Hey Guys,

I have a new computer that I would like to duel boot XP and Linux. The hard drive is currently blank, so I want to do it right.

What do I need to know before I start partitioning my Hard Drive? I have 80GB. How much space do I need for Linux? What kind of file system do i need? I read something about a LInux Swap partition, what exactly is that?

Also, is it wrong to use the Windows XP set-up didk to make the partitions?

Please help.

Thanks

Jay

The XP setup disc is fine to use to setup the partitions, but do not format a filesystem on the partitions you are going to dedicate to Linux.

You'll want to alot at least 10GB to Linux, and I'd go with just a single partition for now. As for the Linux Swap, you can give yourself as much as you think you'll need, I never go over about 512MB, and that's way over doing it for me.

Which distro are you looking to use?

Install XP first, then Linux, and use the Linux boot loader as it will boot XP as well (search the forums for info on how to do just that).

Cool

Kewl,

I think im going to go with mandrake, but will not install Linux for a couple of weeks.

Right now I just want to set-up my partitions for the future.

So when I make the 10gb Linux partition I dont need to specify NTFS or FAT32 etc.... ?

BTW: what is the linux swap space used for?

Jay

Swap space is when you run out of ram it uses the hard drive to write the temp data to.

Correct, do not give it a filesystem, do not 'format' the partition.

Cool

mdk is pretty good at partitioning unsed space correctly. so if you go with the auto partition option, you wont have to worry about doing it yourself. If you want to learn, then by all means, do it yourself.