GRUB Dual Boot — Alongside Windows

Download the Arch Linux ISO, then write it to a USB drive (at least 2 GB).

Windows users: Use Rufus or Balena Etcher to write the ISO to your USB drive. Select the ISO, pick your USB, and click Start/Flash.

Linux users: Use dd to write the ISO:

# Download the latest Arch Linux ISO
curl -LO https://archlinux.org/releng/releases/2025.03.01/torrent/archlinux-2025.03.01-x86_64.iso.torrent

# Write the ISO to your USB drive (replace /dev/sdX with your USB device!)
sudo dd if=archlinux-2025.03.01-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress && sync

Once done, reboot and boot from the USB (press F2/F12/DEL during startup to select the USB drive).

Before touching anything Linux, you need to prepare Windows. Three things must be done:

1. Disable Fast Boot in Windows

Windows path: Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do
→ "Change settings that are currently unavailable"
→ Uncheck "Turn on fast startup" → Save

Fast Boot keeps Windows in a hybrid shutdown state that locks the NTFS partition. If it's enabled, Linux won't be able to access your Windows files and GRUB may not detect Windows.

2. Disable Secure Boot in BIOS

Restart your computer → Press F2/DEL/F12 during boot to enter BIOS
→ Find "Secure Boot" (usually under Boot or Security tab)
→ Set it to "Disabled" → Save & Exit

Secure Boot can block Linux bootloaders. Some motherboards call it "Secure Boot" or "UEFI Secure Boot". If you see a "OS Type" option nearby, set it to "Other OS".

3. Suspend BitLocker (if enabled)

Windows path: Control Panel → BitLocker Drive Encryption
→ Click "Suspend protection" for your C: drive

BitLocker encrypts your Windows drive. Linux cannot read encrypted partitions. Suspend it temporarily — it will resume automatically after you boot back into Windows.

Arch Linux needs its own space on the disk. We'll shrink your Windows partition to create unallocated space — no data will be lost.

Windows path: Right-click Start → Disk Management
→ Right-click C: drive → "Shrink Volume"
→ Enter amount in MB: at least 51200 (50 GB), ideally 102400 (100 GB)
→ Click "Shrink"

How much space do you need? Arch itself takes about 5 GB. The WifeRice dotfiles + applications add another 5-10 GB. You want at least 30 GB free for apps, files, and breathing room. If you have a large disk, give Arch 100+ GB.

After shrinking: Shut down Windows (do NOT use "Restart" — use "Shut down" to ensure a full shutdown). Insert your Arch USB, boot into it, and continue.

Boot from the Arch Linux USB drive. Verify UEFI mode and connect to the internet.

# Verify UEFI mode
ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars    # Must list files

# Connect to WiFi
iwctl
[iwd]# device list
[iwd]# station wlan0 scan
[iwd]# station wlan0 get-networks
[iwd]# station wlan0 connect "Your WiFi Name"
[iwd]# exit

# Verify connection
ping -c 3 archlinux.org

Beginner tip: If you get "Device not found" in iwctl, try iwctl device list first to see the actual adapter name (it might be wlp2s0 or something similar instead of wlan0).

Now we look at the disk layout and create Arch partitions in the unallocated space. We will NOT touch the Windows partitions.

# List all disks and partitions
lsblk

# Example output for a dual-boot setup:
# NAME        SIZE TYPE        MOUNTPOINT
# nvme0n1    476.9G disk
# ├─nvme0n1p1 100M  EFI System    ← Windows EFI (DO NOT TOUCH)
# ├─nvme0n1p2 350G  Windows C:    ← Windows data (DO NOT TOUCH)
# └─nvme0n1p3 126G  Unallocated   ← YOUR SPACE for Arch

# Create Arch partitions in the unallocated space
gdisk /dev/nvme0n1

  n     → new partition
  Partition number: [Enter] (accept default)
  First sector: [Enter] (accept default = start of free space)
  Last sector: +8G    → hex code 8200 (Linux swap, optional)
  n     → new partition
  [Enter], [Enter]    → hex code 8300 (Linux filesystem, rest of space)
  w     → write changes and exit
  y     → confirm

Sharing the Windows EFI partition: In most setups, Windows already created an EFI partition (nvme0n1p1). We can reuse it — GRUB will install its files alongside Windows' bootloader. If you don't have an EFI partition (unusual for modern systems), create a new one in the unallocated space.

After partitioning: Run lsblk again to verify. You should see your new partitions at the end of the list.

Format only the new Linux partitions. Leave the Windows partitions completely alone.

