Dualbooting: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:10, 17 September 2024

Warning: This Dualboot manual is intended for experienced users. You will have to manually edit partitions on your harddisk. Take adequate backup of important data before proceeding further. If you want to avoid partitioing your existing hard disk, it may be better for you to buy an additional disk, or use virtualization

It's assumed you have a box where you already run another operating system, and would like to be able to dual boot either the installed system or Alpine Linux.

Complete the basic setup

Follow the Installation steps until the base configuration. i.e set up Alpine without installing to a disk.

Identify and mount partition

To Dual boot Alpine Linux, it needs a separate partition. If you don't have a partition refer Manual partitioning to create and format it.

Note: If you are using btrfs filesystem, there is no need to create a partition. Refer btrfs tutorial

.

Follow the Hard Disk Installation using custom Layout to mount the chosen partition.

# mount /dev/sdXY /mnt

If you're using EFI, pay special attention to ESP partition. ESP partition is shared between Windows, Mac OS and most other operating systems. Make sure you create a mount point /mnt/boot/efi.

# mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi

Find the correct partition name for esp partition and mount it on the above mount point :

# mount /dev/esp /mnt/boot/efi

Install Alpine Linux

Follow the custom Layout based Installation to install Alpine Linux on the chosen partition.

# setup-disk -m sys /mnt

Your dual boot installation can be considered complete. You be should be able to dual boot once you reboot. Refer configure bootloader section, if you would like to make additional changes.

Configure bootloader

There are different bootloaders to get a boot menu that allows selecting the operating system to boot. It is easiest to simply install and use rEFInd boot manager for dual boot between Alpine Linux and Windows.

Otherwise, one may adjust the bootloader that has already been installed by the other operating system.

Dual/Multiboot with Linux

The following example is given to give you some ideas for adjusting grub to boot Alpine.

Reboot your system (start Ubuntu).

Start a 'terminal' (ALT-F2 + "terminal" + [Run])

Take notes of the UUID of the partition you are planning to use:

# blkid /dev/sdXY

Start editing the grub2 configuration

# gedit /etc/grub.d/40_custom

I edited the file to look something like this:

Contents of /etc/grub.d/40_custom

#!/bin/sh
echo "Adding Alpine" >&2
cat << EOF
menuentry "Alpine Linux" {
 set root=(hd0,3)
 linux /boot/vmlinuz-lts root=UUID=8de6973a-4a8c-40ed-b710-c4e2b42d6b7a modules=sd-mod,usb-storage,ext4 quiet
 initrd /boot/initramfs-lts
}
EOF

Note: The root, linux, initrd, and UUID values mentioned above should be replaced with those of your system, e.g. the UUID you got when running the 'blkid' command.

Finally the configuration changes need to be applied to the grub2 bootloader:

update-grub

Now it's time to test. Reboot your box.

Note: You might need to press SHIFT when booting your box in order to see the grub-menu.

Dualboot with Windows

For Windows partitions to be detected with grub, you need `os-prober` and `grub-mount` installed at the time grub-mkconfig runs.

Note: The following needs to be tested

To upgrade the grub installation, the efi directory must be mounted in /boot/efi/. To know in which partition the efi is, we must examine the partition table, so if your main disk is /dev/sda then.

# fdisk -l /dev/sda

Device             Start        End   Sectors   Size Type
/dev/sda1           2048     309247    307200   150M EFI System

# mkdir /boot/efi

# mount /dev/sda1 /boot/efi/

# apk add efibootmgr

(If your system supports UEFI. Most PC's from 2010, support UEFI)

Install grub

# grub-install –root-directory=/mnt

After grub re-installation, unmount efi partition:

