Linux - OS X dual boot/encryption/shared partition suggestions?

Hi,
I've been wanting to encrypt my hard drive for a while and have a MacBook. Currently I have the following setup:
- sda1: GUID partition table
- sda2: OS X (~60GB)
- sda3: Arch (~15GB)
I mount my OS X partition using HFS+ (non-journaled) and keep everything in the OS X partition except for temp stuff on Linux (downloads I don't care about, various documents I might be working on but will eventually delete or move to OS X). This way, I have one repo for all my files. I use rsync to backup my Arch home dir to OS X and then use Carbon Copy Cloner to backup OS X to an external hard drive.
Now I'd like to do some encryption... but am not really sure how. Here's two scenarios I've considered after reading a bunch. Thoughts?
--- Option 1 ---
- sda1: GUID partition table
- sda2: HFS+ volume for OS X
--- TrueCrypt volume to be created and mounted at /home
- sda3: /boot for Linux
- sda4: Linux with dm-crypt/LUKS
--- just / (no LVM making separate partitions)
--- mount the OS X TrueCrypt volume for filesharing between OSs
Notes: I don't like this for a couple of reasons.
- I have to kind of guess at how much OS X will accumulate over time and make my TC volume for /home accordingly. If I ever run into issues... I'll have to backup, delete, make a new and larger TC volume and then copy it all over
--- Option 2 ---
- sda1: GUID partition table
- sda2: OS X
--- FireVault used on /home
- sda3: /boot for Linux
- sda4: Linux with dm-crypt/LUKS
--- take the plunge and just start keeping all my files on Linux instead of OS X (everything used to be on OS X and I'd just mount the HFS+ drive in Linux to access things)
--- perhaps create a TC volume file that can be used to share files between partitions via the OS X /Shared directory?
Notes: I like this better. Everything is encrypted and thus I can just estimate like 15-20GB for OS X and only keep OS X specific files there (iWork, i* files, etc.) and then make the rest of the disk available for Linux. Since dm-crypt can be used for the whole Linux partition I can let everything (/usr, /var, /home) grow however it wants and not worry about my bad partition size/TC container size predictions.
Remaining issues/questions:
- Still bummed that I can't just keep everything on one OS or the other and share unless I go the TrueCrypt container for OS X home route. I really like that feature now as, essentially, my Linux /home folder right now is just for .configs and temp... everything I actually care about is only in one place. I don't like the idea of having to "merge" two sets of documents I really care about and make the dir hierarchy work...
- Unanswered question remains of whether I can mount logical volumes on both OSs. If I have a logical HFS+ volume in an extended partition, can Linux mount that and vice versa (assuming the filesystem is readable by both, that is)?
- How others get around the issue of making partition size predictions when creating separate partitions for /home vs. /, /usr, etc.
- What partitions are nice to have on their own (besides /home)?
Any thoughts? Am I best just going with TrueCrypt? I've read a lot of people who vote against it due to the license, though I'm not clear on why exactly... just not "totally" open-source? For this reason, I guess I'm leaning toward the second option since I can use standard tools on each. I don't think that plausible deniability is a huge deal for me... though perhaps that could be seen as another advantage of TC? I'll shut up now. Serious thanks for any suggestions... I can't find hardly anything on OS X/Linux dual booting and the use of encryption.

Similar Messages

Dual booting and sharing partition

Hi,
I am planning on installing Xubuntu and Arch on my laptop during the christmas break and have been reading around about how to best do this. I want to share the /home directory between these two installs to minimize duplicating files. I would like to know if there are any other folders that can be shared between two systems like Xubuntu and Arch.
Secondly, I would like to know if both Xubuntu and Arch can be installed on logical partitions within the same extended partitions.

This in only my opinion (there are many, many ways partitioning a dual-boot system), but I would personally not share /home (or any other system partition for that matter). Too much hassle (persmissions on your .dotfiles will be tricky), and not enough space savings to be worth the trouble.
Instead I would create a ‘extra’ partition and use that instead of /home for storing personal files/multimedia file in both OS’s. I would give it a label like ‘Multimedia’ or ‘Shared’ or ‘Data’ or whatever, and make this partition large enough to hold all my stuff.
Then just mount this shared partition to wherever you like in both OS’s, via /etc/fstab
Secondly)
Yes logical partitions are fine for installing (somebody correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that Linux does not care about being installed a on Primary or Logical partition). Just make sure you setup your bootloader properly.
Also the *biggest* advantage of using Logical partions is that you won’t really have a limit for the number of partitions you can create for each OS.

