Revising dual boot to add Linux Mint

System:
2 internal SATA hard drives
Windows 10 Home 1909 on HD0 / Windows 7 on HD1
BIOS/MBR boot (boot order CD, HD0, USB, HD1)
OS installs on dedicated partitions
bootloader on HD0 (Win10)

I want to install Linux Mint to HD1 to replace Windows 7. Basic steps AFAIK: create new space/partition, install Linux, delete 7 partition. My concern is confusion over the resulting boot setup, because that's the outer edge of my pay grade: I prefer to end up with Windows 10 (HD0) being in charge, as it is now, rather than GRUB on HD1.

Is that possible? is it a good/bad idea? what else don't I know about this?

THX

Before you proceed, please post a Disk Manager full screen image expanding the columns so we can read them. I want to see if each drive (Hd0 and Hd1) has its own boot loader. If you didn't detach HD1 when installing win 10, the boot loader may be on HD1 and Win 10 on HD0

You can keep win 7 and install Linux Mint.

The most important advice: Detach ALL other drives from the MB (SATA or power cable) leaving on only Hd1.

You can make a 20G partition on Hd1 and install Linux Mint on it.
On a legacy-mbr drive, it will install Grub boot loader with Mint and Win 7 as boot able options.
That is what I have in my computer.

If you don't want to keep win 7, delete all partitions on drive Hd1 and proceed. Some Linux will ask what size you want the swap partition. Select at least the size of your memory.

Only attach the Hd0 (win 10) after everything is working well on Hd1

Megahertz said:

Before you proceed, please post a Disk Manager full screen image expanding the columns so we can read them. I want to see if each drive (Hd0 and Hd1) has its own boot loader. If you didn't detach HD1 when installing win 10, the boot loader may be on HD1 and Win 10 on HD0

You can keep win 7 and install Linux Mint.

The most important advice: Detach ALL other drives from the MB (SATA or power cable) leaving on only Hd1.

You can make a 20G partition on Hd1 and install Linux Mint on it.
On a legacy-mbr drive, it will install Grub boot loader with Mint and Win 7 as boot able options.

If you don't want to keep win 7, delete all partitions on drive Hd1 and proceed. Some Linux will ask what size you want the swap partition. Select at least the size of your memory.

Only attach the Hd0 (win 10) after everything is working well on Hd1

OK a couple of things: (1) I will be removing Windows 7 partition no matter what, partition for Linux install already created on HD1; (2) Can't delete all partitions on any drive, as you can see there are dedicated data partitions (odd drive letters used for work files, I've blurred disk labels).

I've also read that detaching the Windows drive before a Linux install means GRUB won't recognize the Windows disk, and booting requires using the BIOS boot menu to point to the desired disk each time, which I don't want to have to do.

Thanks, glad to provide other details as needed.

Megahertz said:

My suggestion is to have independent OSs (Win 10 and Mint) on different drives.
You don't need to change BIOS boot order, but during POST you launch boot menu (F8 , F12 depending the MB) and select the Mint.

Yes, that's what I meant, had a Senior Moment. THX

OK I installed Linux Mint 20 successfully to HD1 after pulling the data cable for HD0 (Windows); removed Windows 7 partition. Windows 10 and Linux Mint both boot, though I do have to set the HD via BIOS boot menu each time.

FWIW you're SUPPOSED to be able to set up dual-boot simply enough with something like NeoSmart's EasyBCD -- it allows adding entries for different operating systems -- I used it for Windows 10 / 7 dual setup -- but every time I try it Linux won't boot. I believe EasyBCD's "boot here" instruction to Windows fails because Windows can't read the ext4 Linux partition and Linux doesn't have a record of Windows since it was installed when the drive was isolated. Or something like that.

Anyway I'll mark this SOLVED (sorta) ~ thx all

Windows 10 won't help you boot Linux, at least not without 3rd party software.

But if you run update-grub in Linux, then grub will include a Windows entry. But it has been a long time since I have dealt with dual boot on a legacy system.

I just use EasyBCD or its equivalents Grub2Win or Visual BCD Editor.

Edit-

Damn it! I just saw the date and this necro post.