Swapable Hard Drives?

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childofthetao

Swapable Hard Drives?

Post by childofthetao »

Hi, can I remove my Windows HD (or at least just unplug it), install Linux on another HDD, then instead of using a boot menu to select the OS, I can just swap the HD's. Will that work? That way Linux will never touch my Windows boot drive and vice versa.

Thanks
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Reorx
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Re: Swapable Hard Drives?

Post by Reorx »

Yes that will work.
Full time Linux Mint user since 2011 - Currently running LM21C on multiple Dell laptops - mostly Vostro models.

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Mute Ant

Re: Swapable Hard Drives?

Post by Mute Ant »

Yes, the perfect way to keep them ignorant of the other's existence. Some BIOS allow you to switch off drives without changing the cables...the connectors may not be designed for repetitive use...gold-on-copper (RAM modules) does not last as long as nickel-on-steel (USB socket) for example.
Laurent85
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Re: Swapable Hard Drives?

Post by Laurent85 »

Good concern wrong solution, ask for advice on how to deal with your hardware to successfully install in dual boot mode. You should consider cloning your drive first before installing in dual boot mode.

If currently booting in EFI mode I wonder the EFI firmware might not handle swapable drives properly.
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SOCRATE_MMXII

Re: Swapable Hard Drives?

Post by SOCRATE_MMXII »

@childofthetao: install one OS on HDD1, then swap with HDD2 to install the other OS. Put HDD1 and HDD2 in your PC and you can use boot menu in order to choose which HDD to boot from. No need to swap HDDs all the time.
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austin.texas
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Re: Swapable Hard Drives?

Post by austin.texas »

It is not at all necessary to unplug the drives. With one drive for Mint and one drive for Windows, you have accomplished your goal of keeping them separate.
In fact, as mentioned before, if you are installing in UEFI mode, unplugging drives will create problems.
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childofthetao

Re: Swapable Hard Drives?

Post by childofthetao »

SOCRATE_MMXII wrote:@childofthetao: install one OS on HDD1, then swap with HDD2 to install the other OS. Put HDD1 and HDD2 in your PC and you can use boot menu in order to choose which HDD to boot from. No need to swap HDDs all the time.
Ah this seems to be the way to go thanks, I don't want my OS's to know about each other in any way.
Jim Hauser

Re: Swapable Hard Drives?

Post by Jim Hauser »

I have two separate drives with two separate systems. I switch between systems by changing the BIOS boot order. This has worked for me for almost two years without issue but keep in mind that I am using SATA IDE/AHCI. Some of the newer systems may cause problems as noted in the above posts.

My issue was with GRUB.... I do not like it as it has always caused me problems. As far as I am concerned, your theory is sound.

Cheers!

Jim
DrHu

Re: Swapable Hard Drives?

Post by DrHu »

That shouldn't work as most modern Linux's (Ubuntu, Mint etc..)make use of UUID device names, and that gets associated with the hard drive in use
--so a direct swap shouldn't work.

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This is for adding a hard drive: I misread your item a bit
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Yes you can always selectively use any hard drive you want, either old style with pluggable drive cases or just deselect the drive in the bios
--or as you say disconnect the control or power connection to make the drive unavailable within your system
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