Install Windows 10 boot loader on a different disk

Question

I'm always using two OS on my computer, Windows 10 and a Linux OS (currently Manjaro). Because I have very bad memories of messing up one of the OS's, I'm always installing these two OS on different Disks, So if I mess up one of them it won't affect the other and I can boot the other OS without any problem.

But recently I bought an SSD and I want to install both OS on the SSD and still have the privilege of separate boot loader on separate disks.

This is my SSD Disk scheme which I've already installed Linux Manjaro on it. The disk partition table is GPT and Manjaro installed as UEFI.

Disk /dev/sdb: 232.91 GiB, 250059350016 bytes, 488397168 sectors
Disk model: Samsung SSD 860 
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt

Device         Start       End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sdb1       2048   2050047  2048000 1000M Microsoft basic data
/dev/sdb2   83970048 165890047 81920000 39.1G Linux filesystem
/dev/sdb3  165890048 184322047 18432000  8.8G Linux swap
/dev/sdb4    2050048  83970047 81920000 39.1G Linux filesystem

Partition table entries are not in disk order.

I don't know why the type of the first one is Microsoft basic data! It's the boot partition of Manjaro and it's mounted on /boot/efi

Can I install Windows 10 on this disk with a separate boot partition without any change on these 4 partitions?

Or can I install boot partition of Windows on another disk (I have another 2 HDD) and Install the Windows on my SSD? and then every time I want to boot Windows I'll go to my BIOS settings and change the boot disk?

All 3 Disks mentioned before are GPT and I want to install Windows as UEFI.

(Sorry for bad English)

Answer 1

The EFI partition is formatted as FAT32. This is a Windows format, so your disk utility is reporting it as "Microsoft basic data".

There is no problem with having two boot loaders that load operating systems from two different disks. UEFI is built to handle this economically, with loader stubs installed by each operating system in the EFI partition.

If you have enough free disk space for Windows, the only possible problem is if Windows will destroy the Linux boot, although with UEFI there is no real reason for it. In case this will happen, you need to be prepared to restore the Linux boot.

Be careful concerning backups, as this kind of manipulation is error-prone.