# Format the root partition (replace p4 with your Linux root partition)
mkfs.ext4 /dev/nvme0n1p4

# Only if you created a swap partition:
mkswap /dev/nvme0n1p3 && swapon /dev/nvme0n1p3

# Mount root to /mnt
mount /dev/nvme0n1p4 /mnt

# Mount the Windows EFI partition to /mnt/boot
mount --mkdir /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot

Which partition is which? The Windows EFI partition is usually the smallest partition with vfat or fat32 filesystem type (typically 100-500 MB). Your new Linux root partition will be ext4. Run lsblk -f to see filesystem types clearly.

Why mount EFI to /mnt/boot? By placing GRUB on the existing Windows EFI partition, both Windows and Arch share the same EFI system partition. Your motherboard already knows about this partition, so no extra BIOS configuration is needed.

Install Arch's core packages.

# Update mirrors (replace "US" with your country)
reflector --country US --age 6 --protocol https --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

# Install base system
pacstrap -K /mnt base base-devel linux linux-firmware linux-headers
pacstrap /mnt networkmanager vim sudo git

# Generate fstab
genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab

# Verify it includes both your root and the EFI partition
cat /mnt/etc/fstab

Why base-devel? It's required for building packages from the AUR (Arch User Repository). The dotfiles installer and many community packages depend on it. Skip only if you're very tight on disk space.

Enter the new system and set up timezone, language, hostname, and password.

# Chroot into the new system
arch-chroot /mnt

# Set timezone (adjust to your location)
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/New_York /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc

# Set locale
echo "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen
locale-gen
echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf

# Set hostname
echo "arch-dual" > /etc/hostname

# Set hosts file
cat > /etc/hosts << 'EOF'
127.0.0.1   localhost
::1         localhost
127.0.1.1   arch-dual.localdomain arch-dual
EOF

# Set root password
passwd

# Enable NetworkManager
systemctl enable NetworkManager

This is the key step for dual boot. We install GRUB and tell it to scan for Windows so it appears in the boot menu.

# Install GRUB, EFI boot manager, and os-prober
pacman -S grub efibootmgr os-prober

# IMPORTANT: Enable os-prober in GRUB config
echo "GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false" >> /etc/default/grub

# Install GRUB to the EFI partition
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot --bootloader-id=GRUB

# Scan for Windows
os-prober

# Generate GRUB config (includes both Arch and Windows now)
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

What os-prober does: It looks at all partitions on all disks and tries to detect other operating systems. When it finds Windows, it adds an entry like Windows Boot Manager to the GRUB menu.

What you should see in the output:

# grub-mkconfig should show:
#   Found theme: ...
#   Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-linux
#   Found initrd image: ...
#   Found Windows Boot Manager on /dev/nvme0n1p1
#   Adding boot menu entry for Windows Boot Manager ...

Create your daily-driver user account with sudo privileges.

# Create user (replace 'username' with your desired username)
useradd -m -G wheel,audio,video,storage,power,adbusers username

# Set password
passwd username

# Grant sudo access
EDITOR=vim visudo
# Uncomment: %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

# Exit and reboot
exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot

First boot check: When the computer restarts, you should see the GRUB menu with two options: Arch Linux and Windows Boot Manager. Use the arrow keys to select which OS to start. If you don't see the menu, press and hold Shift (or spam Esc) during boot to force it to appear.

Boot into Arch, connect to the internet, and install the right GPU drivers.

# Connect to WiFi after first boot
sudo nmcli device wifi connect "Your WiFi" password "yourpassword"

# NVIDIA
sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings lib32-nvidia-utils

# AMD
sudo pacman -S mesa lib32-mesa xf86-video-amdgpu vulkan-radeon lib32-vulkan-radeon

# Intel
sudo pacman -S mesa lib32-mesa vulkan-intel lib32-vulkan-intel

# Install yay (AUR helper) - needed for dotfiles
sudo pacman -S --needed git base-devel
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git /tmp/yay
cd /tmp/yay && makepkg -si
rm -rf /tmp/yay

Beginner tip: If you're on an NVIDIA Optimus laptop, don't worry about GPU switching now — the WifeRice installer handles it automatically in the next step.

The same one-liner. It detects your GPU, installs Hyprland, QuickShell, all widgets, wallpapers, SDDM theme, and applications.

After reboot: You'll see the SDDM login screen. Log in and press Super+W for wallpapers, Super+H for the keybind guide. Want to go back to Windows? Just reboot and pick "Windows Boot Manager" from the GRUB menu.