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Adding a second hard drive

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artagon7 -  
Hello,

I have an old ASUS computer (2012):

1) a 2 TB hard drive;
2) dual boot: Win 7 and Debian Wheezy

I would like to know if it is possible to add a second hard drive (2 TB) on which I would install only Linux Mint. I know there is a maximum number of partitions (primary, logical, and extended) that must be respected.

Thank you

6 answers

  1.  mamiemando Moderator
    Hello,

    Some clarifications / details

    Regarding the hardware and installed operating systems
    • You can have 3 systems (Windows, Debian, Mint) on the same PC.
    • You can have as many hard drives as you want as long as you can physically connect them. In your case, there's no need to unplug any.
    • Your hardware configuration is more than sufficient to install any Linux with any graphical environment.


    Regarding the hard drive(s) and partitioning.
    • In this paragraph, I talk about LVM, but you probably won't need it (it's just for the sake of thoroughness)
    • A hard drive (without LVM, which is the usual case) can contain four primary partitions per hard drive. That said, it's usually sufficient in practice. If more partitions are needed, you have to:
      • either create extended partitions (subdivided into secondary partitions)
      • or consider LVM (only for disks not containing a Windows system).
    • Windows (at least older versions) must be installed on a primary partition and on a hard drive that does not use LVM. Linux imposes no constraints: it can be installed on primary or secondary partitions, with or without LVM.
    • Linux is traditionally installed on three partitions: 
      • /
        (the system): plan for 25-30 Go to be safe, formatted in ext4. A very lightweight Linux system can get by with much less. 
      • swap
        : usually two times the RAM not exceeding 4 Go (it's pointless), formatted as swap. Nowadays, this essentially means a 4 Go partition formatted as swap. 
      • /home
        (documents and user profiles): arbitrary size (usually the remainder of the disk), formatted in ext4.


    Regarding the boot menu (boot-loader)

    The boot loader allows you to choose which operating system to boot from when you turn on your PC. It therefore appears before the operating system (which you will choose to boot) starts.

    There are several boot loaders that are installed through an operating system (potentially the installation system), but in your case, it will most likely be GRUB. Specifically:
    • Windows: bootmgr is the boot loader deployed by Windows when multiple Windows coexist on the same PC. However, it only supports Windows systems and therefore not Linux systems. It is thus not suitable.
    • Linux: there are mainly two: GRUB and LILO. Nowadays, the standard is GRUB. It is installed during the final step of the Linux system installation.


    GRUB

    GRUB allows you at startup to choose which operating system to boot, regardless of:
    • the number of operating systems;
    • the nature of the system (Windows, Linux);
    • the considered distribution (Windows 11, Debian, Mint...);
    • the number of disks involved.


    Once GRUB is installed (on the header of the hard drive where the BIOS boots in the boot sequence), be careful not to unplug the disks containing the systems referenced by GRUB, otherwise it will crash and you'll need to regenerate it (for example with 
    boot-repair
    ).

    Good luck.
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    1. artagon7 Author
      Hello mamiemando,

      In the case where my two disks are connected,

      my two disks being:

      N: New
      V: Old

      can I use LVM technology on disk N only where I would install 2 OS, namely Mint and Debian?

      To be clearer,

      HD N: Mint + Debian (LVM)

      HD V: Win 7 + Wheezy (standard)

      Thanks
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    2. mamiemando Moderator
      @artagon7Normally yes (provided you don't plan to access the partitions of N from Windows 7). After that, unless you have a need that justifies the use of LVM, I don't think you need it.
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    3. artagon7 Author
      @mamiemandoHello,

      The fact that we cannot access LVM partitions from Windows is a disadvantage compared to the standard technology represented by partitioning.

      But it seems that LVM is the technology that will gradually establish itself.

      Thank you
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    4. mamiemando Moderator
      @artagon7I would like to share your optimism about LVM's fate, but who knows, maybe the future will prove you right :-)

      So, do you have answers to all your questions and if so, can we mark the topic as resolved?
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    5. artagon7 Author
      @mamiemandoHi,

      Before closing the subject, I have a point to address.

      I'm trying to get a computer with two hard drives. In my case, this will be a first. My problem concerns the notion of master disk and slave disk. Let me summarize the current situation:

      1) Two SATA hard drives are installed in the case;
      2) The new disk (N) is not partitioned;
      3) The old disk (V) contains Win 7 and Wheezy;
      4) For now, I am ignoring LVM technology.

      I am uncertain about the next steps to take. I believe I should do:

      1) Partition the new disk and install Linux Mint (and maybe Debian 11);
      2) Choose which disk is the master and which disk is the slave.

      It’s the second step that is problematic.

      Q-1 When do we choose the master disk and what program or utility records this choice (EFI Bios or GParted)? I believe it’s GParted.

