Hey,

I am not very knowledgeable on linux partitions and i was wanting to set a 10 gb partition for suse and leave the rest for windows xp pro... my question is how will i do the /hda1 and /hda2.... is it better to install the windows part or suse part first, or does it does matter....


Thanks

You bet it does! Be advised, always install Windows first and Linux afterwards.

Also read a few howto's on setting up a dual boot machine.

Head for http://www.tldp.org

Visit their howtos on dual boot machines.

Yes, you must install winXP first. I don't wheter is winXP able to boot linux, but i think, that lilo or grub is much better than winXP loader.

u can try acronis os selector which support lots os.then it doesnt matter u installed which os 1st.

u just use fdisk to do the partition job or mayb partition magic but i seldom use it. fdisk can do a good job

hi,

normally you will have to install win first, linux afterwards. with a bootloader you can choose which system you want to boot. as one even needs a bootloader when installing linux as a single os, you won´t be able to boot linux without it.
i haven´t checked out the above loaders but worked with both grub and lilo--both work great, don´t worry!

i´d suggest you to install xp first, and grab you a programme like partition magic to partition your disk. if it works, you don´t have to use fdisk.

but remember: fdisk (DOS!) really won´t bite you! so if partitionmagic doesn´t want to proceed, take fdisk!

greeetz,

bavarian


ps the brave must win--and the brave is red!

You can use any software to make partitions, but beware.
NEVER USE XP's PARTITION MANAGER TO CREATE PARTITIONS FOR LINUX.
Once you have installed XP, you can simply resize your XP partition using the Linux installation CD.
1. Install XP
2. Change BIOS order to boot from CD.
3. Insert first Linux install CD
4. At the partition manager screen, simply resize your Xp partition (be sure to defrag your system first), or select any other already existing partition and format it.
5. Make your Linux partitions.
6. Install a boot loader like GRUB or LILO.
7. You will now be able to boot into Linux. To boot into Xp, you will need to modify your lilo.conf locted in /etc.
8. Read some howto's on accomplishing this task, ie editing your lilo.conf

you have to be a little careful with the xp pro partition.
it uses the ntfs file system and not all partitioning tools
are able to handle it. partition magic is good (I heard), but
it's not free. the installation CDs of Mandrake and Suse can
shrink ntfs paritions and they are free.

something else to keep in mind
is that if you try to defrag windows xp, the situation
could become worse as some of the data might be written to
the end of the drive rather than the beginning. it may be better
simply to install xp pro and immediately use one of
the installation CDs I mentioned (or others which can do
the job) to shrink the xp partition.

as the installation will run much more smoothly when pre-partitioned, i suggested to use pmagic or at least fdisk to give the installation software a hint where to find swap, and to where to install the files.

moreover, pmagic is able to create linux ext2, ext3, reiserfs, and linux swap partitions.


greetz,


bavarian