[SOLVED]How to Dual Boot?: PCLinuxOS from an SSD or Win 7 from a standard HD.

[joejac]

Hello,

I purchased  a Desktop Core i7 2600, unfortunately it came with Win 7 in a slow 5400rpm HD, I also purchased a 240GB Intel SSD Series 520 6Gb/s, I plan to install PCLinuxOS in the SSD but to allow dual boot, so my son will be able to play WOW and Hallo Reach, and I will run my VMs for work inside PCLinuxOS host now that I have 16GB RAM so it will be fine to run 3 VMs simultaneously.

Is there a tutorial to make this type of Dual Boot?, If I turn on the PC I want to select to boot from Linux on the SSD and if my son turn it on he will select to boot from Win 7 from the standard 5400rpm HD.

I saw this but sorry, I did not understood:
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,103434.0.html
Thanks
joejac

[djohnston]

I saw this but sorry, I did not understood:
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,103434.0.html
Thanks
joejac

After installing the SSD drive you bought into your computer, change your computer's BIOS to boot from the SSD drive first. You then install PCLinuxOS from the live CD to your SSD. You will also install GRUB to the master boot record of the SSD drive and leave the Windows drive untouched. You will simply add a GRUB boot entry to the menu that will allow your son to boot from the Windows drive and you to boot from the PCLinuxOS drive.

What Old-Polack posted,

title Windows
    rootnoverify (hd1,0)
    map (hd1) (hd0)
    map (hd0) (hd1)
    makeactive
    chainloader +1

is the contents you will add to the GRUB boot menu after you have installed PCLinuxOS. The exact contents will depend on your hard drive(s) setup.

[joejac]

Thanks a lot djohnston,

I bought the PC in a local store in Sunrise FL, it was a great price but with a slow HD and short Power Supply: 350 Watts, they will deliver the SSD and the extra 8GB for next friday I hope, I will do it next week. Hope it runs fine with such power supply.

Best regards
joejac

[djohnston]

joejac,

On the power supply, it never hurts to have a larger one than what you need. It will only use as much electricity as the components are pulling from it.

[joejac]

Hello and thanks a lot djohnston

I know, I would like 600 Watts. The machine was not expensive, but the extra hardware and installation is costing a lot, just I would like to avoid to spend more money if the 350 Watts would do well with the extra fan, 8GB RAM and the SSD. Vendor told me yes, but I do not trust in vendors very much. I can not install them by myself because that would void the guarantee.

Thanks and regards
joejac

[Lucky Blue]

A  350 watt power supply will almost certainly be adequate. 
If still in doubt post up your hardware so we can make an estimate. 
Suggestion- do this in a new thread. 

[rich2005]

Not something I use every day of the week but I do keep this bookmarked. A PSU wattage calculator

http://www.antec.outervision.com/PSUEngine

From what I read you should reduce the wattage by 5 or 10 percent per year for capacitor degradation. A new basic machine 350 watts should be ok.

[joejac]

Thanks a lot for all your replies.

The basic machine is this
Plus my upgrade to:
1.- a small additional fan
2.- 8GB RAM expansion: 2 cards of 4GB
3.- 240GB Intel SSD Series 520 6Gb/s

Best regards
joejac

Disclaimer: I am not promoting neither a brand nor a store, is what I have found according to my needs and limitations, my government do not allow purchases via internet more that 400$ a year.

[LLVMech_63]

I have this exact setup on my laptop. As a suggestion- save money and get a 128GB SSD or even a 64GB for Linux and a partition on the 5400 drive for home .... works very well...

[joejac]

Thanks LLVMech_63

Unfortunately I work with a Win 7 Virtual Machine that is about 100GB for work and my second Virtual Machine for personal use of 21GB that has more files and programs that the windows machine and they exceed the 120 GB drive, so I have to go with the 240GB.

I wonder if all that stuff will be covered by the 350 watts power supply that comes standard with the ASUS?.

Lucky Blue and Rich2005 said yes, but I would like some more opinions I am now in the USA buying all my tech stuff for the next 3 years and in a couple of weeks I will return to my country, so I want to be sure I do not need to change the power supply.

Best regards
joejac

[Just17]

Because the SSD is light on power requirements it is most likely the 350 will do .....  but ......  if you can afford to change it for a 500 I would  .....  I am a believer in running PSU at about 70% max of their rated value .....

350W is very low these days ....  anything you might add in over the next year or three could tip the balance ...  graphics cards are power hungry for instance .....

