Need help ... dual boot Win 7/Linux Mint 13 MATE!

[ecosvaldo]

First, here are the specs of my computer:

• Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz
• ASRock Z77 Extreme4
• G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL)
• EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB 1GB
• LG Blu-ray Reader/DVD±R Burner
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• M-Audio Oxygen 49 MIDI keyboard
• WD Caviar Black 500GB (Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit)
• WD Caviar Black 1TB (all my data is stored here)
• Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (where I want to install Linux Mint)

I'm having a real tough time trying to install Linux Mint 13 MATE (64-Bit) on my computer. I currently have Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-Bit) and want to do a dual boot. I followed a tutorial on how to do this (http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2012/07/23/du ... rd-drives/) and could not get it to work. After the installation, during the boot up process Windows suggested that I run Startup Repair to fix my boot manager (which I was able to do using NeoSmart's Windows Recovery disc). So I tried the process again and nothing.

I did not notice a couple of things:

• 1. I don't have the traditional BIOS screen like my old computer; it uses the new UEFI interface.
  2. Where Windows is installed, the hard drive is seen as a GPT disk and the Spinpoint as an MBR disk (where I want to install Linux Mint).

If I convert the Spinpoint to a GPT disk through Windows' Disk Management and boot Linux Mint with a USB stick using UEFI, will I be able to get it to install and boot with no problem then? I want to ask this first before I go ahead with the process.

[animaguy]

I have to recommend that you skip the dual boot option.

I recommend Virtualbox.

I recommend LM as the host and Win7 as the guest.

Or visa versa.

I believe it much more efficient.

[ecosvaldo]

As much as I would like to go the Virtualbox route, I'd prefer the dual boot setup. But thank you for your input. If you have any other suggestions please let me know. I really appreciate it.

[ecosvaldo]

Well, I still have not found a way to setup a dual boot on my computer (both with Legacy ROM and UEFI), so I broke down today and bought an internal mobile rack for my computer (Kingwin KF-813BK to be exact). This way, I can have one hard drive with Windows 7 and another hard drive with Linux Mint 13 MATE (64-Bit). I have another hard drive on my computer with nothing but my documents, music and movies/videos.

So, I just have one question for anyone who can answer - which route should I go when I install Linux Mint 13 MATE (64-Bit) on the one hard drive? Through Legacy ROM or UEFI? I would really appreciate it.

[Farcules]

That tutorial you followed isn't one hundred per cent on the ball.
To keep windows and put linux after it you shrink the windows partition from administrative tools > computer mngt > disk mngt because only windows can determine a minimum safe size. On the cd installation options screen choose the 'something else' option, create a partition in the unused space ( and another of 10GB for swap ) set it as /, format as ext4, and get the bootloader installed on whatever /dev/sda? number ( probably /dev/sda3 ) the partition screen assigns to / and make them primary partitions. When installation finishes you will be rebooted into windows where you will need to install a boot loader ( EasyBCD, Plop, Acronis disk director operating system manager google windows freeware bootloaders for more ) that will detect linux and ask which os you want to boot immediately after you switch on.
To put linux on a second hard drive / will be /dev/sdb1 and you put grub on /dev/sdb.
But it's better to switch the disks around and put linux on the first hard disk because grub will detect windows on the second disk with no problem and you won't need to find and install a third party boot loader
If you get the idea of putting more than one distro on a hard disk you can pm me for further information

[ecosvaldo]

That tutorial you followed isn't one hundred per cent on the ball.
To keep windows and put linux after it you shrink the windows partition from administrative tools > computer mngt > disk mngt because only windows can determine a minimum safe size. On the cd installation options screen choose the 'something else' option, create a partition in the unused space ( and another of 10GB for swap ) set it as /, format as ext4, and get the bootloader installed on whatever /dev/sda? number ( probably /dev/sda3 ) the partition screen assigns to / and make them primary partitions. When installation finishes you will be rebooted into windows where you will need to install a boot loader ( EasyBCD, Plop, Acronis disk director operating system manager google windows freeware bootloaders for more ) that will detect linux and ask which os you want to boot immediately after you switch on.
To put linux on a second hard drive / will be /dev/sdb1 and you put grub on /dev/sdb.
But it's better to switch the disks around and put linux on the first hard disk because grub will detect windows on the second disk with no problem and you won't need to find and install a third party boot loader
If you get the idea of putting more than one distro on a hard disk you can pm me for further information

Thanks for your suggestions, but I decided to go with the mobile rack I purchased (just waiting for the additional tray I ordered to hold one of the hard drives). That way, if I decide to play the latest and greatest games, I'll pop in my Windows hard drive. For everything else I want to do, in goes my Linux hard drive.

One quick question though - which route should I go when I install Linux Mint 13 MATE (64-Bit)? Through Legacy ROM or UEFI?

[Flemur]

Here's a good article on UEFI, which I know nothing about: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Un ... _Interface

As far as dual-boot, when windows is involved my method is to install it on a separate physical disk from linux and select the OS with BIOS.

The linux disks are disconnected when installing windows, and vice-versa. When all the disks are connected windows and linux can see each other's partitions (tho windows needs trivial extras to do so).