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Using usb to change boot partition

Big Pecks
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Go to solution Solved by TechyBen,
53 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Why? That's convoluted.

 

Unplug your Windows drive, install Linux on the second drive then reconnect the Windows drive and use the bios boot menu to choose.

 

Or

 

Leave the Windows drive connected, install Linux on the second drive and GRUB will detect Windows and add it to the boot menu so you can choose at boot time.

IIRC some use to do tilt switches/buttons/tags to boot automatically to the OS of choice "seamlessly". No worries. Some people want external buttons (See gamers, sims, etc :D ).

 

I think it may be possible with a batch file. But I'm no programmer.

 

Can(?) be done but is extremely dangerous, as losing the USB will lose your boot!

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB/Tips_and_tricks#EFI

 

Much better to have a batch file check for USB plugged in, check for file (say "boot to Linux.txt") and if it finds it, boot to linux, if no usb and no file (say a homework USB instead) boot to Windows.

 

You can do scripting in Grub... again can be very dangerous!

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB/Tips_and_tricks#Combining_the_use_of_UUIDs_and_basic_scripting

 

Ask in the Linux/Github Grub community I guess. xD

 

I just use dual boot, and press "select windows" or "select Linux". If you wish... an easier, and similar option, may be to "hide Grub unless esc/shift" pressed. See the above links for how to change the Grub bootloader to ONLY show if you press on the keyboard.

Posted

I have never tried it with EUFI but on the old legacy boot it was possible. Some people use to leave windows installed on their laptop, have a secret encrypted linux partition that windows could not see, and install /boot and bootloader onto USB. If their laptop was stolen or checked by authorities it looked like a vanilla windows laptop.

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18 minutes ago, Big Pecks said:

I have 2 sata drives one of them running windows. Is it possible to put only the bootloader on usb and os on other sata drive that when i have usb inserted it boots into linux and when usb is not inserted it boots into windows.

Why? That's convoluted.

 

Unplug your Windows drive, install Linux on the second drive then reconnect the Windows drive and use the bios boot menu to choose.

 

Or

 

Leave the Windows drive connected, install Linux on the second drive and GRUB will detect Windows and add it to the boot menu so you can choose at boot time.

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1 minute ago, GlobalPentahedron Corp said:

I have never tried it with EUFI but on the old legacy boot it was possible. Some people use to leave windows installed on their laptop, have a secret encrypted linux partition that windows could not see, and install /boot and bootloader onto USB. If their laptop was stolen or checked by authorities it looked like a vanilla windows laptop.

That's unbelievably silly. Windows can still see encrypted partitions, it just can't access them and any authorities will not be using Windows to check your laptop if it's confiscated anyway.

 

The only way to hide a partition fully is to pull the drive it's on otherwise any half competent tech will find it in minutes.

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4 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

That's unbelievably silly. Windows can still see encrypted partitions, it just can't access them and any authorities will not be using Windows to check your laptop if it's confiscated anyway.

 

The only way to hide a partition fully is to pull the drive it's on otherwise any half competent tech will find it in minutes.

windows reports encrypted drives as unknown/unused. It will take a very long time to crack an encrypted drive. Have you never had your computer inspected? I have. Its best to give them a clean dummy so they can give you a quick and easy pass.

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this is not convoluted at all. The usb drive is just acting as a physical switch. I did something similar a while back. I put a switch on the power supply to my linux disk so if the drive was powered it would boot linux, otherwise windows.

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6 minutes ago, GlobalPentahedron Corp said:

windows reports encrypted drives as unknown/unused. It will take a very long time to crack an encrypted drive. Have you never had your computer inspected? I have. Its best to give them a clean dummy so they can give you a quick and easy pass.

For a cursory glance inspection sure, it would pass but under even the tiniest amount of scrutiny it would raise more suspicion.

 

I don't know where you've had that information from but it's wrong. Windows doesn't show Linux partitions as unused or unknown. It reports that there is a healthy and active partition present. There's ever Windows applications that support reading encrypted Linux partitions from inside Windows (LibreCrypt & EXT2Read both support encrypted file systems) and like I said, any half competent tech looking at an unlabeled multiple GB partition on a hard disk is very quickly going to wonder why it exists and what it contains.

 

It's not going to fool anybody above your airport guard or border patrol guard who knows nothing about computers.

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15 minutes ago, GlobalPentahedron Corp said:

this is not convoluted at all. The usb drive is just acting as a physical switch. I did something similar a while back. I put a switch on the power supply to my linux disk so if the drive was powered it would boot linux, otherwise windows.

Adding additional, unnecessary steps is by definition convoluted. Your computer already has a perfectly functioning boot menu and so does Linux. Using a third party boot loader is unnecessary unless you're using an old computer that doesn't support usb booting.

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Just now, GlobalPentahedron Corp said:

You need to travel more.

And you need to learn more about how Windows works :ph34r:

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53 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Why? That's convoluted.

 

Unplug your Windows drive, install Linux on the second drive then reconnect the Windows drive and use the bios boot menu to choose.

 

Or

 

Leave the Windows drive connected, install Linux on the second drive and GRUB will detect Windows and add it to the boot menu so you can choose at boot time.

IIRC some use to do tilt switches/buttons/tags to boot automatically to the OS of choice "seamlessly". No worries. Some people want external buttons (See gamers, sims, etc :D ).

 

I think it may be possible with a batch file. But I'm no programmer.

 

Can(?) be done but is extremely dangerous, as losing the USB will lose your boot!

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB/Tips_and_tricks#EFI

 

Much better to have a batch file check for USB plugged in, check for file (say "boot to Linux.txt") and if it finds it, boot to linux, if no usb and no file (say a homework USB instead) boot to Windows.

 

You can do scripting in Grub... again can be very dangerous!

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB/Tips_and_tricks#Combining_the_use_of_UUIDs_and_basic_scripting

 

Ask in the Linux/Github Grub community I guess. xD

 

I just use dual boot, and press "select windows" or "select Linux". If you wish... an easier, and similar option, may be to "hide Grub unless esc/shift" pressed. See the above links for how to change the Grub bootloader to ONLY show if you press on the keyboard.

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1 hour ago, GlobalPentahedron Corp said:

windows reports encrypted drives as unknown/unused. It will take a very long time to crack an encrypted drive. Have you never had your computer inspected? I have. Its best to give them a clean dummy so they can give you a quick and easy pass.

NSA has backdoors in everything. They have keys for encryption algorythms. They do not need to crack anything! LOL.

Computer users fall into two groups:
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

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1 minute ago, mate_mate91 said:

NSA has backdoors in everything. They have keys for encryption algorythms. They do not need to crack anything! LOL.

If the NSA is meeting you at the border or at your workplace then you should prob cooperate or run off to the Ecuadorian embassy

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