Learn How To Make A Dual Boot System With Linux And Windows XP

AwesomeMachine · 09-02-2006, 03:40 PM

You don't need an entire DVD to install Linux.

Save all your irreplaceable files to CD or DVD. if the system won't boot, use a live Linux CD. Knoppix is reat for Data Recovery, but you need a free CD-RW drive to write the data to, and a CD drive to boot Knoppix. When you get all the data you need out of MS Windows, and onto CD/DVD, Partition the disk as follows:

First primary partition:
/ or 'root'
for linux
12 GB
Type Reiserfs

Second primary partition:
/home
for linux
60 - 70 GB
Type Reiserfs

Extended partition:
Remaining space
Within extended partition:
Logical partition for /swap
for linux
2 GB
Type swap

Logical drive for MS Windows XP
Remainder of the extended partition
Type 07, or NTFS

Remember, you didn't format anything yet. All you are doing is partitioning. Install MS Windows XP to the second logical partition in the extended partition first, and let it format the partition. Or, if you have Partition Magic, boot with the CD and make your partitions that way. Then you can use Partition Magic to format the NTFS drive Windows will go on. It takes Windows XP quite a long time to format, whereas Partition Magic only takes five seconds. Don't use Partition Magic to format the linux partitions, though.

After you get all done installing MS Windows XP, and register it, shut down and boot with the SuSE 10.1 CD/DVD. Otherwise, you can dl ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/opensuse/di.../boot/boot.iso . This is a network install disk for SuSE 10.1. You have to burn the image to a CD, and then boot with it. When it asks, you tell it to use http, or network install, and use:

Server: mirrors.kernel.org
Directory: /opensuse/distribution/SL-10.1/inst-source/

And SuSE 10.1 will install over the internet. You have to do a few other steps, but it is pretty easy. When you get done, and reboot, there will be a menu where you can launch MS Windows XP or linux. SuSE 10.1 will automatically make it so Windows can boot with grub, the SuSE boot loader.

Other distros have boot.iso, also; Mandriva, and Fedora among them.

The path to Mandrake's boot.iso is:

ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/mandrake/Ma...mages/boot.iso

and FC5:

ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/fedora/core...mages/boot.iso

There are a few other distros with boot.iso, and different versions of the same distro have their own boot.iso.

If you still do not understand, please reply to this post. This post is mainly for me to link up with in other posts.

lleb · 09-02-2006, 04:16 PM

nice little howto.

JBailey742 · 09-02-2006, 06:35 PM

that sounds a lot more complicated than what I did.
Install Windows XP, then a linux distro, and use custom partioning.
done.