I’m something of a linux user (it’s my OS at work) but I’m not much of a ‘super user’. I can get around using the command line, I know how to use the vi editor, and write simple shell scripts. I’ve installed Linux to an empty machine before.
My fiancee is looking to apply for jobs that require the use of the linux OS and some software on it, and I’d like to have a linux OS at home, so it seems natural to use the unused hard drive on my ASUS laptop for this.
What is the simplest way to install so that everything openSUSE is on the empty hard drive (it’s big enough, I checked). I don’t care much how we boot into it, I would prefer at a minimum that Windows remain the primary boot option, and use the Esc key (the way to get into BIOS on my laptop) to pick the Linux boot option. Ideally, it would show both options when the computer is turned on, but my tolerance (and time) for fiddling with things is somewhat limited right now.
I’ve done some reading but I haven’t found much information on the specific kind of setup I’m looking for.
All right then There are two ways to approach the problem
use the existing efi boot partition on the first drive to add the boot info for openSUSE. But this does do a small mode to the first drive.
install all on second drive and produce a new efi boot. But I think you will have to select OS by invoking the EFI boot menu at boot. Often F12 but hard to say for sure since the manufacturers have not been great at presenting a common interface so read the manual.
So in either case best to use the FULL DVD and not one of the live ones since it has more options and control. This needs to be booted in EFI mode via the EFI boot menu (note some times it is set to boot removable disks in EFI but often it is set to do so in legacy which you don’t want)
Then should see the grub screen and a menu for installing. Note that if you see options at the bottom STOP that shows it has been booted in legacy mode.
So at the point of defining the partitions you must take full control and tell it to install things to the second drive not the first. So you want expert mode to allow all the selections
You want a swap partition formatted as swap. You want a root partition (assume the default BTRFS file system you want 40 Gig if you choose ext4 file system you can get buy with 20 Gig. Read up on snapper to know why) Then you will want home as large as you want since it is where your data files live. In addition you will need a efi boot partition about 100 meg is more then enough for the EFI boot stuff formatted FAT It should be mounted as /boot/efi. So the location is the difference between 1 and 2 above. for one just mount the xisting small FAT partition as /efi/boot for 2 you need to create the partition on the second drive.
Last the boot code should be grub2-efi NOT grub2 if you have secure boot on (most likely) then check the box for secure boot.
Note if you follow 1 above then you may have to set which OS is default in the EFI BIOS.
Note on Asus. I don’t know that model but Asus as made some that are 32 bit only and there is serious booting problems because openSUSE does not support 32 bit boot code. The EFI docs say that boot should be 64. There are apperent work arounds but they appear to take a good bit of knowledge and the willingness totally reinstall everything if things go wrong.
The installer will probably want to use the EFI partition on the first drive (the Windows drive). It will create a directory “opensuse” with a few files. This should not be a problem.
You should be able to tell the installer to put everything else on the second drive.
After install, it will boot into opensuse. But you can change the boot order later.
As root:
# efibootmgr -v
This will list the boot options, and give each a number. Then
# efibootmgr -o 3
will make boot option 3 the first in the boot order. Change “3” to whatever you want. These are really 4-digit hexadecimal numbers.
If you set it to automatically boot Windows in that boot order, then you should be able to use F12 during boot to get a BIOS boot menu to select opensuse.
Yes, please give the exact name of the laptop you intend to install on.
Yes!
A last point:
Further, please - before installing - try to boot the laptop from any Live-Linux, open a terminal, become root, say ‘parted -l’, and post the output of that here.
I think the troublesome systems are all tablets, not laptops.
The EFI docs say that boot should be 64.
Actually, no they don’t. Rather, they say that EFI booting should use the native instruction set. Presumably, Intel has declared that the native instruction set for its Atom processors is 32-bit, even though they also run 64-bit code.
According to the announcement of the recent Debian 8 release, that does system support 32-bit EFI. I don’t have an ASUS tablet to test it.
Only thing I would add is to make the swap partition equal to amount of memory, ex: 8GB of RAM 8GB swap. Agree that the installer will most likely use the EFI partition on the first drive, not a problem. Definitely, play around with the Live CD first for a few days, and then install from the full DVD. Don’t be surprised if you eventually remove the old Windows partition and keep openSUSE as the primary. Personally I like keeping Windows in a well defined cage AKA virtual machine.
In any case always pay attention and don’t just click accept accept accept like you would installing a Windows program. Observe and understand each screen if you don’t understand something ask here.
