# Butterknife query

**URL:** <https://lab.justaguylinux.com/t/butterknife-query/73>\
**Category:** Help & Troubleshooting\
**Created:** [October 16, 2026, 8:41am UTC](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/t/butterknife-query/73 "2026-10-16T08:41:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![johnran](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@johnran](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/u/johnran)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 8:41am UTC](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/t/butterknife-query/73/1 "2026-10-16T08:41:19Z")

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Hi,

I wanted to know if I can use the butterknife installer on a system that dual boots with windows. I have a spare partition I would like to use, but when I started the installer it looked like the installation was going to wipe out the entire drive, which I do not want.

I aborted the installer at that point, but am wondering if at some point in the process it gives you the option to select which partition on the drive you want the installation to go on.

I already use the sway setup on my current system but was keen on migrating to a new installation (on same drive) which includes encryption and BTRFS.

My question is then, is it possible with the current installer to do this?

Many thanks,

John

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**Author:** ![drew](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/user_avatar/lab.justaguylinux.com/drew/32/8_2.png) [@drew](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/u/drew)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/t/butterknife-query/73/2 "2026-10-16T16:56:18Z")

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Good call aborting. butterknife is erase-only by design: it wipes the selected disk, writes a fresh GPT, and partitions it itself. There is no way to pick an existing partition, and that includes encrypted btrfs on a spare partition. It will take out Windows if you point it at the same drive.

Dual-boot and manual partitioning are not on the butterknife roadmap right now. It is meant to be the small, fast, single-disk path. If there is enough demand I could look at a “use free space” mode later, but I would not wait on it.

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**Author:** ![johnran](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@johnran](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/u/johnran)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://lab.justaguylinux.com/t/butterknife-query/73/3 "2026-10-16T17:11:20Z")

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Thanks for confirming.