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Topic: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted. (Read 2470 times) previous topic - next topic
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Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Hello, i am quite green on Linux but i would like to install Artix with Manjaro for gaming and ParrotOS all encrypted right from the rolling installer. I have been trying to make it work for 3 days already but it seems with no success. Youtube is filled with videos on how to dual boot linux with windows but no video on how to dual boot linux with other linux and encrypt everything with LUKS. I have searched the web for some guides but i did not find anything that why i am making this thread. If i have missed some guides perhaps someone could share. Helps is really appreciated.

So far what i have tried:
I have installed Artix as first OS using rolling installer with boot loader. I already partitioned the disk in advance so i could just choose to install these Os as replacing a partition. Then i installed other OS with rolling installers on other partitions without encryption, no boot loader and the os-prober found these OS no problem when i mounted those partitions on Artix and ran:

>sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

The only problem arises when i try to install those OS using running installers but i choose to encrypt them, even when i unlock the disk and mount the now unencrypted partition, the os-prober doesn't find Manjaro and ParrotOS boot entries.
I have first installed Artix with boot loader and then encrypted it in the rolling installer as the main system. Installed Manjaro and encrypted it but choose not to install bootloader and then i installed ParrotOS and encrypted it + no boot loader.

What should i do so that the os-prober find these boot partitions so i could whenever i turn on the laptop choose to what system to boot in after writing in the key. Should i manually add these entries to GRUB ? I am kinda green and adding those entries seems hard. There is /boot in the manjaro partition, i can open the grub.cfg and i see the boot entry, should i just copy paste it and add it to the artix grub.cfg ? Do the same for parrotOS ?

Maybe i am doing this completely wrong ? Is there another way ? Perhaps someone could write a whole guide and put it in the artix running installer for the future generations of Artix-Linux users. Thanks in advance, i am kinda new to this. And i can't find the information on how to do it, i have searched the whole web. Sorry if this topics seems stupid.

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #1 –
Multiboot with several GNU/Linux distributions is both pointless and error-prone. What do you hope to achieve by doing that?

If you really need to test things on different distributions, it is better to do that in an emulator like QEMU.

Don't distrohop, especially if you are "green". Settle on one distribution and learn it in-depth.

Encrypted drive setup on itself is an advanced topic and not for users fresh to GNU/Linux.

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #2 –
Hi, thanks for the quick answer

I would use Artix as the main distribution, for work and the usual manner. Manjaro would be used for gaming, because it's recommended by a lot of people for this purpose, works well with nividia drivers and i don't want to run steam and other gaming programs that contain malware, steal my data and information, open my computer for possible backdoors, ect on the same place where i work, use bank, ect.

I want to jump from windows to linux for privacy, security reasons and all that telemetry crap in windows. But from my knowledge to do what i could on windows i might need few distributions for that. That why i am trying to make the dual boot work. And from my understanding its safer, more private, because you have one distribution for serious things and other for games.

Encryption at least with running installers is pretty easy, i had no commands to type, everything was done for me. But i do need it. I am trying to see my options.

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #3 –
Quote from: useruser – on
I would use Artix as the main distribution, for work and the usual manner. Manjaro would be used for gaming, because it's recommended by a lot of people for this purpose, works well with nividia drivers and i don't want to run steam and other gaming programs that contain malware, steal my data and information, open my computer for possible backdoors, ect on the same place where i work, use bank, ect.
Programs in binary form are best run from firejail, which is a sandbox program. For example, I use it to run Viber.

If you seek a way to separate work from gaming (aside from good organization and the use of separate directories for work and gaming), you could create a separate user account, on one distribution. GNU/Linux is a Unix-like OS, and Unix was a multi-user system since the 1970s, Apple and Microsoft implemented multiple user accounts on the same system much later.

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #4 –
But the separate user account is still not encrypted ? It's still possible to access it from different user account right ? I am surprised that i am the only one who would want to have more then one OS all encrypted on their system. At least with encrypted dual boot, one distribution can't access the other one and i would say that is a big plus.

Worst case i can just keep the encrypted Artix and then install other OS non encrypted. Or you know, install it on external hard drive.

Even if i would make a separate user account it's still would not work for gaming, I need a separate OS that's good for it and easy to set up. And i like it to be encrypted. ( I can already do it if its unencrypted, the only problem if it is encrypted, the prober-os doesn't seem to find the OS)