[Lucky Blue]

My quick estimates for power used of that setup are:
(I have not looked at the Asus website for that PC as that may give the power requirement, the graphics card is the big variable)
   
Power used by pc when just sitting   = 120 watts
(this can be measured with a plug-in power meter which costs $25 to 40 here)
Power use when operating-  computing, graphics card operating, dvd writing, mouse moving, fans at full speed-  all at same time which is unlikely   = 210 watts

Allowing extra for component degradation and start-up surges, tho' power supplies usually allow for this,
a custom sized power supply would be about    290 watts. 

[joejac]

Hello,
I installed LXDE in the SSD, but I had a problem with the video configuration, I adjusted it and rebooted before changing the Grub menu, big mistake. It altered the Windows Bootmgr of the Hard Disk. I finally was able to recover the Windows installation. But when booting from LXDE Live CD only sees the Hard Drive not the SSD.

If I try to make a new LXDE (Linux) installation it close the installation just before formatting the SSD.
I went to Windows 7 Disk management and the SSD is there with 3 partitions:

•12.01 GB Healthy Active Primary Partition
•3,9 GB Healthy Primary Partition
•207,66 GB Healthy Primary Partition

I tried to make a secure erase in order to have the SSD in the original conditions using Intel SSD Toolbox and it did not allowed me because "a Security Freeze Lock is detected and the drive must be power cycled by unplugging and plugging in the drive" If I understood correctly this has to be done with the drive connected to the Desktop while it is power on, I am not going to do that, that is risky for all the hardware including the SSD, and it is a new machine and the guarantee can be void.
 
I erased the partitions with Windows 7 disk Management, I got an unallocated 223 GB SSD, but the SSD is 240GB. I have Windows 7 in a WD Hard Drive.
I tried to install Linux LXDE and again fails in same point before formating the SSD.

Now there is not a partition in the disk,

•Why is the Security Freeze Lock on?
•Why I can not modify words with Intel SSD Toolbox?
•In the seventies was very easy to write to memory positions, Why is so difficult now if the technology have advanced so much?.

But what I do not understand is why  Windows 7 disk Management sees the SSD but LXDE no, with a LXDE LiveCD I can see with the file manager the WD Hard Disk but no the SSD, Why?

Did some one had same problem and got a resolution? Any Ideas?.

I lost a complete working day. What an unprofessional method of "power cycled." I can not belive that the Intel SSD Toolbox can not write to a memory word, old computers of the seventies could do that. Where these people go with new technologies?. The more the technology advance it should do best, fast and easy the things for people, not worst.

Thank you for your help.
Regards
joejac

[joejac]

Hello,
Finally I was able to install PCLinuxOS LXDE in the SSD and do the dual boot.

As per Grub 1 bootloader documentation, is recommended to change your sata cables in your motherboard so the Windows Hard Disk be your first device. In other words to be your P0 SATA device in the BIOS. The SSD must be the secondary device, P1. I have an ASUS P8Z77-VLX.

Is very important to read this for linux newbies.

1. Download the last version of the Intel SSD Toolbox and install it in your Windows Hard Drive. Please note that in my previous post I had erased the SSD partitions with Windows 7 disk Management.

2. Please note that the Intel SSD Toolbox instructions to unlock the Security Freeze Lock are outdated. I followed and it did not unlock.
2.1So I followed the advice of someone in Intel SSD forums.

• I turned off the Desktop, open it,
• take out the SATA cable of the SSD,
• then turn on the Desktop,
• enter in the BIOS, set "Hot Plug" enabled for the SSD (P1), F10 to save the changes and
• when the Windows logo appeared in the Windows 7 startup I plugged in the SATA cable in the SSD drive.

3. I ran Intel SSD Toolbox and this time it was able to do the secure erase in order to have the SSD in the original conditions. It took a minute.

4. This time with the SSD like new, I was able to reinstall LXDE
4.1 Formatting the 223,7GB available and installing LXDE took about 5 minutes.
4.2 Be carefull because the Grub bootloader takes as default for boot device the first disk, the Windows disk, in case of a mistake, Grub will write the MBR and will get "Error Bootmgr is missing" and Windows 7 will not boot.
4.2.1 Use your Windows installation disk but do not reinstall, only repair, it might require various attempts. See this link.

4.3 In my case, it also automatically created the entry in the boot menu to have the option to boot from the Windows 7 drive, and it worked fine.

5. In my oppinion Intel should have an administrator password in the Intel SSD Toolbox so we can have the possibility to modify the bits for "Security Freeze Lock" and "Hardware encryption" among others, not in the above way.

Hope this can help someone else.
Best regards
joejac