Dual-Boot Question

[Trogdor]

I've done a couple Linux installations before, but never a dual-boot. I currently have WinXP installed, and am going to install RH9. Is it OK if I have WinXP first on the drive, then Linux? How do I configure a dual-boot? Is there any reason to install ext2 instead of ext3, or LILO instead of GRUB?

As you can see in the picture, I have 4 partitions: the first one is a blooper, and the compytore won't boot without it. Don't ask. The second is a winblows partition. The third, Linux. Then, SwapSpace.

Will that work for dual-booting?

Thanks in advance.

TROGDOR!!!

[deathadder]

it should work if you remember to install the bootloader into windows mbr, personally i would go with ext3 over 2 mainly because its a journalin filesystem which bascially means if you have a power down in the middle of say writing a document the document is backed up and easy to get to as for the grub V lilo question its personal preference, have a look at these threads:

dual booting:
http://www.justlinux.com/forum/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=751874&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

ext2/3:
http://www.justlinux.com/forum/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=751875&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

grub or lilo:

http://www.justlinux.com/forum/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=751876&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

[DSwain]

your partition scheme looks perfect for making a dual boot work, one reccomendation though (i think a fair amount disagree, so this is just an idea) i'd make a small Fat32 partition; say 1 gb maybe, for file sharing between the 2 OS's. Most linux distros can't write to NTFS, or have the option disabled, as it can do damage to an NTFS partition, so a good Fat32 FS would be good to have.

Also, what distro are you using? and how much memory? (the distro is out of curosity, and memory can help for determining your swap partition) it pretty much works like this-

m2=s

m being memory, 2 being memory*2, and s being swap. you have it at 500mb, so i'm assuming you have 256mb?

[sclebo05]

your partition scheme looks good, the addition of a 1 gig fat32 partition is a good idea for sharing files. i learned this this hard way as a noob after downloading some stuff in linux, rebooting to windows and wondering how i was going to get it...:confused:

[dysharmonic]

70 Gigs of NTFS? What you got in there? A dinosaur?? kidding :D

Anyways, go w/ another FAT32 partition, and move the files you'd like to share b/ween both OSes there.

Luck :)

[Trogdor]

Originally posted by Fahrenheit451
70 Gigs of NTFS? What you got in there? A dinosaur?? kidding :D

Anyways, go w/ another FAT32 partition, and move the files you'd like to share b/ween both OSes there.

Luck :)

My un1337 brother has 14gb of mp3s, and I run a server and a ton of 3d games.

I plan on running RedHat9, and I have 512mb of mem. I know I should have 1024mb, but I think that 500mb + 512 is enough.

Also, how do I install the bootloader into the windows MBR?

Thanks a lot.

[DSwain]

during the install it wll ask you where to install it. and yeah you should be fine with that swap, just saying what's generally recommended.

[Trogdor]

NO MORE REPLYS ARE NEEDED!

Thanks a lot for helping me. While I was running Partition Magic 8.0, it crashed. So I was without an NTFS partition. Now I'm happily running RH9, and my family, not so happily :). It looks like Linux will give me much fewer problems when it comes to dual boot, so thanks, and bye!

[Albacore]

Id like to use this same method, but im having a trouble...Im trying to dual boot rh9 and xp. I was using partition magic to create the swap(500mb}, linux partition(2000mb}, and space to exchange files between os's(1000mb} but when i go to install rh9 i have trouble with the installation. It asks if i want it to automatically partition my drive, which i know i dont want to do, but when i try to manualy do it, theres always some problem with some /boot or /root crap.

[DSwain]

during the red hat install, do manual setup. then, select your linux partition (the one which it is installed to, also known as the root partition) and hit edit. then, set the drive to / (dropdown menu) and then format it as whatever filesystem you want. then, click on the swap partition and hit edit to verify its set to swap. then you should be good to go.

[Albacore]

My local disk is fat32 and its labeled as hidden under "Status". is this right? thanks

[BOFH1]

Just to add in a little extra info, for any Redhat users out there who would like to have Reiser Filesystem instead of EXT3, when you boot up on the Installation CD, at the prompt, type in "linux reiserfs", and you'll be able to create partitions that use Reiser. :)

[JohnT]

Failsafe dulboot.

http://justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=75693&highlight=dual+boot

[Albacore]

Is the 1000mb file sharing partition supposed to be logical?

