It might have been ages since some of our readers have installed a version of Windows. However, it seems that during the installation process, there comes a stage where you’re asked to choose the OS version you want to install. Usually, this is filled with the Windows versions available on the installation medium, but there are other options. How does a Windows installer with Alpine Linux as an option sound? We think it sounds exciting.
Below, you can see Alpine Linux appearing amongst the options. This is followed by the usual Windows licence agreement screen showing the General Public License instead of the standard Microsoft text. The remaining installation process mentions installing Windows, but let’s give it a pass for not expecting a Linux installation.
So, how is it achieved? It has to do with a WIM file, which is a regular Windows image that the installer unpacks on your hard drive. The Linux distribution should be installable on an NTFS root partition, with a trick involving the Windows pre-installation environment enabling this.
This is an entertaining hack, but as it is admitted in the guide, it’s delicate and perhaps not the most practical. Even so, seeing Linux in a Windows installer is undoubtedly worth the amusement.
Some good old fashioned tomfoolery. I love it.
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