I'm looking to dual boot Arch Linux alongside Windows 11, and I've already installed a second NVMe SSD for it. I'm unsure about the best way to partition this drive. Do I still need to create partitions and if so, how should I go about doing this? I think I need to use the 'cfdisk /dev/nvme1n1' command to create an EFI partition and a Linux filesystem partition, but I'm not completely confident in how to proceed. Can anyone guide me through this process?
3 Answers
You don't necessarily need a specific guide for installing Arch on your second drive. You can safely install Arch just like on any other drive. If you're worried about mistakes, it's a good idea to disconnect the Windows drive during the install. I dual boot with separate drives and it simplifies the process. Tools like the wiki, archinstall, or unofficial installers can help. Just make sure you know what partitions you want and follow their guidelines!
You can just follow the Arch installation guide like the wiki describes. If you opt for systemd-boot, it should automatically add Windows to the boot entries for you, so there’s no extra configuration needed. If you decide to use GRUB, it has an autodetect feature, but this is often turned off by default.
Starting with Arch is great, but if you want something easier, consider using an Arch-based distribution like CachyOS or EndeavourOS. They provide a smoother installation experience while still being based on Arch.
I'm committed to starting with Arch, just need to clarify these few things first.
I've seen some guides on using the archinstall script, so I'm curious about how systemd-boot setup works. Can you explain that a bit more?