[SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

tetroi · 2026-01-05 11:55:49

Hello, I am looking for advice on how to properly set up a dual boot with Windows on a system where Arch Linux is already installed as the primary operating system. As I am not an advanced user, I want to ensure I follow the safest procedure possible to avoid breaking my current setup. My main concern is that I have two identical 1TB NVMe drives, and I am having trouble identifying which physical drive corresponds to my Arch installation and which one is the secondary disk intended for Windows. I want to install Windows on the second drive, which currently only contains a few files in a data folder that I am ready to move. I have included my lsblk and fstab output below to show my current configuration. I would appreciate it if someone could help me identify the correct drive and explain how to proceed with the Windows installation so that it doesn't interfere with my Arch bootloader or system.

λ ~/ lsblk                         
NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1     259:0    0 931,5G  0 disk 
└─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0 931,5G  0 part /data
nvme1n1     259:2    0 931,5G  0 disk 
├─nvme1n1p1 259:3    0     1G  0 part /boot
└─nvme1n1p2 259:4    0 930,5G  0 part /
λ ~/ cat /etc/fstab                                                                      
# Static information about the filesystems.
# See fstab(5) for details.

# <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
# /dev/nvme1n1p2 LABEL=ARCH_ROOT
UUID=aef2d89e-b60f-47ed-8250-01db6a7ab08c       /               ext4            rw,relatime     0 1

# /dev/nvme0n1p1 LABEL=FILES
UUID=1c653cc6-c1fc-4a8f-8c60-4f81a4afb170       /data           ext4            defaults        0 2

# /dev/nvme1n1p1 LABEL=EFI_SYSTEM
UUID=8A1D-650B          /boot           vfat            rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=ascii,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro   0 2

/swapfile               none            swap            defaults        0 0

Last edited by tetroi (2026-01-06 18:58:44)

5hridhyan · 2026-01-05 12:23:12

from what you shared "nvme1n1" , is where the ArchLinux is installed.
and steps are same, boot Windows ISO, select "nvme0n1" drive and install, and after installation boot back to ArchLinux and regenerate grub probably after enabling os prober (If you use grub), and Windows is notorious in messing with EFIs , in short you may loose easy access for Arch to repair grub or systemd-boot to manually add Windows entry.

edit: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dual_boot_with_Windows
this wiki might help you.

And also, you said two NVME drives, so why not trying to physically unplug the Arch one and Install Windows on the drive which you want to? and after Windows Installation you can add back the Arch one and in BIOS select it as default to boot which you can boot Windows when needed.

Last edited by 5hridhyan (2026-01-06 06:51:21)

tetroi · 2026-01-06 11:42:25

5hridhyan wrote:

from what you shared "nvme1n1" , is where the ArchLinux is installed.
and steps are same, boot Windows ISO, select "nvme0n1" drive and install, and after installation boot back to ArchLinux and regenerate grub probably after enabling os prober (If you use grub), and Windows is notorious in messing with EFIs , in short you may loose easy access for Arch to repair grub or systemd-boot to manually add Windows entry.
edit: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dual_boot_with_Windows
this wiki might help you.
And also, you said two NVME drives, so why not trying to physically unplug the Arch one and Install Windows on the drive which you want to? and after Windows Installation you can add back the Arch one and in BIOS select it as default to boot which you can boot Windows when needed.

Yes, that’s exactly what I intended to do. I’ll disconnect the second drive and then install Windows 11. However, I’m facing another issue right now (0xc000014c). I’m getting an error when trying to boot via Ventoy. It’s likely because the ISO file wasn't installed correctly. But I’m having some trouble with that: I can’t safely eject the flash drive. When I click on 'Safely Remove', it just hangs indefinitely. The same thing happens in the terminal — if I try to unmount it (or even use the sync command), it also results in an infinite load. I’m even running into unmounting issues with WoeUSB-ng when it reaches the 'Unmounting' stage.

5hridhyan · 2026-01-06 12:25:39

"0xc000014c" indicates the ISO corruption or incomplete write to USB.
"hangs indefinitely" maybe the filesystem is in bad state or pending writes. check what's holding the device.

Last edited by 5hridhyan (2026-01-06 12:41:48)

tetroi · 2026-01-06 13:41:18

5hridhyan wrote:

"0xc000014c" indicates the ISO corruption or incomplete write to USB.
"hangs indefinitely" maybe the filesystem is in bad state or pending writes. check what's holding the device.

