Build Recommendations Needed Multi-Boot Computer

[Chained In Taxes]

The time is coming for a new computer build; my current system is as old as Dino dirt, but still useful. In any event, the plan is to replicate my oldest setup with multiple removable hard drives. That is, a three-in-one-or-more system; two setups with windows, and one or more with different flavors of Linux.


Multi-boot off one hard drive will not be satisfactory. The goal is to have three, or more, distinct operating systems that have zero connections with one another. One windows machine will never be connected to the internet; it will be used for work projects only. The other operating systems will have internet connectivity. As it stands, I currently have an old system that meets the criteria using three separate hard drives and a removable 5 ¼” bay. I would like to use the same game plan; however, I need a way to incorporate removable SSD drives. Is it possible to do so? I have read something to effect that SSD drives should always remain plugged in; is this true? Using removable hard drives is easy enough, the rub lies with SSD. Do you have any suggestions on how to incorporate removable SSD drives along with removable hard drives?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

2.5" SATA SSDs will fit in most drive sleds just fine.

Data on SSDs will eventually degrade if they're not plugged in - but if you're using them more frequently than, say, once ever six months, you should be fine.

If it were me, I'd just install all the drives internally, permanently, and not worry about it. You can set up the OS of drive A to ignore B and C, and so on. Not hard.

 

[Chained In Taxes]

2.5" SATA SSDs will fit in most drive sleds just fine.

Data on SSDs will eventually degrade if they're not plugged in - but if you're using them more frequently than, say, once ever six months, you should be fine.

If it were me, I'd just install all the drives internally, permanently, and not worry about it. You can set up the OS of drive A to ignore B and C, and so on. Not hard.

 

[Chained In Taxes]

Thank you dave_the_nerd for your suggestions regarding the multi-boot system build. Truth is, my fickle multi-boot computer experimentations will certainly lead to one, if not two systems lying idle and unplugged for six or more months. Perhaps the best bet is to build a new computer with a removable hard drive in one bay, and a bootable removable SSD drive in another bay for the primary operating system. Then load all secondary operating systems to their own dedicated hard drives without the benefit of SSD acceleration.


Not what I had in mind, but what the hell, it will work for my purposes. Again, thank you for your time, thoughts, and suggestions!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Well, a surefire way to not want to use an OS is to install it on an HDD when there's an SSD-installed system available to use instead. So there's that.