Ubuntu on iSSD, Windows on HDD dual boot

Hi all.

I want to install ubuntu on the iSSD and Windows 8.1 or 7 (whichever is most compatible) on hdd and dual boot.

Is it doable as of now?

I'm currently on windows 8.1 with expresscache working great (from eccmd -info).

But iSSD is NOT listed under bios hdd boot priorities.

There are only the Windows Boot loader & HDD.

Will this cause an issue for selecting the GRUB bootloader on iSSD?

Thanks in advance

Have a good day.

 

The iSSD is used for express cache. If you can do this you will probably need to lose express cache and make a real drive of then iSSD.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I dont plan on using issd as expresscache.

Just put ubuntu on the whole issd disk and windows on hdd.

Is the expresscache partitioning the reason for it to not listed in boot options or is it a hardware piece that is not meant to be seen by bios as a SATA drive?

 

The BIOS doesn't detect the ExpressCache as a bootable device.

This has caused plenty of headaches for people who have reinstalled Windows from a flash drive and the Windows installer puts the boot files on the ExpressCache where the BIOS can't find them so the computer won't boot.

You might be able to put a boot manager on the HDD and set the Linux option to point to the ExpressCache. However, I don't have first hand knowledge of what the ExpressCache will and won't do.

John

 

Thanks again.

And also for your information;

I succesfully installed windows 8.1 on iSSD and succesfully booted done updates etc.

But i reverted from it since there was disk space issues.

I think i will go trial and error and keep you guys posted.

 

Hi kebapofadana,

As already posted by TANWare and John, you can use the iSSD for whatever you want, once you have uninstalled the ExpressCache software and deleted the cache partition on it. But since the iSSD is not visible to BIOS, it cannot be booted directly, so you have to keep a boot manager on the primary HDD/SSD.

When you managed to install and run Win8.1 from the iSSD, Windows Setup correctly detected your primary HDD/SSD as the boot device and placed its boot partition there (or EFI System partition if this is an UEFI installation) even as all the Windows files were placed on the iSSD.

Unfortunately I only have a small 8GB iSSD on my NP700Z3A. If I had 16 or 24GB, as some other models, I would long since have moved my Windows installation there.

 

Thanks Dannemand

But I didn't put my boot parititon on my HDD. I just installed ubuntu on iSSD and a boot entry became available in bios, alonside windows boot manager.

When I press f10 when booting i can select between ubuntu and windows boot manager and both OSs work fine.

But I can't figured out how to chainload windows boot manager from ubuntu's grub2 bootloader. Pressing f10 at each start is not practical.

Also I battered my ubuntu installation when tweaking linux and returned to the windows8+expresscache setup.

But in the end, it is DOABLE. And it is doable without a need to put the boot partition in HDD.

A full clean instal in iSSD works fine, both for linux in iSSD/windows in HDD dual boot scenario and solo windows on issd scenario.

By the way my model is NP540U3C - A03TR . Maybe they have changed something in BIOS after the old models.

Just wanted to conclude the topic with more info.

Have a nice day all.

EDIT: All OS installations are in UEFI mode, both ubuntu and windows 8.1

 

@kebapofadana: Thank you for that update. Very interesting.

You are absolutely sure the ESP (EFI system partition) is on the iSSD, NOT on the HDD? I am not talking about the small Windows MSR partition or a Grub partition or whatever. In UEFI mode, the ESP contains the boot code. And through that, an OS on the iSSD might show up in the BIOS boot menu.

It makes sense that UEFI is clever enough to look on the iSSD if it doesn't find an ESP on the HDD. It's just that some members specifically reported how they were unable to boot anything after their ESP ended up on the iSSD (specifically in cases when they were also suffering from NVRAM corruption preventing access to BIOS with F2, thus effectively bricking the laptop -- since the iSSD cannot be removed to force booting something else).

This could prove very useful, because it is relevant for members who install Windows from USB stick (as opposed to from DVD) which usually puts the boot partition on the iSSD due to a confusion on the part of Windows Setup. We have workarounds for legacy BIOS installations, but no confirmed workarounds for UEFI installations (other than to install from DVD).

