Dual boot for two hard drives

[Goatmilk]

Not sure where this should go, so I just put it in here. First time I'd have to do that, and I guess I'll never get off the Linux-newbie status, anyway. lol

Thing is that up to now, MX Linux only ran on my laptop and was mainly used for all things online. My 'big' desktop computer - Sam for short - was/is still running Windows 7 for anything else. (My computers were always called Sam, from the first DX2 on forward. The laptop is Max, if anyone wonders...)

Anyway, things are about to change. My plan is to add a second hard drive, preferably a SSD drive, some more RAM and then install MX Linux on Sam as the main system. The old hdd with Windows 7 shall remain where it is, mainly in order to keep running my old games as most of the other Windows stuff can go in virtual machines. I'd hate to install everything new, so I'd vastly prefer to keep the old hdd untouched (if that's possible at all). Windows 7 is not supposed to go online anymore.

My idea would be a dual boot, running from the Linux SSD, which would allow me to choose either the Linux SSD or the Windows hdd on startup. The Win7 drive is already there and hopefully can be left alone, the MX Linux drive will be the new kid on the block, so to say.

The big computer is an old HP Compaq Elite 8300 CMT, i5-3470 CPU @ 3.20GHz, 3201 Mhz, 4 Cores, with a NVidia Geforce GTX 1050 and a 1tb hdd, BIOS from 2013. Since it only ever ran Win7, it only has 4 gig of DDR3 RAM.

It's in the repair shop right now to get 'upgraded', that is get 32 gig of RAM and the new SSD, but there's a good chance that it is a little too long in the tooth and won't tolerate 32 gig of RAM anymore, even though the manual said it should. The repair man strongly recommends to replace it with a slightly newer, refurbished machine.

In any case, the plan remains: 32 gig of RAM and a second hard drive (SSD) for the MX Linux OS (I want all that RAM for the Virtual Box).

And the Dual Boot is a must. I read the best thing would be Grub. I always heard Grub with Windows is a recipe for disaster, but I want it to be on Linux. My Windows 7 is a closed off nLite/WSUS-Offline installation. Wouldn't that make a difference?

How difficult is it to setup such a Grub boot whatchamacallit? Doable at all for a clueless DAU?

 

[Brickwizard]

not a problem, when you come to the portion bit in the installation, click the drop down box which will probably show your existing drive, ans select the new one and enter then carry on,

 

[APTI]

I will make your life easy. follow this post.

Thread 'Dual and Multi boot systems'

Oct 30, 2023

One thing many people do is make systems that will boot more than one choice of operating systems. This little article is a new and better way to do this. Often we have to fix the multi boot systems because an update changed something and damaged our grub configuration. Windows is especially good at doing this. So here is the best way to do this that allows you do make a multiboot system without having to do anything to grub or play with configurations.

This can only be done in a system that can accept more than one drive and an expansion card.

What you will need.

1.. One hard...

• APTI
• Replies: 8
• Forum: General Linux Topics

• 

 

[Goatmilk]

@ APTI

This is like this here, right?

Dual-Drive Dual Boot (Windows & Linux on Separate Drives)
This is the recommended method for stability and ease of use.
Option A: Physically Disconnect Windows Drive (Best for reliability)
Step 1: Disconnect Windows Drive
1. Shut down your PC.
2. Unplug the Windows SSD (or disable it in BIOS).
Step 2: Install Linux on Second Drive
1. Boot from Linux USB.
2. In the installer, select “Erase disk and install Linux” (since only the Linux drive is
detected).
3. Complete installation.
Step 3: Reconnect Windows Drive
1. Shut down and reconnect the Windows SSD.
2. Boot into BIOS (Delete or F2).
3. Set boot priority:
• 1st: Windows SSD (default)
• 2nd: Linux SSD

Now, pressing F12 at startup lets you choose between Windows and Linux without
GRUB interfering.

(taken from https://dtptips.com/the-complete-guide-to-dual-booting-windows-and-linux-on-separate-drives/)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

That's what I would like, as it enables a chance to leave the old Windows 7 hdd just the way it is. I would only change the boot priority:
• 1st: Linux SSD (default)
• 2nd: Windows 7 HDD

I don't know if I'd need any power switches. The big computer is in the repair shop right now, bound to get a new ssd drive additional to its existing hdd drive and the repair guy never said anything about some additional hardware needed.

And I told him what I wanted to do and what I would need the ssd for.