Now I'm trying the WoeUSB method again via the terminal (sudo woeusb --device...). I see it's stuck on these lines:

Unmounting and deleting /media/woeusb_source_1767706260_14329...
Unmounting and deleting /media/woeusb_target_1767706260_14329...

Last edited by tetroi (2026-01-06 13:41:42)

tetroi · 2026-01-06 13:52:41

Maybe I have to wait a very long time...

5hridhyan · 2026-01-06 14:25:58

try reformatting the USB drive and retry it
you can try Balena Etcher.

Edit: Sorry for suggesting it; Balena Etcher is inadvisable according to the Arch wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/USB_fl … le_methods

Last edited by 5hridhyan (2026-01-06 17:51:45)

seth · 2026-01-06 17:14:24

you can try Balena Etcher.

You can also not: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/USB_fl … ing_etcher

More random notes: do under no circumstances rely on the device node, nvme0n1p1 and nvme1n1p1 will happily trade places. Always address partitions by their UUID!
Ceterum censeo: 3rd link below. Mandatory.
Disable it (it's NOT the BIOS setting!) and reboot windows and linux twice for voodo reasons.

tetroi · 2026-01-06 18:33:02

5hridhyan wrote:

try reformatting the USB drive and retry it
you can try Balena Etcher.

Edit: Sorry for suggesting it; Balena Etcher is inadvisable according to the Arch wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/USB_fl … le_methods

It turns out I just needed to wait a bit longer. I ran a command I found online:

watch grep -e Dirty: -e Writeback: /proc/meminfo

The 'Dirty' value was slowly decreasing from a high number. I wasn't exactly sure what it meant at the time, but since the numbers were moving, I figured the write process was still ongoing, so I just gave it more time.
I’ve successfully installed Windows 11 now. I also installed os-prober and uncommented the corresponding line in /etc/default/grub, so dual-boot is working fine. The only remaining issues are Wi-Fi and Secure Boot

Last edited by tetroi (2026-01-06 18:38:22)

5hridhyan · 2026-01-06 18:35:58

I’ve successfully installed Windows 11 now.

so dual-boot is working fine.

nice!

The only remaining issue is the Wi-Fi

on Windows or Arch?

Last edited by 5hridhyan (2026-01-06 18:37:11)

tetroi · 2026-01-06 18:42:17

5hridhyan wrote:

I’ve successfully installed Windows 11 now.
so dual-boot is working fine.
nice!
The only remaining issue is the Wi-Fi
on Windows or Arch?

Yeah, Windows is basically demanding a wired connection at this point. It doesn't even recognize the built-in Wi-Fi on my B760 motherboard. I’m currently stuck on the setup screen where it won't let me proceed without 'connecting to a network,' so I’ll have to bypass it using the OOBE command or sideload the drivers manually via Arch

tetroi · 2026-01-06 18:43:35

Maybe I'm missing something

5hridhyan · 2026-01-06 18:52:28

Maybe I'm missing something

let me guess, your initial problem was solved so you missed to edit your initial post to [solved]

edit:
I've been sarcastic and disrespectful towards OP which violates the guidelines. I'm really sorry for my bad behavior.

Last edited by 5hridhyan (2026-01-06 19:50:22)

tetroi · 2026-01-06 18:58:19

5hridhyan wrote:

Maybe I'm missing something
let me guess, THIS IS ARCHLINUX FORUMS NOT OUT PERSONAL CHAT!
jokes aside
from my understanding this kind of posts are considered as bloat, try to have a healthy convo related to technical issues or related to *specifically Archlinux
idk I read somewhere in wiki this kind of posts are considered to wrong I guess;
and also your initial issue is solved right? so please edit the first thread as [SOLVED]

My bad, I'm not a regular forum user, so I’m still getting used to the etiquette. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll keep my future posts more technical and focused on Arch-specific issues

Arch Linux

#1 2026-01-05 11:55:49

[SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#2 2026-01-05 12:23:12

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#3 2026-01-06 11:42:25

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#4 2026-01-06 12:25:39

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#5 2026-01-06 13:41:18

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#6 2026-01-06 13:52:41

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#7 2026-01-06 14:25:58

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#8 2026-01-06 17:14:24

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#9 2026-01-06 18:33:02

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#10 2026-01-06 18:35:58

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#11 2026-01-06 18:42:17

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#12 2026-01-06 18:43:35

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#13 2026-01-06 18:52:28

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

#14 2026-01-06 18:58:19

Re: [SOLVED] Dual booting Windows on a second identical NVMe

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