Hi. I’ve not really used Windows since the early 2000. Even then not much.
I have a single mini PC with windows on. And use it only for device firmware updates. As a ham radio nerd. You get many devices that can only be modified via windows.
Anyway it was set up with dual boot the normal way. Windows first as it came with it. Then make a real Linux partition to use the PC on my boat while travelling.
Now the issue is I am upgrading the Mini PC. Basically replacing memory and the tiny 128gb ssd. So need to install it all from scratch.
I have order a copy of windows 11 from ebay. (At a price I consider acceptable for the crap)
But its going to take several days to arrive. And I would like to be more efficient.
So I am hoping folks can advice me on the best way to set up the PC with Linux first then install Windows 11 later. Knowing windows has a habit of messing up grub etc.
I also need some old app working only in Windows, I spent hours on wine trying to make them work, but no. So in the end, I installed Linux only, then set up a simple QEMU of WinXP SP3 image, just to install those programs (they need serial ports, and I can redirect the ttyUSB0 to QEMU as a COM1) and that’s it, no more *real windows.
Omg, you may have saved me a future headache with FORSCAN. It has a similar issue, where it expects the device on a COM port (which Windows handles automatically), but finding and successfully assigning it is a monumental headache due to how the OBD II device works.