.. _multi-boot: Multi-boot Clear Linux with other operating systems ################################################### |CLOSIA| uses the Systemd-Boot boot loader, which does not support multi- booting without manual manipulation. This tutorial shows how to configure the |CL| boot loader to work with other :abbr:`OSes (operating systems)`. Process overview **************** The process to install other operating systems for a multi-booting computer is described below. Install |CL| first, then install other operating systems in any order. #. Install |CL| first with a EFI partition large enough to store the kernels of other operating systems and their initrds, in the case of Linux distributions. #. Install the next operating system without creating its own EFI partition. #. Boot into the newly installed operating system. #. For Linux distributions, copy its kernel and `initrd` to the |CL| EFI partition. This step is not needed for Windows\*. #. Add an entry for the newly installed operating system in the Systemd-Boot menu. #. Make Systemd-Boot the default boot loader. #. Repeat the previous steps to install each additional operating system. If you update any installed operating systems, be aware that: * The default boot loader may change from |CL| Systemd-Boot. Perform the steps in :ref:`multi-boot-restore-bl`. * Linux kernels or `initrd` images may change. Keep their corresponding Systemd-Boot :file:`/boot/efi/loader/entries/*.conf` files up-to-date. This process is not guaranteed to work with all Linux distributions and all their versions. The next section lists the OSes that we tested. Tested operating systems ************************ The following operating systems were tested on an Intel® NUC6i7KYK with 32GB RAM and a 360GB SSD. Table 1 lists the information specific to the installation of the tested operating systems. .. csv-table:: Table 1: OS specific installation information :header: # , OS, Version, Partition Size [#]_, Swap Size [#]_, EFI Partition Size [#]_, Download Link 1,Clear Linux,16140,50 GB,8 GB,1 GB,https://download.clearlinux.org/releases/16140/clear/ 2,Windows,Server 2016,50 GB,N/A,Shared with #1,https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/windows-server 3,Red Hat\*,Server 7.4 Beta,45 GB,Shared with #1,Shared with #1,https://access.redhat.com/downloads/ 4,SUSE\*,Server 12 SP2,45 GB,Shared with #1,Shared with #1,https://www.suse.com/download-linux/ 5,Ubuntu\*,16.04.02 LTS Desktop,40 GB,Shared with #1,Shared with #1,https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop 6,Linux Mint\*,18.1 *Serena* MATE,40 GB,Shared with #1,Shared with #1,https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=228 Table notes: .. [#] Configure the partition size as desired. .. [#] To save disk space, share a single swap partition between multiple Linux installations. Swap size was determined using these `recommended swap partition sizes`_. .. [#] The EFI partition holds the kernel and boot information for |CL| and other operating systems. The partition size is dependent on the number of operating systems to be installed. In general, allocate about 100 MB per operating system. For this tutorial, we used 1 GB. .. _multi-boot-detail-proc: Detailed procedures ******************* * :ref:`multi-boot-cl` (below) .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 2 multi-boot-win multi-boot-rhel multi-boot-sles multi-boot-ubuntu multi-boot-mint multi-boot-restore-bl .. _multi-boot-cl: Install Clear Linux OS ********************** Navigation tips for text-based installation interfaces: * Use the :kbd:`Up Arrow` and :kbd:`Down Arrow` keys to move between the options on the screen. * Use the :kbd:`Space` to select or highlight an option. * Press :kbd:`Enter` to activate the selected option and to move ahead. Installation details ==================== #. Create a bootable USB drive of the |CL| installer using one of the methods below. * :ref:`bootable-usb-linux` * :ref:`bootable-usb-mac` * :ref:`bootable-usb-windows` #. Start the |CL| installer and follow the prompts. #. On the :guilabel:`Choose Installation Type` screen, choose :guilabel:`Manual (Advanced)`, as shown in Figure 1. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-01.png Figure 1: |CL| installer: Choose installation type screen. #. On the :guilabel:`Choose partitioning method` screen, choose :guilabel:`Manually configure mounts and partitions`, as shown in Figure 2. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-02.png Figure 2: |CL|: Choose partitioning method. #. Select the drive, in this case :file:`/dev/sda`, and press :kbd:`Enter` to go into the `cgdisk` partitioning tool. See Figure 3. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-03.png Figure 3: |CL|: Choose drive to partition. #. Create a new root partition. #. Select :guilabel:`New`, as shown in Figure 4. .. _multi-boot-04: .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-04.png Figure 4: |CL|: Create new partition. #. Accept the default first sector. #. Specify the desired size of the partition. For this example, we specified *50 GB*. See Figure 5. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-05.png Figure 5: |CL|: New partition size. #. Set the partition type to :guilabel:`8300 (Linux filesystem)`, as shown in Figure 6. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-06.png Figure 6: |CL|: Set partition type. #. Name the partition :file:`CL-root`. This name makes it easier to identify later. See Figure 7. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-07.png Figure 7: |CL|: Name partition. #. Create a new swap partition as shown in Figure 8. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-08.png Figure 8: |CL|: Create swap partition. #. Select the *free space* partition located at the bottom of the column. #. Select :guilabel:`New`. See :ref:`Figure 4`. #. Accept the default first sector. #. Specify the desired size of the swap partition. For this example, we used 8 GB. See the `recommended swap partition sizes`_ for guidance. #. Set the partition type to :guilabel:`8200 (Linux swap)`. #. Name the partition :file:`CL-swap`. #. Create a new EFI partition as shown in Figure 9. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-09.png Figure 9: |CL|: Create EFI partition. #. In the :guilabel:`Partition Type` column, select :guilabel:`free space` located at the bottom of the column. #. Select :guilabel:`New`. See :ref:`Figure 4`. #. Accept the default first sector. #. Specify the desired size of the partition. For this example, we used 1024 MB. This partition will hold |CL|, the kernels of the other operating systems, and their boot information. Its size depends on the number of installed operating systems. In general, allocate about 100 MB per operating system. For this example, we used 1024 MB. #. Set the partition type to :guilabel:`ef00 (EFI partition)`. #. Name the partition :file:`CL-EFI`. #. Select :guilabel:`Write` to apply the new partition table. #. Select :guilabel:`Quit` to exit the `cgdisk` tool. #. On the :guilabel:`Set mount points` screen, specify the mount points and format settings as shown in Figure 10. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-10.png Figure 10: |CL|: Set mount points. #. On the :guilabel:`User configuration` screen, select :guilabel:`Create an administrative user`, as shown in Figure 11. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-11.png Figure 11: |CL|: User configuration. #. Select :guilabel:`Add user to sudoers?`, as shown in Figure 12. .. figure:: figures/multi-boot-12.png Figure 12: |CL|: Add user as sudoer. #. Follow the remaining prompts to complete the installation and finish the out-of-box-experience for |CL|. #. Log in. #. Add a Systemd-Boot timeout period or Systemd-Boot will not present the boot menu of available OSes to choose from and will always boot |CL|. .. code-block:: bash sudo clr-boot-manager set-timeout 20 sudo clr-boot-manager update #. Reboot. If you want to install other OSes, refer to :ref:`multi-boot-detail-proc`. .. _recommended swap partition sizes: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Deployment_Guide/ch-swapspace.html