Linux with triple boot
 

I have a triple boot Windows system. (W98, W2K and WIN XP)
I have been successful in installing Linux with W98 and W2K.
But when with the Win XP I am unable to install Red Hat 7.3 or 9.0.
I tried to install Linux on the second Hard drive... no luck.
Has someone tried this?
I would appreciate input. Thanks.
hsani@hotmail.com

Windows XP does funny things to the MBR so you have a few choices here

What you need is a BOOTMANAGER type of program as Windows XP hozes up the MBR rendering other OS'es unbootable.

Divide your disk(s) up into various partitions and install WINDOWS XP first.

Have a small FAT16 partition ON THE FIRST DISK (has to be FAT16 as the bootmanager won't be able to handle NTFS for the WINDOWS XP and won't see the hard disk).

Hide the Windows XP partition. Now install your other Windows systems W2K, W98. -- W98 has to be installed before W2K.

Now get your bootmanager to see the 3 Windows sytems -- it will Hide / unhide the relevant partition -- you can't have 3 'C' drives all visible at once.
Use the Menu or Configuration that comes with the Boot Manager program you are using.



When this works install your Linux system(s)

Ensure you don't change the MBR -- install GRUB / LILO on the /boot or / partition of the linux system you want to boot. It's better to install it on the ROOT partition of the system you want to boot up.

Now edit your boot manager program to add the L|inux system(s)

I have SUSE 9 Production on /hda7, SUSE 9 Test on /hdb3 and SUSE 8.2 on /hdc3 (3rd hard disk) and all boot with no problems.

Good luck
-K

Can you help me with installing Mandrake 10.0 with triple-boot
 

Hello from Spain. :).I have 10 GB FAT 32 in the first partition with W98se, 90 GB NTFS in the second partition with WXP professional, and a third partition with 10 GB and FAT32 at the end of my drive, unmounted.

I am eager to install this distribution of Linux (Mandrake 10.0) but I´m a newbie and I´m afraid to do it wrong and destroy my MBR. I´d like to be able to choose among W98, WXP or Linux without destroying my access to the Windows operating systems, just installing Linux with Lilo or whatever program serving to add a third option to the Boot Menu created when I installed WXP in the second partition.

I´d like any who knows how to post a detailed step by step so as to not to have to reinstall again W98 and WXP when I enter the Linux OS. Hopefully awaiting to enter the Linux World, many thanks in advance to whomever post me a reply.

I don't know how 98 fits in there, but I have Mandrake 10.0 Dual booting with XP on my personal computer using GRUB and on another machine using LILO. I had no difficulty on either one. Mandrake auto-configured both of them (although I manually tweaked the GRUB one for aesthetic purpouses) just fine. I'd assume that it would do the same with a Win98 partition. Back when I was dual-booting Mandrake 9.1 and Win98SE (and MDK9.1/Win2K), it worked just fine.

Thank you for your quick reply; I indeed need W98se nowadays for my work, because I still use some programs running on MS-DOS. If it weren´t by that... Respect to the dual booting I´ve installed Windows and Linux before (W95sr2 and RedHat 7 in my old 486: it took me 50 hours -I´m somewhat persistent) and it worked "fine" with Lilo (except for the 5 minutes it took to start), but now I have a PIV at 3 GB and a two OS´s which I need until I can rule Linux and the programmers forget the Clipper and program for Linux. Besides, I´m still afraid of loosing my present configuration because it takes me a lot of time to install all the drivers, net, etc, and I´m short of time by now:(. I hope I´ll be able to catch those 2 CD´s and overcome my fears to install Linux without worrying, buy I don´t know if I trust myself so much. Many thanx all the same. Bye for now.