Which model and BIOS version do you have? Which Windows version was factory installed? Does your BIOS have a full SecureBoot/UEFI implementation or just a simple UEFI Boot toggle?

 

I am not absolutely sure but I knwo that I put Ubuntu boot loader into issd by selecting the iSSD from the dropdown menu at installation;

(not my setup, found this from an internet location



And I also can confirm that they (Grub loader and windows boot manager) are not on the same disk, and i don't think that ubuntu put anything related to booting into hdd because ubuntu scans the OSs by the beginning of the installation, and in my case, no OS detected, which I had windows 8.1 on my HDD.

Also after the installation when I ran the sudo grup-update from terminal, again no OSs detected because my boot partition was on iSSD, and It only scans the relevant partition.

But another interesting thing here is, which may have something to do with what you said, I gave up on linux and wanted to return to windows/expresscache setup. I booted into my windows, get into diskpart from cmd, I cleaned the whole iSSD by clean command, converted to gpt, and installed expresscache. But to my suprise, when I pressed f10 to list the available boot options, there was still an Ubuntu entry. When I tried to boot in it, there was just the GRUB command line for repairs and troubleshooting. So this may mean what you said, Ubuntu intelligently detected that ESP is on HDD, put relevant things there, but put the boot partition on iSSD. Or it just registered itself to UEFI I don't have much technical knowledge.

I can also confirm that I installed a windows 8.1 in uefi to the iSSD from USB. Worked fine, updated fine, run fast. I didnt do anything with the HDD I just deleted the recovery and boot partitions(windows 8 related ones) on HDD, cleaned the iSSD, just selected it and windows did the partitioning job and it put everything on iSSD. I can't give any info about ESP being where on this case.

Samsung NP540U3C-A03TR It came with Windows 8.

BIOS;
Brand Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
Version P12ABH
Date 25.10.2013

Yes, it has full UEFI support, including secure boot/fast boot etc. Also I did my installations on fast boot/secure boot off, OS Type: UEFI Only.

Have a good day.

 

Hi kebapofadana,

THanks a lot for the update. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I don't get to NBR much during the week.

Once again, I am very interested in finding out if your UEFI system is truly booting from the iSSD, independently of the HDD. Could you check with DISKPART (or even better, Minitool Partition Wizard) where the ESP partition is located?

THe ESP is a small FAT32 partition, usually 300MB. If you have an ESP on the iSSD and NO ESP on the HDD, that would prove that UEFI boots directly from the iSSD. I truly hope that is the case, since it would open the door to solutions for many users who got themselves in trouble on ExpressCache models. But my guess remains that the ESP is on your HDD, in which case we know that it boots the HDD, then jumps to the iSSD.

I envy you that 24GB iSSD. My model only has 8GB, otherwise I would have installed Windows on it long ago. I can replace my HDD with a "real" SSD (which would be faster than the iSSD) but then I would either lose the storage capacity of my HDD (a nice 750GB 7200RPM Hitachi) OR I can move the HDD to the optical bay, in which case I lose the DVD drive. A 24GB iSSD would be perfect for me.

 

I checked it now, it is just like you said.



Ubuntu, while at installation, put the GRUB loader to HDD's 100 mb EFI partition, along with windows.

It directs the booting to iSSD from that partition in HDD.

It was impossible to boot directly from the iSSD anyway as it is invisible in BIOS.

So nothing new in this thread, though I learned much.

Thank you for your help.

Have a good day.

EDIT: That Yerel Disk B: in the picture is the HDD's 100 mb EFI partition. I mounted it via diskpart.

 

Thanks a lot for that update.

Again, some users accidentally end up with an ESP on the iSSD (put there by Windows Setup which thinks it is the boot device) and none on the HDD, which can be difficult to fix when combined with other problems that prevent booting an external device. It would have been great if there was a loophole here that would allow booting straight from the iSSD.

Alas, such is not the case; Earth is spinning at the same speed as always; and we're no worse off than we were before. Your tests confirm this, which is much appreciated!