Ubuntu – How should I partition Ubuntu-Win 10 dual boot

dual-bootpartitioningwindows 10

I know usually it's not a big deal because: install Win 10, make free space for Ubuntu then install it. But in my case it's a little bit more complicated. Right now I have Win 10 on a 240 GB SSD that's my C: partition. Beside that I have a 1 TB HDD with partitions D: for programs and E: and F: for personal data. I want to install Ubuntu as my main os and reinstall Win 10 because I need it sometimes. The only partitions I want to delete are C: and D: because I need my personal files. So my question is: How would you do this if you were me? I was thinking that I put my Ubuntu root on the SSD, I cut my D: partition in two halves, on 100 GB I'd put Windows on the other 200 GB my /home and then I'd mount my E: and F: in Ubuntu. I know it's very very messy but when I made my current setup I wasn't thinking enough. Of course I will backup my data asap and delete all these unnecessary partitions and make one big /home but right now I don't have other choice if nobody can recommend me something better.
Thank you for reading my post, I'm looking forward to your answers.

Best Answer

In a dual-boot system, I prefer having my personal files in an NTFS partition to be able to access them from both OS's. Home partition cannot be formatted as NTFS, so I would have at least two separate partitions.

I wouldn't reinstall Windows 10. I would install Ubuntu alongside it on the 240Gb SSD and leave your data on the 1Tb drive. Depending on the size of drives E: and F:, you could reformat one of them as ext4 and use it as Home partition.

Then there's the possibility of using a Swap partition roughly the size of your RAM.

So on your SSD you may have

  • 120 Gb for Win 10 (NTFS)
  • 120 Gb for Ubuntu. (ext4)

Then on the HDD:

  • D: for Win programs (NTFS -unchanged)
  • current E: for home (ext4)
  • (optional) a Swap partition
  • F: for personal files (NTFS)

Partitioning is a question of personal taste. Some would suggest having separate partitions for /boot, etc., so inform yourself before taking a decision.

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