 

[theLegionWithin]

it can be done, and with an unsupported OS like win7 that isnt going to get modified by microsoft, there's basically no risk - but I'd think that a better alternative would be to create an image of the win7 disk and then run that image in a VM from within the linux install (ideally on a large nvme, or even the older sata6 spec). once imaged then you could store the win7 disk somewhere safe and you could always come back to it in the future.

 

[Goatmilk]

it can be done, and with an unsupported OS like win7 that isnt going to get modified by microsoft, there's basically no risk - but I'd think that a better alternative would be to create an image of the win7 disk and then run that image in a VM from within the linux install (ideally on a large nvme, or even the older sata6 spec). once imaged then you could store the win7 disk somewhere safe and you could always come back to it in the future.

Not really an option, as I'd like to keep some old Windows games running, particularly Anno 1503 and Anno 1404 including its IAAM mod.

As a matter of fact, most of the old working programs can run in my newly installed Windows XP within VirtualBox right in Linux.
(At least I hope I can keep XP, as it might start crying for its activation when the first 30 days are over, and there seems to be no way of doing that. Maybe it's time to consider a second career as a hacker or something...)

 

[Condobloke]

Maybe it's time to consider a second career as a hacker or something.

Now you're talking !!

 

[Smilax]

@ APTI

This is like this here, right?

Dual-Drive Dual Boot (Windows & Linux on Separate Drives)
This is the recommended method for stability and ease of use.
Option A: Physically Disconnect Windows Drive (Best for reliability)
Step 1: Disconnect Windows Drive
1. Shut down your PC.
2. Unplug the Windows SSD (or disable it in BIOS).
Step 2: Install Linux on Second Drive
1. Boot from Linux USB.
2. In the installer, select “Erase disk and install Linux” (since only the Linux drive is
detected).
3. Complete installation.
Step 3: Reconnect Windows Drive
1. Shut down and reconnect the Windows SSD.
2. Boot into BIOS (Delete or F2).
3. Set boot priority:
• 1st: Windows SSD (default)
• 2nd: Linux SSD

Now, pressing F12 at startup lets you choose between Windows and Linux without
GRUB interfering.

(taken from https://dtptips.com/the-complete-guide-to-dual-booting-windows-and-linux-on-separate-drives/)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

That's what I would like, as it enables a chance to leave the old Windows 7 hdd just the way it is. I would only change the boot priority:
• 1st: Linux SSD (default)
• 2nd: Windows 7 HDD

I don't know if I'd need any power switches. The big computer is in the repair shop right now, bound to get a new ssd drive additional to its existing hdd drive and the repair guy never said anything about some additional hardware needed.

And I told him what I wanted to do and what I would need the ssd for.

I did something similar for my wife's Dell Optiplex 3050 mini PC. It came with a 250GB SDD and Win10 installed. Fortunately it also had an empty NVMe socket to which I added a 500GB Sandisk as the primary device in BIOS (fastboot off, legacy device mode), I installed Mint 22.2 with the Win10 SSD diconnected. I also enabled the 10 second boot delay option. Now, it she does nothing it boots Mint. To run Windows she presses F12 at the delay screen and selects the SSD. When running Linux her Windows drive mounts automatically allowing her to copy files over as/when needed.

I did this Tuesday morning while she was getting her car serviced, expecting problems and possibly taking all day. It took an hour. Other than a problem with Ventoy, it couldn't have been much easier.

 

[APTI]

@ APTI

This is like this here, right?

Dual-Drive Dual Boot (Windows & Linux on Separate Drives)
This is the recommended method for stability and ease of use.
Option A: Physically Disconnect Windows Drive (Best for reliability)
Step 1: Disconnect Windows Drive
1. Shut down your PC.
2. Unplug the Windows SSD (or disable it in BIOS).
Step 2: Install Linux on Second Drive
1. Boot from Linux USB.
2. In the installer, select “Erase disk and install Linux” (since only the Linux drive is
detected).
3. Complete installation.
Step 3: Reconnect Windows Drive
1. Shut down and reconnect the Windows SSD.
2. Boot into BIOS (Delete or F2).
3. Set boot priority:
• 1st: Windows SSD (default)
• 2nd: Linux SSD

Now, pressing F12 at startup lets you choose between Windows and Linux without
GRUB interfering.

(taken from https://dtptips.com/the-complete-guide-to-dual-booting-windows-and-linux-on-separate-drives/)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

That's what I would like, as it enables a chance to leave the old Windows 7 hdd just the way it is. I would only change the boot priority:
• 1st: Linux SSD (default)
• 2nd: Windows 7 HDD

I don't know if I'd need any power switches. The big computer is in the repair shop right now, bound to get a new ssd drive additional to its existing hdd drive and the repair guy never said anything about some additional hardware needed.

