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Dual-boot Parrot Linux with Windows

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You can dual boot Parrot Linux and Windows on the same disk and choose which system to start from the GRUB menu at boot. This guide covers the preparation in Windows and the two partitioning methods offered by the Parrot installer.

Before you dual boot Parrot Linux and Windows

  • Back up your data. Resizing partitions is routine, but a mistake or a power cut can cost you the Windows installation.
  • Install Windows first. If Windows is installed after Parrot it overwrites the boot loader and you have to repair GRUB afterwards; see troubleshooting GRUB.
  • Make room. The Security edition needs at least 40 GB and the Home edition at least 20 GB. You can shrink the Windows partition in the Parrot installer (below) or from Windows itself: press Windows key + R, run diskmgmt.msc, right-click the Windows volume (usually C:) and choose Shrink Volume.
  • Suspend BitLocker. An encrypted Windows volume cannot be resized while protection is active. Suspend BitLocker in Windows, resize the volume, then resume protection.
  • Turn off Fast Startup. With Fast Startup enabled Windows does not fully close its partition at shutdown, and Linux will refuse to write to it. Disable it under Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do.
  • Check the firmware settings. Disable Secure Boot and CSM (legacy boot) in the UEFI setup so that both systems boot in UEFI mode.
  • Prepare the installer. Write the ISO to a USB drive (guide) and boot from it.

Start the installer

Follow the installation guide up to the partitioning step. On a typical Windows machine the installer shows a layout like this:

  • /dev/sda1: the EFI boot partition
  • /dev/sda2: the Microsoft Reserved partition (MSR)
  • /dev/sda3: the Windows installation
  • /dev/sda4: a hidden partition with the Windows recovery files

On an NVMe drive the names look like /dev/nvme0n1p1 instead. From here there are two ways to proceed.

Method 1: Manual partitioning

Manual partitioning lets you decide how much space Parrot gets and how many partitions it uses. The example below gives Parrot 20 GB of a 60 GB disk and creates no swap partition.

  1. Select Manual partitioning and click Next.
  2. Select the Windows partition (/dev/sda3 in the example) and click Edit.
  3. Shrink it by dragging the bar or typing the new size in MiB, then click OK. The freed space appears as unallocated. Skip this step if you already shrank the volume in Windows.
  4. Select the unallocated space and click Create. Choose the file system (Parrot uses Btrfs by default), set the mount point to / and click OK.
  5. Select the EFI partition (/dev/sda1), click Edit, set the mount point to /boot/efi and leave it unformatted, so the Windows boot files stay in place. Click OK.
  6. Check the summary and click Next to continue the installation.

Method 2: Automated partitioning

This is the simpler route. Select Install alongside, pick the Windows partition in the bar, drag the divider to set how much space Parrot gets, then click Next and continue the installation.

After the installation

The installer sets up the GRUB boot loader. Each time the computer starts, GRUB lets you choose between Parrot and Windows. If Windows is missing from the menu, or the machine boots straight into Windows, see troubleshooting GRUB.

Never choose an option that erases the whole disk or replaces Windows during these steps; that removes the existing Windows installation.