Is it possible to add a second SATA disk?

User Support General
1

at the moment there is only one SATA SSD connected on which Qubes OS is installed.

I want to shut down the system and connect an additional SATA HDD.

Questions:
1.
Will the system then boot without problems?
Or do I have to change any boot parameters?
2.
If it does not boot, will anything be changed in the MBR, GRUB or other boot settings?
So that the system won’t boot at all, even if I remove the second SATA disk?

2

Adding a second drive should not prevent Qubes OS from booting.

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3

It may not boot if the boot order in your bios is set to prioritize the second drive over the first one and it has something to boot. Obviously, this is solved by changing bios boot order.

It is not impossible, but you must boot something else and use it to write on the first drive for this to happen.

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4

You haven’t given an essential piece of information - what is on that
second disk, and what do you intend to use it for?
If it’s blank - no issue at all.
If it has an OS installed, then there may be some interaction with the
Qubes install - if you use BIOS boot probably not; if you use UEFI,
depends on your system, and where the new drive is ordered , but can be
worked round without too much issue.

I never presume to speak for the Qubes team.
When I comment in the Forum I speak for myself.

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5

the second disk will only contain one partition with data. No boot stuff. No OS.

Let me summarize:
A SATA disk is connected and Qubes OS is installed on it.

If a second SATA disk is connected, on which there is no boot stuff and no OS, but only a partition with data, then:

The system will boot or not. But it will not change anything on the first disk. No matter if BIOS or UEFI.

Is that correct?

6

I did this very thing.

The other disk won’t matter if it’s just a data partition. Just make sure your boot order doesn’t try to boot from it first (will make your bootup time longer for no good reason).

I actually then mount that second disk to various different VMs to do things with it…Like backups, but I’ll talk about that in that thread.

1 Like
7

i appreciate your answer. can you post the link to your thread?

8

The thread I was talking was your thread on doing backups to another SATA drive. Sorry for the confusion. (And it turns out Unman already discussed it there.)

9

all clear. I’ve just seen it.

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