Need some help about Win 8.1 and linux with a dual boot

Hi!
I have a Lenovo z50-70 notebook and I have a Windows 8.1 on it. (The one which was shipped with this notebook...)
My concerns are Intalling Linux as a dual boot and loosing Windows 8.1.
As I am not familiar to Win 8.1, the product key is in the ?BIOS? and there's a lot of partitions...
If I install Linux Ubuntu (latest version) as a dual boot by manually making the partitions, etc. and then if I lose my Windows 8.1 system, how can I get it back?
I've made a backup of the system to the portable hdd but I don't know can I restore it, as I have no win installation disc and I am not sure if i can restore win 8.1 from the backup by using random win 8 installation disc that I've made from the downloaded ISO (for e.g. Win 8.1 pro iso from internet)...
I need a Linux distro for developing my Android ROM but I don't want to lose that Win 8.1 OS from my notebook. So.. What should I do?

Did you do a full disc backup of the C: Drive using a backup tool other than windows? If you did, then the recover of that partition will be up to your backup software.
If worse comes to worse, you can use the novo button to restore your computer to what it was like when it came from the factory. But there really is nothing to worry about. Create your new partition and just make sure that you install Linux to that partition. Make sure it is not the same size as any other partition, that way even if the Linux installer does not show the volume labels, you can tell which partition you want to install Linux in just by the size.
Hoov
Microsoft MVP - Consumer Security
SpywareHammer.com

Uninstall Linux and Grub dual boot from Win7 HP dm4..

uninstall Linux and Grub dual boot from Win7 HP dm4. I only have recovery disks. I just want to do a Startup Repair not a full system recovery.
When I reboot with the recovery disk there is no choice for Startup Repair.
thank you for any help.
Blue Jacket

Hello bluecape. I understand you'd like to uninstall Grub/Linux. Is your recovery disc a Windows Recovery disc or the HP System Recovery disc?
You will need to begin by fixing the "Master Boot Record." This is where Grub is installed and what allows you to select your operating system. If you have a HP System Recovery disc the steps may be different--these steps are specifically for a Windows Recovery Disc. Try the following.
Boot the notebook with your Recovery Disc.
Select "Repair your Computer."
Select your Windows version once the dialog box populates.
Choose "Command Prompt" as your Recovery Tool.
From the command prompt type "bootrec /FixMbr" and press Enter.
Once this is finished type "exit" and press Enter.
Take the disc out and reboot the PC. It should boot straight into Windows without a boot loader prompting you.
The Linux files and partitions are still there but you can now remove those partitions from Windows. Simply format the partitions to "uninstall" Linux.
I hope this is helpful. If you have further questions just let me know. Have a great day!
Please click the white star under my name to give me Kudos as a way to say "Thanks!"
Click the "Accept as Solution" button if I resolve your issue.

[SOLVED]How to install Arch Linux UEFI to dual-boot?

Hey,
so I have a Lenovo G50-70 on which I want to have a Windows-Arch dualboot. I followed the Beginner's Guide, installed Arch but ended up with an inaccessible Windows. I could boot into Windows from the BIOS utility, but not from the gummiboot bootloader.
The guide said if I wanted to dual-boot, I must leave windows EFI partition alone, which I did. I have my Windows partitions set up the Windows way, with the system reserved and EFI and recovery partitions, and I have my Windows partition of course and a data partition. After that I have some unallocated space, on which I made the Arch partitions, /dev/sda6 as an ESP partition for the EFI files, /dev/sda7 as root, /dev/sda8 as swap and /dev/sda9 as /home. The install process went without any error, then I made some configurations and installed dosfstools & efibootmgr. After that, I installed gummiboot and ran "gummiboot --path=/boot install". After that I created the configuration files exactly like in the guide, unmounted the partitions, rebooted and saw that there's no (easy) way getting into Windows. So my question is: how can I install Arch to have a working dual-boot system?
Thanks for any help in advance!
Regards, Matteussz
Last edited by Matteussz (2015-02-11 20:41:37)

