How to reorganise partitions for a dual boot

[br1anstorm]

I have just upgraded a Lenovo T430 laptop from Win7 Pro to Win10 Pro, and I want to set it up for dual booting with Linux Mint. It has a 256GB SSD.

I chose an in-place upgrade of the Windows OS as I wanted to retain some of the settings and apps from the Win7 setup as I upgraded to Win10 (I have no critical personal data on this machine). This meant that some of the OEM Lenovo tools and apps were also retained.

I kept the Legacy/MBR disk configuration because I prefer - and am more familar with - that than UEFI/GPT.

I left the partitioning to the Windows upgrade process. All worked well, and Win10 now runs happily. I was however slightly surprised to see that the disk has four primary partitions. This is a bit tiresome, since I plan to install Linux in a dual boot setup (as I have on other computers). For that I need enough space, and to create more partitions. But at present I cannot do so!

I know that Linux will run from a logical partition. But in order to modify the existing partition arrangements (basically to create an extended partition and more logical partitions within it for Linux), I will have to either delete or convert one of the four existing primary partitions.

Here is a screenshot from Win10 Disk Management of my current disk partitioning:

Now..... I assumed that I ought not to mess with the System Reserved primary partition (D: - or sda1 in Linux-speak). I will have scope to shrink the large 210GB C: partition (sda3) where Win10 resides, in order to free up space for Linux. But before doing so I will have to do something with one or other of the two remaining primary partitions because I need to create an extended partition, with logical partitions inside it, for Mint root, home and swap.

So.... I have a 12.55GB "Recovery" partition (Q: - or sda2) which is 96% full. And I have another partition of just 624MB which has no drive letter in the Windows system (sda4 in Linux). It is described as 'Recovery partition'.

I believe the "Recovery" partition (Q: or sda2) is perhaps a hangover - or has remained and been retained - from the OEM Windows7 install (originally part of the Win7 or Lenovo OEM setup); and the other 'recovery' partition (sda4) is part of the Win10 install and has Windows recovery tools hidden (?) on it.

As a Linux user (but no expert) I have looked at the disk in a live session using GParted, and I note that this last partition, sda4, has the "diag" flag on it. Not sure I fully understand what that implies.....

So I need advice on how to reorganise this partitioning of the disk with the least risk of screwing anything up! Obviously I can take a disk image beforehand as a backup and insurance. But I could do with advice on exactly how to reconfigure the partitions. I know (from Win10 disk management) that I can shrink the C: drive (sda3) by at least 40-50GB, which is reasonable if not generous for Mint. But with 4 primary partitions already in existence, what else can I delete, reformat and/or move, in order to provide as much space as is reasonable for Mint, and in a suitable location? One of the existing primary partitions will surely have to go (or be "converted" into an extended partition) in order that I can create more partitions as suitable locations for Mint's root, home and swap?

I feel I need to take care over this: my approach is "check three times, measure twice, cut once". I want to be sure of what I'm aiming to do.

Any and all suggestions (and detailed advice) on how best to sort out the partitioning would be welcome!

[bodge99]

Hi,

I think that you are correct regarding 'sda2'. I also think that it is left from Windows 7.
If it's not too late, then I would seriously consider using UEFI with a fresh install. I personally much prefer UEFI for the advantages that it brings.

A full drive image is always a very good idea anyway. If you want to stay with Legacy then you may have a problem if you delete 'sda2'.
Windows is very 'picky' with partition ordering changes. Also the stock Windows recovery tools are quite poor.

Doesn't the thought of being able to use more than 4 primary partitions appeal in any way??
Try it.. I think that you'll like it..

Bodge99

[AndyMH]

Delete the recovery partition so you can create an extended partition and put mint in a logical partition(s).

As a T430 user - another option for you, buy yourself a 256GB mSATA SSD (or even 120GB) and fit that (lives in the pcie slot - turn laptop over, remove cover over the memory stick - it lives in the slot next to the memory). 256GB is not a lot of space for win and mint to co-exist.

