dual booting winxp on a logical partition
 

Hello to all.

I want to know if somebody knows how to make linux-winxp dual boot, but with winxp starting in a logical (extended) partition. All the help that I have found so far saids that winxp must be in the first partition, and I want to know if this is strictly true or is some form to avoid it.

Thanks in advance,

Bys

Welcome to LQ.

You may want to have a look at this one:
http://gag.sourceforge.net/

Back in the mists of time Win have to be installed in a primary partition. No longer true - in fact hasn't been for a *long* time.
However the boot-loader (and presumably the installer) does check that it is on the primary (i.e. first) disk. This may (or may not) be an issue for you depending on where you are planning to install.

Thanks boys,

I already had seen the GAG page, but the problem, as syg00 indicates to, is that the installer of xp demands to be in a partition which is underneath the infamous 1024 cylinder. Perhaps I do not raise the questions well. I can install xp in a 100 mb boot partition at the beginning of the disc. The questions are: Can I install linux (fedora 3) upon this xp installation using the same boot partition for linux?, and if I do it this way, will be damaged the xp installation? . Will I be able to start xp with grub?

The reason I make this question is that I have a machine that must run dual boot during a time and later it will be only in linux. If I could solve the problem the way I plan, then when the time to switch comes I will be able to eliminate the xp partition and recover the space with linux and I will not have to make another installation ...

Again I explained myself wrong, what I mean is to install xp in a extended partition at the end of the disc, but using a boot partition of 100 mb.... :O

bys, I think you are operating under a mis-apprehension.
You should not need to do all this if you are installing on the first disk.

Don't worry about boot/system partitions for XP. Just create a logical partition of the required size, and install into that.
I *sure* this works.
I haven't looked at the (XP) installer code, but the XP boot-loader checks to see if the "INT13" extensions are available, and if so uses them. This means that the old "cylinder 1024" problem no longer exists.

Then install fedora, and away you go - it will find the XP install, and setup grub accordingly.
When you want to remove XP, do so, and eliminate the entry from grub.conf/menu.lst

Keep everything simple - it works out much better.

Thanks SYG00!!!. I finally managed to solve the problem and installed XP the way I want, basically I followed your instructions and it worked. I worried with no need... but windows.... and XP.... :-)

Thanks again