Hi,

I am running Windows XP up until now and would like to have both XP and Linux, namely Fedora. I have downloaded and made an image on DVD. I already have a partition on my hard drive made by Windows NTFS file system, 160g on each. But when I boot from the disk and it tries to install Fedora, I am getting stack on the stage when it asks about partitioning.

After reading several sources i got confused, do I need to partition with other methods? Also, some sources say that i need to install Linux first, but others say I need Windows first.

I went through installation guides for Linux, but it is not clear.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Alex

You need to install windows first. Leave some unallocated space for Linux than install fedora. Just let fedora use unused harddrive space don't let it erase all partitions and use your whole HD for linux.

Thank you for your reply.
Before I continue with installation: I also have my old Pentium 3 machine with 550 MHz and 640 Mb memory. Which means i can use the machine only for Linux. Do you think it is a good idea or is it better to use on my new machine partitioned with Windows.

Thank you again,
Alex

hi,

i think you will find what you are looking for here in this website:
http://www.overclockersclub.com/guid...edora_xp/3.htm

i hope it will be usefull to you

This link made my processor work with 99%.
So i had to close.

hi there!

I'd like to run linux on my laptop (Toshiba Satellite L10-101) but I think I could use some help.
The laptop came with Windows XP Home Edition. After a few years I had repeated virus problems with "blue screen" symptoms, so my friend made a new partition with "PartitionMagic" and installed Windows XP Professional on it. I don't use the original Windows any more and out of curiosity, I'd like to install Linux on that partition.
I'm an engineering student and want a distribution to suit that - OpenSUSE seems to look good but I'm open to more educated opinions!

I'm just worried that I'll somehow interfere with my "good" Win XP Pro partition during installation and I'd appreciate some guidance on how to avoid this.

Look forward to your reply!

billy, if you are afraid you will never get to become an engineer. Now as for your linux any distro is good. But if you are keen on SUSe linux you will have to learn a little more about it. it is different from others right from the way it names partitions. (sda1, sda2 etc) other distros use the notation hda1, hda2, hdb 1,....,. etc . here hda is first IDe and hdb is second IDE, so on the a, b, c etc or patition nos. within them.UnLike windows which names them A, B, C, etc, as you already know A & B or floppy drives ( a legacy from the ancient times. Hey! does anybody use floppies still. some manufacturers do not even install floppy drives) C is the First partition on the first IDE In linux this will show up as had1,
Now about installing linux I suggest a simpler distro such as Mepis ( 3 0r 6) or CENTOS (Version 5 is now available) Mepis has the saMe feel as windows and it will be easy for you except that things work with single click. Even installation is quite easy. First of all make sure that you have an empty partition ( without any of your files ( double check here with windows system tools > windows hides some of its files in another partition other than system partition). The proceedure for installation is in the post to malayletsrock. But if just want to try linux you dont even need to install it. There are many live cds. Just insert it play around and getoff when you are done . It dose't bother how many partitions you have and what OSes you have. Mepis is one. But Knoppiix is also available. Or still better you can install puppy linux,or Baizantine or Gentoo. All these work within windows with as little as 300 Mb . So you can switch betwen windows and linux on the fly ( A virtual machine). But if you are still worried about your windows try microsoft vitual pc 2005 or 2007 or VMware. You can add and remove any no. of virtual pcs within your windows without damaging it as long as you have sufficient ram and hard disk space. ( Vitual pc leaves your original windows partition table untouched)If you need further details do ask.

ok, thanks for the reply. Sorry about the delay (was travelling).
Actually, I've tried the SUSE 10.2 Live DVD, it looks fine, but obviously it's a bit slow. Now, I'd like to install Linux properly and really get to know it.
Firstly, I think you guessed but yes, I don't have much experience of partitions, etc. and the installation of MEPIS seemed reasonably straightforward compared to what you were saying about SUSE. Just one thing - can't help but wonder why I have to delete my empty partition and then make it again using QT-Parted? Also; Mepis, Knoppix, Puppy, Baizantine, Gentoo ...yeah, how do I decide, but I know - wrong forum for that question. I checked out MEPIS but it seems you have to pay for everything, which I don't really want to do if there are perfectly good free versions. With GENTOO, can I also install from the LIVE-CD or do I need to download the "Minimal" or "Universal-CD" (I take it Universal has more packages - probably recommendable!?)
Also, does GENTOO have the same simple looking installation process as you described for MEPIS, or is there something different.

Finally, with regards to clearing that one partition with the old Windows that I want to replace - is that as easy as just 'select all' and click 'delete'? How can I be sure that won't affect my good windows? I'll back up my important documents anyway, but still, I'd just like to be sure before I mess up something.

Believe me, I appreciate it must be trying to explain things to such a novice - but I learn fast and I want to learn more about Linux, so would really appreciate your further assistance!!
If you know anywhere I could get some good introductory reading to partitions and OS installation, I'll do homework aswell!

