I have a 1 TB M.2 SSD and a 2 TB M.2 SSD, and I want to dual boot Windows 11 and Fedora. Around 500 GB of my files and applications need Windows, while under 400 GB would be used primarily on Linux. I also have shared media and personal files—videos, music, documents, and images—that I'd like to access from both operating systems. I usually prefer keeping the operating system separate from games, applications, and other data, but I'm not sure how useful that layout is on Linux.
Possible layouts I'm considering include putting Windows and shared data on the 2 TB drive and Fedora on the 1 TB drive, dividing both drives into several OS and data partitions, or installing Windows on one drive and using the other entirely for Linux. What arrangement would be the most practical and reliable?
2 Answers
The simplest setup is to dedicate one SSD to each operating system: install Windows on the 2 TB drive and Fedora on the 1 TB drive. Install Windows first, then Fedora. Keeping the systems on separate physical drives makes the layout easier to understand and reduces the chance of one installation interfering with the other. Fedora can usually detect the Windows installation and add it to the boot menu.
For the installation, make sure both systems are installed in UEFI mode. Installing Fedora to the second SSD while the Windows drive remains connected is usually fine, but selecting the Fedora drive as the primary boot device gives its bootloader control. If you want maximum isolation, temporarily disconnecting the Windows drive during the Fedora installation is safer, though it isn’t essential. Before changing partitions, back up anything important.
The M.2 drives are difficult to reach because of the CPU cooler, so I’ll leave them installed and be careful with the boot settings. I’ll also look into using Ventoy for the installation USB.
That sounds like the cleanest option. I already use Fedora on another computer, so I’ll probably follow this arrangement.