How to Install Omarchy: Full Disk or Dual Boot?
Choose the right Omarchy installation path before selecting a drive: full disk versus free space, Windows preparation, encryption, and what to check afterward.
The most consequential Omarchy installer choice is not a theme or username. It is whether Omarchy takes the entire selected drive or installs into unallocated space beside an operating system you want to keep. The first choice erases that drive. The second requires you to prepare free space before starting the installer.
This decision guide follows Omarchy’s current installation manual and dual-boot instructions, checked on September 29, 2026. Installer screens can change, so compare every disk and confirmation screen with the official guide before proceeding. These steps have not been independently run on a physical Omarchy machine for this article.
Decide what must survive the installation
| Your situation | Installation choice | What to verify first |
|---|---|---|
| The selected drive can be dedicated to Omarchy | Full-disk install | Files on that drive have been backed up and the selected drive is the intended one |
| Windows or another OS must remain on the same drive | Free-space install | Unallocated space exists and the installer offers Free space install |
| You only want to evaluate the desktop | Try Omarchy in a virtual machine | Your host supports the relevant trial app; no disk repartitioning is needed |
Back up anything you cannot replace before either physical installation. The full-disk option wipes the selected drive. For dual boot, the official example shrinks an existing Windows partition in Disk Management, leaving unallocated space for Omarchy; its illustrated 50 GB is an example, not a universal size recommendation. Include the space needed for Omarchy’s boot partition when planning your allocation.
If the Windows drive uses BitLocker or Device Encryption, resolve that before the Omarchy free-space install. Omarchy’s dual-boot manual says its method is incompatible with BitLocker and describes turning off device encryption in Windows; decryption can take time. Keep your Windows recovery information and backup available while changing storage settings.
Prepare installation media and firmware settings
Download the current ISO from the official Omarchy site, which also links its checksum and signature. Write it to a USB stick and boot from that stick. The getting-started guide names balenaEtcher on Mac or Windows and caligula on Linux as writing options. Use the official download page rather than a version-specific ISO link copied from an old tutorial.
The official guide says to disable Secure Boot and/or TPM in firmware for installation. Check the firmware settings for the computer you will install on and make this change deliberately; it may also affect how an existing Windows installation starts. If you use a Bluetooth-only keyboard, have a wired or 2.4 GHz dongle keyboard available: Omarchy’s default disk-encryption prompt appears before Bluetooth input is available.
Make the disk choice on the installer screen
Once you boot the installer and answer its setup questions, pause at the drive selection. Read the drive identity and the installation mode, not only the size. For a dedicated drive, the full-disk choice is the intended path. For Windows on the same drive, choose Free space install after selecting the disk; the manual says that option prevents the full-disk wipe.
Omarchy enables disk encryption by default for both modes. Record the encryption password in a place you can reach when the computer is off. The official guide offers a no-encryption path for special cases, but an everyday laptop with personal data has a strong reason to keep the default.
Review the final confirmation as if it were a transaction: the target disk, the operation, and the operating systems you expect to remain should all match your plan. If any one of those is unclear, stop there and revisit the illustrated official installation steps or dual-boot screenshots.
Check the first boot
After installation, boot Omarchy and confirm that the desktop starts and the keyboard can enter the decryption password. For a dual-boot setup, also check that Windows remains bootable. Omarchy’s dual-boot guide describes running limine-scan and following its prompts to add other installations to the Limine menu when needed. Do not treat seeing a Windows entry as proof that Windows actually starts; boot it once.
When both systems work, continue with the first steps after installing Omarchy. If you are unsure whether to commit a drive to Omarchy, the VM path lets you learn its keyboard-first workflow before returning to the installer.
References
- Getting Started covers the current ISO installer, encryption, media, firmware, and full-disk choice.
- Dual Boot Install documents free-space installation beside Windows, BitLocker, and Limine discovery.
- Omarchy’s official download page links the current ISO and verification files.