Question regarding installing and having Windows on a separate SSD

[linub]

Hello
i’d like to have Windows on a separate SSD for some unsupported games.

i read something along the line that in order that they don’t mess each other boot entry(or something);
i need to remove the Linux ssd>install Windows on the new one>take it out>put the linux one back and then the Windows one.

i don’t want to have to do all that and have to remove the GPU in order to access the ssd.

my question:
can i install Windows on an SSD at work for example,then insert it in my PC and add it as a boot entry in grub?

i want no connection between both OSes and have window mess my Linux install after an update or something(as this is a common topic here.)

[Aragorn]

@linub

can i install Windows on an SSD at work for example,then insert it in my PC and add it as a boot entry in grub?

Yes. Just make sure that the os-prober is enabled in /etc/default/grub and run…

sudo update-grub

… after you’ve installed the SSD into the machine.

[linub]

Cool,Thanks!

[omano]

Be prepared, always have a Manjaro USB near the computer, for the randomly happening case of Windows deleting your boot entry in the motherboard so you can easily boot Manjaro again from the USB GRUB menu (select “Detect other OS” or something like that and select Manjaro bootloader, and then reinstall grub from Manjaro system to restore the boot entry in the motherboard).

It happened multiple time to me in the past years but I always have a USB with Ventoy on it and various ISO ready to boot from.

Also Windows often, randomly, move its boot entry to the top of the list, just so you know in case you don’t understand why it would not reboot to GRUB/Manjaro.

[soundofthunder]

@linub

can i install Windows on an SSD at work for example,then insert it in my PC and add it as a boot entry in grub?

Using separate SSDs is the safest method.

Physically disconnecting one disk while installing to the other, is also safe practice. When using traditional SSDs, you could simply unplug the SATA (and power) cables to the disk, though I concede it may be a chore when using NVMe storage.

A potential complication with what you suggest is that your work machine will likely have different hardware. Windows may take several reconfigurations and reboots until it’s finally stable enough to use on different hardware.

Windows will recover, eventually, but it can be an annoyance.

Cheers.

[nikgnomic]

@linub

i don’t want to have to do all that and have to remove the GPU in order to access the ssd

Disconnecting drives physically is to ensure that Windows installer cannot overwrite GRUB
The Linux drive could be disabled in BIOS so it cannot be overwritten
(but some users might not disable the drive correctly)

Also suggest turn off Fast Startup (hybrid hibernation) and reboot Windows before re-enabling Linux drive in BIOS

And maybe change Windows clock to use UTC instead of local time

[linub]

reading your comments,it seems there is no escape from Windows eventually messing something up,not majorly but annoyingly non the less.

i thought i could avoid it with two separate SSDs,
but i may have to compromise,we’ll see.

Thanks.

[soundofthunder]

@linub

i thought i could avoid it with two separate SSDs,
but i may have to compromise,we’ll see.

There’s no reason why you can’t have a generally decent experience multibooting Manjaro and Windows on separate disks. I’ve done that myself for many years (along with BSD, MacOS and others at different times).

It just takes attention to detail and some preventative maintenance…

In fact, I once wrote a tutorial you might find useful:

• [Multiboot] Windows and Linux on Separate Disks

Cheers.

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Edited Title spelling for better search results.