Cheers mate!

alex you have two GOOD machines and you are ot able to install linux on even one of them. Something the rest of us have to ponder about. So now let us get down to brass tracks.
Install WINDOWS first of all ( just for your information you can also install any no. of windows versions, ( win 95 what is it ?) , win 98, 2000, NT XP and even vista on your first computer ( I assume it to be pIV ).If you have already installed XP, no harm there as long as you have a small partition or unallocated space for linux. But observe one thing here. The maximum no> of primary partitions that can be created on a disk are FOUR. And if you hae a 160 Gb hard disk and have made FOUR partitions already, you cannot create any more primary partitions. But linux needs at least one small primary partition for "/". So the way here for you is to juggle your partitions (Igf you plan to use linux with a dual boot or triple boot with windows moderately a 20 Gb partition should see you through a lot of work and fun. If you plan use linux intensely ( here intense means the volume of the out put and not the no. of hours you work. I can work the whole night and produce just half a page of "C" file. (I will be raking my brains 90 % of the time as to what should come next)) I suggest a 50 Gb partition. As I said earlier you need a primary partition for linux.
Instead of describing monotonously we will make a check list of what you need and what you should do to get it. ( jeremy complained that my second post was almost impossible to read. I do not want to have another reminder from him).
1. If you already have windows check the no. of primary partitions ( Extended partitions are irrelevant). Note one point here If the size of the patition is larger than 32 Gb windows will always make it a primary partition. If it is less than four and if you have used up the whole disk at least one partition will be larger than 32 Gb. The other partitions ( any No can be less than 32 Gb as long as they are Extended partitions )
As you have stated that you have used windows, I hope you know how and where to check for your partition details. In case you dont, ( and for the use of others who may find it useful in future I am giving it here) dont sit twidling your thumb for a fairy to come.
2. In your system partition go to . WINDOWS>system 32> dskmgmt and double click. It will bring up the diskmgmt window. It will tell you whether a partition is primary (Basic)or Extended . There you can create or delete any patition other than the sytem partition. windows does not have tools for dynamic resizing ( other tools are available but they are irrelavant here.) It will also show whether there is any unallocated space. If you have you are lucky. And if it is more than 10 Gb you are doubly lucky (as long as you already dont have four primary partitions)
3. If you have less than four ( three or less) primary partitions, simply close windows and go to step 6
4. If you already have four primary partitions you will have to delete one of them . First of all move all your files in that partition to another partition. A word of caution here. If any of the files here are linked to other files you may have difficulty ( though not impossible, you can either search for it or trace it manually, not a pleasant activity)accesing them later. So make sure that none of the files are linked to other files. Windows has this habit of hiding some files in a partition other than the system partition ( usually the partition suceeding the system partition , if it is a windows partition and does not contain another OS). Check this through control panel> folder options> show hidden files.
If you are satisfied that the partition does not contain any linked or system files you can delete it. ( right click on the box or the drve letter in the list and select delete in the drop down menu. It will ask for confirmation. confirm and you should see an un allocated space. of the size you just deleted.
5. How much you choose for your linux is a matter of your choice. If you choose a smaller size than is available, you will have to go back later and resize the other partitions ( nobody wants to leave unallocated partitions without a puprpose). So by now
you should have an unallocated partition and less than four primary partitions.
6. Now you are ready to install fedora. After booting and with anaconda starting it will start the install process. As you said you have gone through all this, no need to repeat it here. But a word of advice. As a beginer you will not need all the bells and whistles that come with a standatrd ( ppreselected) installation. So, select custom installation, and choose only what you want. Fedora will automatically check dependencies and include the packages ( some versions tell you that such and such packages are needed and ask for permission to include, give it). During Partition choose custom partition ( you can also choose use free space option. But if you have a large unallocated space it may be wasted in fedora). If you choose use free space option Fedora will automatically allocate sizes for/, /usr and swap.
7. If you choose custom partition it will bring up the partition window. with your drives listed ( linux uses the notation hda1, hda2, hdb1, hdb2, etc, hda is your 1st IDE and 1 is the first partition. hdb is the second drive in the first IDE and 1 again is the first drive ( it can even be a cdrom, DVD, combo writer etc). here you should see a free space listed.
8. click on the free space and a new dialog box appears. Here select new from the menu and at the top select "/" (root partition) and allocate the size (in Mb. so if you want 5 Gb for root partition it should be 5000 Mb). Further down set the file system type as Ext 2, ( click on the arrow and a scroll box appears)Ext 3 or riserfs,
9. similarly select another partition for /usr of desired size ( leave some space at least for swap if not temp, home etc. 1 1/2 times your ram size should be good enough. even if you dont, linux will auotomatically create swap and warn you ). confirm and it will start the patitioning process. It will automatically check dependencies and disk size and warn you if the disk size is less than that needed for installatio. in that case you will have to restart from step seven ( delete all newely created linux partitions and start afresh with revised sizes. But even 4000 Mb for rot and home should be ample for a large installation. At this stage you will have to set pass word for root. (remeber you can make major changes only as root). but for day to day usage create a separate user account so your installation will not be damaged even if something goes wrong when you are using it.
10. Post install it will ask for the customary language selection, time zone, video setup, and sound card detection and user accounts. complete oit and reboot. Your Fedora is inviting you to login. ( of course after the mandatory booting process)
GOOD LUCK And I WISH TO SEE YOUR FEDORA UP AND RUNNING BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

This may help with partitioning and installing.

