Thanks for your comments. I’m still reading and trying to learn. This Windows running as a virtual machine inside Linux is kind of a mind blower. Know anybody that’s had good success with this?
I’m not going to encrypt Linux. That, for now, is just another layer of uncertainty for me. Right now my motto is “keep it simple stupid.” :)
Absolutely... “Kiss”, That’s what I did, Even though I am fairly hip to working with Computers I put myself in the shoes of a noob and just trusted the Linux install software and process to make a dual boot machine and it went flawlessly for me. The advantage is if the Linux ever has issues and won’t load, I can still boot in windows and go get what I need to fix the Linux.
I would do this one step at a time if it was me, Get the Linux installed and then play with a VM after you check out the Linux for awhile. But you can run any second OS in a virtual machine. I have mine dual boot Linux over Win 7, And also have a VM set up with another like kind Linux in it.
But it really comes down to whether you have windows programs and files you still need to use or save. If so, installing Linux over the windows as dual boot is the best way to go at this point. You can always change this later by setting up a VM if you like. One thing I do know, unless you absolutely need windows for some reason, you may not want anything more to do with windows once you settle into Linux.