[SOLVED] Win10 + linux Mint 20 custom partitioning scheme

[JindraPompo]

Hello all,

as I'm primarily a Linux user, I would like to ask a thing that might be obvious to many of you, but I haven't found an answer to this specific topic.
I want to have a dual boot system on my new PC - there's nothing complicated to that. But the thing is that I want Win10 there just temporarily - I will install a single game there, and after some time, once I'm done with the game, I no longer need Windows.
Therefore, I would like to have the following partitioning scheme on the internal SSD:
[efi][linux root][linux home][windows][linux swap]
This way, I can easily erase the Windows partition and then extend my linux home partition over the freed area.
My plan is that before installing any of the OSes, I would boot linux from USB stick and manually partition the SSD first. After that, I would install Win to the prepared NTFS partition and then install Linux and do the rest (since I know that installing Win first is the easier way to go with dual boot).
My question here is probably dumb, but: how will the Windows installer go with such partitioned scheme with regards to the bootloader/EFI partition? I.e. will it allow me to say "install Win to partition X and the bootloader/EFI to Y"? (as shown above, Y would be the first partition on the drive)

Thank you in advance for your replies
Jindra

 

[USAFRet]

A MUCH better way forward is to have the Windows instance on its own physical drive.

With Linux already installed, then installing Windows...Windows is going to take over the whole boot process.

It does not let you choose what partition the boot partition goes.
It just does its thing, and WILL make its own partition for that.

 

[JindraPompo]

With Linux already installed, then installing Windows...Windows is going to take over the whole boot process.

I know, that's why I want to install Windows first. I just wanted to prepare the partitions before that. I don't have a second physical drive dedicated for Windows. So there's no easy way to achieve a working dual boot with the partitioning scheme I specified, on a single physical drive? (Unless really installing Linux 1st, Windows 2nd and then go through the pain of fixing the booting process?)

 

[USAFRet]

Oh.
Well yes, sort of.

During the WIndows install, you can designate whatever initial partition size you want for the main C space. Leaving the rest of the drive unused.
It will also create a 500mb boot partition at the start of the drive.

Then, install Linux to the rest of the drive.

 

[JindraPompo]

I believe we still don't understand each other completely. In my question, I said I have a reason to have the partition with Windows at the end of the drive (or 2nd from the end, the last one being my swap partition). With what you suggest, I guess I will not have the choice to achieve that?

 

[USAFRet]

I believe we still don't understand each other completely. In my question, I said I have a reason to have the partition with Windows at the end of the drive (or 2nd from the end, the last one being my swap partition). With what you suggest, I guess I will not have the choice to achieve that?

Gotcha.
Might be possible.

Split the drives as desired, and install Windows to the desired one. The boot partition may end up just at the beginning of that space.
Maybe.

Costs nothing to try, except some time.

 

[JindraPompo]

Okay, thanks.