Installation

Winnux can be installed in a virtual machine, alongside Windows, or as a clean installation. During early development, a virtual machine is strongly recommended.

Prerequisites

System Requirements (Developer Preview)

• CPU: x86_64, 2 cores minimum (4 recommended)
• RAM: 4 GB minimum (8 GB recommended)
• Disk: 20 GB free space
• Graphics: UEFI support, hardware acceleration recommended
• Network: Internet for installation (not required for use)

Download

Winnux 0.1 Developer Preview is under development and will be published as:

• AMD/Intel variant (Mesa drivers)
• NVIDIA open variant (separate image)

Always test in a virtual machine or on separate test hardware. Back up important data before trying on real hardware.

Install in QEMU

For development and testing, QEMU with KVM acceleration is recommended:

qemu-system-x86_64 \
  -enable-kvm \
  -m 4096 \
  -smp 4 \
  -cpu host \
  -bios /usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE.fd \
  -drive file=winnux-0.1.raw,format=raw,if=virtio \
  -display gtk

Install alongside Windows

The recommended path for end users:

1. Check hardware: Use Winnux Hardware to verify compatibility
2. Inventory: List important applications, games, and files
3. Try: Boot from Live USB without installing
4. Install: Choose "Install alongside Windows"
5. Migrate: Use Winnux Migrate to transfer files
6. Switch: Replace Windows only when you are ready

Clean installation

A clean installation is available as an advanced option. It must show exactly what will be erased, require clear confirmation, and have a documented backup and recovery path.

After installation

After installation, you are greeted by Winnux Welcome which helps you with:

• Language and region selection
• Network configuration
• Local account (no mandatory online account)
• Graphics driver (automatic detection)
• Optional: migration from Windows