Windows & Linux dual OS, 2 HDD junkies: Pull OS out during install of other?

For those who have windows and linux, and perhaps 2 HDDs also.

How do you do the installation of the OS's and why. Do you pull the windows HDD out and install linux on its own? Or do you leave the windows drive in so that linux recognizes theres another OS and setup a boot manager? If so do you install windows first then linux or the other way around?

One disadvantage of the former is that you have to fix the time in linux not to use UTC, or else logging back and fourth messes the windows time. The disadvantage (or advantage) is there is no nice menu to choose between OSes and you will hjave to initiate the bios boot order to load the correct OS.

 

1. leave both hdd inside
2. install windows first, then linux
3. entering bios every time you want dual boot as a bit awkward
4. i don't understand how the dual boot can 'mess' each others' OS system time? - someone correct me here, but i have no knowledge of it ...

 

i dont mean you have to enter bios every time, although perhaps some crap bioses you may have to. but you can invoke commands like f12, f11 whatever it is to load the boot list.

try installing windows on one HDD. pull that out. Install linux on another HDD. put both in. log into windows, then log into linux, then log back into windows, and you might find your time messed up. Linux uses the UTC time standard whereas windows uses bios time.

A first google search result:

http://osdir.com/ml/org.user-groups.linux.uk.peterboro/2007-08/msg00052.html

when u install linux with windows already, the setup normally by default fixes this so you wont observe this problem by changing the linux time standard to not use utc. if you installed them separate, then you might.

 

Yes, you dont have to enter bios every time - if you don't need to change OS with every reboot.
I never experienced those issues with time probably because i never tried to install it this way . Also, in linux and windows i use time synchronization with time servers.

I have just the scenario you talk about at home PC.
1x 200gb hdd linux install
1x 200gb hdd windows install
1x 2tb hdd ntfs data storage (mountable from linux too)

At the startup i choose the OS i want to boot from GRUB.
I can post here my grub (linux boot loader) configuration if you'd like after i got home .

 

My bootloader config:

# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
# root (hd2,0)
# kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/mapper/rootvg-rootlv
# initrd /initrd-version.img
boot=/dev/sda1
default=0
timeout=5
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
hiddenmenu
# title Fedora (2.6.31.12-174.2.3.fc12.x86_64)
# root (hd0,0)
# kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.31.12-174.2.3.fc12.x86_64 ro root=/dev/mapper/rootvg-rootlv rhgb quiet SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16 LANG=en_US.UTF-8 KEYTABLE=us rdblacklist=nouveau
# initrd /initrd-2.6.31.12-174.2.3.fc12.x86_64.img
title Fedora (2.6.31.12-hax00)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.31.12-hax00 root=/dev/mapper/rootvg-rootlv rhgb quiet SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16 LANG=en_US.UTF-8 KEYTABLE=us
initrd /initrd-2.6.31.12-hax00.img
title win7
rootnoverify (hd1,0)
chainloader +1


My hdds (fdisk -l):

Disk /dev/sda: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00039f3a

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 64 512000 83 Linux
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 64 30401 243684001 8e Linux LVM

Disk /dev/sdb: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xdcc804a0

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 30402 244196352 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdc: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
16 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1938021 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 1008 * 512 = 516096 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf8578350

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 1 1938018 976761040+ 7 HPFS/NTFS

 

The way it seems to work for me, is always leaving both drives in and installing Windows first. See, Windows' bootloaders doesn't give a crap about Linux, but GRUB, installed with most linux distros these days, can easily set the correct parameters to boot Windows as well. Thus, install Windows first, then Linux. GRUB will overwrite the bootloader of windows and take command of booting whatever OSes you want.

 

there is a windows program made by supergrub disk or something you can run to reinstall grub.
also, you can set grub to go to the boot menu by default, im sure thats quite easy.

 

It doesn't matter what you install first. You can edit GRUB or the BCD to get a dualboot system. You just have to keep track of what's controlling your MBR.