Installing MX21 KDE over 2 drives [Solved]

[Sparky]

One of my computers (the one I'm making this post with), it has 2 NVMe Drives. When I try installing MX21 KDE, I can choose only one drive. Is there a way to make it see both drives and format the second one? Do I have to resort to Gparted?
The problem is, as it is now, each drive has a different installation of MX, one KDE and one XFCE. I want the new KDE to 'see' both drives and install over them, otherwise upon booting I will still have 2 versions. Any suggestions?
Thanks.

[asqwerth]

Suggestion 1:

Install MX KDE into the empty drive, and then boot into it to make sure it works. If so, and after BACKING UP whatever you want from your xfce install, open Gparted and format over the drive containing MX xfce. That will leave you with a spare drive. In due course, if you need to use the second drive, you can create the necessary partition(s) using Gparted [eg for a separate Data partition, or to install a different distro] . If you are ad ding it as a Data partition to your MX KDE install ,you can then use MX Disk Manager to automount this new partition.



Suggestion 2:

while in the installer, use gparted first to format over the xfce installation [make sure you have done the necessary backups first]. After you do that, the installer should detect that partition on that drive as being empty. Choose "custom" install, and have your /root partition written into one drive and /home on the other drive.

[Sparky]

After you do that, the installer should detect that partition on that drive as being empty. Choose "custom" install, and have your /root partition written into one drive and /home on the other drive.

Thanks. How do I make sure /home is on the secondary drive?

[Sparky]

P.S.
I can't find Synaptic on this install of MX21 KDE. Discover sucks, anyway to get Synaptic working here?

[asqwerth]

After you do that, the installer should detect that partition on that drive as being empty. Choose "custom" install, and have your /root partition written into one drive and /home on the other drive.

Thanks. How do I make sure /home is on the secondary drive?

If you choose custom install, you will get a spreadsheet/table style layout where you choose which partition to set up as root and which to set up as home. So choose different partitions (which in your case will be on different drives) for root and home.

If your mx xfce install was created in drive 2 with separate partitions for root and home (and any others), then if you want to use the whole drive for the home of your new MX KDE install, you will need to use gparted to delete all but one of the partitions, reformat the remaining partition and then resize it to the whole drive size.

[asqwerth]

P.S.
I can't find Synaptic on this install of MX21 KDE. Discover sucks, anyway to get Synaptic working here?

The choice in MX KDE was not to include Synaptic by default. If you want it, install it.

sudo apt install synaptic

[Sparky]

If you choose custom install, you will get a spreadsheet/table style layout where you choose which partition to set up as root and which to set up as home. So choose different partitions (which in your case will be on different drives) for root and home.

If your mx xfce install was created in drive 2 with separate partitions for root and home (and any others), then if you want to use the whole drive for the home of your new MX KDE install, you will need to use gparted to delete all but one of the partitions, reformat the remaining partition and then resize it to the whole drive size.

I see the table. How do I choose? It seems to only accept one highlighted part.

[asqwerth]

just click on the various "cells" that you want.

Try clicking on the "Use For" cells for instance.

[Mauser]

@Sparky , When you use the G.U.I. installer it gives you the option to install different directories on different drives. For example, I install everything except the home folder on the 500MB SSD drive and the home folder on the 8TB HHD drive.

[Sparky]

Thanks @Mauser, will try it.
BTW, trying to install Synaptic gives this error loop:

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