Hi all,
I'm trying to do a triple boot with Fedora 8, Ubuntu, and Windows XP. I've got the Fedora 8 and Ubuntu part down and have space for Windows XP, but I can't get the Windows CD to boot up before the GRUB starts. What can I do to get it to start?

it sounds like you need to change the bios boot order to cd drive before hard drive

2) generally speaking it is better to have
first partition c for windows
second part for linux 1
third part for linux 2
4th for linux swap

3) when you install ms....it overwrites the mbr so you need a live cd or rescue cd to re-install grub into the mbr.

4) alternatively with such a low post count...have one partition for ms, one big one for linux and 1 for swap and install virtualbox ....an emulator to install linux or ms distros into it.

Hi,

I agree with the boot order part.

Why do you think it's best to have the 'swap' at the end of the drive?

Or use a install cd to boot then create the boot lilo/grub.

What has the post count got to do with the partition scheme you propose? The OP says he/she has installed Fedora 8 and Ubuntu. So I would think the need would be at least 4 partitions;
WinXP, Fedora 8, Ubuntu and a swap. I would move the swap to the front if you expect activity. At least the second partition. There is nothing wrong with making the 4th partition a extended partition and create logicals for anything within for additional installs.

VirtualBox is not an emulator but a X86 virtualization software that allows one to host a virtual system. Open source alternatives include QEMU and VirtualBox. I prefer VirtualBox.

edit: To the OP, it would be a lot easier for you to install WinXP first. Make your WinXP partition large enough then be sure to save space to create the needed partitions. You could create a extended partition with the number of logicals for your multiple linux distro(s).

this tells me you are using a machine that for some reason has went back to default bios mode. and like the others said you need to cmos bios look for a cdrom before it looks for a harddrive.

Windows boot files need to be in a primary partition. If you have it in any other partition other than the first, you'll need to map it in grub configuration.
And the fastest partition is the first, the slowest is the last. Ask yourself where you want the speed, because I work my unit I find myself using swap often enough, and because it is small, it is the first partition and my most used OS is in the next partition.

Ultimately, you should go with 5 partitions to set up a shared data partition accessible by all.

onebuck

thanks for the questions.

1) I should have said I have 1G of ram so do not actually use a swap unless I have a very big file transfer which is rare. So you could get away with no swap but being a dinosaur I still create one.

2) most newbies get into trouble with installing so many paritions and getting the sizes wrong....that they elect to go for LVM or some other system.

I have found, quotas and other such tricks a lot easier to manage if you keep the partition structure simple...and grub loves simple structures and troubleshooting is easier with simple structures.

I did not say that this was my setup and the OP may not care.

3) the OP has yet to install xp so my original (3) remains unaltered. MS will over write his current mbr to link to his xp bootloader....ntldr.....which can be fixed by using a live cd to re-install grub to mbr linking to /boot/grub

4) It is naughty of me to make assumptions but we all do...that whats make me a hhheman