Typing this on a T430 booting (legacy) LM20 from a 256GB mSATA with another SSD in the main drive bay and a 2TB HDD in the ultrabay (used for backup).

The only downside - interface is SATA2 not SATA3, so slower to load compared to the main drive bay.

Not expensive, an example (same make as mine):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dogfish-Msata- ... ers&sr=1-3
but prices are rising as msata is now obsolete (replaced by M.2).

I have 4 x T430, three have an SSD + mSATA SSD, the other has a WWAN card in the pcie slot.

[AndyMH]

I personally much prefer UEFI for the advantages that it brings.

Really? I can't see any significant advantage.

[bodge99]

Hi,

Really??

Is being able to use more than 4 primary partitions, not having to use an extended partition (I don't care what anyone says.. an extended partition is a kludge!), not having to worry about master boot records etc., having an available UEFI shell, having UEFI utilities that are usable before the bootloader is even started, much larger drive support.. Are these **not** worth having??

I don't really accept the "but Legacy booting is established, well known and well tested" argument.. True, to a point, but I've seen some truly horrendous Legacy Bios implementations.. Certainly as bad as the worse UEFI ones that I've seen.

Genuine question: Why the UEFI hate ?? I don't understand this at all..

Bodge99

[AndyMH]

You are conflating UEFI boot with a GPT partition table. It is relatively straightforward to boot legacy off a GPT drive.

Don't hate UEFI, simply cannot see any obvious advantage and fully expected you to push the GPT argument which is factually incorrect. It is also a lot less hassle doing dual boot off separate drives with legacy, although this is the fault of ubiquity not UEFI.

[bodge99]

Hi,

Err no..

I'm not "conflating UEFI boot with a GPT partition table". GPT is part of the UEFI spec.
Yes.. 1-2MB empty partition flagged 'bios-grub'.. Implemented to **overcome** previous limitations..

You did say "I can't see any significant advantage." Is this not a "significant advantage" ??

Want another go? ;>)

Bodge99

[bodge99]

"fully expected you to push the GPT argument which is factually incorrect".

W T F is "factually incorrect" here?

All I have ever said, if you would like to check my posting history, is that I **prefer** to use UEFI and will do when I am able to.

You don't like this, and prefer a traditional mechanism.. That's fine.. I've no problem with this point of view at all.

What I do object to is folk who imply that what I prefer to use is pointless, flawed or otherwise not worthy of consideration.

Again, what have I said that is "factually incorrect"??

B.

[bodge99]

Easily obtainable information:

The Master Boot Record (MBR) partitioning scheme, widely used since the early 1980s, imposed limitations for use of modern hardware. The available size for block addresses and related information is limited to 32 bits. For hard disks with 512‑byte sectors, the MBR partition table entries allow a maximum size of 2 TiB (2³² × 512‑bytes) or 2.20 TB (2.20 × 10¹² bytes).

In the late 1990s, Intel developed a new partition table format as part of what eventually became the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). The GUID Partition Table is specified in chapter 5 of the UEFI 2.8 specification. GPT uses 64 bits for logical block addresses, allowing a maximum disk size of 2^64 sectors. For disks with 512‑byte sectors, the maximum size is 8 ZiB (2^64 × 512‑bytes) or 9.44 ZB (9.44 × 10²¹ bytes). For disks with 4,096‑byte sectors the maximum size is 64 ZiB (2^64 × 4,096‑bytes) or 75.6 ZB (75.6 × 10²¹ bytes).

In 2010, hard-disk manufacturers introduced drives with 4,096‑byte sectors (Advanced Format). For compatibility with legacy hardware and software, those drives include an emulation technology (512e) that presents 512‑byte sectors to the entity accessing the hard drive, despite their underlying 4,096‑byte physical sectors.

[bodge99]

O.K. then

I've made a decision.. I don't like the undertones that have developed here.

I have had to deal with mental health issues in the past and I now actively avoid certain situations which could potentially escalate.

Therefore I am withdrawing from this forum with immediate effect.

Best wishes to all.