And I told him what I wanted to do and what I would need the ssd for.

I prefer the method with the switching system installed. It is cheap and 100% effective. It will boot to whatever you have turned on that is first in the boot order. I find that no power to the other drive means no chance of screwing it up.

 

[Goatmilk]

Thanks, guys. I'm still waiting for the repair guy to call and tell me I can come and get Big Sam, whether it's the old one or its new reincarnation. Gotta admit I'm getting a little impatient here.

I know the repair man recommends a Grub dual boot, while I would prefer the way Smilax described - which, as far as I understand, is pretty much the same thing APTI suggested - and we'll have to talk about it.

It's nice of the repair guy to offer to install Linux for me, but I'd really rather prefer to do it myself. Even though I probably have no clue what I'm doing - and as soon as I would have to fiddle with any hardware or pick up a screw driver, it's game over, anyway.

Oh dear...

 

[Smilax]

Thanks, guys. I'm still waiting for the repair guy to call and tell me I can come and get Big Sam, whether it's the old one or its new reincarnation. Gotta admit I'm getting a little impatient here.

I know the repair man recommends a Grub dual boot, while I would prefer the way Smilax described - which, as far as I understand, is pretty much the same thing APTI suggested - and we'll have to talk about it.

It's nice of the repair guy to offer to install Linux for me, but I'd really rather prefer to do it myself. Even though I probably have no clue what I'm doing - and as soon as I would have to fiddle with any hardware or pick up a screw driver, it's game over, anyway.

Oh dear...

The joy is in the journey, that's what appeals to me about it. As solid as mainstream Linux has become, there's still always something new and interesting to discover. I guess you could say that about Windows too (always something to discover) but rarely could I call it fun. Either way, having a group like this to bounce ideas off makes a huge difference. Have a good time all the time,

 

[Iamgeese]

I am trying to do this exact same thing but with PopOs. Pulled it off on my Laptop but cant for the life of me get it to work on my desktop. Getting really annoyed now.

 

[Smilax]

I am trying to do this exact same thing but with PopOs. Pulled it off on my Laptop but cant for the life of me get it to work on my desktop. Getting really annoyed now.

Okay, I'll bite...where's it hanging up on you? The OS shouldn't matter when using BIOS to select which device to boot.

 

[Erik Groothuijzen]

I started trying Linux some time ago on my Lenovo ThinkPad due to Windows11 requirements. As a user of Windows for many years, and not taking to DOS, I could not and can not get to grips with terminal in Linux. Anyway after many hassles and heartaches I finally found the perfect solution for me. I removed the optical drive with a caddy and fitted the 240G SSD with Windows10 in it, bought a 1TB SSD and partitioned into two 500G drives, the one for Linux, and the other formatted to fat32 as an additional storage drive available to both systems. No more problems, no wine, bottles or vms needed. The laptop gives me a boot option with pressing F12 on startup, and you select the system you want. I am presently running MX25 and find it quite accommodating for an ex Windows user. It installed everything I required from the app centre or downloaded deb files and drivers. No terminal required so far and very few hangups. Holding thumbs that I have finally found the distro for me on this absolute forest of Linus distros. With the correct USB cable, the optical drive can still be used if at all required.

 

[wizardfromoz]

@Erik Groothuijzen I spent 3 years at another Linux forum, and I knew a fellow there who was a Manjaro fan, and although Manjaro (Arch-based) is often considered a Terminal-centric distro, he used to maintain that he had not had to use Terminal in 7 years, accomplishing everything he needed with GUI tools and apps.

So, while I am comfortable with both Terminal and GUI, it's different strokes for different folks, and Linux provides those choices.

Cheers, and enjoy your MX-25.

Wizard

 

[deb_user]

Most Linux desktops have advanced to the point where the terminal is not required. Everything can be done with point and click. Personally, I find the terminal to be faster and easier for many things, but that's just my preference. The choice of a distro is purely subjective, and everyone can use whichever they prefer.

 

[wizardfromoz]

Everything can be done with point and click.

There is always an exception, and a notable one is with updating grub.

There is no GUI method to update /etc/default/grub , it can only be done through Terminal.

Debian-based (includes Ubuntu and Linux Mint) and Manjaro have the

sudo update-grub

stub, devised by Ubuntu, but for other distro families such as RPM (fedora) it can mean

sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Even that has an exception - if you make your changes and save them, to /etc/default/grub , and then run updates that include a kernel update, or new updated files such as efi-grub, shim-signed and so on, a part of the process will involve reconfiguring the bootloader.

Other than that, you are stuck with Terminal.

Wiz