# umount /boot/efi/

References

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Warning|This Dualboot manual is intended for experienced users. You will have to manually edit partitions on your harddisk. Take adequate backup of important data before proceeding further.
+If you want to avoid partitioing your existing hard disk, it may be better for you to buy an additional disk, or use [[Tutorials_and_Howtos#Virtualization|virtualization]]}}
-{{Warning|This Dualboot manual is intended for experienced users. You will have to figure out your bootloader and manually edit partitions on your disk. A script to make installation of Alpine to a free space on a disk alongside another operating system as simple and straightforward as to a full disk with setup-alpine is yet to be written. If you doubt you can do it, it may be better for you to buy an external drive, use a VM for a second OS or choose another distro.}}
+It's assumed you have a box where you already run another operating system, and would like to be able to dual boot either the installed system or Alpine Linux.
-It's assumed you have a box where you already run another operating system, and would like to be able to dual boot either the installed system or Alpine Linux.
+=== Complete the basic setup ===
+Follow the [[Installation]] steps until the [[Installation#Base_configuration|base configuration]].
-= Prepare your hardware =
+i.e set up Alpine without installing to a disk.
-Alpine needs a separate partition where it can be installed to. If you don't already have one free, you need to create a primary partition with enough space for your Alpine installation.
+<!-- If the "answerfile" functionality of setup-alpine is changed to permit specifying "-m none" for setup-disk, this sequence could be expressed more concisely.-->
-For this, see: [[Setting up disks manually#Manual partitioning | Manual partitioning]]
-Make note of what partition you will use for your Alpine installation. In this example we are going to install Alpine on '''/dev/sdXY'''.
+=== Identify and mount partition ===
-= Installing Alpine on an HDD partition =
+To Dual boot Alpine Linux, it needs a separate partition. If you don't have a partition refer [[Setting_up_disks_manually#Manual partitioning | ''Manual partitioning'']] to create and format it.
-Now it's time to install Alpine. Boot your system with a CD containing the latest Alpine Standard from [https://alpinelinux.org/downloads Downloads].
+{{Note| If you are using [[btrfs]] filesystem, there is no need to create a partition. Refer [[Install_Alpine_on_a_btrfs_filesystem_with_refind_as_boot_manager|btrfs tutorial]]}}.
-== Format and mount the HDD partition ==
+Follow the [[Setting_up_disks_manually#Custom_Layout|Hard Disk Installation using custom Layout]] to mount the chosen partition.
-First format your partition. We will need some tools for doing the formatting. After you are done the tools can be removed.
+{{Cmd|# mount /dev/sdXY /mnt}}
-{{Warning|Make sure you format the right partition! The {{Path|/dev/sdXY}} is only a example. If you choose the wrong partition, your data will be gone.
+If you're using EFI, pay special attention to ESP partition. ESP partition is shared between Windows, Mac OS and most other operating systems. Make sure you create a mount point <code>/mnt/boot/efi</code>.
-Make a backup first if you are unsure.}}
+{{Cmd|# mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi}}
-{{Cmd|apk add e2fsprogs
+Find the correct partition name for <code>esp</code> partition and mount it on the above mount point :
-mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdXY
+{{Cmd|# mount /dev/esp /mnt/boot/efi}}
-apk del e2fsprogs}}
-Then mount the newly formatted partition. After mounting, the partition will be available at {{Path|/mnt}}.
+=== Install Alpine Linux ===
-{{Cmd|mount -t ext4 /dev/sdXY /mnt}}
-== Basic setup ==
+Follow the [[Setting_up_disks_manually#Custom_Layout|custom Layout based Installation ]] to install Alpine Linux on the chosen partition.
+{{Cmd|# setup-disk -m sys /mnt}}
-First, set up Alpine without installing to a disk.
+Your dual boot installation can be considered complete. You be should be able to dual boot once you  [[Installation#Reboot|reboot]].  Refer [[#Configure_bootloader|configure bootloader]] section, if you would like to make additional changes.
-To do this, either run
+<!--
-{{Cmd|setup-alpine}}
+== Format the partition ==
-and when to prompted "Which disks do you like to use?" make sure to answer "none". Answer "none" to the remaining prompts about storing configs and the apk cache directory.
-Or, run this command sequence:
+First format your partition. During the above [[#Create_a_Partition|partioning]] step, you would have installed the necessary formatting tool {{pkg|e2fsprogs|repo=main}}. If not, install the tool for formatting the partition.
-{{Cmd|setup-timezone
-setup-alpine -q
-setup-sshd
-setup-ntp}}
-See [[setup-alpine]] for more details.
