Hi all,
I’ve bought an HP pavilion with windows xp home preinstalled with other software. I’d want to install Suse 9,3 in dual boot mode.
Browsing newsgroups I’ve read fat32 he is both visible to SuSE and Windows, so I’d prefer to create a boot partition without damage the mbr. Yast doesn’t allow me that. That’s what I’ve done:
1) with Partition Magic 8 I’ve enlarged the preinstalled fat 32 system rescue for Pavilion (Drive D and reseized the NTFS partition to make room for Linux (about 91 GB)
2) I’ve created a swap partition about 2 GB for SuSE.
Then I’ve run YAST. These proposed partitions:
/dev/sda
/dev/sda1 --- FAT32 2 GB mount point: /windows/c (D drive)
/dev/sda2 --- NTFS 20 GB mount point: /windows/d (C drive)
/dev/sda3 --- . extended partition
/dev/sda4 --- REISER 91 GB mount point: /
/dev/sda5 --- NTFS 80 GB mount point: /windows/e
/dev/sda6 --- 2 GB mount point: swap
I have changed the boot manager settings in order to install Grub on /dev/sda1.
This partition, than also it seems previewed on handbook (page 193 Admin manual) but it is discarded from Yast…
I can only choose between the root partition boot sector and sda3, that it is the extended partition. I‘ve entered manually /dev/sda1 as Grub Location. I’ve finished the SuSE install and rebooted, but only Windows works, no other boot manager and no dual boot. I think my modest skillness of Linux prevent me to go on.
Thanks in advance.

Enrico Dini,
Florence
Italy

comments if I may

1) what is the size of your RAM....2G seems excessive....I have 1G and no swap (yep....used to have 512M but it was never used to on a rebuild I got rid of it)

2) read my tutorial.....if you have a bootloader in a partition it must be chainloaded by the bootloader in your MBR....so MS NTLDR must chainload to the linux partition bootloader ok?

3) if you trust me, heh heh....its a lot better to put grub into the mbr and use grub to chainload MS and boot linux with the relevant menu items.


4) The last time I checked, MS does not like its C partition being a non-first partition so it could be...

Primary partition 1 C
Primary partition 2 D
Primary partition 3 E
extended partition 4
...logical P5 / as a reiserfs
...logical P6 balance swap (about 512M)


5) Make sure b4 you make any changes you have printed out MS instructions on how to FIXMBR or use its Recovery function on the cd.

but if its a SATA drive...XP does not have the sata driver so you will need to have it on a floppy downloaded from your motherboard site.


6) b4 installing try a live cd or dvd of linux.....kanotix or knoppix or mepis are fine to try and heaps more

Hi,
my ram is 512mb and my new efforts to store the boot loader in my first partition have been frustrating a lot. So I've made a backup of my system and followed your suggestion to let SuSE store grub in the MBR. Now all works fine. Thanks a thousand.
Enrico