Hey,
Writing to you on my working dual-boot with ArchLinux (Windows 8.1 64-Bit, UEFI)
So first step I've done is creating free space of an existing partition in the windows disk management (windows button and r and then type diskmgmt.msc). At this step, you have to record which partition your efi partition is (just take a look at your efi partition and remember the mb of this partition for later)
Then go into the uefi settings (bios) and disable secure boot as well as fast boot, otherwise it could cause data crash.
Boot your Arch Live CD and follow the beginners guide all the way along till you reach the disk management.
If you want to have swap, you can create yours right now, should be a primary partition of about 4gigs.
Next partition is gonna be your home, system partition (I've didn't created two partitions for home and for the system but you could do this as well as just go with one partition) this partition gonna be formatted in ext4
Next step, you have to mount your windows-efi partition in /boot/efi but don't format it dont remeber if it asks you how to use the partition but if so, just use as fat32.
After the disk management go ahead with your arch installation and follow the beginners guide. (Make sure you're using the grub bootloader)
After finishing the installation, restart your system, hopefully you will recognize the opening grub menu. (but dont scare, windows wont show in the grub menu at this time so you have to boot your arch)
Arrived in arch linux type the command
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Reboot and your done with your Arch Linux, Windows 8 dual boot, hopefully

Dual boot Windows 7 partition help

I want to dual boot Windows 7 & arch but I need help with figuring out what partitions to make and where to put them because it seems the automatic partition-er won't do the trick for me.
I have two drives that I want to completely format for a fresh, clean install: a 60GB SSD & a 750GB hard drive. I want the end result to be that the SSD only has Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1 installed to it and I will point the 'My Documents', 'My Pictures', etc. to a NTFS partition on the hard disk drive ( I know how to do this folder pointing ). I don't want arch to touch the SSD if possible so I can reformat the SSD separately if I ever just want to reformat Windows. I only want arch to be on the hard disk for that reason. I don't think I care which one handles the OS switching at boot ( should I favor Windows MBR or syslinux? Please give advice. ) And I would assume I make the NTFS partition on the hard disk a primary partition so how do I split up arch for the 3 other primary partitions left since the auto partition from the arch boot CD uses 4?

I'm no expert, but the way I would do it would be like this:
1. Create partitions on the HDD for /, /boot, /home and swap, along with one (or more) for your Windows personal files
2. Set the BIOS to boot from the SSD.
3. Install Windows on the SSD.
4. Right-click the "My Documents" folder, select "properties", then the "Location" tab and choose the new location for the folder.
5. Install Arch on the HDD partitions, and allow the boot manager to install itself in the MBR of the SSD.
Then the whole boot process will be on the SSD... If you ever need to get rid of the Linux bootloader, you can overwrite it with a "clean" Windows one using bootrec.exe (see here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392).
Last edited by esuhl (2012-03-26 04:52:12)

ATI display driver lost with Linux and XP dual boot os

I brought ThinkPad W500 with windows vista. I want to get rid of the hidden boot system reserved partition and downgrade to windows xp and install OpenSuse os. Following some sourses found on the web, I first set the bios sata ahci mode to compatable mode. Then install windows xp and update the sata driver. Restart and reset the bios sata back to ahci mode. It works fine with windows xp and I install back all driver. Finally I install OpenSuse and create dual boot with Grub.
But a serious problem come up with me. Everytime after restart from the linux os and back to windows xp, xp doesn't regonize the ATI display divice and tell me no driver installed with low screen resolution. And I have to restart the machine and boot direct into xp for the second time and the problem gone. But it is so annoying of doing this everytime. Anyone can help? Many thanks.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi stanleyimko,
I don't have an answer, just a couple of questions:
Does your W500 have switchable graphics? If so, you may have to turn off "let the OS detect" or permanently select one or the other in BIOS. XP isn't switchable aware, so I don't know why that would make a difference.
Do you see the problem on cold (re) boot to XP, or only on warm reboot from Linux to XP?
Seems like something is leaving your BIOS in an odd state (I guess that's obvious) and maybe a cold reboot would sort it.
Z.
The large print: please read the Community Participation Rules before posting. Include as much information as possible: model, machine type, operating system, and a descriptive subject line. Do not include personal information: serial number, telephone number, email address, etc. The fine print: I do not work for, nor do I speak for Lenovo. Unsolicited private messages will be ignored. ... GeezBlog
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Dual boot, UEFI and partitioning

