Ok, not really, but here is my story.

I'm sick and tired of windows, I always say something to the effect of "I'm switching to BLAH" but never do.

I downloaded redhat 9.0 and burned them to CDs. Cool. Now I would like to keep winxp around (just incase) so I need to partition the HD. I am totally new to this. This is my very 1st attempst at installing any OS other than microcraps stuff. so bear with me.

When redhat's installer gets to the auto partitioning part I get a message stating that It cannot be done and that it is probably due to not enough space on the HD...

Problem! It's a 60 GB HD with around 1/2 of it free.

Suggestions would help greatly, anything, cause I'm stuck.

Also, when I leave the redhat setup and try to start up winxp it doesnt, I am reinstalling that damn OS as I type on my roomate's PC.

Of course the auto-partitioning can't be done. Even though the data in your Windows installation takes up only 30 out of the 60 GB on your computer, the Windows partition takes up the full 60 GB. You need to resize that partition before you can do anything.

"Auto-partition" to Linux means that you have a totally blank (or soon-to-be-blank after reformat) hard drive that Linux can decide to partition with a part for the boot partition, one part for the home partition, possibly a linux swap partition, and a root partition. It'll divvy up the whole 60 GB.

Usually there's a second option, something like "Custom install using existing partitions." This means that you've already divvied up your hard drive, one part with Windows, one part blank or with another OS. This option presupposes you've already partitioned your hard drive.

Most up-to-date Linux distributions will include some kind of partitioning tool. I'm not sure about Red Hat 9.0. I know the latest Mandriva partitioning tool is great, and the latest Mepis partitioning tool is also pretty good. If you use either of these, you have two options:

1. You can use the tool to partition your drive, wholly wiping out what you have. Then, install Windows on one partition. Then, install Linux on the other. You would back up your data, of course, before doing this.

2. You can use the tool to resize your existing Windows partition and create a new one. If you do this, make sure you back up your data and defragment your hard drive first.

And, in terms of partitioning, you can do it however you want, but this is how I've set up my computer, and I recommend this type of scheme:

1. Windows XP (NTFS)
2. Windows generic FAT32 partition (Linux can write to FAT32 but not NTFS, which is XP's native format)
3. Root (/) partition for Linux (keeps just about everything except your personal settings)
4. Linux-swap partition (for extra memory... may be obsolete or unnecessary, depending on how much RAM you normally have)
5. Home (/home) partition for Linux (keeps your settings)

Why set it up this way? Well, you need the NTFS partition because Windows XP is designed for the NTFS file system format. The FAT32 partition is for data--music, documents, pictures, etc. The advantage of having this partition is that both XP and Linux can open and save files from it, and both OSes can recognize that it's there (you'll notice that Windows XP will not acknowledge your Linux partitions). The home partition should be separate because, especially if you're a Linux beginner, you shouldn't be afraid of reinstalling Linux and reinstalling a new distro to try it out. If you preserve the "home" part, all your settings and preferences will be kept safe during new installations.

Good luck!

By the way, why are you using Red Hat? Try Mepis, Ubuntu, or Blag.

DAMN! That's alot of work. I figured out that winxp uses a different file system format. I've been reading up on it ever since I posted this.

Now as to why redhat... I've never tried any before. I thought it would be a good place to start. I guessed wrong, I am currently downloading Mandrake as I type. And I will give many distros tries before I settle on something that I like.

Thank you so much for the help.

If anyone else has any more suggestions, I'm all ears.

Also, can I (in some way) use my external drive? It's double the size of the internal one and is connected via usb 2.0

Thank you all again.

Linux is a lot of work. But... it can be fun work, if you view it as a learning experience. Even though Mandriva's partitioning tool is good, I haven't found anything spectacular about Mandrake Linux. It's also three CDs (that's a lot to download). Why don't you try Mepis or Ubuntu? Those have live CD versions (Mepis is both a live and installer CD), so you can try them out before installing them. Ubuntu's installer is also one CD (there's a separate live CD, too).

Can you use your external hard drive? Well, I'd use it first to back up all your data. If you want to use it as a partition, that can be difficult, unless you know how to set things up to boot from an external hard drive. There are ways you can get Linux to automount an external hard drive on boot-up, but the Linux installation itself should probably be on the hard drive, unless you're using Damn Small Linux or Puppy Linux (which are each about 50MB total for the entire distribution and can both be booted from USB keys).

My guess is you'll be lucky enough to find a distro that recognizes your external hard drive. Mepis and Ubuntu are good bets for that, though.

I view everything as a learning experience.

I am looking for a desktop linux that will (after I have used linux for sometime) totally replace this POS they call XP.

Which brings me to another question. Is there any way to run windows applications in linux? Like office or photoshop? I'm pretty sure there must be some way.

there's a way to reduce that amount of work - just install over xp. dual booting problems solved.

seriously, though - ask what you need xp for, and why you'd need to keep it. many people keep it around for games only, so if you're a big gamer that might be a motive. also, some proprietary software won't cooperate with wine or emulators, etc. but for most things Linux/*BSD are not only capable, but far superior.

I use SuSE 9.2 Pro and have been free of windows for a couple of months now. I use Photoshop 7.0 with software called Office Crossover wich uses WINE. After awhile though I got used to using The GIMP instead of photoshop and I use OpenOffice in place of microsoft office. There are a lot of FREE choices that are equal to or better than MS software. It will take time, but it's worth it in the end.

Good Luck!

I personally prefer iTunes to Amarok, Juk, Rhythmbox, GtkPod, and all the other Linux alternatives, but you may be different. You may find there is, in fact, a Linux application for everything you want to do. Yes, OpenOffice is a great substitute for Microsoft Office; GIMP for Photoshop, Inkscape for Illustrator. You'll also find there are even programs for things you couldn't do in Windows, and most are free.

There are several vehicles by which you can access Windows apps: Wine, Win4Lin, Crossover Office...

I have never used a PC for games, I'm an avid PS2/Gamecube fan. That little blue hedghog and that italian plumber are my childhood.

I really dont have a logical answer for wanting to keep XP around. It's just a comfort thing I guess. I have never used anything but Windows and this is a whole new experience.

I left my PC downloading Ubuntu as well as mandrake. I'm at my girlfriend's house, so tonight... heh. I think I'll be on here ALOT in the coming months.

Thank you all!