Will be installing either Mint or Pop_OS on a new laptop which has a 512gb SSD. Will keep Windows for gaming, at least for now, with the games installed on an external HD. But otherwise, this is to experiment with living in Linux.

I understand that I can unallocate HD space from Windows in order to make room for the LInux OS, leaving at least 25 or 30gb for the Linux OS itself.

Do I then extend that space further, so to speak, to allow for any other programs I might install as well as for data? Do I create a third partition for data that will be shared between the two OS?

What’s a reasonable breakdown?

e.g.
Windows 100gb; Linux 400gb or
Win 100gb; Linux 30gb; Data (NTFS) 370gb?

  • speckOP
    1•1 year ago

    I appreciate the tips, thank you. When you mention making a separate home partition in Linux: my understanding is that we unallocate hard drive space from Windows and, when we first install Linux, it will use that free space to make its own partition. Are you referring to another step, beyond that?

      • speckOP
        1•1 year ago

        I looked into this little bit.

        So on a 512gb hd an e.g. breakdown:

        Windows 150gb
        Linux / 30gb
        Linux /home ? 70gb
        Data (nfts format, shared with both os) 262gb (or whatever is actually left over)

        (I’ll have an external HD for games)

          • speckOP
            1•1 year ago

            Huh. I was going to have an external HD for games with two partitions: a larger one for PC, formatted in ntfs, and a smaller one for Linux, for if I want to try gaming with it, and formatted in ext4. You’re suggesting that both should be in exfat, instead?