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Installing 2 different OS's on 2 different drives?

Guest Nathanised
By Guest Nathanised
in Operating Systems
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On my laptop, I used to dual boot linux and Windows together. Linux was on a 2nd partition. Well this time my setup is different. I have my OS running on my SSD and my internal HDD is just there for programs that use a lot of space. (fraps) Is there a way I can dual boot linux and Windows on 2 different drives yet still have the option at startup to pick which one to run? I intend on keeping Windows on my SSD and just installing Linux on my HDD. Can I also do that without having to wipe any of the drives.


Also, as a second question, which free Linux distros do you prefer? I intend on looking one for the "eye candy" and functionality. I have tried Ubuntu before on my laptop and it was ok.

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You should be able to dual boot them however you will have to either wipe the partition you want to use on the HDD and install Linux on it or make a partition dedicated to it on the HDD. You may need to make a tiny GRUB partition (about 100mb or less) so that your boot manager installs correctly. In terms of the Linux distro, I'm in the process of "iSwitched from Windows to Linux for 30 days" you can check it out here if you want: LINK and I would definitely recommend giving Elementary OS Luna a shot. So far I have really enjoyed it and it is definitely an eye candy after you personalise it to your preferences. 

iSwitched from Windows to Linux for 30 days - Ducky Shine 3 Tenkeyless Unboxing - Trixel Wallpapers - Project Lights Off


 

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You should be able to dual boot them however you will have to either wipe the partition you want to use on the HDD and install Linux on it or make a partition dedicated to it on the HDD. You may need to make a tiny GRUB partition (about 100mb or less) so that your boot manager installs correctly. In terms of the Linux distro, I'm in the process of "iSwitched from Windows to Linux for 30 days" you can check it out here if you want: LINK and I would definitely recommend giving Elementary OS Luna a shot. So far I have really enjoyed it and it is definitely an eye candy after you personalise it to your preferences. 

How big should I make the partition? 100gb? 200gb?

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How big should I make the partition? 100gb? 200gb?

My Elementary OS partition is about 100gb right now and I have all of the applications that I need so far and only have took about 27gb from it. Unless you are planning to use a lot of apps, use Wine or try and get games and windows programs working on Linux you shouldn't need any more than that in my opinion. 

iSwitched from Windows to Linux for 30 days - Ducky Shine 3 Tenkeyless Unboxing - Trixel Wallpapers - Project Lights Off


 

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My Elementary OS partition is about 100gb right now and I have all of the applications that I need so far and only have took about 27gb from it. Unless you are planning to use a lot of apps, use Wine or try and get games and windows programs working on Linux you shouldn't need any more than that in my opinion. 

Ok, also about grub, where do I get that? Is it a download? If so, which Hard Drive do I install it on? If not, does it come with the OS?

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Ok, also about grub, where do I get that? Is it a download? If so, which Hard Drive do I install it on? If not, does it come with the OS?

GRUB is a default boot loader / manager that comes with every Linux distro. It allows you to pick which operating system you want to boot to. It looks like this: LINK I were asked by the installer to make a GRUB specified partition otherwise I may have had problems with dual booting (one way or the other it didn't work for me you can read why in my thread) you don't need to make a specified partition for it if it doesn't ask you too and you will probably get it installed on the Linux partition and it will work. If you want to be sure and make a GRUB partition do it on the drive that you will have Linux on. If you look in my thread I explain how I partitioned my drives and how to make a GRUB partition.

iSwitched from Windows to Linux for 30 days - Ducky Shine 3 Tenkeyless Unboxing - Trixel Wallpapers - Project Lights Off


 

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GRUB is a default boot loader / manager that comes with every Linux distro. It allows you to pick which operating system you want to boot to. It looks like this: LINK I were asked by the installer to make a GRUB specified partition otherwise I may have had problems with dual booting (one way or the other it didn't work for me you can read why in my thread) you don't need to make a specified partition for it if it doesn't ask you too and you will probably get it installed on the Linux partition and it will work. If you want to be sure and make a GRUB partition do it on the drive that you will have Linux on. If you look in my thread I explain how I partitioned my drives and how to make a GRUB partition.

Ok, thanks, going to install it as soon as it finishes downloading (slow internet)

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