I have successfully run both Mandrake and SuSE on my HP laptop in dual boot with Windows using GRUB and/or LILO. However, I am setting up a new computer and want to solve a particular problem.

I would be satisfied to burn a CD and boot Linux from the CD, but don't know how to do it.

The problem is this -- dual boot works fine. However, HP creates a special startup for running a diagnostic system. When you select this choice at boot up, as far as I can tell it changes one of the Windows startup files and actually starts something other than Windows.

I learned this inadvertently when I installed an Icepack Linux system. With Mandrake, I couldn't run the HP diagnostic system. However, with the Icepack install, if I selected "diagnostics" (F8 or something at boot) and then ran the "windows" choice in LILO, it would run the HP diagnostic system.

However, the same was not true with Mandrake or SuSE. If I ran the diagnostic choice and then tried to boot to windows, it would hang up the system, though it would recover on the next start.

Obviously, the Icepack install sets up the boot record differently, but I don't know what it does differently.

Well, ultimately it doesn't matter much because in three years I never needed to run the HP diagnostics. However, when my screen lamp burned out, I had an inclination to run the diagnostics but couldn't do it. So, all things being equal, I would rather not screw up the original XP boot system.

My thought is to boot from CD unless I can figure out how to create a dual boot that will not prevent the diagnostic system from running.

Thanks if anyone knows the answer to this. I spent some time looking for prior answers, but did not find anything that sounded similar.

"I would be satisfied to burn a CD and boot Linux from the CD, but don't know how to do it."

Take a look at LifeBoat:

http://users.rcn.com/srstites/LifeBo...home.page.html

LifeBoat is a script program that you can use to set up your own bootable CD Linux system. The default LifeBoat configuration is geared to creating a rescue CD. LifeBoat also has the flexibility to create any system configuration that you have the time and patience to build. You could create a bootable LifeBoat CD on your old computer and run the CD on your new HP.

"However, HP creates a special startup for running a diagnostic system."

It is also possible that you could create a LifeBoat rescue CD that is compatible with the HP diagnostic routine. If you do that would you please consider contributing the code to LifeBoat.

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Be prepared. Create a LifeBoat CD.
http://users.rcn.com/srstites/LifeBo...home.page.html

Steve Stites