this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2023
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Asklemmy
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Yes. You can have more than one storage device, or partition a single one, and install more than one operating system. At startup, a bootloader like grub can then be used to choose which one you want to load into.
Is it a seperate Volume or what's the metaphor or file level at which this is possible?
Yes. You cannot have multiple operating systems within the same filesystem.
But on a practical level, does this preclude being able to dual-boot? That's the word I feel like I've heard and that best conceptually aligns with what I'm envisioning here
I order to dual-boot, you must install more than one operating system, plus a bootloader that lets you switch between them.
The multiple OSes cannot be installed within the same filesystem, which simply means they need to have their own area on the hard-drive/ssd/whatever.
For linux you need extX/btrfs/..., windows uses ntfs, and OSx uses apfs. They do not work with each other (or, well, linux can mostly access the file systems of other OSs but it can't run from them).
In practice, this just means you either need more than one storage device, one for each OS, or that you need to partition your existing one. (Shrinking any filesystem already on it, and creating new partitions for the other OSes).
Essentially, imagine taking your 500gig mac, and shrinking it to a 300gig mac, and then using the extra 200 gigs to create a second, virtual ssd that you can then install your second OS onto while keeping the one you already have (though with a bit less space for it to use).
The "new" ssd is not really virtual, it'd be a partition of the size 200gigs, the filesystem that was already there was also a partition, it was just the same size as the ssd, so it took it up completely. When you only have one OS, you only have one partition (there are exceptions) but you can have two, or three, or any number you want. They can be any size as long as they together fit on the drive.
Going off the questions you’re asking here theres some fundamentals you don’t understand and you’re in over your head until you do some more reading
You are correct and this is very much a learning moment for me
Not a bad place to be asking questions I assure you. In your case, I would recommend dual booting your Mac with Linux, so you can switch between the two. There are lots of guides on how to do this online, and I’m pretty sure mac has pretty intuitive built in tools. Boot camp I think it’s called?
Not a Mac guy for the record