Now i have 2 harddrives, but both windoze, any tips to make one of them SuSE?
 

Hello everyone!! SuSE 10.0 will be done downloading in 8 hrs and 25 mins so in the morning i'm going to start the installation, FUN!!!


I finally got the 2nd harddrive from my old computer out and i put it into my new machine. So now it has a 160 gig harddrive that has windows xp home ed, sp 2 and the 2nd harddrive which i want to put SuSE 10.0, but as of now, it still has Windows xp PRO. What do you suggest I format it in DOS? and don't do a partition because Linux will make its own partitions i'm assuming once I put the SuSE start up cd and tell it to install on drive E:
But by doing a format with Windoze it will be in NTFS i believe or Fat32, I remember someone saying, to make it neither of those. How would I go about doing this from windows? I also have a SuSE 9.2 Live CD, is there any tools on that I can use to format my slave drive (40 gig) so linux can be nicely installed on it? Also will it automatically install a BooT loader like GRUB or LILO so when I start up the computer it will ask me if i want to boot to wind0ze or LinuX? Note: Windows will be the master and Linux will be the slave, becuase the 160 gig is faster then the 40 gig. Thanks again! sorry if you mya have already answered my question. I'm slow. :Pengy:

First, your Linux install will be on ext2, ext3, or maybe Reiser. Not DOS, etc. and not on the "E:\\ drive. The Linux installer will guide you thru this, so I would not worry about it.

You don't say if both drives are PATA/IDE--if so, why is one faster?

If I had those two drives, I would put Windows and Linux on the small one, and use the big one for data. It all depends on what kinds of files you have, and how you use the computer.

You can also have Linux on one, Windows on the other, and a big partition on the larger drive for data.

In either scenario, make the data partition FAT32 so both Windows and Linux can access it.

Good Luck

pixellany, thanks for the info, but my parents don't want to loose anything on the 160 gig nor do I and considering i suck at doing this, i'm sure i'm going to mess it up. So i thought it would be safer to just isolate linux and windows. I just assumed the 160 gig was faster, because its like not 5 years old like the 40 gig, could be the same though. So if i just want to have windows on the big one (to play games, DVD authoring, and programming) until i get the hang of linux to replace all of those but the gaming part. Then put Linux on the small one. Do i just put in the SuSE 10.0 CD and follow the directions? and just tell it to install to the 40 gig harddrive and it will do the rest? even the b00t loader stuff? Thanks again!!

Also does it make a difference if i choose to install it on ext2,ext3 or Reiser or will it make the choice for me? it'll probably make more sense once i see the installer in action, its still downloading right now, i just want to get it all done before i have to spend quality time with the g/f :|

yeah, nothing actually happens until the very end where you get a huge warning box telling you that it's going of format your drive and install, so you can poke around quite a bit with out destroying anything.keep in mind windows c: = linux hda d: = hdb etc.

Ahh i c!! thanks for clearing that up! I like not being able to screw stuff up right away!
Once SuSE is installed, and i restart the computer, what is going to tell the machine to boot up too? Windows or Linux? Will a boot loader pop up and let me choose?

Because if Windows is the master, when i start the computer up, wouldn't it just go right to the windows harddrive (160 gig) and not even see the linux harddrive? Unless Linux is going to install the boot loader onto the windows harddrive or am i missing somthing?

you'll get a screen where you can choose. it will install to the mbr on the first hard drive, hda , which is normal.

Thanks i'm about to install, one last question, if for some reason when I install the Boot loader to the first harddrive hda which has the windows OS, and it ruins the MBR, is windows totally screwed?

If you need to recover the (XP) MBR, simply boot the XP install CD, go to recovery console, and run fixmbr.
Note that after doing this you lose access to your Linux system. You should be able to boot your disk-based Linux system from the (Linux) install CD.

Lots of posts on this - quick search should allay any concerns.

Thanks everyone. I just found out that my Alienware ssytem has an SATA harddrive not a ATA harddrive. So i bought a (200 gig SATA) for linux. I'm actually having troubles figuring out how to install the 2nd SATA harddrive. I google for tutroails but there arn't many. or there are, judst not good ones with pictures for the mentally retarded (me). Also is Linux fine with installing on a serial ata harddrive, do i have to do anything different? Thanks again!
Here is a picture of my system:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3...ware0010xg.jpg


I'm buying another Serial ATA 15-Pin Female-to-4-Power Connector / Serial ATA Adapter, which loooks like this:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...10091&CatId=84
and a sata harddrive, i also have extra Serial SATA Cable which look like this, and i know go into the motherboard:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...94960&CatId=84

But is that all i need? I'm confused on how the new harddrive is going to get power, or do i hook up the black end (14 pin) to the new harddrive then hoook the 4 pin white part to the female port on the far right hand corner of the old sata harddrive already in my system and thats it?
Any info? Thanks.

Linux does fine on S-ATA - recent kernels have the support by default, although I don't know what level Suse 10 is. Should support it though. Generally (nowadays) they show up as /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, ..., but don't be concerned if they show up as something like /dev/hde, /dev/hdf. This merely means your BIOS doesn't have native support.
The first cable needs to connect to a spare power connector (looks like you have a spare on the left of your first photo), then to the drive.
The red interface cable is simply the equivalent of the flat ribbon cable for IDE drives. Use either end, and they are keyed so you can't get it wrong.

I suggest you don't put the new drive right beside the old - leave plenty of room for air to circulate.