DISCUSSION: How To Triboot A Computer

This thread is to discuss the article titled: How To Triboot A Computer

Here is the tutorial I made with the info I got from budman7 and smolloy It can help anybody including me and should be sticked How to Triboot a Computer Distro 1= Prime Distro example (Windows) Distro 2= The 2nd distro to be installed, this can be any distro (This controls the bootloader) Distro 3= The 3rd distro to be installed, this can be any distro Things to do Before You Start if you are using Windows as the Prime Distro and if not you can skip it. Backup Computer Run Defraging tools Scan for Spyware Scan for Viruses Run chkdsk These are good steps for Windows users and can be used in Linux also

Can You post this update to it

Here is the tutorial I made with the info I got from budman7 and smolloy

How to Triboot a Computer

Distro 1= Prime Distro example (Windows)
Distro 2= The 2nd distro to be installed, this can be any distro (This controls the bootloader)
Distro 3= The 3rd distro to be installed, this can be any distro

Things to do Before You Start if you are using Windows as the Prime Distro and if not you can skip it.

Backup Computer
Run Defraging tools
Scan for Spyware
Scan for Viruses
Run chkdsk

These are good steps for Window's users and can be used in Linux also

This guide focuses primarily on the GRUB bootloader to Triboot

This tutorial focuses on the Knoppix Live cd that includes QTParted.There are also other partitioners that come with your distro these include Diskdruid in Fedora Core, Qtparted in SuSE and Kdrak in Mandriva and GParted (Gnome Partition Editor) in the GNOME desktop. There are also partition tools that you can use that do the same thing but in text mode are Parted, fdisk, cfdisk

Download A Copy of the latest Knoppix from http://www.knoppix.com/

This is very important because this is the Live cd we are going to use to partition the hardrive to get it ready to Triboot.

Step 1:Bootup the Cd you have made then make sure the computer can bootup the cd. To do this you need to get into the bios this can be accessed by pressing the "Delete" key, for some Compaq’s it's the "F10" key and there's even "F1" or "F2" for other computers. You will then find an option for the boot order.

The correct setup should be

Floppy
CDROM
Hardrive

Step 2:Once Knoppix is running you must now Unmount all partitions.

You do this by going into My Computer you will then see all of the partitions. Right click on one of them it will then give you the option to unmount. Select it and it will then be unmounted you must do this for all of the partitions.

You must do this for all of the drives or else the computer can't be partitioned

Step 3:Click on the KDE logo then go to run application and type qtparted in lowercase then hit run or click QTParted in the menu

Step 4:This will now startup QTparted

The drive I am going to resize is a NTFS partition.

Step 5:Now we begin the process of resizing the hard drive

1.Select the /dev/hda for IDE or /dev/sda for a SCSI drive on the left, then you should see its info on the right

2.Select the NTFS partition and right-click on it, then select Resize.

3.Next you'll see the Resize Partition dialog.

4.Enter the size you want for your existing Prime Distro to be resized and then click OK.

This can be done in Gigabytes or Megabytes

5.After clicking OK you'll see an updated view of your partitions. Note that nothing has actually changed yet; you must select File then Commit to apply the changes.

6.Just click Yes on the confirmation dialog.

7.You'll see the progress dialog and when it's done click the OK button

8.Now Select File then Quit to exit QTParted

9.You should now boot into the Prime Distro it will then detect the partition that you have made but it will be unformatted.

Now boot back into QTParted the way you did before and Delete Distro 2 and the Swap Partition by right clicking it and hitting delete

Now you should have the Prime Distro and a bunch of free space.

Here is how you would go on to create the extended partition with two partitions inside of it that contain the two distros that will be added to the triboot setup.

With QTparted this will be quite simple and you don't really need a guide. The Mepis guide that you linked to is quite detailed, and if you read that you will get the general idea of how qtparted operates.

Basically you will want to click on any free space you have, and choose the option to create a partition (it will be an icon somewhere near the upper left of the screen). Then choose the option to make it an extended partition, and move the slider at the top to choose the size you want (in this case 8GB).

After you've done this you'll be able to click inside this partition and choose to create another partition. This time make it a logical partition, and format it as ext3 (if that is indeed what you want). Also make sure to set its size to 4GB. Once you've finished this, repeat for the remainder of the partition, to create the second logical ext3 partition inside the extended partition.

If you want to make a swap partition, then put this before (to the left) of the extended partition. In fact it might be best to do this before you create the extended partition. The process to do this is basically the same as before -- click on some empty space, choose "create a new partition", set the size, type, etc., and that's it.

It really is quite easy and I'm sure you'll have no problems. Just be sure to defragment and chkdisk any windows partitions you intend to move or resize, and everything should go smoothly.

