debian dual boot with xp on separare hdd
 

hi all, i have 2 hdd (master,slave) both ntfs, and i want to format and install debian on my slave drive,so i can dual boot bewteen xp pro and debian 3.or2. i would ideally like to start rig and get a prompt which os i would like to boot from.
1.is this possible,if so how?
2.is the fact it is ntfs going to cause a problem or will debian format it to required file system?

thanks for any help, really want to get stuck into linux and eventually loose micro$oft.

It's very possible. You'll find some info here:
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/re...erence.en.html

and here:
http://www.debian.org/releases/stabl...nstall.en.html

Both are also available in PDF and plain text.

Basic info: There is only one master boot record (MBR) that can be read by the BIOS on startup, and that is on the first hard-drive. This MBR is the only way to boot from the hard-drive, that is, without having to use a floppy, CD, etc. So if you want to boot "normally" without peripherals, you will have to have a boot manager in the MBR that will be able to start both operating systems.

One way (I do it like this for SUSE and hope to soon for Debian as well) is to keep the Windows boot manager, install the Linux boot manager into its root partition, then transfer the necessary information to Windows and tell its boot manager (in the file boot.ini) about it.

You could also allow Debian to install a boot manager (GRUB, LILO, etc.) and let that launch Windows. I shy away from this approach because Windows sometimes likes to fool around with foreign boot managers and spoil things, although it's a valid approach when you know what to avoid.

I am not telling you more detail on purpose. You should most definitely read up yourself on this potentially complicated topic yourself. Look around before coming to a decision.

Cheers

I forgot, question #2:

Don't worry, Debian can certainly format the partition despite the fact that it is currently formatted in NTFS.

Read that Installation manual carefully, and things will become much clearer. :)

Also have a look at this good document:
The Very Verbose Debian 3.0 Installation Walkthrough

cheers for the help peeps will get this one cracked now, :D