[AdamZ]

Doesn't matter. I don't think any OS has to be on a primary, as long as the bootloader is installed in the MBR. Having said that, you may possibly put it on a logical partition just out of superstition, or to be safe ;)

[DSwain]

well as far as i know i don't see that you could make it a primary partition. i've never been able to make more than 1 primary partition myself, but i guess in theory it should work. I'd just make it logical though, just to be safe.

[EnigmaOne]

Originally posted by BOFH1
Just to add in a little extra info, for any Redhat users out there who would like to have Reiser Filesystem instead of EXT3, when you boot up on the Installation CD, at the prompt, type in "linux reiserfs", and you'll be able to create partitions that use Reiser. :)

Simon? That is sooooo out of character for you. You feeling ok?

[j79zlr]

Originally posted by blargety
Doesn't matter. I don't think any OS has to be on a primary, as long as the bootloader is installed in the MBR. Having said that, you may possibly put it on a logical partition just out of superstition, or to be safe ;)

FreeBSD will not install into a logical partition, nor can it read logical partitions. ;)

[Albacore]

ok, so i have it as a logical but how do i retrieve the files in linux that i save in windows and vise versa? when i try to save somthing in linux, the directories are labeled with symbols rather that C:,D:,.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by Albacore
when i try to save somthing in linux, the directories are labeled with symbols rather that C:,D:,.

Symbols? Could you please provide examples?

Linux uses devices and mountpoints for partitions.

cat /etc/fstab (to look at your mountable devices and mountpoints)

[Albacore]

sorry, the sybols are /, /home, and i think a few others. im not used to linux so thiss baffles me. Does the 1000mb partition i made for swapping between the 2 os's need to be mounted or somthing? thanks

[DSwain]

no that should be turned on by itself. depending on distribution, you may have to do different things to access partitions. look under /mnt/ for any removable disks. how it works is that there are...i guess devices that are placed in linux under a different directory, and you mount them to a certain folder to make it so the files are accesable. what distribution are you using, that will help determine if you need to manually mount a windows partition or not.

as for the "symbols" essentially its just like looking through Windows directory. The only difference is that you don't specify different labels for different devices, they are mounted under directories. so / is the root directory, and from there you navigate into other places, like /mnt where all of the removable disks and, and /home is the location where main files are usually directed to (like My Documents)

[DMR]

Originally posted by DSwain
well as far as i know i don't see that you could make it a primary partition. i've never been able to make more than 1 primary partition myself... A maximum of 4 Primary partitions are allowed on IDE drives, regardless of OS. However, DOS-based MS operating systems only recognize the active Primary partition, which is why the Windows version of fdisk will only allow you to create 1 Primary. Linux can create, "see", and use all 4 Primaries. In terms making a shared data partition Primary or Logical, it can be either.

[DSwain]

very true....but if remember correctly, i'm thinking of cfdisk with linux, unless its the same concept... i may be thinking of bootable flags or something like that also. either way, i've always used logical for all second partitions beyond the primary.

[Albacore]

im using red hat 9, i tried to save some files in linux and retrieve them in windows but couldnt. im not sure what represents the 1000mb partition.

[DSwain]

i'm assuming the partition you made is fat32, of some type of fat file system. Here's what you do, as easy i can say it. First, open up a console, or terminal in Red Hat standards. then, type in these commands:

cd /mnt/
mkdir windows
ls

what this does is pretty straightfoward, it takes you to the mount directory, creates a directory within it called windows, and then displays the current directories within the folder. next is where it gets a bit tricky. what i would do is try this. in the terminal, type

fdisk
p

and read what partitions are currently on your drive. when you find the partition you want to use for swapping files, hit q, and remember the device name of your swapping partition (something like hda#) once you get that, and are back in the terminal, type in:

mount -t vfat /dev/hda# /mnt/windows

technically if all the info is correct, and everything is done properly, then this should mount the directory into this folder, and then from there you can browse over to it in the file browser and look at the files from there, coping and pasting and all that.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Albacore
im using red hat 9, i tried to save some files in linux and retrieve them in windows but couldnt. im not sure what represents the 1000mb partition. cfdisk /dev/hdx where "x" represents the drive in question, substitute your letter. The information will come up showing your partitions and how they are defined on that drive. Menu at the bottom.....Use "q"to quit.

[DSwain]

code:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------cfdisk /dev/hdx--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

even better than what i said lol. enjoy.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by DSwain
even better than what i said lol. enjoy. There's always a middle ground.
Who knows where the questionnaires expertise lies until the 37th post:D