[br1anstorm]

Oh dear.... I have just checked in to the forums after a day in the sunshine, and I see there seems to have been a bit of a spat about the relative merits of Legacy/MBR and UEFI/GPT.

That's a shame. In my experience Linux users, and members of this forum, are an open-minded and tolerant lot, even when they hold firm and clear views. I see that @bodge99, who has decided to step away, has only been a forum member for scarcely a couple of months. If he has particular sensitivities and finds it uncomfortable to discuss or debate with others who have different opinions, then I think we have to wish him well for his own sake.

End of observational comment. Let's aim to get back on-topic. My thanks to @AndyMH, forum veteran, source of wise and knowledgeable advice, and fellow T430 enthusiast. Like Andy, I'm not persuaded that UEFI/GPT is necessarily better than Legacy/MBR. In my case this is not based on deep technical knowledge: it's simply a case of "better the devil you know...."! But it's different strokes for different folks, and Linux users always like to have choices.

So to the original question I posed. I have a recently-acquired second-hand T430. It came with Win7 OEM, which I have just upgraded to Win 10 in situ (mainly in order to retain the valid licensing/activation which is such a headache with MS products and can make clean reinstalling somewhat uncertain).

The laptop has the partitions I described and illustrated. It has Legacy/MBR setup. Even if I wanted to, I am not about to try to re-cast it all from scratch into a UEFI/GPT configuration even if I knew how to do it (which I don't). I want to keep things simple and low-risk. My other computers almost all have dual boot arrangements within the framework which Legacy/MBR offers, and I'm content to stay with what I know. Just need a bit of help in tweaking the existing partitioning on this particular T430 which inconveniently has four primary partitions already in place.

I do accept the more general point that a 256GB drive is not huge for a dual-boot setup. My current main machine has a 750GB HDD and two 1TB external drives; and I do - and will continue to - store a lot of data (music, etc) on those external drives. But I would like to have the two OSs - Win10 and Mint - on the T430. Which is why I need focused help on how to adjust the partitioning with least risk. Further down the track I may well want to look at the useful suggestion of adding in another SSD into the T430 itself to give me more space.

Although it's not perhaps directly relevant, I might note that I use EasyBCD to manage the dual boot once Mint is installed.

So we are back to the original question: which of the existing partitions might I aim to reconfigure, and how, in order to create enough space, and in the right location, to install Mint in dual boot with Win10?

And in particular (having re-read the first couple of responses) (i) what do I need to do to avoid the problems which @bodge99 suggested might arise if I delete sda2 in the setup illustrated? and (ii) just to be clear, when @AndyMH says "delete the recovery partition and create an extended partition ...etc" , this refers to the "Recovery" partition at sda2 (or Q:) (which I believe to be a leftover Win7 recovery partition), not to the partition at sda4 which is also tagged 'recovery' and which I think was created as part of the Win10 upgrade.

And - jumping ahead - if I delete sda2, do I create and format an extended partition (which will contain sda5, and 6, plus swap) in its place? Or do I shrink the Win10 partition (sda3) and also move it "leftwards" in order to then have the unallocated space, and the new extended partition, to the right? Will this shuffling around also cause a renumbering of the partitions, or will I end up with no sda2 partition and a setup which has sda1 (Sys Res), sda3 (Win10), sda 5 and 6 for Linux inside an extended partition, and then sda4 (the 'recovery' for Win10)?

[AndyMH]

Back to the question...

As you realise, you need to get rid of one of your primary partitions because win has used all four. I'd go for your recovery partition Q:. Not sure what is in it, but as standard ntfs you should be able to look inside and copy the contents - just in case*.

You will also need to shrink win C: to create space for mint. You can do this with gparted (from your mint install stick), but I prefer to use win's disk management tools when messing with C:, again just in case. Before you start, turn off virtual memory in win (to get rid of pagefile.sys) and turn off fast start (to get rid of hiberfil.sys). Both of these tend to be towards the end of the partition which may reduce the scope for reducing the partition size. Leave fast start disabled if you want read/write access to C: from mint. Once you have shrunk C: you can turn virtual memory back on. I'd aim for a 50/50 split between win and mint.

