If I'm not mistaken, this is not a problem on Legacy + MBR disks (it might be?), but when using UEFI + GPT...
Scenario: Windows already installed on one SSD. Debian target is second SSD and I want them both 100% independent of each other.
What happens: Debian puts grub on the pre-existing Windows EFI partition (I think since Windows will no longer boot directly without going through Grub).
Result: If/when I restore a backup image of that Windows drive, Debian is now broken and un-bootable.
How do I force Debian to stay on the intended drive completely? I mean, I create an EFI/ESP partition just for it, but it refuses to use it?
I have managed to get the result I want, but I had to rip my PC apart to physically remove all other drives first. Real PITA! This is a problem with Windows too that I never found a good solution for. It creates extra partitions, or just plops boot files on my fully partitioned storage drives too, if it is not a single, blank disk in the PC at install time. It's infuriating!
Scenario: Windows already installed on one SSD. Debian target is second SSD and I want them both 100% independent of each other.
What happens: Debian puts grub on the pre-existing Windows EFI partition (I think since Windows will no longer boot directly without going through Grub).
Result: If/when I restore a backup image of that Windows drive, Debian is now broken and un-bootable.
How do I force Debian to stay on the intended drive completely? I mean, I create an EFI/ESP partition just for it, but it refuses to use it?
I have managed to get the result I want, but I had to rip my PC apart to physically remove all other drives first. Real PITA! This is a problem with Windows too that I never found a good solution for. It creates extra partitions, or just plops boot files on my fully partitioned storage drives too, if it is not a single, blank disk in the PC at install time. It's infuriating!
Statistics: Posted by Dude Guyman — 2025-02-11 17:08 — Replies 2 — Views 93