(Solved) Dual booting Mint & Windows 10 - to partition or not to partition

[bleriot13]

Hi!

I would like to dual boot an Acer laptop that now is running only Windows 10. Two question came to my mind.

First, looking for help on how to do this, I noticed that almost every post explaining how to do this talked about shrinking the Windows partition to make room for Linux; then, during the installation process they all selected the "something else" option to partition manually the free space. No one (at least, none of the many posts I have found about this issue) says that the "Install mint alongside Windows" option should (or could!) be used instead.

On the contrary, the Linux Mint installation guide (https://linuxmint-installation-guide.re ... stall.html) clearly states that the "alongside" option will do this for you: (literal citation):

"If another operating system is present on the computer, the installer shows you an option to install Linux Mint alongside it. If you choose this option, the installer automatically resizes your existing operating system, makes room and installs Linux Mint beside it. A boot menu is set up to choose between the two operating systems each time you start your computer."

I recall having used this "alongside" option in the past (some years ago, in fact) and never going through the partition the disk by yourself more complicated way.

Since I'm a reasonably good Linux user but a dumb Linux administrator, I would like some advice on what to do. May I use safely this "alongside" option? I guess that the installer will ask me how much room I want to give to the new Mint OS and it will partition such space conveniently, isn't it? I would prefer NOT to go through the manual partitioning option.

Second: again, all the post I mentioned above talk about disabling secure boot and other issues related to UEFI. For instance, in this page: https://www.tecmint.com/install-linux-m ... uefi-mode/ the following is said:

"Assuming that your laptop or desktop system comes pre-installed with Windows 10 or Windows 8.1 or 8 you should enter the UEFI menu and disable the following settings: Secure Boot and Fast Boot features."

Once more, I don't recall having to do this in the past. The Linux installation guide does not mention having to do such a thing. The unique reference about something similar to UEFI is this one (literal citation):

"The Linux Mint ISO can be booted both in EFI or BIOS mode. In EFI mode it shows a grub menu. In BIOS mode it shows an isolinux menu."

but nothing is said about disabling the aforesaid options.

Should I worry about this?

Excuse for making so basic questions, but the disagreement between the posts found everywhere and the official linux mint installation guide really worries me.

Thanks for your help!

Bleriot.

Edit: sorry for missing that, but inspecting the installation guide I found here: https://linuxmint-installation-guide.re ... t/efi.html that in case that the system is unable to boot due to a "Secure Boot Violation" then one of the options to solve the problem is just disabling the Secure boot option in the BIOS.

[cpedretti]

Hi!

I would like to dual boot an Acer laptop that now is running only Windows 10. Two question came to my mind.

First, looking for help on how to do this, I noticed that almost every post explaining how to do this talked about shrinking the Windows partition to make room for Linux; then, during the installation process they all selected the "something else" option to partition manually the free space. No one (at least, none of the many posts I have found about this issue) says that the "Install mint alongside Windows" option should (or could!) be used instead.

On the contrary, the Linux Mint installation guide (https://linuxmint-installation-guide.re ... stall.html) clearly states that the "alongside" option will do this for you: (literal citation):

"If another operating system is present on the computer, the installer shows you an option to install Linux Mint alongside it. If you choose this option, the installer automatically resizes your existing operating system, makes room and installs Linux Mint beside it. A boot menu is set up to choose between the two operating systems each time you start your computer."

I recall having used this "alongside" option in the past (some years ago, in fact) and never going through the partition the disk by yourself more complicated way.

Since I'm a reasonably good Linux user but a dumb Linux administrator, I would like some advice on what to do. May I use safely this "alongside" option? I guess that the installer will ask me how much room I want to give to the new Mint OS and it will partition such space conveniently, isn't it? I would prefer NOT to go through the manual partitioning option.

Second: again, all the post I mentioned above talk about disabling secure boot and other issues related to UEFI. For instance, in this page: https://www.tecmint.com/install-linux-m ... uefi-mode/ the following is said:

"Assuming that your laptop or desktop system comes pre-installed with Windows 10 or Windows 8.1 or 8 you should enter the UEFI menu and disable the following settings: Secure Boot and Fast Boot features."

Once more, I don't recall having to do this in the past. The Linux installation guide does not mention having to do such a thing. The unique reference about something similar to UEFI is this one (literal citation):

"The Linux Mint ISO can be booted both in EFI or BIOS mode. In EFI mode it shows a grub menu. In BIOS mode it shows an isolinux menu."

but nothing is said about disabling the aforesaid options.

Should I worry about this?

Excuse for making so basic questions, but the disagreement between the posts found everywhere and the official linux mint installation guide really worries me.

Thanks for your help!

Bleriot.

Edit: sorry for missing that, but inspecting the installation guide I found here: https://linuxmint-installation-guide.re ... t/efi.html that in case that the system is unable to boot due to a "Secure Boot Violation" then one of the options to solve the problem is just disabling the Secure boot option in the BIOS.