Then, with gparted, move C: and D: left so that all the unallocated space is at the end of the drive. You might be able to do this with win's disk management tools, but never tried. It will take a while, you have around 25GB of data to move.

Once done, you will have space for one primary partition or one extended partition (that you can put logical partitions inside). Simplest solution - one primary partition formatted ext4 for your mint / partition. If you think you want more than one partition (e.g. if you wanted to re-instate your recovery partition), then you will need to create an extended partition and create one ext4 logical partition for mint and then any others you want. This can all be done with gparted.

Install mint with the 'something else' option and point the installer at the ext4 partition you created and tell it to use it for /. You could simply leave the space unallocated and use 'install alongside' but I'm not sure what the installer will do. There is a bug in the installer for LM20 in legacy mode - it creates a useless EFI partition and then puts the / partition as a logical partition in an extended partition. How it will behave when there is only one partition left, I don't know.

The installer will install grub. If you have EasyBCD installed it will be overwritten. What EasyBCD does, no idea, never used it. grub will give you the choice of mint or win on boot.

Before you start - check in BIOS that it is set to either Legacy only or Both(legacy first) otherwise your install stick will boot in UEFI mode.

Also before you start - take a full image backup of the drive. I recommend foxclone, but then I would, I developed it (and on a T430)**.

Mint installs 'out of the box' on a T430 and everything works.

* A fresh win10 install in legacy mode creates two partitions, system reserved (about 500MB, format ntfs) and C:. Don't know your other two are used for. It would also appear (your screenshot) that win's disk management is not reporting the partitions in the order they are on the drive - first entry is stated to be partition 4) - check with gparted.

** When you installed win10, it will have phoned home and registered itself. If you have to install win again, it will recognise that you have a licenced copy. I've done this a fair number of times installing win to sda while testing foxclone.

EDIT - just had a look inside my 'system reserved' partition on sda (a dual boot win10/bodhi linux - testing foxclone). Contents look like this:

and os-prober reports it as /dev/sda1:Windows 10:Windows:chain. So DO NOT delete that partition.

[br1anstorm]

Back to the question...

Thanks Andy - you're giving me almost all the guidance/reassurance I need! Taking the points in order...

As you realise, you need to get rid of one of your primary partitions because win has used all four. I'd go for your recovery partition Q:. Not sure what is in it, but as standard ntfs you should be able to look inside and copy the contents - just in case*.

I've looked. Didn't take a screenshot of all the folders and files. But they included sources, EFI, boot, AUTO, $RECYCLE, backup.cmd, backup.wim, and various bcd-copy files, bootmgr, imagex.exe, Menu.lst, reboot.cmd, Recovery.tag, and restore.cmd. Almost all dated from 2016 or 2019. I deduce that they are all related to the 'recovery' of the previous Win7 OEM system, and that partition was retained or untouched by the Win7 to Win10 upgrade. I can copy the contents - but I'm not sure whether I need to...

You will also need to shrink win C: to create space for mint. You can do this with gparted (from your mint install stick), but I prefer to use win's disk management tools when messing with C:, again just in case. Before you start, turn off virtual memory in win (to get rid of pagefile.sys) and turn off fast start (to get rid of hiberfil.sys). Both of these tend to be towards the end of the partition which may reduce the scope for reducing the partition size. Leave fast start disabled if you want read/write access to C: from mint. Once you have shrunk C: you can turn virtual memory back on. I'd aim for a 50/50 split between win and mint.

Yup, I was planning to use Win Disk Management to shrink, as I'd read that this was better when messing with the Windows OS partition. Will also follow your tips re paging file etc (which I also remember from other forum discussion). I was aiming to do all other partition work (moving, creating new...) with Gparted from my Mint live session.

Then, with gparted, move C: and D: left so that all the unallocated space is at the end of the drive. You might be able to do this with win's disk management tools, but never tried. It will take a while, you have around 25GB of data to move.