Got a new computer which I put my old disks in. After a while I got them to
boot properly but I'm going to take the time to go from my current MBR setup to
GPT.
The idea
I have three disks, 480GB SSD, 640GB HDD and 2TB HDD. The idea is to use the
SSD for root and /home and then let the data on the 2TB be as it is (for now).
I will go all LVM on the SSD and 640 HDD (except for a part which will be for
windows 8). When I invest in a new disk (2TB) I will make the current 2TB LVM
as well as that new one so that moving "partitions" (LVM volumes) easier
if/when needed.
Questions
Will I still be needing something like syslinux/grub with UEFI? For the windows
part, will that require some sort of EFI partition and should I create that or
just leave 200GB + 500MB space at the beginning of the 640GB disk (and LVM on
200.5GB-END)?
If a bootloader is needed, can I put that on my SSD and still boot windows from
the HDD in an easy fashion?
Will there be any problems with having one disk still as MBR (I don't have the
space needed for backing up those 2TB currently)?

xintron wrote:Will I still be needing something like syslinux/grub with UEFI?
Booting an OS always requires a boot loader. The details of what boot loaders are available varies from one platform and OS to another, but a boot loader is a necessity. My Web page, Managing EFI Boot Loaders for Linux, describes the options for booting Linux on an EFI-based computer. SYSLINUX and GRUB are both options, but there are others, too. My personal preference is to use the EFI stub loader with rEFInd, but as I'm rEFInd's maintainer, I'm not exactly unbiased.
For the windows part, will that require some sort of EFI partition and should I create that or just leave 200GB + 500MB space at the beginning of the 640GB disk (and LVM on 200.5GB-END)?
EFI systems require an EFI System Partition (ESP) to boot any OS. (An exception is EFI-based Macs, but they're just weird all around.) I recommend a size of 550MiB for the ESP. Many Arch Linux users like to mount the ESP at /boot, since that simplifies kernel management with certain boot configurations.
If a bootloader is needed, can I put that on my SSD and still boot windows from the HDD in an easy fashion?
Yes, at least in some sense. Boot loaders normally reside on the ESP, which is normally shared between OSes, although there are exceptions to both of these rules. The Windows C: partition is separate from the ESP. In theory, the two can reside on different disks, although in practice I'm not sure how the Windows installers and other tools would cope with that type of configuration. In theory, you can also have multiple ESPs (on the same or on different disks), although the Windows installer flakes out when there are multiple ESPs on a single disk. I'm not sure how the Windows installer copes with a system with multiple ESPs, each on its own disk.
Note that putting the boot loader on the SSD is something of a waste, since the boot loader is normally accessed only during the boot process, so there's relatively little speed gain from putting it on an SSD vs. on a regular hard disk.
Will there be any problems with having one disk still as MBR (I don't have the space needed for backing up those 2TB currently)?
You can mix MBR and GPT; however, on an EFI-based computer, Windows must boot from a GPT disk. (In a conventional setup, this means that C: must be a partition on a GPT disk.) Some EFIs also require that the ESP be on a GPT disk, although I'm not sure how common this requirement is.
It's possible to convert MBR to GPT without data loss by using gdisk, so you can easily convert your 2TB disk to GPT without doing a backup. This operation is actually safer than it might seem, since the MBR and GPT data structures are quite simple, so there's little that can go wrong compared to, say, resizing a partition. That said, there's still some risk, so if you're not booting Windows from the disk, you might want to just leave it as MBR. Also, some MBR-to-GPT conversions will require shrinking a partition, so you'd need to do that in GParted or some other tool before doing the conversion. Of course, you should always keep backups of important data.

