Install manjaro on ssd and keep data on hdd

Welcome to the forum! :slight_smile:

Well, I am not going to give you any direct advice on doing what you say you want to do, because GNU/Linux does not work the same way Windows does. Windows maintains a volume-oriented approach to storage, with different drive letters, and everyone basically has write access to everything except for the C:\WINDOWS directory.

GNU/Linux on the other hand is a UNIX system, and UNIX does not use drive letters, nor does it allow everyone to write to everything.

UNIX is an integrated/integrating operating system architecture, and once you install an application, it becomes just a mere extension of the base operating system. As such, the bulk of the software is always installed under /usr ─ sometimes under /opt if it is third-party software that was installed outside of the scope of the package manager ─ with the executables, libraries and shared data spread out across several subdirectories. So your applications will always be installed in the same place, as determined by the package manager ─ which in itself is also something Windows does not have.

Now, when it comes to data, the personal configuration files and personal data of the different user accounts is stored under /home, in subdirectories that carry the name of the user, and subdirectories thereof for the various types of data. However, you can mount an alien filesystem into the directory hierarchy, and if this alien filesystem ─ say ntfs ─ contains data specific to one user only, then I recommend mounting it to a directory (“folder”) under your own personal $HOME, e.g. at /home/bedii97/data.

As for how to mount such a filesystem, the default autodetection and automounting mounts the filesystem under /run somewhere, but that often leads to permissions issues, which is why I propose not using the autodetection and instead setting up a mountpoint and adding a static “rule” for it in /etc/fstab. I have elaborated on the procedure in the post linked below… :arrow_down:

3 Likes