Hi,

ok, finally I decided to install 9.1, and while downloading, read some stuff here at Linux questions... noted that topics like 'WinXP won't boot after installing..." are everywhere. I'm not a fan of Windows (expensive, you must buy a new system to update, and things like that), but I have important things there and I don't want to lose them.

So, what to do about the bootloader stuff? Install LILO on MBR, first sector of partition, (if I'm not wrong that means everytime I want to start Linux I've to exec fdisk and set the Linux partition as active, correct me if I'm wrong), or store the bootloader in a floppy? (maybe this is the safe way)

Thanks in advance.

I've installed both Slackware 9.1 and Mandrake 10.0 and had LILO on MBR. My XP boots fine.

What I'm more curious about is: Can you safely remove LILO and revert to just booting straight to Windows XP?

Installing mandrake is a breeze, one of the easieist installs out there. As long as you are careful about selecting your partitions, you should have no problems.

To remove lilo or grub, boot from a Windows disk and - if floppy, type in fdisk /mbr, if an XP cd choose fixmbr.

In my bookmarks (see my sig), I have links to the MS pages with instructions for removing Linux.

I just finished setting up a dual boot with Win2k Pro and MDK 10. Of course, install Windows first, and then do MDK 10. The install process is fairly intuitive if you have basic knowledge of UNIX/Linux. So far my dual boot is working like a charm. If you have data you need, it wouldn't hurt to back it up before messing with your partitions. Always backup important things, actually. I had to learn that the hard way one time

No, you don't have to use fdisk and set the Linux partition as active everytime you want to boot into Linux. I'm not totally sure on the specifics of how LILO works, but your computer boots into menu, and you just pick which OS you want, and that one starts. And like XavierP mentioned, just type "fdisk /mbr" (without the quotes, obviously) at a command prompt to have Windows rewrite the MBR, which should get rid of LILO. Anybody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Arb

If you're really nervous about installing alongside XP, just do what I did:

get another HD (I'm using a cheap old 6gb drive), plug it in as your primary slave, unplug your XP drive and install MDK. Then, when you want to move between OSs, just plug/unplug the drives.

For me, it's not a hassle, because I seem to be going back to XP less than once a week now. Plus, it preserves my XP system, in case I run in to any issues with Linux. The other upside of this more manual approach is that I can be more brave with Linux as I learn, not worrying that I might also take out XP if I do something really silly.

Just my 0.02 cents...

Rory

Take all reasonable precautions.
Do a search here or on Google. There is a way to use the Windows bootloader if you prefer or, as you have mentioned, just use the boot floppy for a while. Normally the bootloader install goes fine.
And you haven't even mentioned partitioning yet.
Read the documentation before you even start the install (Mandrake has theirs available online, last I checked) and each part of the install carefully.

Hey, Rory in Toronto, if you're using Lilo you can keep both drives hooked up (if you have room).
Just connect the Windows hard drive as primary slave (or such) and check out 'man lilo.conf' for the "map-drive" option. Lilo can tell Windows it is the primary master even though it is not.

I have installed 9.1 and then replaced it with 9.2.

Both were dual booted with windows and i never had any problems.From what i can see i think most of the problems are happening with 10 community, but as this isn`t the official release yet, you would expect a few problems until the official version of 10 comes out.

Furthermore, this is my first computer. I have had no previous computer experience.
I had read about linux and mandrake in a magazine and thought i would try it alongside windows to see which i prefered. As i was (am) a computer novice, this is probably a fair test as i had to learn both from scratch and didn`t migrate to linux with any pre-concieved ideas like "gee that`s different", because to me they were both just as alien as each other.
I have been going now for 6 months and as time has gone by i was using mandrake more and more, to the point now that i honestly can`t remember the last time i booted into windows, and when the official version of ten comes out i am going to get rid of windows completely ( I don`t use it, i have no need for it and it`s just taking up space on my harddrive)
The main point is that i installed mandrake with no problem at all and i was completely computer illiterate. Mandrakes installer is very easy to use, it walks you through everything, but as someone already said just take particular care when you get to the partitioning options, not because it`s hard but because if you make a mistake you could lose windows(make sure you defrag windows first) The procedure is mostly automated anyway.

]Hope everything works out for you

cheers

P.S Install LILO on the mbr. When you turn your computer on you will get a screen asking you whether you want to boot into linux or windows. Just click on the one you want to boot.

I've installed Mandrake 9.1, 10.0, Fedora Core 2 test 2, and ASP linux on my box, and have never lost WindowsMe (dammit!). I've used lilo and grub, and have performed installs of the above distributions a total of at least 20 times. (Don't ask why!)

Bottom line, as long as you don't make a silly, avoidable mistake, like formatting your MS O/S partition while setting up partitions during an install, you'll be fine.

A good idea is to make sure you have rescue disks, boot floppies, and a live chicken to sacrifice if necessary. I suggest a knoppix cd - I most recently had to fdisk my dedicated linux hd since I had a hung install, and it became unrecognizable. I booted my knoppix cd, fdisked my /dev/hda, set up swap and ext2fs partitions, and, you guessed it, re-re-re-...re-installed. No prob.

My next project will be Mepis... WOOT!

If you're really, REALLY paranoid, you can always open your box, put in a new (used) hd, and disconnect your MS O/S containing hd. Then you can install with no fear.

Dan