Questions about install SSD with dual boot Solus and Windows

penny-farthing First of all, is it a good idea to clone the current SSD to the new one, and if so, which Linux application is recommended for this operation?

It's been years since I've cloned anything, but I seem to remember the name CloneZilla. I do recall that the software I used was very straightforward and easy to use.

penny-farthing Should I first install Windows before Solus (and if so, why?) or does it not matter?

If you installed Windows last, I'm surprised it worked for you. I don't do dual boots (I prefer creating a virtual machine for the less important OS), but I remember seeing many forum posts complaining that Windows took over the entire dissk and the Linux distro need to be re-installeed afterwards. If you go that route, I'd install Windows first.

penny-farthing Also, when installing Solus, should I place the swap on the SDD or rather on the HDD? (I had opted for the second choice, after reading a post on a forum on the web).

I'd put it on the SSD. The difference in speed is significant, as you already know, and swapping large sections of memory slowly would be quite a distraction as you work with the computer. In fact, SSDs are so inexpensive these days, why not just get one more and clone the HDD to it?

penny-farthing Does the fact that you have not cloned anything for a long time mean that you prefer to reinstall the system?

Not necessarily. It's been so long that I no longer remember what caused me to do that. You're right about the main differences between a clone and a fresh install. The clone is a bytewise copy of the source, resulting in a destination that may have some or all the same problems the original did, but simply more unused space.

There's something very satisfying about doing a fresh install of the system. That's been true for me, even when it was an accumulation of errors that made it necessary. I usually implement structural changes that would have been too much work to apply to a working system (like a larger swap paartition to allow hibernating) but are trivial when a new system is created. In my experience, there are always a few things I'd like to do differently when I reinstall a system.

penny-farthing However, it is true that by not having done the same, I have not encountered any particular problem with Windows.

Keep in mind that methods of dual-booting have changed a lot over the decades, as computer components and peripherals have evolved. It's entirely possible that it's no longer an issue with modern equipment and practices. Windows used to be a greedy beast.

penny-farthing I know your position on the use of Windows in VirtualBox that I understand.

Then please also understand that I'm not trying to make a convert of you. I made that comment only to explain why I'm not more conversant regarding modern dual booting. I simply prefer not to do it. For the most part, I have no need for Windows anymore, although nearly my whole career was spent creating enterprise Windows software. Even then, Windows was only on my computers at the office, and Linux only on my computers at home. And being retired, I no longer need the Windows computers.

I still have one computer at home that runs Windows to stream content to my TV, but it's not because Windows is any better for that task. It's because Windows came on that machine when I bought it, and the only application I ever run on it is Vivaldi, which syncs with Vivaldi on all my Linux machines. It's not worth the time and trouble to chaange the OS. It ain't broke, so I ain't fixed it..

WetGeek Keep in mind that methods of dual-booting have changed a lot over the decades, as computer components and peripherals have evolved. It's entirely possible that it's no longer an issue with modern equipment and practices. Windows used to be a greedy beast.

It is still the same.
If you install linux first windows will overwrite the boot manager.
Ive tried that dozen times on client PCs in the last decade.

Evenso i prefer cloning the discs.
You just must replace the original drive after cloning, otherwise you`ll get a duplicate UUID.
Clonezilla is a good tool for this.

As WetGeek noted, SSDs are cheap these days, so if you have a free connector, I recommend buying a second SSD and installing Solus and Windows on separate drives. In my opinion, even a SATA SSD is very fast as a boot drive, and 500 Gig SSDs go for about 25 bones last time I looked. Having a whole drive formatted with not-NTFS can also be useful. For example: Wine and Proton don't always function well (or at all) with programs on a drive formatted with NTFS.