LinuxQuestions.org - Dual boot Windows/Linux off SSD

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Dual boot Windows/Linux off SSD

I am in the market for a new PC and was thinking of getting a machine with an SSD drive for the Linux OS and a hard drive for /home.

I want to dual boot as I still need Windows for a few things like Ipod and TomTom.

Arbico.co.uk are selling PCs with the Windows OS on an SSD drive. I was wondering if there are any issues regarding dual booting with Windows and Linux sharing the same SSD drive.

TIA

I had seen that page and did not find it very helpful.

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by arubin (Post 4761929)

You should not have any problems using a 'SSD'. Not knowing which Windows version, suspect Win/7 for a new purchase then the 'SSD' set for that OS is handled easily.

As for Gnu/Linux on the 'SSD' that can vary between distributions on how things are handled. Look at #26 of Slackware on an SSD for some useful information. You should make sure that your 'kernel' should be in 3.2.x at least.
If you are wanting maximum throughput then be sure to address the <scheduler> change as addressed in the #26. Personally, I would do a search here on LQ as this subject has been addressed may times. I currently have servers, Desktops and Laptops with 'SSD' in place and working with speed flawlessly.

Thanks.

I am aware of the threads giving advice on installing Linux to SSD. My real question is whether there is anything in the set up for Linux on the SSD which might interfere with Windows on the same SSD. I guess that the answer is 'no'.

I can't think of anything that would clash in that setup.

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by arubin (Post 4761989)

There should be no conflicts between the two OS since you will be setting up different filesystems. For Gnu/Linux you should not use journal, I do use ext2/3/4 dependent on the partition scheme. For newer kernels that support 'TRIM' you can setup 'discard in '/etc/fstab';

Code:

/dev/sdax        /                ext4        defaults,noatime,discard        0  1 #where x= a,b,c,d...

or from cli you can set discard flag by;

Code:

tune2fs -o discard /dev/sdx #disable journal, where x= a,b,c,d...

NOTE: Make sure controller for 'SSD' is set to 'AHCI' mode in BIOS to insure the kernel can use 'TRIM'.

You should set the 'swapiness' via;

Code:

echo 1 >/proc/sys/vm/swapiness'

Most Gnu/Linux set a high swapiness, Slackware is set to '60' default.