Noob questions + clarification on mbr/gpt

[spring.snow]

Hello! I understand the team's probably got their hands full as it is, given that it's probably not sizeable, but I hope asking some basic things is ok.

I would like to move over to MX21 (xfce ahs most likely), but would appreciate finding out some things beforehand so I don't mess it up. I've been running a dual-boot setup with W10 and Mint Cinnamon 20.1 (with grub bootloader) until the mint boot stopped working. If I boot windows, it works fine, however, booting Mint doesn't let any USB port go through. The reason I've specified this is because I'm unsure whether it has anything to do with the BIOS (I've tried every possible suggestion I came across btw), I'm afraid UEFI might do the same with MX.

Would traditional BIOS be recommended over UEFI? Does it matter? I've been running UEFI mode because I've read it should be better, but I am not sure how this affects Linux distros. Again I've mostly winged it by just searching through forums and linux subs and followed recommended steps. I've tested and benchmarked my setup in windows, so I would say it's unlikely that there are hardware issues.

Another thing I'd be grateful if someone could clarify is whether I should format and repartition my drives. I have 3 drives configured as (2 ssd and one hdd), say, sda which has dual boot + grub, sdb and sdc. I assume I should format sda with Gpart and install OS there, but can I keep the partitions I've made in Mint, respectively sdb and sdc? Is the safer option wiping them and then partitioning again?

[Huckleberry Finn]

Just:

Disable "secure boot" in Bios settings, and disable "Fast Startup" in Windows.

(1st one prevents most open source drivers and the latter keeps devices busy for it's not a real shutdown)

Shortly:

Go on with Uefi. (Just , the first implementations of uefi/efi were problematic (on older computers) legacy mode might work better for them)

You can keep Mint and all other things. Also you can first try everything on live session, also can connect here and post "Quick System Info" from Menu and ask anything even during/before installation, even with screenshots from GParted if needed.

[towwire]

What do you mean until the mint boot stopped working?
What do you mean booting Mint doesn't let any USB port go through?

I am asking so that I can understand what is happening.
Since your already booting UEFI that is what MX would used once it is installed.

Don't format or repartitions any drive until everything is understood.

You say you have 3 drives. To list you drives, one is sda, one is sdb and one is sdc. That is why I do not understand 'can I keep the partitions I've made in Mint, respectively sdb and sdc? So where is Windows?

It would be good if you could boot to an MX flash drive and give your QSI (Quick System Info).
Another from the terminal would be this.

Code: Select all

lsblk -f

[spring.snow]

Just:

Disable "secure boot" in Bios settings, and disable "Fast Startup" in Windows.

You can keep Mint and all other things. Also you can first try everything on live session, also can connect here and post "Quick System Info" from Menu and ask anything even during/before installation, even with screenshots from GParted if needed.

I've had those 2 settings (csm disabled too) turned off since before installing mint (was also recommended in the guide).

I believe I should have phrased everything better to be more clear, apologies! So what I meant is that I don't want to keep any of the dualboot OS (neither win nor mint), instead I wish to just move over to MX and keep only that. But I wanted to understand if there's any benefit to legacy or uefi so I could be better informed in the hopes of avoiding what happened with the first linux experience. During the MX 21 live disk I didn't encounter any errors, I burned the iso with Rufus after checking sha256 and chose GPT.

What do you mean until the mint boot stopped working?
What do you mean booting Mint doesn't let any USB port go through?

You say you have 3 drives. To list you drives, one is sda, one is sdb and one is sdc. That is why I do not understand 'can I keep the partitions I've made in Mint, respectively sdb and sdc? So where is Windows?

I mean that after I go to grub boot menu and choose to boot Mint, I can't get to my desktop - it's stuck at the log-in screen (none of the USB inputs are detected, so no keyboard and no mouse). It worked fine for a while until it started doing that. I have tried to fix that for months and never found any fix, so now I wish to go with MX.

By keeping the partitions I've made in Mint I mean that I have my home directory on the second ssd, it's already labelled and has its storage space allocated. Same goes for the 3rd drive which is an hdd where I still have some data. I wanted to ask if it's possible to keep that data there, or whether they would need to be formatted, since I've already allocated + labelled them (in win I believe it's called "initialized", I don't know the equivalent).
Both windows and mint are on the first ssd, I don't intend to keep the dual-boot setup, so the first ssd would probably be formatted in Gpart (I don't know whether this is optimal or not, it's the only one I've used in mint). I hope this helps clarify.

I'll try to post lsblk info, but I use the computer for work as well so it might take a bit until I can boot the flash drive.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to help!

[Huckleberry Finn]

...I don't want to keep any of the dualboot OS (neither win nor mint), instead I wish to just move over to MX and keep only that. But I wanted to understand if there's any benefit to legacy or uefi so I could be better informed in the hopes of avoiding what happened with the first linux experience. During the MX 21 live disk I didn't encounter any errors, I burned the iso with Rufus after checking sha256 and chose GPT.

