How to DualBoot?

[wall03]

I am building a machine (Ryzen 3100, 8GB RAM, 750 Ti, 128GB SSD, 550W PSU, etc) and can't decide to use one OS or the other (Linux or Windows), so decided to dual boot. How do I do that? I am ordering parts late May (bc of Ryzen 3 3100) so I don't have the parts yet. I have a few old Windows 7 laptops in the basement that I can grab the key from. How do I dual boot? I will dual boot Ubuntu and Windows 10. Thanks! :)

[Boomwebsearch]

11 minutes ago, wall03 said:

I am building a machine (Ryzen 3100, 8GB RAM, 750 Ti, 128GB SSD, 550W PSU, etc) and can't decide to use one OS or the other (Linux or Windows), so decided to dual boot. How do I do that? I am ordering parts late May (bc of Ryzen 3 3100) so I don't have the parts yet. I have a few old Windows 7 laptops in the basement that I can grab the key from. How do I dual boot? I will dual boot Ubuntu and Windows 10. Thanks!

You need to create two separate partitions on your system drive (one for each of your operating systems) and install them on the different partitions to have a prompt when starting asking for which OS you want to boot into, a 128GB SSD is going to easily be filled up by the operating systems and a few basic programs leaving very little room for your data. I would recommend adding a 500GB hard drive or larger to have more room to work with more programs/games and/or data files. Also, the free upgrade to Windows 10 that Microsoft was giving out for Windows 7 users is no longer available.

 

Link to a 500GB HDD on Amazon:        https://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Intellipower-Desktop/dp/B002P3KO4C/ref=sr_1_4dchild=1&keywords=Intellipower+32MB+OEM+Cache+WD+Green&qid=1588089197&s=electronics&sr=1-4

[wall03]

1 minute ago, Boomwebsearch said:

You need to create two separate partitions on your system drive (one for each of your operating systems) and install them on the different partitions to have a prompt when starting asking for which OS you want to boot into, a 128GB SSD is going to easily be filled up by the operating systems and a few basic programs leaving very little room for your data. I would recommend adding a 500GB hard drive or larger to have more room to work with more programs/games and/or data files. Also, the free upgrade to Windows 10 that Microsoft was giving out for Windows 7 users is no longer available.

 

Link to a 500GB HDD on Amazon:        https://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Intellipower-Desktop/dp/B002P3KO4C/ref=sr_1_4dchild=1&keywords=Intellipower+32MB+OEM+Cache+WD+Green&qid=1588089197&s=electronics&sr=1-4

Thanks! I am still seeing people saying they got the upgrade... also maybe taking it from a different PC is different? IDK. But thank you :)

[wall03]

How do I put some off the SSD for HDD cache?

[Boomwebsearch]

4 minutes ago, wall03 said:

Thanks! I am still seeing people saying they got the upgrade... also maybe taking it from a different PC is different? IDK. But thank you

Even though the promotion has officially expired for the update to Windows 10, apparently Microsoft is still activating user's Windows 7 systems when they upgrade through the older OS. Link for more information:    https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/14/21065140/how-to-upgrade-microsoft-windows-7-10-free-os

 

The OS itself is stored on the boot drive, so it should still work if moved over to another system, although some users have had issues with the OS recognizing a hardware change and deactivating the operating system (write down the activation details beforehand).

 

3 minutes ago, wall03 said:

How do I put some off the SSD for HDD cache?

Are you sure that you want to boot off the HDD and use the SSD to accelerate the hard drive instead of booting directly off the SSD? Booting from an HDD, even if accelerated by the SSD, is slow. I would recommend loading the operating systems onto the SSD and using the HDD for programs/files, if you still have extra space on the SSD to accelerate the hard drive then you can use that as well.

 

Link for software to use some of the SSD for accelerating the hard disk drive:        https://www.romexsoftware.com/en-us/primo-cache/

[wall03]

13 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

You need to create two separate partitions on your system drive (one for each of your operating systems) and install them on the different partitions to have a prompt when starting asking for which OS you want to boot into, a 128GB SSD is going to easily be filled up by the operating systems and a few basic programs leaving very little room for your data. I would recommend adding a 500GB hard drive or larger to have more room to work with more programs/games and/or data files. Also, the free upgrade to Windows 10 that Microsoft was giving out for Windows 7 users is no longer available.

 

Link to a 500GB HDD on Amazon:        https://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Intellipower-Desktop/dp/B002P3KO4C/ref=sr_1_4dchild=1&keywords=Intellipower+32MB+OEM+Cache+WD+Green&qid=1588089197&s=electronics&sr=1-4

What about a 256GB SSD? What about this one? I am on a tight budget so it can't be a big SSD

[wall03]

1 minute ago, Boomwebsearch said:

Are you sure that you want to boot off the HDD and use the SSD to accelerate the hard drive instead of booting directly off the SSD? Booting from an HDD, even if accelerated by the SSD, is slow. I would recommend loading the operating systems onto the SSD and using the HDD for programs/files, if you still have extra space on the SSD to accelerate the hard drive then you can use that as well.

 

Link for software to use some of the SSD for accelerating the hard disk drive:        https://www.romexsoftware.com/en-us/primo-cache/

I meant more like maybe laying off 12GB of SSD storage or something if that is possible...

 

2 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

Even though the promotion has officially expired for the update to Windows 10, apparently Microsoft is still activating user's Windows 7 systems when they upgrade through the older OS. Link for more information:    https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/14/21065140/how-to-upgrade-microsoft-windows-7-10-free-os

 

The OS itself is stored on the boot drive, so it should still work if moved over to another system, although some users have had issues with the OS recognizing a hardware change and deactivating the operating system (write down the activation details beforehand).

Ok. Thank you! :)

[Boomwebsearch]

3 minutes ago, wall03 said:

What about a 256GB SSD? What about this one? I am on a tight budget so it can't be a big SSD

Yes, that is exactly what I would have recommended for a budget 256GB SSD.

 

1 minute ago, wall03 said:

I meant more like maybe laying off 12GB of SSD storage or something if that is possible...

This is definitely possible, although the performance benefit increases when you get reasonably closer to the capacity of your HDD.

 

Here is what I would recommend given that you are on a limited budget...

 

Adding this budget 500GB HDD for $15.99:    https://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Intellipower-Desktop/dp/B002P3KO4C/ref=sr_1_4dchild=1&keywords=Intellipower+32MB+OEM+Cache+WD+Green&qid=1588089197&s=electronics&sr=1-4

 

Split the SSD into two partitions for storing and booting from the two operating systems.

 

Use the HDD for storing your larger files and programs and create another partition on the SSD with whatever storage remains after installing your operating systems and use a drive caching software such as PrimoCache or even the built-in one on your OS (I know that Windows 10 has ReadyBoost, although not sure about other operating systems) to use that storage amount to accelerate your hard drive.

 

* Most optimal solution in this case within a reasonable budget would be to add another 128GB SSD in RAID 0 for operating system and frequently accessed applications only and all your user data can be saved on the HDD.