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So, well.. first, I've been searching around for a few days and haven't really found an answer that's very complementing of the question I have so I've come seeking some kind of (divine linux) revelations. Also, sorry if I missed something that explained this (I think I haven't but uhhh, again, sorry if so).
What I've been meaning to do: dual boot Win11 and Arch. I would still, for now, keep win as the primary since it's the system I'm most used to, and having Arch as well since I've been using it an increasing amount as I gain familiarity. I will be wiping my main drive soon to reinstall win11 and add a new disk, so I've thought about doing this now. The setup: a NVMe 1T, SATA/SSD 500Gb and SATA/SSD 1T (also using an nvidea/intel config if pertinent). And I've been think about partitioning, I honestly would like to part the SSD into two partitions of 250Gb each, one for Arch and the other to still have win stuff.
The thing I've been confused, well, things, are:
- Is this a feasible setup? If so, would I be attempting too much as a still beginner honestly?
- I've been reading Arch Wiki on dual boot, I've seen that the two main avenues are completely separate disks or a singular EFI in a disk. In my case, I've been confused on what applies, I'd imagine it'd be technically the
separate disks in a way since they're on different disks, but I am unsure. Also, if maybe both are technically possible, what'd be the better route to go about this? I've been reading on the pros and cons of each as well, I've seen
around that win is a bit of an arse when sharing disks, and also the WinUpdate erasing grub thing that made me a bit worried.
- Also, when it comes to files, I've seen on the wiki that Arch seems to have an optional file-path limit to match windows forbidden characters so I think I'm not too worried about that, now, given the filesystem for bot win/Arch
match, it'd be theoretically possible to inter-op a drive, correct? Like, maybe having the additional 250Gb as a co-space. The main reason I'm not dedicating too much space to Arch as of now is that I'm still learning it and I
mostly use it for college as of now. If this is possible I supposed I'd have to follow the methods to "interlink", for a lack of a better word as of now, the spaces. Is there anything I should be kinda on the lookout for this path?
I think that's about it. Sorry for the brick wall of text. And also for any possible coherence/grammar errors as en isn't my first language.
Any help would be immensely appreciated, thanks!
Last edited by AoGwyn (2025-04-05 06:05:34)
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As a general comment, since you bring up "isn't my first language": your grammar is fine, but the brick wall of text isn't. Stay away from describing your feelings for the sake of it. The first sentence, for example, doesn't add any value to your post.
Your 2nd sentence could also be 7 words: "I want to dual-boot Arch and Windows". Which then makes your 1st actual question unnecessary: lots of people dual-boot, and you know that because you read the Dual boot Arch Wiki on that subject. You also ask and answer your own question #2: why do some people recommend separating Arch and Windows on separate disks: you've already read the pros and cons of either separate disks vs separate partitions on the same disk.
Then we come to (I think) your actual objective: you want to share a (data) disk between the two operating systems. Most people would recommend using NTFS for that shared disk/partition due to Windows' file name requirements being the lowest common denominator. The Linux NTFS driver used to be shaky, but I believe it's stable now and that should work.
Another path you could consider is to install Linux as your main driver and run a VM with Windows for things you can't migrate to Linux with. Just don't expect to run high performing gaming from inside a VM, of course. It all depends on what exactly you need Windows for.
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