NEWBIE here-Linspire/LindowsOS4.5 Dualbooting help!!!
 

hello everything and thanks for the reading and the help on this issue,

Newbie to Linux as well for about 3 weeks... loving it lots but having a hard time to really sit down and get some learning in... :study:

here is my question

I have two computers that I have options to install on. My main comptuer currently has an XP/Fedora setup with a remaning 10gb of hard drive space I was thinking of using to install some optional OS systems to learn from (linux systems). This main computer is using GRUB as the boot loader.

my second computer has XP installed with about 3.5gb of harddrive space avalible for a second system.

Now what I would like to do is put a from lf Linux OS on both systems so that I might get a chance to learn from them using the networking abilities of Linux. So with this said I will try to get my thoughts out with out having to say things in a confussing manner.

I am open to the way I setup these systems, but I think it would be nice to try putting Lindows 4.5 plus some other Linux distrobution on my main computer (so I would have WinXPpro,Fedora Core1, Lindows4.5 and maybe one other, these all so I can just see the differences between them and to try other distrobution with out distroying the Fedora which I am learning from via the 5 inch book on my desk! :)

My second computer I could put any OS on it, but I am thinking mostly using the FedoraCore1 because that is the one I am learning now with the book I purchased and its in a different room that i might be able to escape from to do some study of the FedoraCore1.

But when I "TRY" to install the LindowsOS4.5, the setup is very easy but it gives me no option to install Lindows on the extra partition I created in WindowsXP but its not formated. During the LindowsOS4.5 install, that partition does NOT show up in the advanced install option setup of the install. Why is this. I don't want to loose the information on the rest of this harddrive (kids comptuer that I just dont want to go through the resoftwareing of again :D )

So with this last paragraph said and you hopefully understanding my lack of writing skills of the above information, Does anyone have ANY suggestions on what I should do???

THANKS EVER SO MUCH!!!

Sincerely,

Kevin in Alaska

---The circumstances of one's birth is irrelevant, it is what one does with the gift of life that determins who you are.
Author: Unknown

try asking in the Lindows forums -> http://linspire.com/forum

setting up linspire on XP partition as dualboot.
 

Hi,

Format that partition either NTFS or FAT32 & it will show up in advanced install in linspire/lindows4.5

I partitioned my hardrive and all...but when I go advanced install it says "no hard disks usable". It doesn't detect my hardisk for some reason.
I've got a SATA 120GB hardrive partitioned with 75GB for windows xp and the rest left to install Linspire..
HELP!!

Moey,

Currenlty, Linspire does not support SATA,RAID Hard disk. you can visit the following link to check hard disk compatibility list.

http://www.linspire.com/compatibility

--Hitesh

KevinAlaska,

Note: It's recommended to Format the partition with FAT 32 file system and try to do advance installation. also, if you are using SATA or RAID, Linspire does not supports this. you can visit the following link to check for advance installation.

http://www.linspire.com/faq.php?faq=faq15

http://www.linspire.com/faq.php?faq=faq216

http://www.linspire.com/faq.php?faq=faq821


Also, Linspire only support LILO as a defualt boot loader. however, you can change to another boot loader by following link.

http://www.linspire.com/faq.php?faq=faq711

If you have downloaded .ISO image. i would suggest you to verify your .ISO image by following link.

http://www.linspire.com/checksum

-Hitesh

My suggestion is to not install Linspire on the same computer as the one that other people use. The reason being that the bootloader (LILO) is not easily accessible through linspire's control panel. In addition, if you install another OS that uses the GRUB bootloader, Linspire may not be accessible. So if you want to install Linspire, first make sure it's the latest version 4.5.499. The reason being that you can edit the bootloader to have Win2K as default (if you have read it in these forums already, Linspire will automatically put itself as the default OS, which is incovenient for about every human being trying to dual-boot).

The other thing I would suggest is that if you really want to test Linspire, then that has to be the last OS installed, just in case there are issues with bootloaders. So far, Mandrake, SuSE, Fedora, and a number of other popular distros use GRUB as the bootloader, I used to have SuSE, and it did not list Lindows in the boot list. So when you install Lindows last, all of the other OSes you installed before will show up.

If you are going to reinstall Lindows on a different drive, then format the first installation. The reason for this is because the new installation will use the leftover LILO files to boot the new system, that results in extra listings at startup, which will confuse you. Also, if you wanted to edit the boot listings, you won't be able to... Before reinstalling, move any data you have to a CDRW, and restore it in the new install (it's easier to do this in Linux, because all you really have to backup is your home directory....).

After several reinstalls, this is the advice I have to give you. After testing Lindows myself, I realized that this OS is exactly what I have heard about it: it is too simple fo handle... they have to make it better so advanced users can use it. Once you start handling this OS, you'll see what I mean.... (*hint: networking and control panel)