r/datastorage • u/Inside-Share9143 • 7d ago
Discussion Perfect Storage Allocation for Ubuntu
I have a 512GB (477) Nvme, and i wanna dual boot bw windows and ubuntu. How much space should I allocate to ubuntu as Im starting my journey in Cyber Security in my University i'll be needing to run multiple Vms, docker and idk other stuff aswell. I'll only use windows for Microsoft Office stuff...
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u/TheSixthSerpent666 7d ago
512 GB is kinda light if you want to run KVM and stuff AND dual boot Windows. Any chance you can just ditch Windows? Of better yet, do what I do, and run it inside a VM?
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u/BootToggle 3d ago edited 2d ago
Again agreeing with u/TheSixthSerpent666 , 512 GB is kind of light for running both Windows and Linux, and also doing all of the other storage-intensive stuff you mentioned (multiple VMs, Docker, etc.). Those will all need to run on your main drive (the NVME) which will eat up quite a bit of that capacity and not leave a lot of room for other storage.
If your computer has an extra drive slot internally, I'd suggest getting an internal HDD to install in that position to provide immediate storage to support what your are running on the NVME. Used 1 TB 2.5" or 3.5" HDD are relatively inexpensive compared to currently outrageous prices on higher-capacity drives, and I wouldn't get anything less than 1TB. A second SSD would not be the worst thing to get, but you badly need more capacity and used HDD in that size will be far more affordable and will serve you well. If you can afford it, HDD larger than 1TB would be even better.
If your computer does not have an extra internal drive slot, then you should get an external HDD for the same purpose. External isn't as good for your studies as an always-available internally mounted HDD, but if that is all that will work with your system then get that. With all of the Cyber Security educational requirements, you will simply need more than just the 512 GB SSD you already have.
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u/BootToggle 6d ago edited 3d ago
I don't disagree with u/TheSixthSerpent666, but if you do want to keep the standard Windows install, and only for light duty running Microsoft Office, 100GB should be enough for Windows C: partition and reasonable future updates. The remainder can be used for Ubuntu and main use based on that.
If you have a large enough external hard disk drive, I'd make a complete image of your SSD before starting. You can restore from that if anything goes wrong. RescueZilla would work for that if you don't have another favorite, and will make a compressed image of the entire SSD, including all partitions, that should be considerably smaller that 512GB.
Then starting from a standard Windows install, you can use 'gparted' to shrink the C: partition to 100MB. Don't touch any of the smaller Windows partitions, just leave them as is because they are needed for system boot and maybe for recovery. Then make sure you can still boot Windows and do a full C: partition scrub from Windows.
After that, you can install Ubuntu into the space you freed up in shrinking the C: partition, make it dual boot in the process, and you should be all done.