Linux Multi Boot How To?
 

I currently have a hard drive [320GB] with Suse 10.0 [75GB partition] and Ubuntu 5.10 [75GB partition]. I would like to add FC 5 on another 75GB partition. What steps do I need to follow to do this? Will the Partitioner on the install CD's do this? Or do I need to add a partition with QTParted on the System rescue CD? Or do I need some other partitioner? Does anyone know of a 'How To' or 'Wiki' for this?:confused:
:newbie:

you should be able to do it from the FC 5 install disc

I just read the sections in the install guide on partitioning and boot loader. Ok, so dev/hda2 is Suse, dev/hda3 is Ubuntu and dev/hda4 is swap so I want to leave those alone. In remaining space I want to use custom option to create a new partition presumably dev/hda5 and install Fedora there. Not to hard. I think where I have screwed this up in the past is at the boot loader step. Since I already have a boot loader [grub] I don't want Fedora to install another one. It will either automatically recognize the new partition/Fedora or I can manually add it.
:)
:newbie:

Ok, I have another Question. If I want to manually enter my new Fedora partition into the boot loader in Suse What do I type? For instance for Suse it has [in Yast]:

Section name:
SUSE LINUX 10.0
Kernel:
/boot/vmlinuz
Initial RAM Disk:
/boot/initrd
Root Device:
/dev/hda2
VGA Mode:
0x303
Other Kernel Parameters:
selinux=0 resume=/dev/hda4 splash=silent showopts

For Suse Failsafe:
Section Name:
Failsafe -- SUSE LINUX 10.0
Kernel:
/boot/vmlinuz
Initial RAM Disk:
/boot/initrd
Root Device:
/dev/hda2
VGA Mode:
Text Mode
Other Kernel Parameters:
dma apm=off acpi=off noresume selinux=0 nosmp noapic maxcpus=0 edd=off 3

For Ubuntu:
Section Name:
Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.12-10-386 (/dev/hda3)
Kernel:
(hd0,2)/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386
Initial RAM Disk:
(hd0,2)/boot/initrd.img-2.6.12-10-386
Root Device:
/dev/hda3
VGA Mode:

Other Kernel Parameters:
ro quiet splash

Also how do a add a Failsafe version for Ubuntu? By changing:

Section Name:
Failsafe Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.12-10-386 (/dev/hda3)

VGA Mode:
Text Mode
Other Kernel Parameters:
dma apm=off acpi=off noresume selinux=0 nosmp noapic maxcpus=0 edd=off 3

???

for the fedora partion would be something like this:

Fedora Core 5
Kernel:
/boot/vmlinuz
Initial RAM Disk:
/boot/initrd
Root Device:
/dev/hda4
VGA Mode:
0x303
Other Kernel Parameters:


make sure that

root device is the partion that you installed FC5


my recovery mode for my ubuntu looks like this

root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-10-386 root/dev/sda3 ro single
initrd /boot.initrd.img-2.3.12-9-386


thats just what I have, if you really want to know. ubuntu's documentaion would be a good place to start or google

Thanks for the info. See next post.

Now I have a partitioning question. When I start the install process for FC5 with CD1 at the partitioning step I tried "Use free space on selected drives and create default layout" Or "Custom" to create a new partition. I then either way get the error:

Error Partitioning

Could not allocate requested partitions:
Partitioning failed: Could not allocate partition as primary partition.

My current partition setup is:

dev/hda1 ext. 3 2 GB
dev/hda2 reiserfs 74 GB
dev/hda3 ext. 3 73 GB
dev/hda4 linux-swap 2 GB


I still have 149 GB of free space.I think they are all primary partitions. When I created the dev/hda1 ext. 3 one I thought [mistakenly] that I needed space for a boot loader. Is there a way to eliminate it? Does dev/hda4 linux-swap need to be a primary partition? I read some where that you can only have 4 primary partitions on a drive. Is that true? Can anyone help me out of this mess so I can add FC5 and maybe another OS to my drive and still have a swap partition???:confused:
:newbie:

Excuse me for using a Slackware link, but this guy has a knack for explaining clearly
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/vb22/...?postid=311808
read only the part about partitioning.

One of the nice things about Slack's old fashioned installer is it makes you stop and think about what you're doing.

Yes, 4 primary partitions is the limit. 4 primary partitions could give you 3 OS and a swap, if you choose to go that route. There are good reasons for using a more complex partition scheme. For instance keeping /home on it's own partition can be handy.
I have 3 linux OS installed sharing a swap that is on an extended partition. Can't tell you whether this is optimal, but it does work with no noticable problems.

Edit: Adding to the bootloader can be as simple as this
http://www.math.ucla.edu/computing/d...1/ch07s05.html
note that if the other OS's are setup with LILO you are back to manually editing menu.lst

Will post back when yesterdays beer wears off. Things aren't coming easy at the moment.

Yes that helped. I now have:

/dev/hda1 ext3 2.0 GB
/dev/hda2 reiserfs 74 GB
/dev/hda3 ext3 73 GB
/dev/hda4 extended 149 GB
/dev/hda5 swap 2 GB
/dev/hda6 ext3 74 GB
/dev/hda7 ext3 73 GB

Now I'm going to install Fedora Core 5 on /dev/hda6. Thanks again!:D
:newbie: