dual boot computer
 

I have windows XP SP2 and I wanna install SuSe Linux 10.1 I dont know what partitions to make I have a 160GB hard drive and 2 gb of ram and 256 vid card

How much free space do you have left?

would be great if you could wipe the D: partition and place everything you need of that on C:. Then boot from the suse disk and follow the given commands and questions. Its easy. It will let you format the D: partition and install suse there...
If you have to (partly) partition a drive that contains data you'll probably loose data.

I have like 120GB left

I tried installing SuSe Linux to an ext2 partition that I made and when I set the root to there (/) it told me that all the other partitions were going to be delelted

partition magic is your friend here. split off how ever much you want (no less then 10G, i would go with 20 - 40G) and format it FAT32. this way when you are installing SuSe there is no way to confuse it with the default NTFS partition for your XP side and as stated above, just follow the directions at that point.

I have like a fat32 partition but it only has like 60mb for bootmagic

Save all your irreplaceable files to CD or DVD. Partition the disk as follows:

First primary partition:
/ or 'root'
for linux
12 GB
Type Reiserfs

Second primary partition:
/home
for linux
60 - 70 GB
Type Reiserfs

Extended partition:
Remaining space
Within extended partition:
Logical partition for /swap
for linux
2 GB
Type swap

Logical drive for MS Windows XP
Remainder of the extended partition
Type 07, or NTFS

Remember, you didn't format anything yet. All you are doing is partitioning. Install MS Windows XP to the second logical partition in the extended partition first, and let it format the partition. Or, if you have Partition Magic, boot with the CD and make your partitions that way. Then you can use Partition Magic to format the NTFS drive Windows will go on. It takes Windows XP quite a long time to format, whereas Partition Magic only takes five seconds. Don't use Partition Magic to format the linux partitions, though.

After you get all done installing MS Windows XP, and register it, shut down and boot with the SuSE 10.1 CD/DVD. Otherwise, you can dl ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/opensuse/di.../boot/boot.iso . This is a network install disk for SuSE 10.1. You have to burn the image to a CD, and then boot with it. When it asks, you tell it to use http, or network install, and use:

Server: mirrors.kernel.org
Directory: /opensuse/distribution/SL-10.1/inst-source/

And SuSE 10.1 will install over the internet. You have to do a few other steps, but it is pretty easy. When you get done, and reboot, there will be a menu where you can launch MS Windows XP or linux. SuSE 10.1 will automatically make it so Windows can boot with grub, the SuSE boot loader.

I made a 30gb partition ext2 and when I assigned the root to the partition I clicked finish and it told me that all the partitions were all going to be deleted

Is it even possible just to install SuSe Linux 10.1 on just 1 partition and just boot it up from bootmagic and keep my windows installed because I have a bunch of stuff on my comp

partition magic costs money. use partition logic instead. it's free.

I don't have a clue what "bootmagic" is, but you can keep Windows installed and install Linux. Either of the main bootloaders (i.e. GRUB or LILO) can boot both Windows and Linux.

Bootmagic is the Boot loader program built into Partition magic to help manage your partitions. It's just a commercial version of GRUB or NTLoader. I used it afew years ago when trying to install Redhat but found it to be rather unreliable and bulky.

as i already said, shift the stuff from drive D: to C: and then boot from suse disk and format and install the D partition with suse. Suse will not erase or format partitions that you didnt change. So the windows stuff will be allright later...
Alternatively you can install another drive in your box and leave the existing one untouched. Then you had more possibilities to split the new installation.
cheers,
j.

0. No offense intended, but what makes anyone here think OP has a D: drive? I see no mention of one in his/her posts. Did I miss something?

1. There is no need to move the files on D:, if you're willing to re-partition.

2. Since you seem to already own PartitionMagic there is probably little point in telling you how much better I find Acronis -- especially when using the bootable CD. And even if I still had a "Winders" partition to install it on, I would still only use the bootable CD -- avoiding the reboots to "DOS"-mode & the dangers of "brain surgeon operating on himself".

3. If you have a name brand box like HP, Dell, or Gateway, be sure you don't overwrite any restore or utility partitions, at least if you want "Winders" to still have those capabilities.

Partitioning suggestions in this scenario:

• Shrink the C:, probably hda2, by the amount you need to install Linux (see following), leaving at least 10-20% free.
• Make (or expand) an extended partition that fills the freed space. With some tools this can be accomplished by making logical partitions that fill the extended partition/freed space.
  
• Consider making a substantial, up to 15G, FAT32 common data partition. "Winders" refuses to have anything to do w/ any Linux file systems, & Linux can't (yet) reliably write NTFS. Yes, this suggestion assumes that all "Winders" partitions are using NTFS, but this is a factory installed XP scenario.
  
• Make a swap partition. In your case, w/ 2G of RAM, I'm guessing 2G of swap is appropriate. Check the SuSE install instructions for their recommendation.
  I know that Linux can run from a swap file, but it's much easier to use a partition. Besides, if you decide to tri-boot w/ another Linux install, a swap partition is shared, automatically.
  
• Finally, make a "/" (root) partition. Even asking for "everything", 5 or 6G has been sufficient in the past, & I can't imagine 10G not being good for a long time. Of course you may have special needs.
  
• Note: I am not recommending a separate /home as I prefer to keep non distro specific files in a pure data partition, rather than interspersed w/ distro specific files & directories. But that's really a matter of taste.

4. Assuming you don't mind starting from scratch, & assuming you have access in an XP install CD, I like AwesomeMachine's suggestions. Of course, I would add that 15G FAT32 common data partition.

5. I may run a weekly install fest, but I have only done 1 recent SuSE install, but was able to get it to install its place in the preset partition structure. My unfamiliarity caused some stumbling type problems, but it is a sound installer.