I get the general objective: to move the existing partitions which I want to retain, to the left, and get the unallocated space all to the right. Two points to clarify. (i) The partition which Windows Disk Mgr labels as D: (Sys Reserved) is sda 1 and is already at the far left, ie first partition on the drive. Fine. I will have deleted the Recovery Partition Q: which is sda2, and that will have given me some space. (ii) Having shrunk the C: partition (sda3) which houses the Win10 OS, you're suggesting I move that leftwards to occupy the unallocated space and line up immediately next to D: (sda1). Here's the anxiety: will moving that C: sda3 partition with Win 10 in it b*gger up its ability to boot? I have read somewhere that Windows doesn't like the start-point of its bootable drive to be moved because it then can't find it and won't boot. Is this something I ought to worry about?

I presume that if it's safe to move C: to the left and I do so, I ought also to move the last, unlabelled, 'recovery' partition (sda4) also to the left so that the empty space is all at the right-hand end.

Once done, you will have space for one primary partition or one extended partition (that you can put logical partitions inside). Simplest solution - one primary partition formatted ext4 for your mint / partition. If you think you want more than one partition (e.g. if you wanted to re-instate your recovery partition), then you will need to create an extended partition and create one ext4 logical partition for mint and then any others you want. This can all be done with gparted.

All agreed. Once I have the partitions appropriately located, that was (is) exactly what I plan to do.

Install mint with the 'something else' option and point the installer at the ext4 partition you created and tell it to use it for /. You could simply leave the space unallocated and use 'install alongside' but I'm not sure what the installer will do. There is a bug in the installer for LM20 in legacy mode - it creates a useless EFI partition and then puts the / partition as a logical partition in an extended partition. How it will behave when there is only one partition left, I don't know.

Yup, I've used the 'something else' route before. I will probably create the usual /, home and swap in an extended partition. I was aiming to install Mint 19.3, not LM20, so hope I will avoid the bug.

The installer will install grub. If you have EasyBCD installed it will be overwritten. What EasyBCD does, no idea, never used it. grub will give you the choice of mint or win on boot.

Nah.... and this might seem heresy, but I've used EasyBCD on several computers, and this is what happens. When doing the Mint install, you put its Grub in the same partition as MInt itself (ie in /). Then you boot up Win10, in which you have installed the EasyBCD program. Then you simply add Mint to the list of OSs in the EasyBCD screen and - crucially - tell it in which partition Mint's Grub is located. EasyBCD then modifies the existing Windows Boot Loader to tell it where Mint (and its Grub) are. So the Windows bootloader (in the MBR) is not overwritten by Grub. It continues to operate, and thanks to EasyBCD displays Win or Mint. If you choose Win, up it boots. If you choose Mint it then takes you on (chainloads?) to Grub, where you then choose Mint in whatever mode.... or since Grub can also see Windows ... you could boot back into Win10. Two boot menus - but it preserves the Windows Bootloader separately. That means any Win updates can't mess with Grub (which is a risk if Grub has actually replaced the Win bootloader in the MBR).

I suspect this arrangement won't appeal to all - the stock dual boot recommendation relies entirely on Grub, which is fair enough. But I happen to prefer using EasyBCD.

Before you start - check in BIOS that it is set to either Legacy only or Both(legacy first) otherwise your install stick will boot in UEFI mode.

Thanks for the reminder. IIRC, my T430 is set to Both(legacy first).

Also before you start - take a full image backup of the drive. I recommend foxclone, but then I would, I developed it (and on a T430)**. Mint installs 'out of the box' on a T430 and everything works.

Yes, was planning to do an image. I've used Clonezilla - I don't find it too unfriendly. But I might give foxclone a whirl!

* A fresh win10 install in legacy mode creates two partitions, system reserved (about 500MB, format ntfs) and C:. Don't know your other two are used for. It would also appear (your screenshot) that win's disk management is not reporting the partitions in the order they are on the drive - first entry is stated to be partition 4) - check with gparted.