Dual booting encrypted, hidden OS

Hello,
I recently discovered Arch Linux, and am somewhat of a linux noob in general. I have yet to install Arch (computer is in repair).
I know that truecrypt allows users to fully encrypt an operating system, and to then create a hidden operating system within it. At boot, users are prompted for a passphrase, and depending on which one they enter, either one or another of the operating systems boots up.
As I understand it however, truecrypt doesn't encrypt a full system when it comes to linux.
Do you guys think it's possible to use Arch to make an encrypted partition for windows 7, and within it another encrypted partition with Arch? The idea is that while I don't intend to use windows 7 for anything beyond a few simple work-related programs, if I had it encrypted as well, it would give plausible deniability as to the existence of the linux system.
If such a thing is not possible, then another question. I've been looking at the guide here https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sy … _with_LUKS and it seems like the first thing to be done is to wipe the entire hard disk. I don't want to destroy my existing windows system unless I have to, only create a new partition and then encrypt that with linux. What would change in that guide for that to be the case? How do I tell it to use urandom and encryption only on a specific partition?
Last question: for those of you who have encrypted an entire OS like windows or Arch before, would you say there was a significant or perceptible slowing down (whether on boot or during normal operation). I'd be using a regular 7200 rpm HDD.
Thanks for any help!

kalofet wrote:I'm not sure I really understand how one would enter the OS with the first method.
So, I haven't used Phonebook myself. The fact that it's unmaintained is a barrier; I've also heard it's a PITA to set up and use.
In principle, it would work as follows. You would have a file on some partition that you're willing to leave unencrypted, or at worst, have decrypted. The file would appear to be filled with random data. Suppose you're given a decryption order on this random data. You would have two passwords, like in truecrypt. One password would decrypt innocuous stuff, another password would give access all areas.
The access-all-areas password could hide, say, a mini filesystem. It could hide some directories called usr, dev, lib, proc, and so forth. These could contain some binaries. This is all you need to enter a chroot. Inside the chroot, you could have hidden users that access hidden files and so forth.
After you leave the chroot and close the encrypted userspace filesystem, no one suspects a thing.
kalofet wrote:That seems interesting, but doesn't not having a header risk programs trying to overwrite that space, since they'll think it's unused? But I suppose if it was on it's own partition that I didn't touch, that would work. I'll have to look into this.
That's the idea. The headerless encrypted partition acts just like any other partition filled with random data. Such partitions, filled with random data, are pretty common for people who like distro-hopping, as it's standard to fill partitions with random data before installing on top of them.
kalofet wrote:Does there happen to be a GUI in which I could select which partition to overwrite with random data? Since I wouldn't know what I was doing when using terminal commands unknown to me, I'd more than likely screw up along the way. And screwing up when pointing my computer at which partition to overwrite wouldn't look good
No. If you want to play around with this stuff, I suggest you get used the command line. Take it slowly, and do some practice runs first on a harddrive that doesn't have any data you care about.
If you've never even done an encrypted install before, you should just start there for practice. Really. Just make some new partition on your machine for playing around with, and try making it a LUKS partition containing some distro, and see if you can get to the point where you can boot into it.
If you can't even do that much without help, then really you're playing with fire here.

Issues with installing and booting encrypted root partition.

Hello all,
I am trying to install ArchLinux using the guide here:
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/LUKS_Encrypted_Root
It all works fine until the very end when it comes to booting the system, The thing is that my method varies slightly from what is in the file.
I am having my /boot on my usb drive, I also have my keys on my usb drive albeit on a different partition.
I put into the menu.lst file:
root (hd1,0)
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda1 root ro cryptkey=/dev/sdb3:vfat:/sda1.key
initrd /kernel26.img
Everytime I try to boot I get the following error:
Booting 'Arch Linux'
root (hd1,0)
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda1 root ro cryptkey=/dev/sdb3:vfat:/sda1.key
Error 17: Cannot mount selected partition
Press any key to continue
I really hope someone here can help me.
Thanks allot
Last edited by constant (2009-03-16 15:28:26)

OK thanks allot, Your correct my /boot is on /dev/sdb1. Through trial and error I found root(hd0,0) worked for me although I now get another error where it is just not booting, http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ins … _a_USB_key for those who have this issue in the future...
As forum etiquette goes, Would it be considered bad here if I continued to discuss new issues in this thread or should I create a new one? I am not a leach nor am I the sort to do no research, It is just that some of this is a bit out of my area and often the errors to me seem rather non-descriptive, I do try my best to research for myself however as proven above I do miss things!
Thanks allot zyghom, I really appreciate the help.
Last edited by constant (2009-03-16 17:02:28)

Security, dual boot os x partitions; making each invisible from each other?

