Dual-boot Partitioning Question(s)

[BlueNoteExpress]

I'm interested in dual booting Windows XP Pro and Mandrake Linux 8.2. I've done some reading and looked through some related threads here, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer to a few questions I have. I'm hoping someone here can help me.

First, I have an Athlon XP 1700+ on an EPoX 8KHA+ motherboard with a 40 GB hard disk, and 512 MB of RAM. The hard disk currently partitioned into a 7 GB primary partition (C:\) where Windows lives. The rest of the drive is an extended partition with four logical drives on it: D:\ ~8 GB, E:\ ~8 GB, F:\ ~8 GB, and G:\ ~7 GB. All drives and partitions are formatted FAT32.

I'd like to install Mandrake Linux to the space currently occupied by G:\. I'm here asking questions because of several things I have read in some places and seen no mention of in others. First, I've read that you can only install linux to the first logical partition in an extended partition (obviously G:\ isn't the first logical drive). Also, I have read that there may be problems booting linux if it is installed beyond the first 1024 cylinders (~ first 8 GB) of the hard disk, and I'm pretty sure G:\ is well beyond the first 1024 cylinder boundary. Now, I have Partition Magic 7.0 so I can resize, create, and move partitions around as needed, but I'd like to avoid doing any partition manipulation that isn't absolutely necessary.

So, I guess my questions really are:

1.) Do I need to remove G:\ and turn it into it's own logical/primary? partition?

2.) Will this space exceeding the 1024 cylinder boundary be a problem?

3.) If (probably when) I unallocate the space currently used by G:\, how should I repartition it? I'm asking because I know I'll need a boot/ partition and a swap/ partition as a minimum.

Any help is appreciated.

[Bokkenka]

Second question first: Straight off the GNU website GRUB FAQ (http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/grub-faq.en.html)... As long as you have LBA mode applied in your BIOS, you can boot past the 1024cyl/8GB barrier. "Furthermore, some operating systems (i.e. DOS) cannot access any large disk, so the problem is not solved by any kind of bootloader. As long as I know, at least GNU/Hurd and GNU/Linux can boot from such a large disk."

First question second: You have one primary, and one extended. In the extended, you have four logicals. If you delete the last logical, you should be able to install Linux into the newly-freed space. You shouldn't need to shrink the extended and create another. Linux doesn't mind what partition it's on like Windows. I would try it before I started playing around with Parti Magic. You will be changing partitions, though, so the standard disclaimer is backup anything you can't lose, because you just might.

And third question third: The minimum partitions you will need to create when installing Linux are a root (/) and a swap. If you aren't going to have a large number of people using the system, I wouldn't go anymore than that... If you get it wrong, you either waste space by making one too big, or bump the walls by making another too small. Keep it simple for the first time. Make a 256MB swap, and the rest an EXT3 root. You have more than enough RAM that you shouldn't touch the swap too often unless you play with really big files (pictures, audio, etc), so a quarter-gig is more than enough. I have a dual-celeron system (overclocked) that is my pet-project... It has a half-gig of RAM and has been running two processes of SETI@home for a couple weeks straight, and hasn't touched the 128MB swap file yet.

Of course, since Linux is going to be in the very slowest part of the disk, it will run a bit slower than it normally would. It won't be too noticeable to you, though.

[DMR]

Originally posted by BlueNoteExpress 1.) Do I need to remove G:\ and turn it into it's own logical/primary? partition?I would just delete the partition, leaving the resulting space free/unallocated. You will then create your Linux partitions as part of the installation process. I can't definitively answer your question concerning installing on a logical partition other than the first, but I don't recall ever hearing of that being an issue.

Originally posted by BlueNoteExpress 2.) Will this space exceeding the 1024 cylinder boundary be a problem?No- that was an issue for older versions of Lilo (one of the Linux bootloaders) and older BIOSes. Recent versions of Lilo don't have that problem, nor does the other popular Linux bootloader Grub.

Originally posted by BlueNoteExpress 3.) If (probably when) I unallocate the space currently used by G:\, how should I repartition it? I'm asking because I know I'll need a boot/ partition and a swap/ partition as a minimum.Actually, you only need a / partition; swap can be a file instead of a separate partition. Most distros' installation programs have an option to automatically partition the free space onto which you are installing Linux, in which case it will be taken care of for you. Read your specific distro's documentation to find out exactly what partitions it will create and what size they will be. If you choose to manually partition, there are a number of options as to the scheme you use, and the choice is really yours when it comes down it. Give the Multi-Partition NHF (http://linuxnewbie.org/nhf/Installation/How_to_Create_a_Multiple_Partition_System.html) a read for some background on that.


:)