I don't think Win Disk Mgr has displayed the partitions out of order. I will see if I can post a screenshot of the drive taken from GParted.

I believe, but don't know for sure - that the Win 7 to Win10 upgrade install may have actually created or utilised three partitions. Yes, the 500MB ntfs System Reserved, which is showing as D: is the first partition (sda1) on the drive (the upgrade process said this would be created by default). The second partition (Q;) is the 'redundant' Win7 Recovery, effectively untouched by the upgrade. And, obviously C: (sda3), which had Win7, now has Win10. I am pretty sure that same install created the other (unlabelled by Win Disk Mgr) 'recovery' partition (sda4) - which I've looked into . It has a WindowsRE folder containing boot.sdi, ReAgent.xml, and Winre.wim, all of which I understand are 'tools' for Win10 recovery. All date from the day of the upgrade-install of Win10. So I do need to keep that partition....

** When you installed win10, it will have phoned home and registered itself. If you have to install win again, it will recognise that you have a licensed copy. I've done this a fair number of times installing win to sda while testing foxclone.

Yes, it seems that my Win10 upgrade-install has indeed registered itself with MS and has a digital licence. But I'm strangely nervous that if I do a clean reinstall from scratch, reactivation may not work flawlessly. Wiping the whole drive and doing a clean reinstall is for me the "nuclear option" (I have never yet done it....so it's partly fear of the unknown).

Anyway , many thanks for the comprehensive advice. Onwards and upwards (I hope!)

[br1anstorm]

A quick follow up post - easier than editing my already lengthy post above.

In the OP I included a screenshot of the partitions in the T430 drive as displayed by the Windows disk manager.

I've now got a screenshot of how they appear in GParted:

So they do more or less correspond in terms of the sequence and layout, even if the drive letters allocated by Windows are a bit confusing:

sda1 labelled by Win disk mgr as D: System Reserved
sda2 Q: Recovery (I think this is the Win7 recovery partition, carried forward or untouched by the upgrade to Win10)
sda3 C: now contains Win10, the current bootable OS
sda4 no drive letter given by Win disk mgr, has 'diag' flag, and is described as 'recovery' by Win disk mgr (I think this is a recovery partition for Win10, created by the upgrade).

Incidentally when in a Live Mint session (to use Gparted) I can't see how to view the contents of any of the partitions apart from sda3, the C: drive which has Win10 on it. The Sys Reserved and the two 'recovery' partitions don't show up in the File Manager, and I can't see how and where to "mount" them or how to find and look at them. I assume they are supposed to be "hidden".....

[AndyMH]

Today busy emptying the log shed before a delivery tommorrow, so will post answers later.

[AndyMH]

Logs moved...

Here's the anxiety: will moving that C: sda3 partition with Win 10 in it b*gger up its ability to boot?

I don't think so, but only one way to find out I've never had any problems moving linux / partitions around. Hence need for clonezilla/foxclone backup (whichever you are most comfortable with). The way linux boots is that grub looks for the boot partition (the one with /boot) by UUID, moving a partition does not change its UUID. Assume win works the same way.

/, /home and swap - you won't have a lot of space, / needs to be about 30GB, don't bother with swap* (from LM19 on it uses a swap file by default), whatever is left for /home. With a need for two partitions, after deleting one of your primary partitions you will have to create an extended partition so that you can create two logical partitions. LM19 doesn't have the 'bug' in the 'erase and install' and 'install alongside' options, that feature was introduced in LM20. But as all they do is create a single ext4 partition, you still will need to do 'something else'.

EasyBCD - you are on your own

Win10 - I've re-installed several times, in UEFI mode, in legacy mode, alongside different flavours of linux - to test foxclone with different scenarios. Had no problems. Have moved my victim SSD with win10 on it to another T430 so will be interesting next time I re-install, I expect it to complain.

Whatever you do, DO NOT use timeshift with the defaults with a small / partition. Use timeshift, but point it at another drive, e.g. external usb hdd, for its snapshots.