I have partitioned my Mini's hard drive with the intention of using one partition for general exploratory google surfing, and the other partition for credit card transactions, etc, thereby keeping the latter free of nasties and avoiding hacker exploits. Is it possible to set each partition up to be invisible to the other?
It occured to me another way of doing this would be to take out the mini's hard drive, put it in a bootable firewire caddy and have a second external firewire hard drive; you would simply unplug the hard drive you weren't using or, preferably, there would be some physical switch to switch between the two. I prefer simple options to configuring a firewall to the nth degree, though I should mention that I bought a netgear router that apparently has security features. I need to read up on that, too, but at the moment I am exploring my security options and firewall settings.
Any help would be much appreciated!

I'm not a security expert or anything, but I don't actually have a whole lot of faith in the security of the "out of the box" OS X configuration. I gather the unix bits have a pretty good track record, but some of the GUI aspects seem to reflect a lackadaisical attitude toward security. Safari's "open safe files" setting, enabled by default, has gotten Apple into trouble by exacerbating other problems on at least three separate occasions. The fact that certain areas of the "/Library" folder can be written to by an "admin", thereby affecting other users, and without the need for a password, has been exploited by iOpener in "Panther", and by "oompa-loompa" in "Tiger". You would have though once would have been enough for either of these things. "Fool me once..." "Those that fail to learn from history..." Obviously, somebody isn't getting it.
So I think you are right to be concerned. I'm not sure how I would handle the situation, but to comment on your question, it is generally considered that the best way to deal with a compromised system is to erase the hard drive and restore everything from known "good" media. Given that approach, and since you are already willing to go to the effort of creating a separate, presumably uncompromised system on an external drive for your secure transactions, why not go all the way and keep that drive disconnected when not in use? It is possible to prevent volumes from being mounted automatically at boot time (try searching for "os x" and "/etc/fstab" for example), but this won't prevent mounting if the drive is unplugged by someone and plugged in again, at which time compromised system would be able to affect the external drive. Going into more speculative territory, maybe if one boot drive was formatted HFS+ and the other UFS (OS X supposedly supports both for booting), maybe the system files required for reading the non-boot filesystem type could be removed... But keeping it unplugged would seem to be much easier, and probably safer since there would be no physical connection...
and btw, despite all the bad things I have said about Apple's apparent attitude toward security, that article you linked to is inaccurate, out-dated (ie irrelevant), sensationalistic garbage.

Wiki article finished: dual boot when SafeBoot encryption is present

Hi,
I just started a new article on how to dual boot when one receives a computer with SafeBoot drive encryption installed already. I posted for help on this HERE and HERE if you want some back-story. It wasn't easy, but I'm super excited about the setup now and wanted to write a HowTo. There is a decent amount of discussion about this on the web and I have not found many solutions that aren't a bit convoluted (making backups of the encrypted SafeBoot MBR, then trying to chainload to that file with grub) and I think where I ended up is the simplest, least risky, leaves company issued junk as untouched as possible, and yet provides a dual boot setup with shared file access.
Best of all, I've not found my setup elsewhere; if that's really the case, it happened on Arch first!
Check out the article where I've summarized what I did: LINK
I'm posting here as I wonder if it deserves its own page or if I should merge it with Windows and Arch Dual Boot, which already exists. I could see it either way, so I wanted to ask here. While it would make it easier to find being grouped with the general dual-boot with Win article, it's also fairly specialized so I could see leaving it top level so that it develops a page rank when someone searches for "safeboot linux" or "safeboot dual boot windows" or something like that.
Thoughts? I hope to finish the article tonight or tomorrow with specifics.
Last edited by jwhendy (2011-04-20 05:47:23)