+{{Cmd|# apk add e2fsprogs}}
+{{Warning|Make sure you format the right partition! The {{Path|/dev/sdXY}} is only a example. If you choose the wrong partition, your data will be gone. Make a backup first if you are unsure.}}
-<!-- If the "answerfile" functionality of setup-alpine is changed to permit specifying "-m none" for setup-disk, this sequence could be expressed more concisely.-->
+{{Cmd|# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdXY}}
-== Install Alpine ==
+== Mount the partition ==
+Mount the newly formatted partition. After mounting, the partition will be available at {{Path|/mnt}}.
-Now it's time to copy the prepared system to the prepared partition(s) that were mounted below /mnt.
+{{Cmd|# mount -t ext4 /dev/sdXY /mnt}}
+== Install Alpine on the mounted partition ==
-=== In Alpine 2.2.3 or newer ===
+Now install Alpine Linux using the [[Alpine_setup_scripts#setup-disk|setup-disk]] script to the formatted partition(s) that was mounted on /mnt.
-{{Cmd|setup-disk -m sys /mnt}}
+{{Cmd|# setup-disk -m sys /mnt}}
-See [[Alpine_setup_scripts#setup-disk|setup-disk]] for more details.
+The above command would have installed [[Bootloaders#GRUB|grub]] and {{pkg|grub-efi|repo=main}} and no further configuration should be required.
+-->
+<!---
 {{Tip|If you use extlinux (default) and didn't create a separate boot partition, ({{Path|/boot}} resides on the root partition {{Path|/}}).
 You might need to adjust the paths to the boot files in {{Path|/boot/extlinux.conf}}, eg.:
@@ Line 70: / Line 72: @@
 Check that the <code>LINUX</code> and <code>INITRD</code> paths actually point to the files shipped in your Alpine Linux release.
 }}
+--->
-=== With older Alpine versions up to 2.2.3 ===
+=== Configure bootloader ===
-If you're using an earlier version of Alpine Linux, you'll need to install the files and [[Bootloaders|bootloader]] manually.
-{{Tip|If you're using a version of Alpine Linux older than 2.2.0, replace {{Path|/etc/apk/world}} in the last line with {{Path|/var/lib/apk/world}}}}
-{{Cmd|lbu package - {{!}} tar -C /mnt -xzf -
-apk add --root /mnt --initdb --repositories-file /etc/apk/repositories --keys-dir \
-  /etc/apk/keys $(cat /etc/apk/world) acct linux-hardened alpine-base}}
-Your system is now on {{Path|/dev/sdXY}}.
-== Configuring the bootloader ==
-There are different ways to get a boot menu that allows selecting the operating system to boot.
-It is easiest on (U)EFI based hardware platforms, where one may simply install the <code>rEFInd</code> boot menu, as explained in [[Bootloaders]].
-Otherwise, one may adjust the bootloader that has already been installed (by the other operating system).
+There are different [[Bootloaders|bootloaders]] to get a boot menu that allows selecting the operating system to boot. It is easiest to simply install and use [[Bootloaders#rEFInd|rEFInd]] boot manager for dual boot between Alpine Linux and Windows.
+Otherwise, one may adjust the bootloader that has already been installed by the other operating system.
+==== Dual/Multiboot with Linux ====
-Because bootloaders vary, you'll need to figure out how to make yours boot your Alpine install.
+The following example is given to give you some ideas for adjusting [[Bootloaders#GRUB|grub]] to boot Alpine.
-Hopefully you can get some ideas from the following example, adjusting Grub2 to boot Alpine:
 Reboot your system ''(start Ubuntu)''.
@@ Line 128: / Line 112: @@
 {{Note|You might need to press SHIFT when booting your box in order to see the grub-menu.}}
-== Windows ==
+==== Dualboot with Windows ====
+For Windows partitions to be detected with grub, you need `os-prober` and `grub-mount` installed at the time grub-mkconfig runs.
+{{Note| The following needs to be tested}}
+To upgrade the grub installation, the efi directory must be mounted in /boot/efi/.
+To know in which partition the efi is, we must examine the partition table, so if your main disk is /dev/sda then.
+{{Cmd|# fdisk -l /dev/sda}}
+<pre>
+Device             Start        End   Sectors   Size Type
+/dev/sda1           2048     309247    307200   150M EFI System
+</pre>
+{{Cmd|# mkdir /boot/efi}}
+{{Cmd|# mount /dev/sda1 /boot/efi/}}
+{{Cmd|# apk add efibootmgr}} (If your system supports UEFI. Most PC's from 2010, support UEFI)
+Install grub
+<pre>
+# grub-install –root-directory=/mnt
+</pre>
+After grub re-installation, unmount efi partition:
+{{Cmd|# umount /boot/efi/}}
+== References ==
+* [https://brittanymitchell.co/index.php/2024/03/06/dual-boot-windows-11-and-alpine-linux-part-2/ Dual Boot Windows 11 and Alpine Linux]
+* [https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/405472/cannot-find-efi-directory-issue-with-grub-install/679800#679800 Mount EFI]
+* [[Install_Alpine_on_a_btrfs_filesystem_with_refind_as_boot_manager|Dual boot on a btrfs filesystem]]
-For Windows partitions to be detected with grub, you need `os-prober` and `grub-mount` installed at the time grub-mkconfig runs.
 [[Category:Installation]]