* unless you intend to hibernate, think it is still needed then. I don't.

[br1anstorm]

Thanks Andy - much appreciated....

I'm still mulling over how best to reorganise things, prompted partly by your passing remark about increasing the drive space by adding an mSATA drive to the T430. Have just been browsing and researching - and it seems ridiculously easy to slot an mSATA SSD in. So - seizing the moment - I've ordered a 256GB mSATA SSD (the spec suggests it is SATA III: will that work faster, or is the actual connection within the T430 slot limited to SATA II?). Looks as if it might take a week or two to arrive.

That gives me more time to contemplate exactly how to reconfigure. As the discussion has confirmed, I actually have two problems to solve. The first one is that with only a 256GB (main) drive, I was always going to be tight for space anyway. We now seem to have an easy way to add capacity...

The second problem was the existence of four primary partitions on the 'main' drive already. So I had concluded that I had to delete/remove one of them anyway: I just need to be sure which one (are we agreed that it's the Q: drive which should go?). I still need to do that, and shrink the Win10 drive a bit, and - maybe - move it sideways. That would enable the creation of an extended partition, and more logical ones within it, whatever it/they might contain.

Now, as I see it, adding the mSATA drive, by effectively doubling the storage capacity, gives me more options and means less of a squeeze on the existing 'main' drive. Which means I will probably need more advice on how best to set things up.....

Option A: Do I use the mSATA SSD simply as storage for data, much as I might use an external HDD? I could set it up simply as an additional drive or dedicated Data partition, as I have done on my main laptop, accessible from whichever OS I boot into. That would mean having Win10 and Mint each in their own partitions on the existing "main" drive, which was the route I was originally planning to follow if I could make enough space and set up an extended partition.

Option B: with two drives (256GB 'main' SSD, and 256GB mSATA SSD) should I set things up so as to have each OS on its own drive? Win10 (and its System Reserved and Recovery) on one drive - probably the existing main one as now; and simply install Mint (with root, home and - presumably - its Grub) on the mSATA SSD? Or vice versa. In such a setup I'd need to figure out carefully how the booting works.

I've read an interesting article here https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/inst ... d-tutorial about this latter arrangement (which as it happens involves EasyBCD!). But as with other aspects of Linux, there is probably more than one way of skinning this cat.... Any thoughts on either option would be welcome.

On the other points you mention - yes, I'll watch the Timeshift aspect carefully (I've been caught out before when it filled an entire partition - so I just do Timeshift snapshots before kernel updates, and save them to an external HDD). And I don't want and don't need hibernation.

[AndyMH]

and it seems ridiculously easy to slot an mSATA SSD in

It is, why I suggested it

While you may have bought a sata3 device, the interface in the T430 is sata2, so you are stuck with that (don't know why, the main bay and the ultrabay are sata3). As I said, takes a bit longer to boot compared to an ssd in the main bay. Loading word/excel under crossover or booting my win7 VM also take longer. Beyond that I don't notice.

I'd install mint to the msata (appears as sdc, the ultrabay is sdb) and leave the ssd in the main bay alone (or change it if you want, not because you have to). This is what mine looks like:

I've only got a swap partition because I've always had one. Three partitions so no need to mess with an extended partition.

The msata will come blank, so you will need to put a partition table on it before you can create any partitions - use gparted to do and an msdos partition table as you are booting legacy.

When you install mint make sure that it installs grub to sdc not the default = sda = main drive bay. It's a drop down bottom right on the screen after selecting 'something else'. That way, both mint and win will boot independently. And change your bios boot list so that the msata is top of the list (think it is HDD2, HDD0 = main bay, HDD1 = ultrabay).

I like the T430, I must do, I've got four of them. They all have ssds in the main bay and all have a caddy with a 2TB hdd in the ultrabay replacing the DVD drive. I use this for backup, nothing else - timeshift, backintime, foxclone (have LM19.3 installed on the HDD so I can boot from it and run foxclone). Something to think about for the future - how often do you use a DVD these days?

