12-26-2015, 05:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-22-2016, 09:59 AM by gold_finger.)
I'd appreciate advice and help over the choices, and the procedure, for setting up a dual or multi-boot of Linux Lite and others with Windows 7.
I'm a newcomer to Linux, and not comfortable with command-line or terminal working unless I am VERY clear about the instructions (too often, advice tends to assume or take for granted steps which need to be spelled out!). One of the challenges is that there seem to be several ways of achieving the setup I want; and the more I research and read up, the more confused I get!
First, the basics. The laptop I want to install on is a Samsung RF511, Intel i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 750GB HDD. It is running Windows 7 as originally supplied. When learning about partitioning, I shrank the Windows partition and created a new empty partition - so the disk now shows up now as having two 'drives' - of 512GB and 217GB.
Not quite sure which partitions are seen as being on which of the two drives that now notionally exist on this single hard disk. I have looked at the HDD using GParted, and the current configuration is this:
/dev/sda1 ntfs SYSTEM 100.00 MiB boot
/dev/sda2 ntfs 202.00 GiB 63 GiB used (contains Windows7 OS)
/dev/sda3 extended 476.89 GiB lba
/dev/sda5 ntfs 476.88 GiB
/dev/sda4 ntfs SAMSUNG_REC 19.65 GiB 19.63 used diag
Now, what I want is.......
i) to keep Win7, ideally with its MBR intact. I know most stock dual-boots suggest installing the Linux GRUB bootloader instead. But I'd prefer to keep the Windows installation complete and separate rather than having to rebuild or reinstate the Windows MBR if (however unlikely!)I ever revert to Windows only;
ii) to install Linux Lite (at least) as an alternative, dual-boot, OS on the hard drive;
iii) a bit more ambitious, to have not only LL but also two other distros I like, Linux Mint and PCLinuxOS, also installed - ie a multiboot setup;
iv) if possible and not too complicated, I'd like to have a single "Data" partition for all my documents, pics etc - at least shared by the Linux distros, if not by the Windows OS as well. On this, I understand that a Data partition shared by all Linux OSs is not too complicated (though I don't yet understand symlinks and/or binds....). But if I want a single Data partition with folders which both Linux and Windows can read, this might require the partition to be formatted to ntfs?
Now for the possible constraints...
v) as mentioned, I want to keep the Windows MBR, not replace it with GRUB;
vi) the Samsung laptop has a "Recovery" partition which I understand is linked with the Samsung OEM backup and recovery software. That partition is at the end of the HDD - if that is relevant;
vii) I know from forum posts that the LL Grub2 doesn't play nicely with other Linux Grubs (because it has been modified to make dual booting with Windows easier). So I assume this may make a difference to what-grubs-go-where if I seek to have more than one Linux OS in a multiboot setup;
viii) I also know that PCLinuxOS still uses Grub (Legacy) while LL and Linux Mint use Grub2. In simple terms, in a multibooot setup, if Grub2 is the "lead" or only bootloader it can "see" and work with Grub Legacy if updated after the latter is installed; buy legacy cannot detect or connect to Grub2. This, too, seems to make a difference to what-grubs-go-where and how they talk to each other.
So what options - or routes - do I have to set up the arrangements in the way I have indicated?
Is using EasyBCD the only way of installing Linux distros alongside the Windows 7 on the same HDD without modifying or replacing the MBR?
As I understand it, I would need to install Linux Lite, including its GRUB2, on a partition (primary or logical??) on my HDD. Easy BCD then - in plain language - provides a 'connection' which tells the MBR to look for and boot from Grub2. Seems simple enough. I have looked at the youtube video by Matthew Moore at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dwwSSg-kJM .
But I haven't yet established whether or how Easy BCD can be used to set up more than one Linux OS in a multiboot. Is it just a matter of repeating the same steps (each Linux OS and its Grub into its own partition, then update easy BCD)? And does it matter, or make any difference, that PCLinuxOS uses Grub Legacy?
Am I right to assume that my other objective - of having all my documents in a separate Data partition - can only be sorted out after I have completed the installation of my dual or multiple Linux OSs? It does however seem to me that if I want eventually to do this, then the partitioning (and formatting) of the HDD to create a common Data partition should be planned and done before I begin any of the installing. It also presumably determines whether I have separate /root and /home partitions for each of the Linux OSs when I first install them?
Do I have any ways other than using Easy BCD of putting one or more Linux OSs on to that internal hard drive without messing with the Win7 MBR?
It seems neatest and most practical - if possible - to put my three Linux distros on to the internal laptop drive if there is enough room for them as well as the Windows7. As an alternative I have contemplated putting my three preferred Linux OSs as a multiboot setup on to a separate external USB3 1TB HDD which I happen to have. I would then boot into that USB drive using Esc at bootup on the Samsung (like F12 on my older Dell) to bring up the boot options. This would not need Easy BCD. But I would still need detailed advice on the installation and the sequence in order to ensure that Grub2 and Grub Legacy talked to each other. I guess it would require the LL Grub2 on the mbr of that external USB drive, and then the Linux Mint and PCLOS Grubs on their respective root partitions? There would still remain the additional question of how to organise a single Data partition to store all my documents etc whichever of the three linux OSs I happen to want to use.
Lots of questions, I know. I'm sure the answer is to do it one step at a time. But i need to have a clear blueprint as to the eventual outcome, if only so that I do the basics (like partitioning) correctly from the start. It seems to make sense first to decide on location (internal HDD or external) then to clarify the exact steps needed for whichever location is chosen.
