I'm trying to dual boot from separate drives with Windows and Cinnamon Mint, and I want to keep them as isolated as possible, except for the option to choose which OS to boot at startup. I understand that GRUB can be installed after Mint, but I'm concerned about how it works. Specifically, if I install GRUB on the Linux drive, will it mess with anything necessary for Mint to run? I want to avoid reinstalling Mint through a USB because that would involve disconnecting the drives again. I'm aware of the risks of GRUB overwriting the Windows bootloader, which I want to avoid. Any help would be appreciated!
4 Answers
GRUB usually comes installed with Mint unless it was messed up during installation. You should be able to configure it within the distro. If you want Mint to prompt you for which OS to boot into every time, that's part of GRUB's job. You might just need to check your configuration settings. Also, switching boot devices in the BIOS can work, but it’s definitely less convenient than using GRUB.
Just so you know, GRUB installs to the first EFI partition listed in your PC's boot order. Make sure there's an EFI partition on the Mint drive; then you can use `grub-install /dev/sdX` to set it up. Remember, you install GRUB to a device, not a specific partition. That should help you get it working nicely.
If you can boot Mint, then you likely already have GRUB installed. To make it recognize Windows, you'll need to enable `os-prober`. If you need info on how to enable it, check out some resources online. Once that’s set, you can adjust the boot order as needed.
To keep both OSs completely separate, you should have an EFI partition on each drive for their respective boot files. A general outline is: first, install Windows (it will create its own EFI), confirm it runs, then unplug that drive, install Linux, which will create another EFI, and confirm it works. After both are set, you can enable both drives, and GRUB can be set up to allow you to choose which OS to boot into!
I’ve actually got both OSs working, but I'd like to avoid BIOS every time I want to switch OSes. I’m hoping to figure out how to get GRUB to handle that for me!
Thanks for clarifying! I want that menu at boot so I don’t have to go into BIOS all the time. It sounds like I’ve been looking into the wrong things thinking GRUB wasn’t set up correctly!