Hi,
I just started a new article on how to dual boot when one receives a computer with SafeBoot drive encryption installed already. I posted for help on this HERE and HERE if you want some back-story. It wasn't easy, but I'm super excited about the setup now and wanted to write a HowTo. There is a decent amount of discussion about this on the web and I have not found many solutions that aren't a bit convoluted (making backups of the encrypted SafeBoot MBR, then trying to chainload to that file with grub) and I think where I ended up is the simplest, least risky, leaves company issued junk as untouched as possible, and yet provides a dual boot setup with shared file access.
Best of all, I've not found my setup elsewhere; if that's really the case, it happened on Arch first!
Check out the article where I've summarized what I did: LINK
I'm posting here as I wonder if it deserves its own page or if I should merge it with Windows and Arch Dual Boot, which already exists. I could see it either way, so I wanted to ask here. While it would make it easier to find being grouped with the general dual-boot with Win article, it's also fairly specialized so I could see leaving it top level so that it develops a page rank when someone searches for "safeboot linux" or "safeboot dual boot windows" or something like that.
Thoughts? I hope to finish the article tonight or tomorrow with specifics.
Last edited by jwhendy (2011-04-20 05:47:23)

GE70 dual booting with linux

Has anyone installed linux as a dual booting OS on their MSI laptop? I've gone through a lot of stuff online to try and install, but the UEFI isn't recognizing anything I have as far as live booting dvd or usb. I've turned off secure boot and fast boot. I can get it to boot off the disk/usb in Legacy mode, but if I install from there it installs as MBR which can cause problems. If anyone's had success, please, let me know.
Thanks!
B

If the laptop came with Win 8 pre installed then bios is set to UEFI, a new measure made by Microsoft to ensure nobody tries to boot other system rather than windows. The only way to boot a linux is to change bios to Legacy and then try to boot, after that, to boot windows you have to change that setting again, so not very efficient really.
My advice is to reinstall windows but in Legacy mode, there is software on the internet to check your windows key and reinstall.
All in all, while you have Windows in UEFI mode forget about dual booting, reinstall windows on Legacy or just erase it and go for linux.

Restore Points Deleted w/dual boot & Windows 7

Dual booting with two partitions
on another disk with Windows 7 / Windows 10
and when I returned to Windows 8.1 or
Windows 10 from Windows 7,
restore points are deleted and remain
in Windows 7?
Is there a solution?
Thanks
Hello

Thanks for the reply,
If it's the disks to hide concerned,
I have already done but to no avail ([HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software
\ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion
\ Policies \ Explorer]).
I know that we could put offline the
affected partitions ([HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\ SYSTEM \ MountedDevices \ Offline]), but
later by disk failure in the event log
... is that what you propose?
hello
Yes and No.
What do you mean by " but later by disk failure in the event log " ?
Have a look at this tutorial :
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/326541-windows-8-dual-boot-restore-points/
I am dual booting Win 7 and Win 10 TP Enterprise build 9879. That tutorial works for me.
P.S. ( Ignore the triple boot part.)

Setting up a "Dual Boot" system by adding Lion to an external HD

I had originally thought to put my present Snow Leopard with Parallels OS's on an external HD the upgrading my internal HD to Lion in order to retain my Classic Application (AppleWorks in particular) capability for access to about a thousand old AppleWorks documents, all three genre-WP,SS,Graphics. I just received my new hard drive and it suddenly occurreced to me that it would probably be better to add Mountain Lion to the external drive rather than fiddle with the setup/contents of my internal drive.
In this regard, once I purchase Mountain Lion, what would be the procedures to create this dual boot capability after partitioning my External drive to receive Lion on one partition?
Also, once the system is in place, how to move certain applications, and their associated document files, over to be used on Mountain Lion?
Sparkgapper

With Mountain Lion on the External, how does that creat a Dual Boot capability?
I will not be doing anything to the internal drive with Snow Leopard other than setting up the dual boot.
Sparkgapper

Linux - OS X dual boot/encryption/shared partition suggestions?

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