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #5 –
I've never had many problems setting up multi boot for different Linux distros and even Windows too. VM's are great but can have complications and limitations regarding graphics, either it's very basic or you have to set up a loop through to the host, but then it isn't really virtualisation either, so I don't think it's ideal for gaming. And depending on kernels you might need say virtualbox-host-dkms which is going to frequently run auto rebuilds on updates. I haven't tried encrypted partitions, perhaps you could make it simpler if you just encrypted your /home partition rather than the whole system. Sometimes I've had to add entries manually, also you might find the grub in some distros is better at finding things than others, grub originates more from the Debian based side of things and the Arch grub may not be set up so well, I have found in the past.
I've been dual booting Artix and Devuan using Artix grub for a couple of years with no problems at all, this particular setup just worked.
 You don't edit grub.cfg, well you can if you want but it's not a great idea mostly. Use /etc/grub.d to add custom entries, also perhaps you might need to edit /etc/default/grub, and run update-grub to generate grub.cfg. Certainly take some bits from grub.cfg from the individual grub's of the other distros as a start point, sometimes that might need tweaking.
And don't be surprised if it takes quite a few tries and numerous reboots to get things working the way you want, and have a bootable USB to hand in case you get things really wrong  ;)
Don't forget to check the Arch Linux wiki, also this might help, various guides for dual booting encrypted Linux and encrypted Windows exist, so just do most of the Linux bit twice?
https://gist.github.com/CodingCellist/c505e98628d0be6a7b200247659fd752

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #6 –
Thanks you, i will check it out. But from my understanding vera crypt has its own boot loader and the way it boots.
I might also check out other boot loaders.

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #7 –
Quote from: useruser – on
But the separate user account is still not encrypted ? It's still possible to access it from different user account right ?
Not by a regular user, if the permissions are set correctly. If the permissions on the user's home directory are 0700 (rwx------), it can't be listed. Having 'r' in the last third (0704) enables listing names of files and subdirectories, but denies listing their attributes (it will output errors). Having both 'r' and 'x' in the third part (0705) enables listing files with their attributes.

Third part of the permissions string manages permissions for "others", or anyone else other than that user. Second part manages permissions for members of the same groups the user is in (that's why, at some point, it became customary for users to get their own groups as well, instead of being in the "users" group).

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #8 –
The difficulty is if someone wants to secure their machine against physical access, say you take your laptop with you to work, or when you go on holiday, if someone swipes it they can take the HDD out, put it into an external case, mount it as root in another OS and get everything that isn't encrypted, and even run file recovery software to get things you have deleted  :'(

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #9 –
Quote from: ####### – on
The difficulty is if someone wants to secure their machine against physical access, say you take your laptop with you to work, or when you go on holiday, if someone swipes it they can take the HDD out, put it into an external case, mount it as root in another OS and get everything that isn't encrypted, and even run file recovery software to get things you have deleted  :'(
If we are talking about whether a spyware blob that is, for example, a proprietary game, can read your files and determine your identity or other personal information, then a separate user account or the use of firejail is sufficient. I got the impression that is the primary concern for the OP.

If anyone gets physical access to your hard drive, encryption is just a temporary obstacle.

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #10 –
Quote from: strajder – on

If anyone gets physical access to your hard drive, encryption is just a temporary obstacle.

Could you elaborate further ? Encrypting the hard drive so when the computer does get stolen the data could not be reached was the main reason why i choose to encrypt.

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #11 –
I have made it work. It actually was pretty simple and my mistake was a dumb one, However nowhere i was told that i need to boot using UEFI and not legacy boot. Now i can just press f12 and choose whatever system i want to boot at and it just works, and also the different partitions are encrypted differently, all separate, just how i wanted.

All this time wasted just because i had a settings in my bios to boot using legacy boot and not UEFI.

Now for the extra i can install refind and make it easier, nicer, so i can just boot and choose what OS to boot at.
I also found this guide : https://teejeetech.com/2020/09/05/linux-multi-boot-with-refind/
Might be interesting for anyone who would want to do it. But everything works just straight up. You make the different partions, Make the efi partition (the most important part) Then use the running installer and choose to install it on that partition + encrypt. The installer will install the boot on the efi partition automatically. That's pretty much it.

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #12 –
Quote from: useruser – on
Could you elaborate further ? Encrypting the hard drive so when the computer does get stolen the data could not be reached was the main reason why i choose to encrypt.
Encryption has always been a race between the strength of an algorithm and the computing power and time available to brute force the decryption. With distributed and quantum computing, and with governments imposing limits on the strength of algorithms available to civillians, you have to be aware of the extent of protection the encryption can provide to you and that it has its limits.

Some information about the topic can be found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptoperiod
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_cryptography
https://www.keylength.com/en/4/

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #13 –
Quote from: strajder – on
Encryption has always been a race between the strength of an algorithm and the computing power and time available to brute force the decryption. With distributed and quantum computing, and with governments imposing limits on the strength of algorithms available to civillians, you have to be aware of the extent of protection the encryption can provide to you and that it has its limits.

Thank you. What else could you tell about encryption, security, privacy in general ? Is installing firewall, anti virus on linux worth it ?

I am already looking in to running apps from firejail. Thanks for that as well.
 

Re: Dual boot, Dual booting linux with other linux LUKS encrypted.

Reply #14 –
Setting a hard drive password (if the feature is supported) might be a stronger method than luks to secure data against physical access, as it's built into the hardware and while resetting the password may be possible in some cases, apparently that also deletes all data on the drive.