Good luck.

When installing the Operating System it will give you the most common options, which are Reiserf and Ext3.

Also many distros support Custom Partioning, which will give you more formatting Options.

A file system is added to the computer whenever you install an Operating System to it.

Below are some examples of filesystems that can be formatted or resized.

Windows
NTFS
FAT

Linux
Ext2
Ext3
ReiserFS

Its also a good idea to add Swap if you have a low memory computer which will use the Swap as temporary ram also the Swap partition should be formatted as Swap.

If the swap is inside the extended partition, you will have to delete the swap first.

Step 7:Now Install Distro 3 by Booting the install cd as if you were going to boot Knoppix and Install bootloader to the root partition.

Step 8:Install Distro 2 using swap already created from installing Distro 3 and putting GRUB on the MBR which will make GRUB the bootloader that is controlled by Distro 2.

GRUB can be put anywhere but for this tutorial we are going to be put on the MBR so Distro 2 becomes the bootloader.

When installing other operating systems

Distro 2 should now make an entry in GRUB for both the Prime Distro and Distro 3.

The computer should now be restarted I you will be shown the Distro 2 GRUB Bootloader which contains the Prime Distro, Distro 2 and Distro 3.

The computer can now Triboot

Make sure you don't put Swap for Distro 2 on the partition where you are going to install Distro 2 to. By default Distro 2 should make a Swap partition or detect a Swap that is on the computer and mount it.

For Installing new Linux distros install to the partition so Distro 2 Grub doesn't get overwritten

A Big Thanks to budman7 and smolloy for supplying the info

Here are two other sites that are a guide with pictures.

http://ca.geocities.com/zachandloric...windowsxp.html

http://mepis.org/docs/partitioning-your-hard-drive/

And One for Isos
http://www.linuxiso.org/viewdoc.php/isofaq.html

Latest update is now posted.

Could you delete the old one

I overwrote it, so the one linked at the top is the only one.

Has anyone had any success with triboot of Windows XP, Fedora Core 5 and Suse 10.0? Every time I've tried this, one of the Linux packages tends to take over the PC and I wind up with Windows disappearing ( I know - that can't be all bad :-))and only one OS - usually SuSE - remaining.

Comments anyone

Has anyone had any success with triboot of Windows XP, Fedora Core 5 and Suse 10.0?

I had trouble even dual booting Suse with Windows, my Suse installation screwd over Windows and I had to completely reformat and re-install windows on its partion. I know this one guy who had a quad boot but he said it took him forever to get the partioning and boot screens right.

Wireless - that is the same problem I seem to have - everytime I've tried to do this, I've had to reformat my hard drive and start from ground zero. It takes too long to do that and I always forget which items need reinstalling. If anyone comes up with a good method, please share it.

Bob

Up to 4 primary partitions, or 3 primary and 1 extended partition is possible. I don't recall how many logical partitions an extended partition can hold.

I have had the best results by making each operating system and all applications as independent as possible. All OS directories are under a single root partition. (i.e. I no longer use separate partitions for /boot, /home, /var, etc.)

Partition #1 (Primary) OS-A
Partition #2 (Primary) OS-B
Partition #3 (Primary) OS-C
Partition #4 (Extended)
Partition - - - #5 (logical) swap
Partition - - - #6 (logical) data

There are BIOSs, operating systems, and applications, that will independently control/alter your hard drive MBR. This frequently causes issues. This works for me, OS-A to hda1, OS-B to hda2, and OS-C to hda3 when mixing old and new hardware with old and new software.

Although it is possible to install many OSs in an extended partition, I have found it less stable to do so unnecessarily. Does the version number of your favorite partitioning software or boot loader suggest that it is not a whole or completely finished product? If so, why?

My experience has been that using variable hardware with variable software, will sometimes produce variable results. But if you never make a mistake, and all of your hardware and software is just as reliable, then doing backups is (virtually) a waste of time before rehashing your hard drive.

Originally Posted by sgtbob Wireless - that is the same problem I seem to have - everytime I've tried to do this, I've had to reformat my hard drive and start from ground zero. It takes too long to do that and I always forget which items need reinstalling. If anyone comes up with a good method, please share it. Bob

Bob, no one answer fits all. Linux distros install differently, one will install on any available space,(easy) another requires partitions already installed or it wants the whole drive, (not too swift) decide which distro u want to play with and ask specifically about that one.
hoppe this helps,
olepholks

Originally Posted by sgtbob Has anyone had any success with triboot of Windows XP, Fedora Core 5 and Suse 10.0? Every time I've tried this, one of the Linux packages tends to take over the PC and I wind up with Windows disappearing ( I know - that can't be all bad :-))and only one OS - usually SuSE - remaining. Comments anyone

Hi, I will attempt to give some help, although more experienced linux-geeks could give you a better and more concise answer.