Three of them have msata ssds as well, the other has a WWAN card in the pcie slot (the slot for the SIM card is in the battery compt). Two I've replaced the stock i5 with an i7-3632QM and two have 16GB RAM (a waste, 8GB is enough). Replaced the stock screen in one with a gloss 1600x900 screen, so much better than standard lenovo. There is a lot you can do with a T430 and parts are cheap (ebay). I'll stop now, bit of a nerd when it comes to the T430
https://medium.com/@n4ru/the-definitive ... ff3f6a8e2e
https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_p ... 304_03.pdf tells you how to replace every part.
And if you didn't know about it https://forum.thinkpads.com/

EDIT - had a look at the link you posted. Based on a T430.

[br1anstorm]

Yes Andy, that definitely qualifies as a nerdy reply! But you could do a lot worse than get nerdy about T430s.... I'm really quite impressed by what I've seen and learned about them so far (and thanks for those links). I have the feeling that I too will be going down the road of tweaking the T430 a bit further, since it seems so easy. I also have an X230 and an X240 - slim and light, and the latter has a nice IPS screen, but neither is as easy to tinker with as the T430...

The SATA III mSATA SSD cost all of £5 more than the SATA II one. I didn't know the T430 interface was only SATA II. I assume the SATA III drive is backwards-compatible. All part of the learning process. A few seconds one way or another on bootup isn't a deal-breaker.

I like simplicity, so I'm attracted to the idea of putting Mint on the mSATA when I get it, and messing as little as possible with the 'main' SSD which currently has Win10 and those other partitions. I'd follow your example - I would set up separate /, home and swap. And I absolutely take on board the point about ensuring Grub goes on to the mSATA too, and not into the main (sda) disk.

If I understand your approach correctly, you rely simply on the BIOS boot order to determine which OS you launch. With the mSATA as the first on the list, it - and Mint - becomes your default. So if you want to boot up whatever other OS is on the main drive (Win10 in my case), you have to interrupt the normal ThinkPad startup (Enter>F12) to get at the BIOS one-time boot menu in order to select that other OS - as you would do if, for example, booting from a USB. Pretty straightforward.

Just as a matter of interest, does the Mint Grub on your mSata SSD (sdc) list whatever OS you have on the 'main' (sda) drive? And if so does it do so automatically, or do you have to do 'sudo update-grub'?

In principle I think EasyBCD would do something similar, but in a different way. I suspect you aren't interested - but if installed in Win10 (which is on the 'main' drive), and told where Mint (and its Grub) were located, EasyBCD would modify the Windows Boot Manager boot menu which Win10 displays at start up, to list both Win10 and Mint, and you'd just select which to boot. This would essentially mean that Win 10 remains at the top of the BIOS list, and you get to choose either OS without having to do the F12 to get to a one-time boot menu in BIOS.

It's slightly off-topic (or a subordinate aspect for later consideration) but for the moment I'm personally quite keen to keep the DVD drive/ultrabay. I don't use DVDs all that often, but I do so enough to find a CD/DVD drive bay convenient. If I need storage space for eg backups I just plug in a decent external HDD to a USB port. But the time may come when I opt for a caddy and additional drive in place of the DVD in the ultrabay.

On we go.... (well, when the mSATA SSD arrives!)

[AndyMH]

Yes backwards compatible.

If I understand your approach correctly, you rely simply on the BIOS boot order to determine which OS you launch. With the mSATA as the first on the list, it - and Mint - becomes your default.

Yes

So if you want to boot up whatever other OS is on the main drive (Win10 in my case), you have to interrupt the normal ThinkPad startup (Enter>F12)

You could F12 if you want, but when you install mint it will find win and when you reboot after installing you will get a grub menu giving you the option of mint or win (with auto boot into mint if you don't do anything). If it doesn't find win, then you've done something wrong, like installing in UEFI mode by mistake.

For the rare occasions I need a DVD drive, I could just swap out the caddy (hot swappable as long as the T430 is NOT sat in a dock), but instead just plug in a usb DVD drive.