linux & win98 & LILO

ok here it goes, i have win98 installed on my 20 gig drive what i want to do is use partition magic 6.0 and create a 2nd an 3rd i think partition in which i can install mandrake 7.2. does anyone know of or can tell me step by step how, the partition magic tech support sucks, do i create two partitions (one ext2 and one swap) then reboot and install? the manual says make sure lilo goes on the linux partition i think or win98 will fail to boot, how do i make sure or install lilo to linux partition? i know mandrake asks me something about boot loader at install but i've only installed 2 times. any help is greatly appreciated

Jj

O.K, if you have w98 installed. Then install partion magic
resize your partition to whatever size, then your ext2.
after reboot, you're ready to load linux.
Yes you should place Lilo on the ext2 partion. This keeps partion magic alive. when you restart you have to boot into
windows and add the boot option for Linux.
restart you're computer and select linux from the partion magic boot loader and lilo will start and even give the option to boot back to windows.do not use partion magic for the swap partion you will create it when you install linux.

This works for me anyway.

Uh OH i got it installed the way u said, now no windows, is there a way to get into partition magic delete this linux partition and retry after i fdis /mbr ? when i tell lilo to boot from windows it say error bad disk please insert another or something like that and then i have to control alt del and boot to linux

Sounds like you put lilo on the MBR, in which case-you will have to fdisk. If you have a Win98 boot disk, you should be able to boot back to Windoze and use Partition Magic.
OR you could edit lilo.conf and re-run /sbin/lilo to add Win98 correctly.
OR If you were to do a fresh install and partition the drive FIRST, a standard install of Linux should pick up the Win98 partition with no prob's and lilo should let you boot from either.

ok i used partition magic to go look at partitions, i have 3 of them 1 ext2 1049.3 mb 1 type85 966.7 mb and 1 unallocated 17,557.3 mb, i see no fat32 so i gues windows got deleted. so now i need to ask again what is the easiest way to run win98 and linux on same hard drive. i have mandrake 7.2 and partition magic handy if someone wants to try and explain it to me

thanks Jj

What is a "type 85" could that be your Win98 partition?

You only need Partition Magic to resize the Windows partition if it was taking up the full harddrive. After resizing it, you can perform a standard Linux/Win98 dual boot install.

If you really think you lost your Win98 and are going to start over with a dual boot... I have posted what works for me in http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...p?threadid=959

You will not need Partition Magic unless you make a mistake on the partition sizes.

You have 3 partitions, and no Windows? Problem is easily solved, although it may take a while to get things as they were...

Using the Mandrake 7.2 installation CD:

Do not use the 'novice' or 'advanced' user options, go for the other-one. Install as a workstation (as this is quicker) and when it gets to the hard-disk partitioning section:

DELETE ALL PARTITIONS. Create new ones to the sizes that you require. 1xWin98 FAT32 (make sure this is first)
1xExt2FS - Linux Native
1xLinux Swap.

Now quit the installation. Go no further with the install just yet.

Reboot with your Win98 Bootable floppy. Change to your C drive and FORMAT IT.

Install Windows onto it, and any other programs that you might want (office?...).

Now, boot from the Linux Mandrake 7.2 installation CD again as you did before, when you get to the hard-disk partitioning section, do nothing - go straight to the next section - and carry on the install as you would normally, but install LILO onto the MBR (I know this can be dangerous, but LILO recognises Windows, whereas Windows doesn't recognise Linux).

When you've finished, eject the CD and reboot as you would normally. With any luck, LILO (or Grub) will start and you can select whether to boot Win or Lin.

My advice to *anyone* wanting to dual-boot Win/Lin is to create a 'ghost image' of the Win partition using Norton Ghost. If possible, BURN THIS ONTO A CD. It saves a lot of hassle.

I finally got all installed, i used partition magic and bootmagic instead of LILO i did put LILO on the linux partition though, my biggest problem was i needed to have both installed below the 1024 cylinder because of a old bios. thanks to all who helped me

Jj

i've been reading this (and hundreds!) of other posts;
my main problem is installing corel linux v.2 to co-exist with windows (while i learn linux). would i do anything differently in the way of partitioning with this version of linux? would partition magic be a good program to use for this?

thanks! -brett

partition magic was the only way i got it to dual boot. i installed linux 1st then rebooted to win partition and installed win98se. put lilo on the linux partition or it won't work

when i install linux, should windows be on my computer? if so, should i install it in a dos partition? are there any faq's or help files that could help me on partitioning?
thanks - brett

Do a search for a thread here called "Partitioning with Win98" or something like that. I have posted detailed info on setting up a dual boot in there. That method has always worked for me.

Annoying as Microsoft is, and all of their evil spawn (being programs), for most having Windows 9x/ME is a definite MUST. If you've got a lot of time on your hands:

Back-up your important data and completely wipe the HD!
Re-partition your HD to suit your needs.
Install Windows. Install any programs you may need.
Install Linux. Install any programs you may need.

It might seem like a quick solution, but it will probably take a bloody long time!

The reason you should install Windows first is that if you install it AFTER Linux, you will not be able to boot into Linux without using your Linux-Boot-Floppy. Microsoft, with their infinte wisdom (that *was* sarcasm, by the way) have decided that if anyone is installing Windows, they will obviously not want dual-boot with anything else at-all! So you should install Windows first. Also, Windows doesn't like being on anything other than the 1st partition. It _will_ work on the 2nd/3rd/etc, but it will run like a sack of x??x (fill in your own expletive).

Linux, on the other hand, being a much more flexible OS will quite happily recognise other OSs and give you the option to boot from any of them. It doesn't mind being on the 2nd/3rd/etc partition, as long as the bootable partition is before 8GB.

Should you have teething problems with Lin, for example, you mess up your 'lilo.conf' or whatever, you can always boot from the bootable floppy to restore the problem, but I wouldn't suggest having this as the normal way to boot into Lin.

Good luck.

thanks a ton for the help; i'm going to try all of this monday (hundreds of pages printed out in case i can't get online )

this is a stray subject, but i've begun thinking-- is corel linux a good way to go? or would i be ahead to try say, mandrake or redhat?

I've heard Mandrake is a very good desktop distro. I'm a Red Hat fan, myself-it's what I learned on, therefore, what I'm used to. Seems to me there are a lot of people on this board who rave about Mandrake 7 & 8.