Changing HDD to SSD and Installing Two OS (Windows and Ubuntu)

- Purpose: Set PC(Desktop or Laptop) for genenel perpose use like using word processor, playing game, programming and so on.

1. Change HDD(Hard Disk Drive) to SSD(Solide State Drive) to get faster read/write performance to the main memory.

2. Install two most famous OS (Windows and Ubuntu) because we don't know which OS would be needed in the future.

3. Partition and Format SSD for efficient use in the situation of two OS and one SSD

 

- Environment & Requirements

Labtop with Intel i5 CPU, 250GB SSD, Windows 10 booting USB Flash Drive, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS booting USB Flash Drive, Windows 10 PC which is used for initializing SSD and making Booting USB Flash Drive

 

- Prepare SSD

If your SSD was used before at another PC, your SSD need to be clean before use as follows:

1. Connect your SSD to another PC which has it's own main memory and OS on it.

2. Clean your SSD using diskpart program

>diskpart

>list disk

Check SSD disk #. For me, SSD disk # is 1.

>select disk 1

>clean

>convert gpt

>exit

※ GPT is need for UEFI Windows 10.

(No warranty: Google for exact information)

Fig 1. Clean your SSD using 'diskpart' program

※ The 'diskpart' program's 'clean' command use some simple mechanism to clean memory. Thas is, 'clean' command erases memory's fisrt small part and last small part.

This way is possible because the memory usage information is mostly in the first and last part of the memory and without this information this memory is recognized as empty by Users of that memory (e.g. by PC, Printer and so on).

If you want to erase all, use 'clean all' command instead of 'clean'.

(Google for further information)

 

- Prepare Windows 10 UEFI booting USB

1. Download program called 'MediaCreationTool1809.exe' at link bellow:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

Download Windows 10

2. Run downloaded program

3. Follow that program guide to make Windows 10 booting USB Flash Drive

Fig 2. Making Windows 10 booting USB Flash Drive

※ Why need Windows 10 with UEFI booting, not others (e.g. BIOS booting) ?

Ubuntu only supports UEFI booting and I think we need to unify booting mechanism in the situation of one Main Memory (SSD or HDD) and two OS. Need to study further.

(No warranty: Google for exact information)

 

- Prepare Ubuntu 16.04 LTS booting USB 

 

- Replace HDD with SSD

Open the back cover of a laptop and replace HDD with SSD.

Fig 3. Replacing HDD with SSD (Left: before, Right: after)

- Install UEFI booting Window 10 with the booting USB Flash Drive

1. Enable UEFI boot at your BIOS options.

2. Boot with the booting USB Flash Drive.

3. Run Windows 10 installer and follow guide of the installer (to install Windows 10 on SSD)

4. Boot with SSD to run the newly installed Windows 10.

5. Check if your SSD has partition for EFI. If not, it means that you didn't install Windows 10 with UEFI booting mode and shuold reinstall Windows 10 with UEFI booting mode.

Fig 4. Example of the memory partition which includes EFI partition

Fig 5. Warning message during Ubuntu installation because of BIOS booting OS installed on another partition

- Planing for your SSD usage (Partitioning and Formatting) and installing Ubuntu

To use two OS on one Main Memory, you will need two partition for each OS.

You may need shared partition for the two OS which is accessible for the two OS.

For me, partitioned SSD into three region (not counting auxiliary partition like EFI partition, Recovery partition, only counting OS partition, Data partition).

My 250GB SSD was used One for Windows 10 (250*0.4 GB), another for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (250*0.4 GB), the other for data partition (250*0.2 GB) shared by two OS.

Because we already installed Windows 10 on SSD, follow steps below to partition SSD:

(Stpe 4~5: installing Ubuntu)

1. Turn on laptop to run Windows 10 on SSD.

2. Use windows disk manager and downsize your Windows 10 partition (not EFI partition or others) resulting in 250*0.4 GB for Windows 10 partition

3. Restart laptop and boot with Ubuntu booting USB Flash Drive.

4. Install Ubuntu. During Ubuntu installation, you should select an option to partition by your self.

Fig 6. Option to partition by your self for Ubuntu installation

5. Partion 512 MB for 'EFI system partition' and 250*0.4 GB for Ubuntu.

Fig 7. Example of paritioning for Ubuntu installation

Fig 8. Result of partitioning for Ubuntu installation (Left: before Ubuntu installation, Right: after Ubuntu installation)

6. Set remaining 250*0.2 GB of SSD as Data partition.

Set remaining 250*0.2 GB as a partition and format the partition as NTFS file system which are accessible for both Window and Ubuntu.

Fig 9. Result of SSD partitions