# Full encrypted FreeBSD 9 and unencrypted Windows 7 dualboot



## ryu (Mar 8, 2012)

I want to set up up a dualboot system with FreeBSD 9 (full system encryption) and Win7 (not encrypted). Is this possible? If so, what would be the best way to do this? I know how to do it with Debian Testing and Windows 7, it is pretty easy, but it seems it is a lot harder in FreeBSD. I have seen already some tutorials for full disk encryption on FreeBSD, but not in relation with a dualboot system.

I think the way to do this would be something like this.

1. Create two partitions with gparted live CD. One NTFS for Windows 7 and one blank for FreeBSD9.
2. Install Windows 7.
3. Install FreeBSD9 with full disk encryption. (How to do this correctly?)

Would be better to to use two different physical harddrives to do this?

Thanks in advance.


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## ryu (Mar 9, 2012)

I will just use two physical HDDs and choose the OS in the boot menu. My only question is now: how can *I* encrypt the full FreeBSD 9 system? *I*s *t*here a t*u*torial for 9.0?


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## Zare (Mar 9, 2012)

http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=19082&highlight=full+disk+encryption

Probably the easiest way. 

In your case, don't do anything with GParted, etc. Blank drive, install Windows, but leave unpartitioned space for FreeBSD. Follow that post, the only difference is, you won't be using whole drive for FreeBSD slice, but unallocated space.

FreeBSD's boot0 is a standard chainloader and can boot Windows 7. Install it to MBR when sysinstall asks.



> I have seen already some tutorials for full disk encryption on FreeBSD, but not in relation with a dualboot system.



I don't know if you already know basic differences between disk footprint of Linux and FreeBSD, and booting process. FreeBSD's partitions are usually contained in a single "slice", eg. a BIOS partition. So when you install FreeBSD, you only have one extra BIOS partition, slice, regardless of the number of separate mountpoint partitions (usr, var, home, et cetera...). The begins with boot1 code, and can be loaded with any chainloader.

So, looking from Windows perspective, there's one extra partition on the disk, A5 type. Inside it, you can have as many as you want FreeBSD partitions, encrypted and/or unencrypted.


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## ryu (Mar 9, 2012)

Thank you very much. I will try this out. I've seen your tutorial already, but was not sure if this would work with 9.0 and dualboot.

By the way, is here no post edit option? My last posts were typed on my smartphone and are full of mistakes. Sorry for this.


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## DutchDaemon (Mar 9, 2012)

ryu said:
			
		

> By the way, is here no post edit option? My last posts were typed on my smartphone and are full of mistakes. Sorry for this.



It's in the forum information you received via email. You need ten posts plus ten days of membership.


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