How to install Windows XP to dual boot with my existing SLED netbook

ddclutch · 12-27-2008, 11:13 AM

I have a netbook with an existing pre-loaded version of SLED 10.

I want to add XP as a second operating system, so that I can dual boot and select either one or the other at boot-up.

The netbook does not have a CD drive but I do have an external USB CD drive. I do not have the SLED on installation CDs

How do I do this, please?

rjwilmsi · 12-27-2008, 12:06 PM

You will need to boot off a Linux live CD of your choice (I assume the netbook supports USB boot from external USB CD drive) and use the partitioning tool to create a new partition on the free space in one of your SLED partitions. Then boot off the Windows CD and tell it to install on the new partition you created. Then you will need to boot into SLED and use YAST to reconfigure the bootloader to add an option for Windows. There are various guides on the internet for this.

Overall it's possible but a bit of hassle.

ddclutch · 12-27-2008, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjwilmsi

You will need to boot off a Linux live CD of your choice and use the partitioning tool to create a new partition on the free space in one of your SLED partitions.

Thanks RJ,
2 questions :
1. You say to boot off a Linux live CD. Does this have to be the same Distro as the installed version? I tried booting off a live CD copy of Ubuntu 8.10 but part way through the install it just hangs.
2. Can I not create the new partition with the already installed SLED OS?

Guy

stratotak · 12-27-2008, 01:23 PM

any live distro will work...just need a partiton tool. like gparted.
and i dont think you can do it with already installed os..because when you boot into OS the hard drive is mounted and you cant resize it while its mounted.Im pretty sure..ill feel stupid if some one says you can..

rjwilmsi · 12-27-2008, 03:28 PM

Agree with poster above: you can't partition a mounted drive, so need to boot off a CD.

ddclutch · 12-27-2008, 05:05 PM

OK,
That at least is clear, although I am pretty sure that in Windows, Partition Magic will resize and create new partitions on an active drive.

Now I am having difficulty getting this thing (hp mini 2133 netbook)to boot from a CD. It starts (Ubuntu 8.10) gets to the options screen where I choose "running Ubuntu without installing on your system" It then carries on loading for another 40 seconds or so and then freezes. Several attempts, same crash point each time.

So I opened the Ubuntu CD on another computer and it works fine. Then I tried to get it to produce a bootable copy on a 2 Gig flash drive (this is an app in Ubuntu 8.10) Only this also fails with a message saying "The connection to your device has crashed" I presume this refers to the flash drive.

Any other thoughts?

truth believer · 12-27-2008, 06:46 PM

Any drive before having any changes must be unmounted. so you must unmount the drive(in the version I am it is available by right-clicking the drive). Of course you can't partition a mounted drive. mount is a general term. In any operating system any partition before getting used must be mounted. so PartitionMagic does unmounting the drive either, but in order to be user-friendly, does that without needing your action and does'nt show anything according to it. PartitionMagic mounts the drive again after it did with the partition, so it looks to be like it did partitioning to an active drive.

truth believer · 12-27-2008, 06:47 PM

Any drive before having any changes must be unmounted. so you must unmount the drive(in the version I am it is available by right-clicking the drive).

Of course you can't partition a mounted drive. mount is a general term. In any operating system any partition before getting used must be mounted.

so PartitionMagic does unmounting the drive either, but in order to be user-friendly, does that without needing your action and does'nt show anything according to it. PartitionMagic mounts the drive again after it did with the partition, so it looks to be like it did partitioning to an active drive.

truth believer · 12-27-2008, 06:54 PM

And, just saying (so that your problem with the partitioning could be handled the way I wrote before if god wants) the problem with the DVD could be of your DVD-ROM drive, because DVD-ROM drives vary in reading skill and they (I supposes) vary in the time. boot the CD(DVD) and choose check CD for artifacts, so that if the problem is from the reading it shows up.

truth believer · 12-28-2008, 08:47 AM

Excuse me, in my last post (the last sentence) I meant "Check CD for defects" not "artifacts" but I got that wrong. A reason could be because my original language is not english.

You will find such an option of testing the media. I haven't seen so much linux distributions but I had seen something like that in Fedora Core 2.6 either, so it seems to be common in linux distros.