HP's upcoming Elite Dragonfly G3 is a promising business laptop powered by Intel's 12th-generation processors. It also comes with a taller display than its predecessors, and a more subdued design that's more tailored to business users. But one thing you might be wondering is if you can run Linux on the HP Elite Dragonfly G3. And the good news is you can, though it's not officially supported.

Most laptops are only available with Windows out of the box, and that's the case here, too. HP also doesn't provide official drivers for Linux on the HP Elite Dragonfly G3. But if you really want to run Linux on it, it's technically possible. There's something else you might want to look into if you want to run Linux apps, though: the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Run Linux apps on Windows

If you only want to install Linux because you need to run specific Linux apps, you might not need to mess with the operating system. Windows 11 comes with the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), and this allows you to run various Linux distributions through a command-line interface, but you can also install GUI-based Linux apps.

In order to enable WSL, you'll need to go to the Settings app, then Apps -> Optional features -> More Windows features. In this window, scroll down and enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux option and restart your computer. Then, you can install your favorite Linux distribution from the Microsoft Store - the available options including Ubuntu, Kali Linux, Debian, and more. From there, you can use the Linux terminal to install apps and do almost anything you'd do on a Linux PC.

If you want to get access to new WSL features and improvements faster, you can also download the Windows Subsystem for Linux Preview on the Microsoft Store. This is the same enabling the feature in the Settings app, except it gets updated more often instead of being tied to your Windows version.

Install Linux on the HP Elite Dragonfly G3

If you really want to install a full Linux distribution on the HP Elite Dragonfly G3, you still have that option. HP doesn't provide official drivers, but community-supported drivers are available and generally work just fine. Alternatively, you can create a virtual machine, which runs a full version of Linux inside Windows.

In order to install Linux, first choose the Linux distribution you want and find the official website. There are a ton of options, but Ubuntu is one of the most popular, and you can download it here. Regardless of whether you choose Ubuntu or another Linux distribution, you'll be downloading an ISO file.

From there, you can use Rufus to create a bootable installation drive to get Linux running natively on your PC. If this is what you want to do, check out our guide on how to dual-boot Windows 11 and Linux to learn the entire process of setting it up.

If you don't need to install Linux natively on your PC, you can create a virtual machine instead. To do this, you can use a program like VMWare Workstation Player to take the ISO file you downloaded and create a virtual machine with it.  This won't have the same level of performance, but it's a great solution if you just have a couple of apps or features you need to use. It's also a great way to try Linux before committing to installing it natively on your PC. Plus, it lets you run Windows apps and Linux apps all at the same time.

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Which method are you planning to use to run Linux on the HP Elite Dragonfly G3? Is the Windows Subsystem for Linux all you need or do you want the full Linux experience? Regardless of your choice, the HP Elite Dragonfly G3 can handle it, and you can buy it below. Otherwise, you can check out the best HP laptops you can buy today. All of them support the same methods for running Linux.