EFI Windows dual boot | Linux Mint Community🍵 | Page 1

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:11 PM

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so im currently installing linux mint after distrohopping but looking at my installation type, it shows windows boot manager in a different ssd ( i am currently using 2 ssds, one for windows stuff, other for distros) and i am not sure if installing mint will make me unable to access windows, can anyone help me?

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:13 PM

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can u open the app named Disks please

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show a pic of each drive. excluding the USB stick and the loop device

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@ionic sonnet

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:15 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:16 PM

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ionic sonnet

show the third drive in the list too

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:16 PM

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thats a external ssd i use

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:17 PM

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any efi partition on it?

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it'll say in the text below the diagram

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:17 PM

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craggy geyser it'll say in the text below the diagram

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:18 PM

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so, from the looks of things, your Windows is on sda - but it's missing an EFI parition.

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possibly the one on sdb (sdb1) is being used to boot windows or whatever else

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please show the partition layout of USB 16 GB

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:20 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:20 PM

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let's have a quick look at stuff a different way

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open a terminal and maximize it

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:21 PM

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alright

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:21 PM

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do lsblk -o name,model,size,fstype,partuuid

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followed by efibootmgr

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and show.

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:23 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:24 PM

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yep. windows is using sdb1 for EFI

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:24 PM

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is there a way to move it

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:25 PM

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u want to get rid of Fedora at this time?

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:25 PM

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its nobara, yeah

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:25 PM

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ok so go back to the Disks app, on sdb

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:25 PM

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Alright

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:26 PM

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1 sec

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ok in the Disks app, on SDB

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select sdb2 and then delete it with the red button having a dash inside it

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do same for sdb3 and sdb4

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:29 PM

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Done

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:29 PM

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show pic. i wanna see how it stands now

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:30 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:30 PM

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cool, click the gear icon > Edit filesystem , and put ESP_MAIN

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:31 PM

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on sdb1?

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:31 PM

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yes

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:31 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:32 PM

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once done, go to the 16Gig USB in disks app, and click the "writable" partition and click the black Stop button to unmount it

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p3 in that case.

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:33 PM

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gives me this

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:33 PM

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ok nvm.

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probably installer is running in background

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anyway, close out of the Disks app

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:33 PM

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Ok

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:34 PM

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run the installer with the "something else" option and show pic when ur there. scroll in the chart showing sdb and all under it

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:35 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:36 PM

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first order of business.:

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the 'device for bootloader' dropdown: __put to /dev/sdb1

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:37 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:38 PM

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then click the massive free space under sdb1 in chart then click +, and make an ext4 partition . (you can select about 40% the total size, if you want to also make a home partition to save data in )

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:40 PM

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like this

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:41 PM

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eh.. wait

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let's have this one be the one for the OS, not home... so click on the "mountpoint" dropdown

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and put to /

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then click OK, then click the rest of the big free space, and do + again

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:42 PM

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still with 40%?

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:43 PM

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you'll do a /home and a 2 gig swap

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:43 PM

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ionic sonnet still with 40%?

should be ample

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:44 PM

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so should i do the 2gb swap first

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:44 PM

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never.

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in case u need to resize stuff, it'll be in the way

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:44 PM

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so the rest is home

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:44 PM

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wait up

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fix something first

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so it's nice n round

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that ext4 partition u just made, click it, and click "change"

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in the 'size' field put 429497 (metric Megs)

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that should give u a perfect 400 binary Gigs

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dont change the mountpoint that u had put, just the size

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:47 PM

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alr done

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:47 PM

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show a pic of main screen

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i wanna see how much free space remains

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:48 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:50 PM

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click + on the free space: make 567929 MB ext4 mountpoint: /home

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which should leave u with a perfect 2 binary gigs free space at very end, for setting as swap

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:51 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:51 PM

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then click the remainng 2048 MB of free space

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close enough... and do use as: linux swap

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:52 PM

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the swap area?

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:52 PM

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wait

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something off

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oh nvm

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yeah the 2 gigs of free space that show there in the chart

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click + on it

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:53 PM

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ok

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:54 PM

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"use as" should offer a option for linux swap area

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:54 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:55 PM

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"swap area"

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:55 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:55 PM

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yep. looks fine. scroll up a bit, make sure the / partition is there still

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and ticked to format

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:56 PM

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:56 PM

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and since the swap area never got formatted, it must be set to "format" as well

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so click it, and "change"

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:57 PM

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Format the partition is greyed out

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craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:57 PM

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if u ever have to reinstall this or another distro, u basically do this same step but just ensure the home partition is NOT ticked to format, and also still set to mount at /home

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 5:58 PM

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ionic sonnet Format the partition is greyed out

ok just hit OK, and then 'install"

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 5:59 PM

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alright man, thank you for helping

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 6:00 PM

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yw. good luck with the installation

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be sure to check out our #1295728709306683482 INDEX , section 3 and beyond for handy usage tips @ionic sonnet

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 6:01 PM

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alrighty

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 6:02 PM

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when you boot into the new Mint, check in System Monitor if swap is available. (obviously won't be in use then but should show avail.)

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 7:02 PM

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how's it turning out, @ionic sonnet ?

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 8:31 PM

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craggy geyser how's it turning out, <@470063627328552970> ?

its good, my MX master 3s scroll wheel is broken though, it doesnt ratchet properly

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 8:32 PM

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I mean the dualboot works?

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 8:32 PM

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yeah it does

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 8:32 PM

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make sure Windows Fast Startup is OFF too for reliable operation. (This is not a BIOS setting)

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 8:36 PM

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ionic sonnet yeah it does

what do you get for cat /proc/swaps result, btw?

ionic sonnet Feb 4, 2026, 8:38 PM

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@craggy geyser

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 8:42 PM

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ionic sonnet

good. it set the swap up.

craggy geyser Feb 4, 2026, 8:47 PM

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ionic sonnet <@725510568492138497>

check this for a minute or 2 at timecue: https://youtu.be/yYZUnx9yZKE?t=1122

YouTube

Joe Collins (EzeeLinux)

Mind Blowing Super Cool Linux Commands

MIND BLOWING SUPER COOL LINUX COMMANDS

NOTE: YouTube won't allow the angled brackets that represent "greater than" and "less than" to be posted in the description text. I have indicated their use in the commends below but you'll have to replace them yourself. :)

CREATE A TEXT FILE WITHOUT USING AN EDITOR

cat (greater than) myfile.txt
-- Creat...

▶ Play video

#EFI Windows dual boot