I'm setting up a dual boot system with Windows 11 and Linux Mint on my new ThinkPad, and I want to be able to access and edit my Office documents and images from both operating systems. My concern is how to manage shared files, especially if I edit a .docx file in Windows and want to continue working on it in Linux. I'm considering a couple of options:
1. Setting up a shared partition, but I'm unsure whether to format it as NTFS, ext4, or exFAT.
2. Using a cloud storage solution like Google Drive for both systems. However, I wonder if that would create duplicate files on my hard drive when syncing. What are the potential challenges with these approaches, and what's the best way to set this up? I have some experience with Linux, but it's been a while since I've used it regularly.
4 Answers
You don't have to rely solely on a shared partition. You can save and edit files directly in your Windows Documents folder and then mount that partition from Linux to access it. Just keep in mind that while tools like LibreOffice should handle most Word files well, some complex features from MS Office may not translate perfectly.
A shared partition is a solid choice. Windows doesn’t handle ext4, so you’ll want to stick with NTFS or exFAT. I'd recommend NTFS, as it has more features and you can format it easily through Windows. Just be cautious with programs running from that partition if that's your plan. Formatting the partition in Windows is also a good idea since it has better support for NTFS.
I usually just go with a cloud service that works on both OSs. It's simple, and you can access your files wherever you are without worrying about partitions.
I have a separate drive formatted as NTFS and it works perfectly for reading and writing from both Linux Mint and Windows 11.
Accessing Windows files from Linux like this sounds straightforward, especially if that folder is synced with a cloud service like Google Drive. I’ve had a similar setup on my Chromebook. Plus, using LibreOffice on both systems should work fine for most tasks.