SSD as boot and original HDD as storage
by GPGAgent from LinuxQuestions.org on (#5673Q)
Okay folks, I've added a 250Gb SSD drive to a Lenovo Thinkstation C20.
I've left the original 2Tb HDD which has Mint 20 installed
I just plugged the SSD into one of the three vacant i/o sockets on the MB. And that's all I've done so far.
fdisk shows this:Code:jonk@dave:~$ sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for jonk:
Disk /dev/sdb: 232.91 GiB, 250059350016 bytes, 488397168 sectors
Disk model: CT250MX500SSD1
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disk /dev/sda: 1.84 TiB, 2000398934016 bytes, 3907029168 sectors
Disk model: Hitachi HUA72302
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x289f73ed
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1 * 2048 1050623 1048576 512M b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda2 1052670 3907028991 3905976322 1.8T 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 1052672 3907028991 3905976320 1.8T 83 Linux
jonk@dave:~$I've not formatted or created any partitions on the SSD so far.
I intend to re-install Mint 20, I've backed up the folders I need to from /home so I'll wipe everything.
I'm also guessing it doesn't matter which i/o socket I use on the MB. Yes/No?
I'm guessing the SSD will become /dev/sda and my old HDD will be /dev/sdb because I'll select that when I install using the "Something Else" option. Yes/No?
Also I believe I should place the swap partition on the HDD. Other suggestions is to put /home /var and /tmp on the HDD. Is there anything else I should consider when running Linux off an SSD?
BTW this is the memory on the machine:Code:jonk@dave:~$ free -h
total used free shared buff/cache available
Mem: 11Gi 1.8Gi 9.0Gi 149Mi 971Mi 9.5Gi
Swap: 2.0Gi 0B 2.0Gi
jonk@dave:~$And final question, do I need to make any changes to the bios, all I've found is this:Code:Enable Fast Boot, SATA support, Hardware Fast Boot, Launch CSM.
Boot Device Control: UEFI and Legacy.
Boot from any devices: Legacy OPROM first.
SATA configuration: AHCI.
Disable Hot Plug on all ports except those set for eSATA.I've done a bit of googling to get this far, but just to be sure I'd like any advice from LQ users, any other pitfalls?


I've left the original 2Tb HDD which has Mint 20 installed
I just plugged the SSD into one of the three vacant i/o sockets on the MB. And that's all I've done so far.
fdisk shows this:Code:jonk@dave:~$ sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for jonk:
Disk /dev/sdb: 232.91 GiB, 250059350016 bytes, 488397168 sectors
Disk model: CT250MX500SSD1
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disk /dev/sda: 1.84 TiB, 2000398934016 bytes, 3907029168 sectors
Disk model: Hitachi HUA72302
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x289f73ed
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1 * 2048 1050623 1048576 512M b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda2 1052670 3907028991 3905976322 1.8T 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 1052672 3907028991 3905976320 1.8T 83 Linux
jonk@dave:~$I've not formatted or created any partitions on the SSD so far.
I intend to re-install Mint 20, I've backed up the folders I need to from /home so I'll wipe everything.
I'm also guessing it doesn't matter which i/o socket I use on the MB. Yes/No?
I'm guessing the SSD will become /dev/sda and my old HDD will be /dev/sdb because I'll select that when I install using the "Something Else" option. Yes/No?
Also I believe I should place the swap partition on the HDD. Other suggestions is to put /home /var and /tmp on the HDD. Is there anything else I should consider when running Linux off an SSD?
BTW this is the memory on the machine:Code:jonk@dave:~$ free -h
total used free shared buff/cache available
Mem: 11Gi 1.8Gi 9.0Gi 149Mi 971Mi 9.5Gi
Swap: 2.0Gi 0B 2.0Gi
jonk@dave:~$And final question, do I need to make any changes to the bios, all I've found is this:Code:Enable Fast Boot, SATA support, Hardware Fast Boot, Launch CSM.
Boot Device Control: UEFI and Legacy.
Boot from any devices: Legacy OPROM first.
SATA configuration: AHCI.
Disable Hot Plug on all ports except those set for eSATA.I've done a bit of googling to get this far, but just to be sure I'd like any advice from LQ users, any other pitfalls?