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I have 4 hard drives connected on my computer, 3 SSD and 1 HDD. One of the SSD contained Windows 10 OS and the HDD is actively used to store large applications for the Windows OS, and the other SSD is for Games. This leave me with one SSD 120GB that I plan to install Ubuntu 21.04 on. I tried installing ubuntu previously and found out that if I do default Ubuntu setup, Ubuntu bios bootloader and GRUB will be installed the Windows' SSD. I do not want any Ubuntu file or dependency stuff installed on it. So, My questions are

  1. If I do this, Can I access separate OS using my bios "select boot device" option if ubuntu bootloader/grub not installed on the Windows SSD?
  2. If I format my Ubuntu SSD, is it safe to assume that nothing linux/ubuntu/grub/bootloader will be left behind My computer?

Thank you.

condenser
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1 Answers1

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Q1 — Can I access separate OS using my BIOS "select boot device"

Yes, you can certainly do this if you would prefer. In the event you do choose this route, do yourself a favour and disconnect the three other drives beforehand to ensure a more complete isolation of the boot loader.

Q2 — If I [later] format my Ubuntu SSD, is it safe to assume that nothing linux/ubuntu/grub/bootloader will be left behind [my] computer?

Given that Windows really doesn’t like file systems that aren’t NTFS or FAT-based, you would be deleting the partitions and formatting them as something other than a Linux type so, yes, everything Linux-related would be eliminated.

Note that there is no guarantees of “complete isolation” if you’re using Ubuntu (or any other Linux distribution) to modify files, partitions, or metadata on any of the other three partitions. You will need to be conscious of the commands you give the computer if you truly seek isolation.

Alternatively, set Ubuntu up in a virtual machine and save yourself the complexities that arise with a multi-boot system.

matigo
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