Screwed up an attempted dual install (kind of)

[Tyerker]

I have 3 drives in my PC now:
1TB Samsung 980 Pro (Windows 11)
512GB Intel 600p (old Windows 10 drive)
3TB Toshiba X300 (storage drive)

Just got done formatting the 512 today, and that's what I want to use for Linux.

I got the latest Mint 21.1 Cinnamon iso, and I used the "install alongside Windows" option. I had read a couple articles, and it seemed like this would lead me to a step to select which drive to install Mint to. Well, I got to the username and password section of the install, and then, there it goes. No ability to select a drive.

It completes the install, I reboot. I get the UEFI multiboot menu, and it shows Mint Cinnamon and Windows 11 on NVMe 0. Perfect.
But Mint is slow as hell.

Well, turns out it installed it onto the HDD. I was mainly worried I was going to mess with the 1TB SSD partition, so glad it didn't do that. But the HDD is just way too slow to justify using it.

So I have a couple of questions about how to do it right:
1. How do I remove the Mint installation from my HDD? Windows shows it as a 2TB drive in Eplorer now, If I go into the Windows Disk Management I can see the smaller 800GBpartition on that drive, as well as a ~500MB EFI partition. I would guess I delete the Linux partition, then try to extend the NTFS partition? But Windows Disk Management doesn't allow me to delete the EFI partition, so not sure how to get rid of that, or if I can safely.
2. I think I will have to use the manual partition install for Mint, and I can't remember the requisite paths and minimum sizes. Could someone help me allocate the 512GB SSD partitions in a way that makes the most sense for general / messing around use?

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[Zerileous]

It has been years since I've messed with this, but I believe the install media for the linux distro will have a better tool for modifying your partitions. If not, then you can definitely do it once you have mint installed using the partition tool to get rid of the old mint install. Windows partition tools don't necessarily see linux file systems correctly, so you don't want to touch a linux partition with windows, iirc.

This article might be more helpful in terms of partition sizes (though I think this is kind of automatic for the most part):

How Much Space Should You Allocate For Your EFI Linux Mint Partition? – Systran Box

www.systranbox.com

Just unplug the storage drive while you do all this so you don't accidentally target it. Are you wanting to format the old windows 10 install so dual boot win 11 and mint, or are you trying to multi boot all three? Again probably better just to trust this article rather than my memory https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/dual-boot-linux-and-windows-11

If you decide to put both installs on one drive, then unplug all the other drives.

 

[Tyerker]

I'll be getting rid of Windows 10. That drive is now formatted and blank, so theoretically should be ready to accept the install now. Appreciate the help.

 

[mcpherson1031]

Here’s how you can address both issues you're facing:

1. Removing the Mint Installation from the HDD:​

To safely remove the Linux Mint installation from your HDD and restore the drive to full NTFS for Windows:

• Step 1: Open Windows Disk Management. You’ll see the partitions on your 3TB Toshiba X300 drive.
• Step 2: Identify the Linux partitions, which typically include:
  • The main Linux partition (ext4 format).
  • A smaller EFI partition (500MB) that Linux uses for boot files.
• Step 3: Delete the Linux partition:
  • Right-click on the main Linux partition (ext4) and select "Delete Volume." This will turn it into unallocated space.
  • Unfortunately, Windows Disk Management doesn’t allow you to delete the EFI partition directly.
• Step 4: Use Diskpart to Delete the EFI Partition:
  • Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
  • Type diskpart and press Enter.
  • Type list disk to see all disks, then select your HDD (for example, select disk 2).
  • Type list partition to see all partitions, and select the EFI partition (for example, select partition 3).
  • Type delete partition override to remove the EFI partition.
• Step 5: Extend the NTFS partition:
  • Go back to Disk Management, right-click the NTFS partition on the HDD, and choose "Extend Volume" to reclaim the unallocated space.

2. Installing Mint on the 512GB SSD with Manual Partitioning:​

Since the automatic installer didn't allow you to choose the SSD, you'll need to do a manual installation. Here’s how to partition your 512GB Intel 600p SSD:

• Step 1: Boot from the Mint 21.1 Cinnamon ISO and start the installation process.
• Step 2: When you reach the "Installation Type" screen, select "Something else" for manual partitioning.
• Step 3: Create the following partitions on your 512GB SSD:
  • EFI System Partition (ESP):
    • Size: 500MB
    • Type: FAT32
    • Mount Point: /boot/efi
    • This is where the bootloader will be installed.
  • Root Partition (/):
    • Size: 30GB - 50GB (depending on how much software you plan to install).
    • Type: ext4
    • Mount Point: /
    • This is where the OS and all programs will be installed.
  • Home Partition (/home):
    • Size: The rest of the space.
    • Type: ext4
    • Mount Point: /home
    • This is where your personal files and settings will be stored.
  • Swap Partition (Optional, especially if you have plenty of RAM):
    • Size: 4GB - 8GB, or as needed (some people prefer no swap with lots of RAM).
    • Type: swap
    • No mount point required.
    • Used for system hibernation and as overflow memory if RAM is exhausted.
• Step 4: Proceed with the installation, making sure to install the bootloader to the correct EFI partition (the one on your 512GB SSD).

After Installation:​

When you reboot, you should see the UEFI multiboot menu again, but this time with Mint running from your SSD, which will be significantly faster than the HDD. The old Mint installation on your HDD should be gone, and you’ll have full use of that drive in Windows.

 

[Nebulous]

Even though this thread is over a year old, thanks for posting some great info.