how to dual boot linux/winxp
 

hi there:


I have installed RedHat Linux 9 on my 40G hd. finding it diffcult to use and decide to uninstall.

So decided to install a copy of WinXp. Question are
1 ==> Do I nedd to partition the hard disk inorder to install winxp
2 ==> If so how can I partition it.
4 ==> I have heard from someone that linux can "dual boot " with winxp what does it mean?

I AM NEW TO LINUX. SO PLEASE EXPLAIN STEP BY STEP ON WHAT SHOULD I DO.

Thanks for your help

yes you can do a dual boot, when you do linux installation, there is the option to partition your hard drive, so you have to do 3 partition, 1 for windows 1 for linux and 1 for swap space, the swap space partition should be big as twice your ram memory (i've read it somewhere), the other two partitions are of the dimension that you prefer, you can also make only 2 partition, the linux one and the swap one, and leave free some space, then the XP partition will be made by the XP's installation
linux will install a "boot loader" (grub or lilo) that let you choose at boot which operating system should start
hope this help

the response from wrongman is pretty much what i have read, i have installed slackware, but not having any luck getting it to boot. i thought i did the LILO thing correctly, but not getting anywhere.

About partitioning, if you have one hard drive you can use some space from that hard drive by allocating how much space you want to give *nix or any other OS, as for the swap allocation, you must create the swap, and it will say swapon at the prompt, but havent heard exactly how much space is required, i understand 500mb is adequete.

but in doing this with the installer of *nix, (slackware particularly) you have to write to the MBR. be careful with this, cuz it has created many headaches for me. but if you dont write the changes, then none are made obviously.

I havent had any luck with LILO, so i am reading about GRUB right now, the isssue with LILO as i understand it, is that you have to reload it each time you make changes to *nix.

At any rate, good luck with your project, just thought i would add this for ya.

later, dosdawg

I prefer grub, too. What was your problem with lilo, though? Could you tell us exactly what you did and exactly what happens, and could you post the contents of /etc/lilo.conf here?

henrylam, you should have either a LiveCD or a boot floppy for Linux, if you're installing Windows XP second. The Windows installer will overwrite the mbr, and then you will need to boot into Linux from an external disc and re-write the mbr with lilo or grub.

i aint savvy enuff to post the contents of the FILE, i dont know how to access any of them. I did finally get it to startx, but the display is way too large, and i dont know my monitor reso settings.

I finally got LILO to work, but cant tell ya specifically what i done to get it that way. Just kept changing stuff, until it quit saying it couldnt be created.

I know that aint kewl, but i was desparate.

I am using a floppy to boot with. instead of a boot loader, cuz i couldnt figger that one out either. I am brand new to *nix, and gonna be struggling a long time.

any help anybody can offer will be greatly appreciated.

ymsgr johnm_1291

later,
dosdawg