complex dual boot, install to 2nd HDD + specific partition

[petiole]

I'm preparing to do my first installation of Linux alongside Windows. Using information from the Mint manual, and the web guide below, I still have a few questions, in an attempt to avoid as many mishaps as possible.

Here's the guide: http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2011/10/27/dual-boot-ubuntu-11-10-windows-7-on-a-pc-with-2-hard-drives/

Please keep in mind I am a complete and utter novice. I've done plenty of research, but am still learning pretty much everything, including jargon, lol.

Here's a few details on my system configuration:
--Windows 7HP
--Core i7 2630M
--8 GB RAM (ddr3)
--nvidia 560m
--Intel wireless card 6230
--4 HDDs, 2 internal and 2 external, all formatted NTFS
1. Seagate internal 500gb HDD1, 3 partitions in order:
A. 100MB >> "system reserved"; primary/active & boot for Windows
B. 100GB >> WIndows 7; primary/system
C. 365GB >> Windows 7 Applications; logical
2. Seagate internal 500gb HDD2, 3 partitions in order:
A. 16MB >> unallocated; logical; can't seem to fix this...again, damn Windows
B. 24.5GB >> extra Windows swap, temp files, a few other things (I call this my "Win7Dump" partition); logical
C. 441GB >> set aside for Linux; primary
3. Hitachi Touro external HDD: 500gb; logical; 1 partition (besides the 6MB at the beginning I can't get rid of, similar to the drive above); used solely for data, Windows libraries, etc
4. Seagate external: 500GB networked drive used only for backups

My plan:
--Dual boot WIndows7 and Linux Mint. I considered virtual boxing, but I think I'd prefer more RAM to do that, which isn't in the financial cards right now.
--I want Linux to put itself in the specified partition on internal HDD2. This is something not frequently covered in install guides, and is where most of my questions stem from.
--I will unhook all external drives during installation to reduce confusion.

Here are my questions:
1. Prior to installing Mint, should I reformat the current partition I've set aside from NTFS to ext4? ext3? I've read conflicting information on partitioning/file system formatting a drive prior to a Linux installation, rather than during.

2. If the above partition is reformatted in a Linux-preferred file format, and is empty, will Mint "want" to install itself there?

3. I want to install Mint "alongside" Windows, but it's my understanding that I won't be able to achieve this in my desired manner by choosing this option when installing. I will have to choose the "advanced" install option. Correct?

4. I plan on using the Mint manual and the aforementioned guide to do my installation. However, neither cover installing to a particular partition on a second HDD. To do this, would I essentially just select the partition on /dev/sdb that is the correct size (441GB)?

5. It is also my understanding that unlike Windows, Mint "must" have a few partitions and I will have to define these when I select this option. I assume that /boot, /, and swap are mandatory. Is /home mandatory? I really like to keep my data all together on the Hitachi external drive. Is this not possible with Linux? Or, may I just save any data files to the external drive, rather than /home?

6. Generally more partitions slow down a drive. Will this be creating too many partitions, for Linux + Windows swap + the unallocated portion at the beginning of the drive?

7. Should I select the same drive (partition?) for GRUB installation? I assume that then I will have to change the boot drive order in the BIOS to this drive, rather than the Windows drive, which it is currently?

8. Or, for a novice, used to Windows, would it be smarter to use the EasyBCD method mentioned in the article?

I know that is alot of questions, so I really appreciate anyone that can take the time to answer. If I have overlooked anything, please give me a heads up to that, as well

As a suggestion for the Mint team, it would be really great to have the option to install alongside a current OS, while still being able to chose the desired HDD and partition location of the install. Having to do it all manually, as a novice, when still trying to get used to what "/" and "sdb" means in Linux-lingo is a bit nerve-racking, lol!

Thanks much.

[remoulder]

should I reformat the current partition I've set aside

Mint "must" have a few partitions and I will have to define these

No you should just delete the partition if anything as the installer will need to do this anyway in order to create the required partitions. You only need 2 partitions at most, swap and '/', and you may be able to do without swap given 8Gb ram.

Should I select the same drive (partition?) for GRUB installation

If you don't want to select the boot device at boot then you need to select the 1st HDD (dev/sda) for grub but this will overwrite the Windows MBR. Otherwise you need to select the 2nd HDD (dev/sdb). You shouldn't install grub to a partition as you will not be able to boot into mint - partitions are shown as the drive with a number after it, e.g. sda1

If you want to keep your data on another drive that's fine, there are ways to do that, but you can't put your home on an NTFS partition so unless you create another partition and specify it as /home, home will be part of the '/' partition. However you can link the data directories in your home to other directories elsewhere, e.g. on a different drive.

[petiole]

No you should just delete the partition if anything as the installer will need to do this anyway in order to create the required partitions. You only need 2 partitions at most, swap and '/', and you may be able to do without swap given 8Gb ram.

If I unallocate this partition, to have Mint install itself here, will it create a problem with the Windows swap partition that I am trying to keep at the "front" of the drive? This was the reason I partitioned it as it is right now.

Also, I've done some web searching to try to find a cutoff point for when there is sufficient RAM to not need swap, and I can't find anything solid. If I did put in a swap partition, it would probably be 16gb, and I'm not short on space. Should I just go ahead and do it, because it essentially can't hurt, or do I risk slowing down the drive too much with all these partitions?

If you don't want to select the boot device at boot then you need to select the 1st HDD (dev/sda) for grub but this will overwrite the Windows MBR. Otherwise you need to select the 2nd HDD (dev/sdb). You shouldn't install grub to a partition as you will not be able to boot into mint - partitions are shown as the drive with a number after it, e.g. sda1

It sounds like the best thing would be to install grub on HDD2 then. I really don't want to mess with anything on HDD1 at all, for fear of messing up my Win7 installation.

Thanks for your reply :]

I don't quite understand what you mean here:

You shouldn't install grub to a partition as you will not be able to boot into mint - partitions are shown as the drive with a number after it, e.g. sda1

Assuming I just install it to "sdb", which I think is what HDD2 would be called, where would it install itself?

If you want to keep your data on another drive that's fine, there are ways to do that, but you can't put your home on an NTFS partition so unless you create another partition and specify it as /home, home will be part of the '/' partition. However you can link the data directories in your home to other directories elsewhere, e.g. on a different drive.

Hm, ok. Why can't /home be on an NTFS partition if Linux is capable of reading this file format? The drive I keep my data on is formatted NTFS, so is there a problem reading/writing data to that drive in Mint? In an ideal world, all of my data would be kept on this drive, with all files equally accessible by Win7 and Mint. However, if this creates a situation where there could be file corruption, then I need to do something else. I image all my drives periodically, but I certainly want to avoid file corruption, if possible.

It's good to know that I can essentially "redirect" these links, but this just makes the /home partition seem more unnecessary in my case. What you are telling me, though, is that home will be created on "/", if I don't designate a "/home", just as My Documents is initally put on the C: drive?