I'm looking to fully switch to Linux Mint and remove Windows from my system, but I want to keep a separate HDD that I use for file storage. This drive mostly holds my music, photos, and videos, and I haven't been able to back anything up. Is it possible to just install Linux Mint on my main drive without formatting or modifying my NTFS HDD? I want to avoid using it for any installations or apps.
4 Answers
You can definitely keep your NTFS HDD as is! Just make sure that you're installing Mint on a different drive or partition. Most modern Linux distros handle NTFS without trouble. If you run into permission issues later, you might need to change some settings, but overall it should work well!
Linux works pretty well with NTFS drives. You can read and write without any major issues. Just be aware that you can't run Linux applications directly from an NTFS drive or use symbolic links with it. For backups, it's wise to tar.gz them if you want to preserve permissions.
You should be fine! Just ensure you choose the correct drive when installing Mint. If you want to be extra cautious, you can physically disconnect the HDD during the installation. Also, double-check that the drive isn't encrypted, like with BitLocker. That way, your files will remain untouched!
I've been using Mint for a while now, and it works seamlessly with my external 3TB USB storage, which was originally connected to Windows. Mint detected it without any issues, so I doubt you'll have trouble with your NTFS HDD either!
Keep in mind that NTFS doesn't support Linux file permissions, so you won't be able to use commands like `chown` or `chmod`. If you want proper access control, consider modifying your `/etc/fstab` for mounting settings.