5 ms·

Dual boot is probably not typical for people who install rc kernels right away? I remember trying to do kernel dev on a dual-boot laptop in college, and I spent

by cbhl 6y ago

Dual boot is probably not typical for people who install rc kernels right away? I remember trying to do kernel dev on a dual-boot laptop in college, and I spent a lot of time trying to repair the bootloader while running off of a live-USB environment. Besides, most Linux installs by the numbers are probably web servers/data centers, or large enterprises (think movie studios, large tech companies). I realize this comes from a position of privilege, but these days I'd just have a second computer that runs Windows; the bonus is if I completely mess up I can just use the working computer to generate OS installation media for the broken machine. Also, depending on your threat model, "buy the next size up of RAM sticks" may be preferable to having a swap file or partition at all. (Although I recognize that may require replacing the entire system if it soldiered on or something.)

dragontamer 6y ago
There's a cheaper, easier option. Just buy a new SSD for each OS you plan to run. A bit more expensive than messing with MBRs, but we'll... No more partition or MBR to deal with anymore. Well worth $50.
- NavinF 6y ago
  That's a perfect solution if you're already using the largest/fastest SSDs available, but otherwise be aware that you're sacrificing throughput: Each 1TB SSD will have around half the throughput of a single 2TB SSD because large SSDs are essentially a RAID0+ECC array of smaller SSDs
  - dragontamer 6y ago
    Even a 256GB ssd boots damn near instantly. If you want a 2TB data drive, go on ahead. Both Linux and Windows handle multiple drives just fine.
encryptluks2 6y ago
It is a lot more uncommon for MBR-based boot partitions these days. It is no longer the default for Windows. With EFI and GPT, it is a lot simpler. Linux can use a Windows EFI boot partition, or vice-versa. Additionally, in my specific case I have a separate EFI partition saved on a USB stick for booting my encrypted root partition. It adds plausible deniability.
- hiq 6y ago
  > It adds plausible deniability. How so?
  - encryptluks2 6y ago
    Because the disk drive has a Windows-styled layout and EFI partition. The encrypted partition just looks like random data. Since the bootloader for my encrypted disk isn't on there, it is harder to determine that it even exists. There is no requirement on what type of partition type you use for your LUKS2 encrypted partition, so ideally you'd use something that isn't going to be apparent. Then, as long as knowledge of a tiny USB drive or micro SD card existing isn't known (which is a lot easier to hide) it is more difficult to discover that an encrypted partition even exists.
    - tremon 6y ago
      Since the bootloader for my encrypted disk isn't on there, it is harder to determine that it even exists. How does make it harder to determine your encrypted partition exists? The usual way encryption aids plausible deniability is through multiple keys, e.g. when one key unlocks a seemingly innocuous-looking installation, while the other unlocks the nasty bits. Having an encrypted partition in plain sight offers no plausible deniability at all to me, especially if it contains a default LUKS header. You might get away with arguing the disk is unused when the partition has a detached header, but even then you'd have to argue why a non-functioning machine is fully equipped with monitor, keyboard and network connections.
      - encryptluks2 6y ago
        > How does make it harder to determine your encrypted partition exists? Because it just looks like random data that hasn't been formatted. > Having an encrypted partition in plain sight offers no plausible deniability at all to me, especially if it contains a default LUKS header. First, I do use a detached LUKS header. The LUKS header is on the USB drive. The machine functions fine and appears to be a regular Windows PC without the USB drive, with an extra partition that doesn't have encrypted data in plain sight. It would look like random data, which to someone else wouldn't know if I did a secure wipe and that it is waiting to be partitioned or if it is just old data that has since repurposed after resizing. I'm sure they could find out if they pry hard enough, especially if trimming is enabled or if they really started to question why the supposed random data can't be recovered to produce files.
ascar 6y ago
For a while I was running linux and windows on the same computer but on different hard drives. To switch systems I shut it down and used hard switches (special hardware in a disk drive slot) to power off/on the right hard drives. This way you only need one computer, but can have multiple completely separated OS'es. Of course, this doesn't work for laptops.

by cbhl 6y ago

dragontamer 6y ago

There's a cheaper, easier option. Just buy a new SSD for each OS you plan to run. A bit more expensive than messing with MBRs, but we'll... No more partition or MBR to deal with anymore. Well worth $50.

NavinF 6y ago
That's a perfect solution if you're already using the largest/fastest SSDs available, but otherwise be aware that you're sacrificing throughput: Each 1TB SSD will have around half the throughput of a single 2TB SSD because large SSDs are essentially a RAID0+ECC array of smaller SSDs
- dragontamer 6y ago
  Even a 256GB ssd boots damn near instantly. If you want a 2TB data drive, go on ahead. Both Linux and Windows handle multiple drives just fine.

encryptluks2 6y ago

It is a lot more uncommon for MBR-based boot partitions these days. It is no longer the default for Windows. With EFI and GPT, it is a lot simpler. Linux can use a Windows EFI boot partition, or vice-versa. Additionally, in my specific case I have a separate EFI partition saved on a USB stick for booting my encrypted root partition. It adds plausible deniability.

hiq 6y ago
> It adds plausible deniability. How so?
- encryptluks2 6y ago
  Because the disk drive has a Windows-styled layout and EFI partition. The encrypted partition just looks like random data. Since the bootloader for my encrypted disk isn't on there, it is harder to determine that it even exists. There is no requirement on what type of partition type you use for your LUKS2 encrypted partition, so ideally you'd use something that isn't going to be apparent. Then, as long as knowledge of a tiny USB drive or micro SD card existing isn't known (which is a lot easier to hide) it is more difficult to discover that an encrypted partition even exists.
  - tremon 6y ago
    Since the bootloader for my encrypted disk isn't on there, it is harder to determine that it even exists. How does make it harder to determine your encrypted partition exists? The usual way encryption aids plausible deniability is through multiple keys, e.g. when one key unlocks a seemingly innocuous-looking installation, while the other unlocks the nasty bits. Having an encrypted partition in plain sight offers no plausible deniability at all to me, especially if it contains a default LUKS header. You might get away with arguing the disk is unused when the partition has a detached header, but even then you'd have to argue why a non-functioning machine is fully equipped with monitor, keyboard and network connections.
    - encryptluks2 6y ago
      > How does make it harder to determine your encrypted partition exists? Because it just looks like random data that hasn't been formatted. > Having an encrypted partition in plain sight offers no plausible deniability at all to me, especially if it contains a default LUKS header. First, I do use a detached LUKS header. The LUKS header is on the USB drive. The machine functions fine and appears to be a regular Windows PC without the USB drive, with an extra partition that doesn't have encrypted data in plain sight. It would look like random data, which to someone else wouldn't know if I did a secure wipe and that it is waiting to be partitioned or if it is just old data that has since repurposed after resizing. I'm sure they could find out if they pry hard enough, especially if trimming is enabled or if they really started to question why the supposed random data can't be recovered to produce files.

ascar 6y ago

For a while I was running linux and windows on the same computer but on different hard drives. To switch systems I shut it down and used hard switches (special hardware in a disk drive slot) to power off/on the right hard drives. This way you only need one computer, but can have multiple completely separated OS'es. Of course, this doesn't work for laptops.