Will I still be able to access the files on my HDD when using Linux and viceversa ? Depends . Windows can ' t really readwrite on EXT but Linux can readwrite on ntfs . I setup a hard disk specifically to be a shared disk between Windows and Linux . How would it work when I start up ? Will it give me the option to pick my operating system every time or could I set a default one to log into . If you setup it correctly , yes . On boot you get to a menu where you can select which OS you want to boot into . Will my graphics carddrivers mess things up in any way ? Depends on the card . But probably not . <| sep |> Everyone in the picture ? Probably dead . <| sep |> The question was more How did universities go from places of enlightenment and progression to places that are about limiting freedoms of all sorts . ?