Base yourself on this tutorial, it is made so that a simple user can partition his custom installation:

viewtopic.php?f=250&t=329765

[Nikolai5]

Base yourself on this tutorial, it is made so that a simple user can partition his custom installation:

viewtopic.php?f=250&t=329765

I've noticed that guide suggests creating a home partition, but the default installation for Debian, Ubuntu and Mint doesn't create a separate home partition and personally I find it makes it easier managing space when home and everything else is using the same storage allocation.

I know people say its for ensuring your home files are safe, but I just use backups as you should do anyway. And so if you're making backups regardless, surely the simplicity of a single partition is just.. "better"?

[bleriot13]

Nikolai,

Base yourself on this tutorial, it is made so that a simple user can partition his custom installation:

viewtopic.php?f=250&t=329765

looking at the tutorial you point to, it looks like two different versions of Linux are installed there. The first one, Linux Mint 20 (the one I want to install) and LMDE afterwards. In the first case, the "alongside" option is used, so I assume that this is something I can do myself. Since I'm interested in installing only Mint 20 and not LMDE, I assume that I may safely forget the second step (the one that needs making some partitioning in the tutorial).

I think that, in some indirect way, you answered "yes" to my question about the possibility to install Mint without having to worry about partitioning the disk.

Thanks.

[mikeflan]

I've noticed that guide suggests creating a home partition, but the default installation for Debian, Ubuntu and Mint doesn't create a separate home partition and personally I find it makes it easier managing space when home and everything else is using the same storage allocation.

Many of us choose to keep /home on the OS drive. It can work out very good for you, as it does for me. I find it more portable, not less portable.

[pbear]

I recall having used this "alongside" option in the past (some years ago, in fact) and never going through the partition the disk by yourself more complicated way.

You don't have to shrink the Windows partition before running the installer, but it's a good idea. The reason is that Windows is better suited to shrinking its own partitions. You would use Disk Management, available by right-click of Start. All you do in Windows is shrink the system partition (usually the "C: drive"). Then boot the live session and select install alongside. The installer will automatically use the space you just cleared in Windows.

How much you should shrink the Windows system partition depends on several things, and frankly you have the same issue whichever method you use. Accepting what the installer suggests is just as much a decision as doing it yourself. How much free space do you have?

[AndyMH]

"Assuming that your laptop or desktop system comes pre-installed with Windows 10 or Windows 8.1 or 8 you should enter the UEFI menu and disable the following settings: Secure Boot and Fast Boot features."

Half right, yes, disable secure boot in BIOS, but all fast boot in BIOS does is bypass some of the POST (power on self test) routines. You need to disable fast start/boot in win. Without this, your win partitions will be read-only to linux.
https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articl ... Windows-10

[bleriot13]

pbear,

You don't have to shrink the Windows partition before running the installer, but it's a good idea. The reason is that Windows is better suited to shrinking its own partitions. You would use Disk Management, available by right-click of Start. All you do in Windows is shrink the system partition (usually the "C: drive"). Then boot the live session and select install alongside. The installer will automatically use the space you just cleared in Windows.

How much you should shrink the Windows system partition depends on several things, and frankly you have the same issue whichever method you use. Accepting what the installer suggests is just as much a decision as doing it yourself. How much free space do you have?

thanks for your clafication! I have no problems to shrink the Windows disk, I know how to do it and how much I want to shrink it. Being able to proceed this way and letting the "alongside" install option decide afterwards how to partition the free space thus recovered is idel for me!!!

Thanks !!!

[bleriot13]

AndyMH,

Half right, yes, disable secure boot in BIOS, but all fast boot in BIOS does is bypass some of the POST (power on self test) routines. You need to disable fast start/boot in win. Without this, your win partitions will be read-only to linux.
https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articl ... Windows-10

thanks for the information. I will thus disable the secure boot and maybe let the fast boot as it is. Leaving the Windows partition as a read-only one is not such a bad think, at least in my opinion...

The good think is that now I know what is the effect of disabling or not the fast boot!

Thanks once more!

[pbear]

You misunderstand. Fast boot (the firmware setting) usually has to be disabled for USB boot to work. If your system is an exception, lucky you.

I agree about Fast Startup (the Windows setting), though. If you don't need access to the partition from Linux (most users do, to get at data files if nothing else), leaving it locked might be a good thing. Be aware, Fast Startup will hibernate a data partition also, if you use one.

[bleriot13]

Pbear,

You misunderstand. Fast boot (the firmware setting) usually has to be disabled for USB boot to work. If your system is an exception, lucky you.

I agree about Fast Startup (the Windows setting), though. If you don't need access to the partition from Linux (most users do, to get at data files if nothing else), leaving it locked might be a good thing. Be aware, Fast Startup will hibernate a data partition also, if you use one.

Thanks for the clarification!!! Now it's crystal clear.

By the way, I already installed Mint alongside Windows following the instructions given here. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING.