktops and servers but also modems, printers, routers, phones.

There are definitely 2 camps or groups of following for these operating systems and both Windows and Linux are here to stay. We will not go into the debate of which one is better at this time but there are definite pros and cons for each.

Although both Windows and Linux are different, both operating systems provided a means of running the other's applications or programs.

Linux has an application called WINE which stands for "Wine Is Not an Emulator". It is a compatibly layer to allow for Windows applications to run on Linux systems. There is also dosbox, which provides a compatibility layer to run older 16bit dos games and programs under linux.

This website will now dive into the different methods of allowing Linux to be run under Windows.


Linux for Windows

Ever since linux was introduced, the user community sought out ways to run it on a Windows platform. We have compile an extensive list of tools and utilities one can use to run Linux on Windows.

  1. Windows Subsystem For Linux (WSL)
  2. Virtual Machines (VM)
  3. Miscellaneous