Dual boot Linux installation

aksood · 09-30-2001, 02:01 AM

I am installing Linux on a machine running Windows2K. I would like to dual boot the machine but unfortunately the win2K partition is NTFS. When I try to install linux it does not allow me to create a boot partition. It seems that linux boot partition needs to be installed in the 1024 cylinders of the HDD which are occupied by Win 2K. Is there a solution, I don't have PARTTION MAGIC to move the NTFS partition.

Please help!!

Thanks!

dorward · 09-30-2001, 02:23 AM

Not quite true any more... providing your BIOD supports it (and I doubt that a machine running 2k won't) you can put /boot anywhere.

Just make sure you create a Linux boot disk as part of the install phase.

Boot from it.

Log in as root.

Edit /etc/lilo.conf

If the line:
[cold]lba32[/code]
does not exist in the top section... add it.

Run /sbin/lilo

and it should work.

DMR · 09-30-2001, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dorward
Not quite true any more... providing your BIOD supports it (and I doubt that a machine running 2k won't) you can put /boot anywhere.

Actually, no. Older distros of Linux which use a version of LILO prior to (I believe) 21-3 also suffer from this limitation. The 1024-cylinder limit in this case has nothing to do with the BIOS. Redhat 6.2, for instance, ships with a version of LILO which cannot deal with having the kernel installed above the 1024 cylinder mark. As far as I know, Grub (another popular Linux bootloader) has never had this limitation. If you use the most current version of any distro, this should no longer be a problem.

dorward · 09-30-2001, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DMR
Actually, no. Older distros of Linux which use a version of LILO .....

Which was why I said "any more", I was assuming that a current distro was being used.