Installing Windows on an Arch Linux System - The Experience
Installing Windows on an Arch Linux System
Hey, everyone!
Most people dual-boot a Linux distribution alongside their existing Windows installation. My experience was quite the opposite.
When I installed Arch Linux (yes, I use Arch, btw), I completely wiped Windows from my system. And honestly? I was happy.
Until, due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to use Windows again. After all, all roads lead to Rome.
The Plan
The actual process seemed simple enough:
- Partition the disk to make room for Windows.
- Create a Windows installation USB using Ventoy.
- Boot from the USB and install Windows in the newly allocated space.
Simple, right?
Of course, I managed to mess it up.
The Mistake
Instead of using the good old graphical interface with GParted, I HAD to take the CLI route and use cfdisk.
Because apparently, doing things the straightforward way wasn't an option.
I didn't partition the disk correctly, and somewhere along the way, my GRUB bootloader stopped working.
Windows installed successfully, but when I tried to find my Arch Linux installation, it was nowhere to be seen.
The Recovery Attempt
I booted into Arch Linux using my USB drive and started looking for my existing installation. I was on the edge of my seat, hoping I hadn't lost everything.
Thankfully, my Arch Linux files were still there!
But there was another problem: I couldn't access my installation normally.
While inspecting the disk, I encountered a filesystem metadata inconsistency. The reported filesystem size was approximately 476 GiB, while the available space appeared to be around 376 GiB.
Something clearly wasn't right.
My partitioning attempt with cfdisk had left the disk layout in an inconsistent state, and the filesystem was no longer behaving as expected.
Fixing the Mess
At this point, I had to rethink my approach.
Since recovering Arch Linux was my priority, I decided to remove the newly installed Windows system and restore the space to Arch Linux.
After restoring the partition allocation, the metadata issue was resolved, and I could move on to repairing the bootloader.
I set up GRUB again, regenerated its configuration, and rebooted.
And finally...
Arch Linux was back, with all my files intact!
No complete reinstall. No starting from scratch. Just a lot of troubleshooting, a few stressful moments, and a valuable lesson.
The Second Attempt
After recovering my system, I decided to give the process another shot.
This time, I used GParted to handle the partitioning instead of improvising with cfdisk.
The experience was much smoother, and I was finally able to set things up properly.
Lesson learned: sometimes, the graphical tool you initially dismissed is exactly the tool you should have used in the first place.
Lessons Learned
A few things I took away from this experience:
- Don't panic immediately. If your operating system disappears from the boot menu, it doesn't necessarily mean your files are gone.
- Understand the difference between partitions and filesystems. Changing a partition's boundaries does not automatically resize the filesystem inside it.
- Be careful when partitioning disks. A small mistake can lead to a lot of unnecessary troubleshooting.
- Keep a recovery USB handy. An Arch Linux live environment can be invaluable when your installed system refuses to boot.
- Back up your data before making major disk changes. Recovery is not always possible, and a backup is far better than a rescue mission.
One important clarification: a missing GRUB entry does not necessarily mean GRUB itself has been deleted. Sometimes, the bootloader is still present, but its configuration or the firmware boot entry needs to be repaired.
Final Thoughts
So, if your files or operating system suddenly disappear, don't assume the worst. Depending on what went wrong, recovery may still be possible.
And please, learn from my experience: back up your data, double-check your partitions, and don't experiment with your only working installation unless you're prepared for the consequences.
Another day, another breakdown, another learning experience.
See you next time!