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I recently decided I would like to switch from having a WSL installation on windows to dual booting. I work in the Linux environment but need Windows for games, and since I recently got a second SSD for my laptop I wanted to simply install Linux Mint on the second one and keep windows on the first.

However I am unfamiliar with this process, and while I installed linux in dual booting on other machines in the past, I wanted to make sure of what is the correct procedure here. Gathering information around, it looks like I should simply use the option "Erase disk and install" on the SSD that does not have Windows OS on it (it only has a few games installations but my guess is that they just will be removed without issue), and then proceed with the installation. So my questions are:

  • Is this the right way to do it?
  • Should I still deactivate BitLocker for this? Or there is no risk of data loss since I'm installing on a separate SSD?

Thank you, sorry in advance if my question is not too clear or I missed relevant info to give.

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  • Personally? I would deactivate Bitlocker and take a full (disk image) backup of your working Windows installation. Just in case something does go wrong. Unfortunately I have little experience with dual boot so I can't answer your actual question. (Hence comment rather then answer.)
    – Chris Davies
    Commented Apr 8 at 7:29
  • Temporarily deactivate Bitlocker, of course. Just remember that since you've got BL usually enabled your Mint system won't be able to access the Windows disks/partitions
    – Chris Davies
    Commented Apr 8 at 7:35
  • Not sure but I thought mint still used the Ubiquity installer from Ubuntu with this bug that still applies to second or external drives. bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/1396379 Several work arounds in bug report. Remove esp flag from Windows before install to second or external drive - Tim Richardson askubuntu.com/questions/16988/… But many sure you have gpt partitioning and ESP - efi system partition on external drive.
    – oldfred
    Commented Apr 8 at 13:27

1 Answer 1

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Yes this is the right way to do it. But make sure its the right disk of couse! You don't want to wipe your Windows. Also you maybe need to select on what drive your bootloader gets installed. For simplicity and data safety for the the Windows SSD: Please choose the SSD without Windows on it -> So install OS and Bootloader both onto the second "Linux" SSD.

What will happen is this:

  1. Linux Mint will not touch your first/other SSD in any way. So it will also not install a bootloader on it. This will not corrupt the Windows bootloader which is a very good thing.

  2. It will use the second SSD as if there would be no other SSD in the system. So the bootloader gets installed on this SSD but the Bootloader most likely will detect the "other OS" which is also a good thing.

  3. After installation its time to reboot.

If you do nothing at this point your UEFI/BIOS Default boot device will boot. Which most likely is Windows.

Now if you change your bootorder to boot from the second SSD linux will boot and show you the grub screen. There you can then select to boot Linux (do nothing) or Select the Windows entry. This will then boot Windows. But because Windows is on the first SSD it will blank the screen and take 1-2 Seconds longer to boot into Windows because it was booting with the "wrong" SSD at first.

However if Grub does not find your Windows SSD or you want a faster boot, just select in Bios what device you want to boot from, the linux or Windows SSD, at startup time.

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