Thanks! I’ll be sure to use that.

I am going with this game plan, courtesy of ChatGPT 4. It aligns very nicely with my goals and the steps involved also seem to coincide nicely with the suggestions made in this thread. Gives me a path forward, which is really what I need now.

1. Backup Personal Files:

   • Access your Linux partition (A:).
   • Mount the Windows SSD (C:) and HDD (F:) within Linux.
   • Carefully check for any personal files on C: and copy them to F:. Verify that all important data is on F:.

2. Create a Full Backup of F:

   • Connect an external storage device with sufficient space.
   • Create a full backup of your HDD (F:) to this external device. This is crucial to prevent data loss.

3. Verify Backup Integrity:

   • Ensure that the backup on the external storage is complete and the files are accessible.

4. Prepare for OS Installation:

   • Download the latest Linux Cinnamon 23.10 ISO.
   • Create a bootable USB drive with this ISO using a tool like Rufus or Etcher.

5. Remove HDD:

   • Power down your PC.
   • Physically remove the HDD (F:) to ensure it remains untouched during the OS installation.

6. Boot from Linux USB Drive:

   • Insert the bootable Linux USB drive.
   • Access BIOS/UEFI and set the USB drive as the primary boot device.

7. Install Linux Cinnamon on SSD:

   • Proceed with the Linux installation on the SSD (formerly C:).
   • During installation, select the option to format and use the entire SSD. This will erase Windows 10 and all data on it.

8. Post-Installation Checks:

   • After installation, boot into Linux Cinnamon.
   • Check that all hardware components are recognized and functioning.

9. Reinstall HDD:

   • Power down your PC.
   • Reinstall the HDD (F:).

10. Mount and Access HDD in Linux:

    • Boot into Linux.
    • Mount the HDD (F:). You may need to install additional drivers or file system utilities depending on its format.

11. Data Restoration or Access:

    • If required, restore the personal files from the external backup to HDD (F:).
    • Alternatively, if the HDD is accessible without issues, use it as is for storage.

12. Install Necessary Software:

    • Install any Linux-compatible software that you need.

13. Final System Checks:

    • Ensure everything is working as expected.
    • Make any necessary adjustments in system settings, drivers, or configurations.

14. Create a New System Backup:

    • Once everything is set up, consider creating a new system image backup.

Dedicated SSD (C:) has Windows on it.

Internal HDD has F: (storage) and a partition for Ubuntu, which is the A: drive in Windows and /dev/sda3 in Linux.

I was originally hoping to do it this way and be able to dual boot them, but the more I think about it the more I feel that just going straight to Linux and biting the bullet would be better in the long run, and I can flash Windows if I really need it.

I was trying to get GRUB to act as boot loader but for the longest time I couldn’t even get GRUB running, even with at least 5 different troubleshooting ideas. Then once it was running, I still couldn’t get it to mount the EFI. Then I started getting the boot loop issues and Windows OS stopped working, but I figured out how to get Linux desktop running via shimx64.efi in the BIOS boot loader.

This computer is natively a Win 10 machine, and I was trying to add Linux to it.

I’ll have to spend some time backing up and moving some files around but I think this is how I’ll move forward. I think I’ll also find a cracked Win10 image and I’ll keep it on a thumb drive if ever i need to full on run the OS. I use a few proprietary software that universally get the JUST USE FOSS ALTERNATIVES argument from people not in the know.

Thanks for the no-nonsense reply. I have been smelling a little bit of bullshit with the whole dual boot fiasco here for a bit. VMX not behaving, Windows’ VM utility not behaving, BIOS not behaving, it’s like goddamn if I type a command I wouldn’t mind if it stuck instead of seemingly getting thrown into a black hole.

Going with your approach, I imagine if I pick a home distro and decide I want to move to another down the line the transition is far easier than this? Even if I am switching from say Ubuntu to Fedora?

I’m considering other options though I’ve enough Ubuntu so far. Fedora also looks nice. I’m a complete GNU/Linux novice but I can generally work around technical sides of programs relatively fine. I’m not sure why this issue is kicking my ass so much lol

I appreciate the elegance of your answer but it’s a bit lacking in detail. Are you saying that I should go with the nuclear option when installing Linux and remove the old files? I might just remove my HDD in that case and install Linux into the dedicated SSD.

Listen to what this person has to say, you people! I ignored multiple recommendations across probably ten different webpages to create a backup disk and I could have walked a lot of this back and started over, at the very least. FWIW, I’m sure that whatever is going on now is not irreparably broken, but certainly I could have saved myself some headaches.