dual boot Windows 7 partition help

thatdude · 2012-03-26 04:11:19

I want to dual boot Windows 7 & arch but I need help with figuring out what partitions to make and where to put them because it seems the automatic partition-er won't do the trick for me.

I have two drives that I want to completely format for a fresh, clean install: a 60GB SSD & a 750GB hard drive. I want the end result to be that the SSD only has Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1 installed to it and I will point the 'My Documents', 'My Pictures', etc. to a NTFS partition on the hard disk drive ( I know how to do this folder pointing ). I don't want arch to touch the SSD if possible so I can reformat the SSD separately if I ever just want to reformat Windows. I only want arch to be on the hard disk for that reason. I don't think I care which one handles the OS switching at boot ( should I favor Windows MBR or syslinux? Please give advice. ) And I would assume I make the NTFS partition on the hard disk a primary partition so how do I split up arch for the 3 other primary partitions left since the auto partition from the arch boot CD uses 4?

fsckd · 2012-03-26 04:40:34

how many partitions you set for arch depends on your needs. i have just one partition for arch. an alternative option is to use lvm and if you change your mind about the number of volumes (instead of partitions), you can easily resize, delete and create.

esuhl · 2012-03-26 04:51:31

I'm no expert, but the way I would do it would be like this:

1. Create partitions on the HDD for /, /boot, /home and swap, along with one (or more) for your Windows personal files
2. Set the BIOS to boot from the SSD.
3. Install Windows on the SSD.
4. Right-click the "My Documents" folder, select "properties", then the "Location" tab and choose the new location for the folder.
5. Install Arch on the HDD partitions, and allow the boot manager to install itself in the MBR of the SSD.

Then the whole boot process will be on the SSD... If you ever need to get rid of the Linux bootloader, you can overwrite it with a "clean" Windows one using bootrec.exe (see here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392).

Last edited by esuhl (2012-03-26 04:52:12)

esuhl · 2012-03-26 04:58:12

thatdude wrote:

I would assume I make the NTFS partition on the hard disk a primary partition so how do I split up arch for the 3 other primary partitions left since the auto partition from the arch boot CD uses 4?

The first partition on the drive should be a primary one. You can have four primary partitions in total, or alternatively up to three primaries and one extended (which can contain a number of logical drives).

adamrehard · 2012-03-28 01:07:00

I (personally) would do a boot partition, a root, and a swap for arch, and then use the final partition for NTFS. I believe the boot is optional, but I would definitely include a swap.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Be … nformation

I've heard good things about LVM, but never tried it.

Last edited by adamrehard (2012-03-28 01:07:53)

Arch Linux

#1 2012-03-26 04:11:19

dual boot Windows 7 partition help

#2 2012-03-26 04:40:34

Re: dual boot Windows 7 partition help

#3 2012-03-26 04:51:31

Re: dual boot Windows 7 partition help

#4 2012-03-26 04:58:12

Re: dual boot Windows 7 partition help

#5 2012-03-28 01:07:00

Re: dual boot Windows 7 partition help

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