I'm a newcomer to Linux, and not comfortable with command-line or terminal working unless I am VERY clear about the instructions (too often, advice tends to assume or take for granted steps which need to be spelled out!). One of the challenges is that there seem to be several ways of achieving the setup I want; and the more I research and read up, the more confused I get!
First, the basics. The laptop I want to install on is a Samsung RF511, Intel i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 750GB HDD. It is running Windows 7 as originally supplied. When learning about partitioning, I shrank the Windows partition and created a new empty partition - so the disk now shows up now as having two 'drives' - of 512GB and 217GB.
Not quite sure which partitions are seen as being on which of the two drives that now notionally exist on this single hard disk. I have looked at the HDD using GParted, and the current configuration is this:
/dev/sda1 ntfs SYSTEM 100.00 MiB boot
/dev/sda2 ntfs 202.00 GiB 63 GiB used (contains Windows7 OS)
/dev/sda3 extended 476.89 GiB lba
/dev/sda5 ntfs 476.88 GiB
/dev/sda4 ntfs SAMSUNG_REC 19.65 GiB 19.63 used diag
Now, what I want is.......
i) to keep Win7, ideally with its MBR intact. I know most stock dual-boots suggest installing the Linux GRUB bootloader instead. But I'd prefer to keep the Windows installation complete and separate rather than having to rebuild or reinstate the Windows MBR if (however unlikely!)I ever revert to Windows only;
ii) to install Linux Lite (at least) as an alternative, dual-boot, OS on the hard drive;
iii) a bit more ambitious, to have not only LL but also two other distros I like, Linux Mint and PCLinuxOS, also installed - ie a multiboot setup;
iv) if possible and not too complicated, I'd like to have a single "Data" partition for all my documents, pics etc - at least shared by the Linux distros, if not by the Windows OS as well. On this, I understand that a Data partition shared by all Linux OSs is not too complicated (though I don't yet understand symlinks and/or binds....). But if I want a single Data partition with folders which both Linux and Windows can read, this might require the partition to be formatted to ntfs?
Now for the possible constraints...
v) as mentioned, I want to keep the Windows MBR, not replace it with GRUB;
vi) the Samsung laptop has a "Recovery" partition which I understand is linked with the Samsung OEM backup and recovery software. That partition is at the end of the HDD - if that is relevant;
vii) I know from forum posts that the LL Grub2 doesn't play nicely with other Linux Grubs (because it has been modified to make dual booting with Windows easier). So I assume this may make a difference to what-grubs-go-where if I seek to have more than one Linux OS in a multiboot setup;
viii) I also know that PCLinuxOS still uses Grub (Legacy) while LL and Linux Mint use Grub2. In simple terms, in a multibooot setup, if Grub2 is the "lead" or only bootloader it can "see" and work with Grub Legacy if updated after the latter is installed; buy legacy cannot detect or connect to Grub2. This, too, seems to make a difference to what-grubs-go-where and how they talk to each other.
So what options - or routes - do I have to set up the arrangements in the way I have indicated?
Is using EasyBCD the only way of installing Linux distros alongside the Windows 7 on the same HDD without modifying or replacing the MBR?
As I understand it, I would need to install Linux Lite, including its GRUB2, on a partition (primary or logical??) on my HDD. Easy BCD then - in plain language - provides a 'connection' which tells the MBR to look for and boot from Grub2. Seems simple enough. I have looked at the youtube video by Matthew Moore at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dwwSSg-kJM .
But I haven't yet established whether or how Easy BCD can be used to set up more than one Linux OS in a multiboot. Is it just a matter of repeating the same steps (each Linux OS and its Grub into its own partition, then update easy BCD)? And does it matter, or make any difference, that PCLinuxOS uses Grub Legacy?
Am I right to assume that my other objective - of having all my documents in a separate Data partition - can only be sorted out after I have completed the installation of my dual or multiple Linux OSs? It does however seem to me that if I want eventually to do this, then the partitioning (and formatting) of the HDD to create a common Data partition should be planned and done before I begin any of the installing. It also presumably determines whether I have separate /root and /home partitions for each of the Linux OSs when I first install them?
Do I have any ways other than using Easy BCD of putting one or more Linux OSs on to that internal hard drive without messing with the Win7 MBR?
It seems neatest and most practical - if possible - to put my three Linux distros on to the internal laptop drive if there is enough room for them as well as the Windows7. As an alternative I have contemplated putting my three preferred Linux OSs as a multiboot setup on to a separate external USB3 1TB HDD which I happen to have. I would then boot into that USB drive using Esc at bootup on the Samsung (like F12 on my older Dell) to bring up the boot options. This would not need Easy BCD. But I would still need detailed advice on the installation and the sequence in order to ensure that Grub2 and Grub Legacy talked to each other. I guess it would require the LL Grub2 on the mbr of that external USB drive, and then the Linux Mint and PCLOS Grubs on their respective root partitions? There would still remain the additional question of how to organise a single Data partition to store all my documents etc whichever of the three linux OSs I happen to want to use.
Lots of questions, I know. I'm sure the answer is to do it one step at a time. But i need to have a clear blueprint as to the eventual outcome, if only so that I do the basics (like partitioning) correctly from the start. It seems to make sense first to decide on location (internal HDD or external) then to clarify the exact steps needed for whichever location is chosen.