      Q-2 What is this choice based on?

      For me, it is based on the most frequent usage of the different operating systems. For example, I plan to use Linux Mint more often than the others. In that case, the master disk will be the one on which Mint is installed, namely the new disk.

      Thank you.
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  2. jeannets Contributor
    Hello,

    You need to find out the model of this PC or that of its motherboard...

    If it's a tower, generally you can fit up to 6 drives... ? You need to check the number of SATA ports on the motherboard...

    Then, for the partitions, you can do what you want while respecting the rules... Gparted is great for that.

    Prepare your volume distribution on paper beforehand.

    Personally, I would install two physical drives... One for Windows and one for Linux...
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    1. artagon7 Author
      Hi jeannets,

      Indeed, I should have added some information. I will add it when I return home.

      Yes, it is a tower.

      You mention that one can put up to 6 drives ... So the following rules apply:

      A drive can contain up to four primary partitions (only one of which can be active), or three primary partitions and one extended partition. In the extended partition, the user can create logical drives (that is, "simulate" multiple smaller hard drives).

      This applies to each drive. In other words, if there are two hard drives on a computer, it will be possible to find, in total, eight primary partitions.

      I want to add another drive because I have been experiencing some problems with my computer. When I started it up, often, over the last few years, it was not able to remain stable. I would log in under Win or Debian, and after five or ten minutes, it would freeze. Strangely enough, if everything was fine after ten minutes, I could work for hours without any issues. It's just at the beginning that the problem can occur. I read that this could simply be caused by a hard drive that is too full. I started removing files and noted some improvement. I will continue to remove files. I will try to keep my usage below 80% of the drive's maximum capacity.

      For now, thank you for your response,
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      1. jeannets Contributor
        Yes, four main partitions and only one active... but you can also have two main ones, each with a number of extended partitions inside... personally, I am in this case with three physical disks and 19 disks in total with the partitions... I recommend a "Datas" partition to store all your data... Emails, mail, accounting, documents, etc.

        Linux doesn’t have to be in a main partition; it can operate from an extended partition... You can even have several Linux systems in different partitions using the same Swap... Similarly, with your data on disk D:, for example, it is interesting to access it from both Windows and Linux...

        However, for large folders, it seems preferable to have a server on the network... Photos, Movies, Videos, Documentation, downloads, Backups... on 2 or 4 TB in RAID for security...
        I think it's not good to have all this in the PC... When Windows uses too much of the disk in the same area and one day the disk fails, it needs to be replaced... The double failure is quite rare... and many things have to be redone... it can take a year.
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        1. artagon7 Author
          Information

          1) ASUS CM6830
          2) Intel Core i5-2320 3 GHz
          3) RAM = 6 Go
          4) 64 bits

          I’m going to make my life easier. I’m going to unplug my old hard drive and connect the new one to install Mint. I don’t have time to read about having two hard drives.

          Yes, indeed, having a dedicated data partition is a good approach. That’s what I was advised ten years ago, and my old hard drive has such a partition.

          Thank you very much.
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      3. jeannets Contributor
        All of this looks good.

        However... unplugging the other hard drive and then installing Mint will prevent the detection of the other "System," and your Dual boot (GRUB) will not be correct; it will be missing the boot option for Windows, if Windows is indeed on that other drive.

        The multiboot is installed at the end of Mint, and that’s where the detection of the other system will not occur.
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        1. artagon7 Author
          Hi,

          I don't understand your last message. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

          1) Currently, an old HDD (WIN 7, Debian) is installed;
          2) I'm going to leave it there but I will completely unplug it;
          3) I will insert and connect the new HDD and I will install Mint on it;

          So, there will only be one functional HDD at a time. If I want to use the other HDD, I will have to unplug one HDD and connect the other.

          It would be interesting to have two accessible HDDs, but I don't have the time right now to study all that.

          Thank you.
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      4. jeannets Contributor
        Yes, I hadn't realized there was only one disk at a time... Obviously, from that perspective, the Dual Boot problem doesn't exist... and it works as you thought.

        For later, dual boot Windows Linux here's a summary of the situation
        https://www.astuces-aide-informatique.info/9490/dual-boot-windows-10-ubuntu-linux

        The solution involves GRUB
        https://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/grub-pc

        Be careful: there are several GRUB, the old one: Grub4dos and also Grub2 which is often simply referred to as GRUB.

        It is also possible to use the Windows Boot Manager by adding your other system
        see with the utility software "EasyBCD".
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        1. artagon7 Author
          Hi jeannets,

          I've changed my mind. I will try to connect both disks. Even though I'm having trouble with both OSs (Win7 and Wheezy), I can access the DATA partition with Mint.
          I ran a test with Mint in Live mode and was able to access that partition.

          Thank you
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