Hi all,
I'm currently using Zorin OS, but I'd like to perhaps explore other Linux distributions. Is it possible to dual-boot another distro, and then if I'm satisfied and after having installed all the apps I need, to erase my Zorin OS partition and only use the other, new distro?
You can install as many as will fit on the drive, there's no limit other than your own sanity
But will I be able to eventually remove OS #1 and switch to the one installed afterwards?
Yes, you just boot a live USB and use GParted to delete what you don't want anymore and grow the rest.
If you're using BTRFS and know how to/are prepared to learn, just create separate sub volumes instead of multiple partitions. Means that you don't need to decide how to split up space between different partitions and they are easy to delete without a live USB.
yes, no problem at all. as long as you're careful about partitioning when you're installing the second distro (it should be able to do that automatically, if not, you'll need to identify the EFI partition manually) it won't be a problem. you can afterwards just remove the distro you no longer want. after that, you just gotta update grub so it can remove the no longer existant from it's os table and you're good to go again.
Personally having tried dual booting I've found every time I have a problem I just ran back to windows
As long as you've got a machine that isn't critical for work I'd just install bare metal and get a windows VM as a stopgap
I'm currently daily driving Linux so I'm not planning on ever going back to Windows. No need to worry about that.
Ah sorry misread there are quite a few "should I dual boot to switch from windows to Linux" posts
It's definitely possible to dual boot different distros but what I said still holds true, if you want to try it just installing it as the full os is the way to go. You can always backup and transfer your home directory to keep everything how you'd expect
Install any Linux distribution, and then install VMware Player and Windows to it.