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I have a desktop (8 GiB RAM) and installed Ubuntu in the standard way (erase disk and install Ubuntu - nothing else ;-)). But it kept booting in windows... finally - as a newbie - I understand the desktop has a ssd and hdd drive...

Anyway, after reading the following:

  1. How would I install Ubuntu with two hard drives
  2. https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/installing-ubuntu-two-hard-drives

I need the desktop for QGis and data/pictures and I intend to use the ssd drive (120 GiB) for booting Ubuntu (quick start) and the hdd drive (1 TB) for data (I don't want a dual boot with Windows). Right now I am checking how both drives are partitioned. This is confusing to me and before deleting all those partitions and making new ones I would like your advice.

From Ubuntu on a bootable usb stick (with GParted) I get this information about both hard drives:

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and I plan to take the following actions according to the linuxjournal article:

On /dev/sdb 120 GiB (SSD drive with UEFI mode)

  1. delete all existing partitions
  2. create a new partition
  3. On this root drive I will create the boot drive (primary, ext4) and select “/boot” as the mount point for this partition as well.
  4. next I will set up a swap area (12 GiB because of the 8 GiB RAM)
  5. Rest of this drive will do for the root partition and mount point '/'

On /dev/sda (HDD drive of 1 TB)

  1. delete all existing partitions
  2. create a new partition
  3. create a home partition with size = All remaining free space, type for the new partition = Primary, location for the new partition = Beginning, use as = EXT4 journaling file system and mount point = /home

Finally, my questions are

  1. Is the above plan acceptable (no serious mistakes)?
  2. Is this re-partitioning best done when I start installing Ubuntu with the bootable usb stick (as in the linuxjournal article) or is better done at forehand with GParted?

Update: I just read a article were they speak about a (U)EFI partition of 512 MB. See https://www.addictivetips.com/ubuntu-linux-tips/split-ubuntu-between-hdd-ssd/ The Linuxjournal article does not mention that...

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  • What Ubuntu release are you going to install (instructions may differ slightly depending...)? Do you have a reason for a separate /boot? (like encrypted logical volume for root....). Definitely do the partitioning before you start the install (the install partitioner in 23.04 will insist on making a 1GB EFI). The 22.04 installer will insist on putting bootloaders on the first EFI partition it finds, not necessarily the disk yuo specify.
    – ubfan1
    Apr 28 at 22:02
  • I wanted to install the latest release, 22.04.2 LTS or Ubuntu 23.04 (with a preference for the last one)
    – Amedee
    Apr 28 at 22:24
  • About the separate /boot: I intended to do what the article mentioned...
    – Amedee
    Apr 28 at 22:34
  • 22.04 is a Long Term Support release (5 yrs), and 23.04 has 9 months support (at which point you upgrade or reinstall to a later release). Brand new hardware may require such a release with the latest kernel, etc. That article has many problems, (claims a UEFI install, but no EFI partition, 500GB+ root (way too big, could use space for two separate roots/installs (e.g. both 22.04 and 23.04 ). With multiple roots, /home (which contains program specific config files in the dot files) would be better as a data part you link to --Documents, etc. Separate /boot not needed,EFI partition is needed.
    – ubfan1
    Apr 28 at 23:26
  • I have been reading about that EFI partition and was wondering why the article didn't mention it. Anyway, if there is a better way, I am anxious to learn ubfan1. Could you point me out a better article or installation guide for this type of installation? Or eventually write it down as a solution in this thread? About the releases: I have a ubuntu 22.10 boot image that I previously updated to the 23.04 version on this desktop. If one or the other release is better for the installation on the sdd and hdd drive, then I like to choose that release. I need the desktop for QGis and data/pictures.
    – Amedee
    Apr 29 at 6:51

1 Answer 1

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This has got be a duplicate, but things change every release, so I'll just mention some new things not in the docs yet. Here are some links from a quick Google search:

https://askubuntu.com/questions/1311540/how-would-i-install-ubuntu-with-two-hard-drives
https://askubuntu.com/questions/118290/setup-for-dual-disk-ssdhdd-with-home-partition
https://askubuntu.com/questions/52286/how-do-i-symlink-certain-directories-in-home-to-an-ssd?rq=1
https://askubuntu.com/questions/258259/advantages-of-separate-home-partition-on-hdd-ssd-setup
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallingANewHardDrive

Documentation
https://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=428

Tutorials
https://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=100

https://help.ubuntu.com/community
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation

Definitely do not bother with 22.10, it only has a few more months support. Choose 22.04 for 4 years support or 23.10 for 9 months support, but better installation support for a second disk. Of course, if you remove the "other" disk when installing 22.04, that eliminates most problems.

Using /home on a single release is fine, but if you decide to have multiple Ubuntu boots (22.04 and 23.04 for instance), keep the separate /usr/home/ directories for each and use symlinks to a mounted data partition -- that way the hidden "dot" config files in your home will be kept separate for each release.

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