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gskhaled avatar Ubuntu

How to dual boot Windows and Ubuntu on SSD and HDD?

cn flag
gskhaled

I'm kind of new to this. I recently got an M.2 SSD for my laptop and moved windows from the HDD to the SSD with a fresh new Windows install. I am now using both the SSD and the HDD, with the SSD having windows and all programs while my HDD has my large files.
This is why I want to dual boot Ubuntu (also spanning both the SSD and HDD) by installing the "/" directory on my SSD and the "/home" directory on the HDD. I tried following this guide: https://itsfoss.com/dual-boot-hdd-ssd/ however I failed. I managed to install Ubuntu successfully following every step, but after restarting, I couldn't get my laptop to boot into Ubuntu (as if it doesn't exist).
Here are the things I have tried:

  1. Tried to alter the boot priorities, couldn't find Ubuntu or GRUB.
  2. Tried to run this command from windows terminal: bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path EFIubuntugrubx64.efi as well as other similar ones and still didn't work.
  3. Tried to boot from the live USB used to install Ubuntu, didn't work.

Finally, after playing around a lot in the boot settings, I managed to completely break the Windows installation. My PC got into a boot loop and had to completely reset Windows (using Alt + F10), but thankfully had my data backed up. I searched a lot and couldn't find any solutions so any help would be appreciated.

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vanadium avatar
cn flag
vanadium
Your strategy is fine, although I would keep /home on the SSD, and link to data directories (Documents, Videos, etc) on the HDD. Difficult to know what went wrong in your case. May depend on how you actually went through the installation. Installing Ubuntu next to Windows in principle is a standard feature of the installer.
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oldfred avatar
cn flag
oldfred
What brand/model system? Some like Acer need special setting in UEFI, and some like HP need you to change boot order in UEFI settings (not UEFI boot menu). Are both installs in UEFI boot mode and both drives gpt partitioned? Lets see details, use ppa version with your live installer (2nd option) or any working install, not Boot-Repair ISO: Please copy & paste the pastebin link to the Boot-info summary report ( do not post report), do not run the auto fix till reviewed. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair
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gskhaled avatar
cn flag
gskhaled
@oldfred I have an Acer VN7-592G laptop. Yes, both installs were UEFI and on the same boot drive (the SSD). I'm not sure what gpt partitioned is to be honest. What do you mean by the pastebin link? I think you know what you're talking about and would love it if you'd go into further detail explaining the solution because it seems very helpful and new compared to what I've already tried!
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oldfred avatar
cn flag
oldfred
Click on the link to the Boot-Repair ppa. It shows under 2nd option how to download Boot-Repair into your system. If then you click on Create Summary Report box, it will run many standard commands and offer to upload to a pastebin site. Post link above in your original question. Do not post report. Acer often requires you to set "trust" on the Ubuntu entry in UEFI. May be similar since Acer: Acer Aspire 5 Model A515-54-5649 Intel Core i5-10210U Install Tutorial https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2437702
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vanadium avatar Ubuntu
cn flag
vanadium

Installing Ubuntu next to Windows is very standard. It is unclear what might have gone wrong during your installation.

Following approach would be the most simple:

  1. Install Windows, leaving space for ubuntu (at least 40 GB).
  2. Install Ubuntu, allowing the installer to use the free space on the SSD. Do the fully automatic procedure: that will install the complete system on the SSD, including a swap file.
  3. Instead of having the entire /home on the HDD, have only your user data on the HDD. That is easily achieved by replacing the default "Documents", "Videos", "Pictures" etc. folders by a symbolic link to these folders on the HDD.

This is the simplest procedure, because you let the installer go ahead automatically. The alternative is to have to manually assign mount points and partitions, so the chance that something goes wrong is higher than if you use the default automatic procedure.

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gskhaled avatar
cn flag
gskhaled
I was hoping to not consume the entire space of the SSD with Ubuntu. I might try do this approach if there isn't a solution to partitioning the directories. Also, what do you mean by symbolic links? Will the data actually be stored on the HDD or the SSD?
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vanadium avatar
cn flag
vanadium
You consume as much or as little as you want for Ubuntu - eventually first create a smaller empty partition in Gparted or in MS Windows, and install Ubuntu there. With symbolic links, the data are actually stored on the HDD, but you just access them as usual from within your home directory. For daily use, symbolic links act and feel as real folders. Instead of symbolic links, "mount bind" is also possible nowadays to achieve a similar effect.
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