Author Topic: Partitions (Read 260 times)

Jokerman · « **on:** March 31, 2021, 01:23:51 pm »

Hi Guys,

I am running Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS, GNOME version 3.36.8 on my desktop PC, my wife wants me to install Windows as she doesn't like using Ubuntu. I have a Samsung 850 Evo 250gGB SSD connected and can be found in the boot menu (see attachment), as you can see I also have a Samsung 850 Evo 500GB hard drive which I am running Ubuntu on. I also have a very old Hard drive attached, ST500DM002- 1BD142 (TOO slow to run Windows on). However when I look at my drives in Ubuntu (see attachment), it does not show the 250GB SSD, I can only assume that the partition is faulty or corrupted in some way. Can someone suggest software that can delete the partitions and set a new one that I can install Windows on. I know this is not a normal Ubuntu question, but if I cannot get the 250GB drive to work then my wife will insist on me removing Ubuntu (as she does not want me to spend any more money on a new SSD).

OK, found Gparted and it found the 250GB SSD, it shows 232.88 unknown and 1.12 unallocated (see attachment). Do I just delete the unknown partition and increase the 1.12 allocated?

Keith · « **Reply #1 on:** March 31, 2021, 06:44:41 pm »

Hi Jokerman.

I seems that you are thinking of putting Windows on the SSD and keeping it separate from your Linux drive
I'm not sure that you can have different operating systems on separate disks, and adding Windows to a Linux system as a dual boot is a nightmare, apparently.

The ideal option (to take advantage of its speed) is to fix the SSD, install Windows then install Linux as a dual boot.

You can create a suitable file system on the SSD fairly easily, but I'm not sure if that's enough - not my area of expertise.
If you want to try it then

Code: [Select]

sudo umount /dev/sdc1

Then

Code: [Select]

sudo mkfs -t ext4 /dev/sdc1

If all is well, there should be lots of output. Then

Code: [Select]

sudo mount /dev/sdc1

and check that you can cd to it or check using Gparted.

All this is at your own risk as I'm not an expert!

Keith

The Linux Community Forum · « **Reply #1 on:** March 31, 2021, 06:44:41 pm »

Rich J · « **Reply #2 on:** March 31, 2021, 08:56:02 pm »

Quote from: Jokerman on March 31, 2021, 01:23:51 pm

Hi Guys,

I am running Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS, GNOME version 3.36.8 on my desktop PC, my wife wants me to install Windows as she doesn't like using Ubuntu. I have a Samsung 850 Evo 250gGB SSD connected and can be found in the boot menu (see attachment), as you can see I also have a Samsung 850 Evo 500GB hard drive which I am running Ubuntu on. I also have a very old Hard drive attached, ST500DM002- 1BD142 (TOO slow to run Windows on). However when I look at my drives in Ubuntu (see attachment), it does not show the 250GB SSD, I can only assume that the partition is faulty or corrupted in some way. Can someone suggest software that can delete the partitions and set a new one that I can install Windows on. I know this is not a normal Ubuntu question, but if I cannot get the 250GB drive to work then my wife will insist on me removing Ubuntu (as she does not want me to spend any more money on a new SSD).

OK, found Gparted and it found the 250GB SSD, it shows 232.88 unknown and 1.12 unallocated (see attachment). Do I just delete the unknown partition and increase the 1.12 allocated?

Hi Jokerman - you can run separate OS's on separate drives. I did it a few years back when I first began with Linux and had one version of Linux Mint on one HDD as master and a later version of Mint (used for trialling before adoption as main OS) on a second, slave drive. This worked well as I could leave my *main* OS alone while I played about with my *trial* OS - and make mistakes, safe in the knowledge that I wasn't screwing up my work system. I don't see any reason why this method wouldn't work with Windows/Linux also but I've never tried it with SSD's so the master/slave thing may be different, or not used at all. I do suggest you do a bit of 'Googling' on the subject before you make any changes. As far as I remember, Gparted found both drives and Grub listed both options to choose from on startup.

When dual-booting (both OS's on one drive) you must install Windows first, then Linux. This is because Grub will find both OS's and allow the options - Windows bootloader will overwrite Grub, hence will not be able to 'see' Linux.

I'm with your wife regarding Ubuntu - I didn't like it either! I switched to Mint and have been using it for years - as is my wife - and she was definitely spooked about changing from Windows!! It is more 'familiar' in appearance to Windows so newbies often seem to prefer it, for that reason. Why not take a look?

Rich

Jokerman · « **Reply #3 on:** April 01, 2021, 10:58:58 am »

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies, I plan to install Windows on the 250GB SSD and boot from that, when I want to use Ubuntu, I will go to the boot menu and select it from there. My main concern now is the partitions on the 250GB SSD. As stated Gparted shows 232.88GiB as unknown "Unable to detect file system", the other partition shows 1.18MiB. As I have not used Gparted before, do I delete both partitions and then create a new one, or delete the unknown and expand the 1.18 partition? How big a partition can I create if it is a 250GB SSD? Also if I create partitions using Linux software, will I be able to install Windows on it?

Many thanks in advance.

Keith · « **Reply #4 on:** April 01, 2021, 11:11:30 am »

Before doing anything drastic, try repairing the file system as I suggested in my first post. If that works, then you can install Linux on it.
As for installing Windows after Linux: don't even think about it - see Rich's post.

To install Windows before Linux you might need to change my earlier command to

Code: [Select]

sudo mkfs -t vfat /dev/sdc1

Keith

The Linux Community Forum · « **Reply #4 on:** April 01, 2021, 11:11:30 am »