Ah, ok, then all you need to do is go on :)

It's up to you:

• You can either choose Auto Installation, that will wipe the whole disk and do all for you ,

• or prepare partitions first :
  
  Simply 1 ESP : fat32 formatted, with both flags: esp (and) boot
  and 1 ext4 for MX (for a straightforward installation) ,
  
  then choose "custom installation" (which's already selected by default).
  
  (Other than that, you can prepare separate partitions for /boot and /home , and if you like choose to encrypt home (and even root) ... )

___________________________________________________________

P.S. In case you choose custom installation: just click the cells under "Use For" column (sometimes users forget/overlook that) and select what that partition will be: root (where MX will be installed), home , swap , boot etc... (if no partitions are assigned for /home and /boot then it'll be a classic installation: all together in / (root) ).

In case you get confused, ask again anytime you like :)

[chrispop99]

If you think it might be useful, developer Dolphin Oracle has some great YouTube videos on his 'Run With The Dolphin' channel.

Here is one taking you through a basic install:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX5YJ58YoQ8&

and another showing a more advanced set-up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Xz4GJO9Bo

Chris

[towwire]

As @chrispop99 said watch the video's it will help when you do the install of MX.

When you post your QSI (Quick System Info), then we will know if you need to use the 'ASH' version or just the regular one.

With the 'lsblk -f' output we can see you drives and their partitions. Give you options on what and how to set them up, but the choice will be how you want to do it.

Anything you do not understand please ask again. We are here to help and need to say it in a way you can understand it.

[spring.snow]

• You can either choose Auto Installation, that will wipe the whole disk and do all for you ,

• or prepare partitions first :
  
  Simply 1 ESP : fat32 formatted, with both flags: esp (and) boot
  and 1 ext4 for MX (for a straightforward installation) ,

I'm not sure I understand what this means, I will also admit I haven't gone through the whole manual yet. What does ESP mean? If I'd draw from my mint installation experience, I assume I would need a small fat32 partition for the grub bootloader? Is this correct?

Regarding the partitions, I was thinking if I could have the home directory on a different ssd so it offers the option to encrypt it, and leave the OS (I assume this means the root dir?) on a separate ssd in case something breaks so I don't lose data. When I installed mint I left it to default, but I wanted to change it afterwards as I wanted to move /home. I will admit someone helped me do this, he literally gave me the CLI code which I pasted directly and it worked (luckily). It was probably not optimal, but I really have no idea how to do that myself.
Do you recommend leaving everything to default?

One more thing, if you don't mind: I have already set up my other partitions on the second ssd and the hdd in Mint Cinnamon, they are ext4 partitions (they have data on them). Can I just leave them like this? Do I have to format more than the SSD which has the dual boot (win+Mint)? Would there be a conflict if I set the home dir in MXLinux on the same SSD that I had it set-up in Mint? I didn't format it yet because I still have some data that I would like to move, but if needed I could format it.

If you think it might be useful, developer Dolphin Oracle has some great YouTube videos on his 'Run With The Dolphin' channel.

Thank you very much for the links! I would really like to learn to navigate linux properly, so this is definitely a step in the right direction.

When you post your QSI (Quick System Info), then we will know if you need to use the 'ASH' version or just the regular one.
Anything you do not understand please ask again. We are here to help and need to say it in a way you can understand it.

That is highly appreciated, thanks! I have put off having a go at linux for years because it felt like it's really exclusive to experienced users and programmers, I'm pretty sure a lot of people are in this situation. During the time Mint worked for me I really enjoyed the snappiness of linux, my pc never reached such good idle temperatures in win10. And I monitor them regularly, I have internal and external sensors in the case, connected to controllers. I really wish they made the software available for Linux.

Sorry for the wall of text, but thanks again!

[Huckleberry Finn]

... What does ESP mean? If I'd draw from my mint installation experience, I assume I would need a small fat32 partition for the grub bootloader? Is this correct?

Yep.

" The EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) System Partition ".

[Huckleberry Finn]

Do you recommend leaving everything to default?

Imho, you just select Auto Installation and go on .. "next next finish".. it'll wipe sda and do everything needed for you. (assuming you select/prefer sda) . This will be a basic installation. Straightforward. (/boot and /home in root partition)

I was thinking if I could have the home directory on a different ssd so it offers the option to encrypt it,...

Sure.

... and leave the OS ... on a separate ssd ...

Sure.

...I assume this means the root dir?..

Yep.

... Can I just leave them like this? ... Would there be a conflict if I ...

You can leave all of them , no need to wipe or format anything related to Mint (or any other Linux Distro or Windows )... There won't be any conflicts. Furthermore you'll probably be able to boot to Mint, too , after installing MX (hence reinstalling Grub).

During (custom) installation you'll select (assign) partitions, like this :