I have several OS installed, with windows XP on one Primary, while Fedora10, Suse10.3, Suse11.0, Ubuntu X.x as extended partitions within one primary partition.

Whenever I install a new Linux OS it created a new boot loader (I guess thats the correct wording) and set the CMB in that partition, (that is, it uses the grub menu for that distro). Unless I add the remaining ones
there, in the menu.lst, they seem to be gone.
Is that your problem?
In my case they are actually there but are not mounted and are not initially shown in the boot menu until I modify it accordingly.
In order to use the old boot loader I have to reset my old CMB. I could find a good link in this forum on how to do it.


Well, if it is not your problem and you know better than that, dont feel offended.
bye
f

Originally Posted by Robin Fortner There are BIOSs, operating systems, and applications, that will independently control/alter your hard drive boot sector. This frequently causes issues. I negate those issues by installing GRUB on my most stable (active flagged primary) partition. This provides access to multiple operating systems with a standard layout for easier navigation across all LAN resources. Although it is possible to install dozens of OSs in an extended partition, I have found it less stable to do so unnecessarily.

Hi, regarding those "issues": I have several linux OS and whenever I upgrade one linux kernel it updates my grub menu so that it boots it correctly. Unfortunately, it sets the CMB there and every time I need to manually correct it so that it lays (presently) in my Fedora10 distro.

This is not nice and I usually wait for some time before doing the kernel updates.
Does anybody know of a cleaner and nicier way?
I had a boot partition but a new distro just took over with the boot loader.

As for all my distros: every one has a problem for which I rather use another one than try to solve it. Had up to 5 of them.
The dirty way, but my printer doesnt like fedora, suse doesnt like to suspend to memory or disk and takes ages to boot, ubuntu is nice, short and clean but I never bothered to have multimedia work properly, skype works on some of them, etc.

I dream of a distro that finds its problems by itself, some kind of over-distro!

f

Don't know what the fuss is all about. I never use a desktop hard disk with less than 15 partitions and fill them up with any OS I wish.

Extended partition less stable? Didn't find any when I installed a Xp into each of the 126 logical partitions found to my satisfaction everyone booted.

As a rule just partition a hard with partitions and put an OS in each.

Operating systems do not screw each other. It is always one boot loader overwriting another one in the MBR and the user does not know how to deal with it.

Every boot loader if invented can be reconfigured, re-installed, restored, replicated etc, usually by using the installation CD/DVD. However in Linux a Live CD alone is enough to rescue any Linux or any number of Linux.

M$ Xp/Win2k NTLDR is good for booting 10 OSes. The bootmgr of Vista/WIn7 can boot over a hundred systems. Grub is just easier, simpler and more flexible than the rest.

Bootloaders can co-exist with each other, boot each other and each can reside inside its own system partition which has a reserved boot sector just for this purpose. Thus if a hard disk has 10 partitions the owner can have 10 OSes each self sufficient inside its own partition with its own boot loader. A user can select any OS to control all the rest by putting its boot loader in the MBR.

Originally Posted by saikee Operating systems do not screw each other. It is always one boot loader overwriting another one in the MBR and the user does not know how to deal with it.

You are right, MBR, not CMB, thanks.

I think something ought to be done to help newbies with this issue, though. The first time this happend to me I thought I had destroyed my system.

The point is, linux ist now supposed to be good for the broad public, not just the experts, and at least some warning telling you that the MBR has been changed and how to get your old one back, etc, would be in place.
Otherwise the general impression is allways that of another kind of arrogance (W doesnt let you do anything, L says you should but scares you on the process).

fritz_p,

I have given advice so many times and now just refer the readers to the "Just booting tips" in my signature.

Grub is an excellent boot loader in Linux. You can put Grub itself in a floppy or CD and use it to fire up installed PC operating system. Everyone can boot an operating system manually using between 2 to 3 lines of Grub commands. A Grub floppy/CD can even boot a Linux systems that cannot boot itself.

PC users think booting is complicated but it is in fact dead simple, as this thread proves I could use the same 3 lines of commands to fire up each of the 145 OSes. Inside the 145 systems there were 3 Dos and 5 MS Windows. I did this 2.5 years after entering Linux as an absolute beginner.

How can it be difficult if it only basically requires same 3 lines of commands to boot every Dos, Windows, BSD, Solaris and Linux? Due to the way I arranged the MS systems I had to hide and unhide the partitions, hence requiring more lines of commands, but this can be avoided if I let one MS boot loader as the sub-master to control their own systems.

Booting is only hard if a user cannot type and survive only with a mouse!