Can I Dual-Boot Two Linux Distros on the Same Filesystem?

I’ve set up a dual boot with Windows and Linux on my old laptop. For Linux, I use it from an external drive. While I only run Linux most of the time, it allows for flexibility. Just be sure to back things up because if something goes wrong during a partition setup, it could affect your access to either OS.

Absolutely, you can dual boot! But I’ve never come across a method that allows sharing the same filesystem across both distros without them interfering with each other. Typically, you’d allocate separate partitions for each OS, since one could overwrite the files of the other if they’re not separated.

What you’re thinking about is somewhat tricky! You can share specific directories like /home between different distros by using separate partitions, but if you do that, keep in mind there might be little issues with app compatibility because of username conflicts. For this setup, you’d typically want to create three partitions—one for each distro's root, and one for the shared home. However, sharing the entire root filesystem isn't feasible with traditional methods unless you use Btrfs with subvolumes, which is quite complex and not supported by most installers.

Yeah, you can do it, but it may turn into a bit of a hassle. The big question is really, why would you want to share the filesystem? It might create more headaches than it's worth!