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installing

Billy boy ( forgive me, but as you said you were studying for your engineering degree, I thought I may be old enough to be your dad,unless you choose to study engineering with your son) Congratulate yourself that you have run your first linux.Coming to installation, all distros are good. In linux the kernel for a particular set is the same and only the cosmetics differ. Choose one you like best ( the list is endless, as somebody was saying,there are more than 4oo versions floating around and he was underestmating. My own estimate puts it at around 900)
If you like Mepis, you can find it in PC world magazine march 2007 issue. But I think they have no download for this. I could not find one. The others are Ubuntu, puppy (really small) DSL (again as the name suggests Damn Small Linux. Nowadays almost all magazines compete with each other to religiously include at least one distro every month,of course it will come as a cd with the magazine.)So see if you can get hold of a copy of PC world march 2007 with the cd of course ( it is aDVD actually) or you can down load many free "images" from www.linux.org or sourceforge.net. You will have to burn them to a cd and boot from it.
As for your question regarding partition, you should under stand that it is just a block of physical area in the disk crated by the OS.Only the start address and the end address ( Physical locations in terms of track no , sector no.) is available in the partition table. Formatting is a process wherein the details of the contents are recorded on the partition itself at the begining. This is known as the file system or filing system. different operating systems use different filing systems. So a partition created and formatted in one Os may not work in other oSese for certain applications. System partition or root partition requires a specific filing type unique to that OS. Windows uses FAT, FAT 16, FAT 32 and NTFS filing systems. Linux uses, Ext 2, Ext 3, and reiser filing systems. The two are not compatible for the system or root file where critical OS information is stored.
I would have liked to go on in further detail, but this being
a Forum lengthy tutorials may not be proper. There is a Tutorial section and you will find a lot of information there. If you still need further information, do get beck, either myself or somebody else will definitely help you. As for installing Mepis or any other distro. I have recently posted a note to Alex Teslin in the newbie forum and you may fallow that. Best of luck in everything.

Hi again!
Right, I've got a hold of MEPIS from http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/mepis.org/released/ I downloaded SimplyMEPIS-CD 6.5.02 32.iso and also the accompanying file with .md5sum extension. I understand that is some sort of code which goes with the software - what should I do with it - does it have to be burned onto the image cd.

Re: Partitions (again) - I've read a few installation tutorials now and it seems that MEPIS will have a programme to sort this out for me. I've also read that MEPIS should require two partitions - ~10GB MEPIS and ~0.5GB "Swap". But the Partition programme should guide me through that, right?
And also, should I clear the partition with my old windows first? and is that just a matter of deleting everything (accessing that drive from my good windows)?

billy congratulations, you do have an iso image of mepis 6.5 the latest version (as for as I can make out). As for partitioning, didn't you look up the post o Alex. Whhether it is a 3.5 Gb disk or a 160 Gb disk doesn't matter. the proceedure is the same. As for the md5 sum file it is a check sum for the cd's contents. It will twll you whether the cd is good or corrupted. ( for any reason).We will go into checksums and other things some other time. You may or may not burn it. The choice is upto you. As for burning, if you have downloaded both he files into a single folder, DONT ADD THE FOLDER AS A WHOLE to your cd burner ( if you have windows you probably have anero or something else). Open the folder and add the two files separately one after the other. Otherwise your cd will not boot. If you are interested you can check the veracity of your iso image by running the during installation ( you cannot check it under windows). But in any case the installation will do an auto check during installation and let you know whether your image is good or not. (sometimes it may not and simply continue with the installation but no harm there). If your nero or whatever burning tool tool has checked the files after burning ( you have to enable it before clicking on "burn" or"go" or whatever command your burner uses. (in nero check the box which says "verify file after burning"). I repeat again, what I told Alex, you cannot have more than four primary partitions. But Mepis (any linux or other OS ) needs a primary partition. So scroll up and find what and how to do to get free space or less than four primary partitions. Your Mepis will not install if the installer cannot create a primary partition. ( for whatever reason. But the above reason is the most obvious). You have waited this long DON'T hurry throough. go through the post to Alex. There is no reason now why you cannot install linux. If you are still in doubt post a line.
Christmas is only three days away. Dont you want to show off your new OS to your classmates and may be mom and dad. GOOD LUCK my boy

No linux does not need a primary partition to run, windoze does.

gentoo is quite hard to install,
it requires unpacking a stage3 tarball. then selecting your kernel options settings your -CFLAGS by hand then compiling the kernel from scrach,

folowed by emerging all the software you want and resolving loads of portage conflicts etc etc.
dont get me wrong this is a very nice disto for tinkering with but defiunatly not somthing i would recomend for a newbie...



try opensuse, (nice easy installer but not live cd)
ubuntu (comes as a live cd, double click teh insatll icon on the desktop to install, very easy insatller)
fedora, quite an easy installer similiar to suse
slackware (old fashoned ncureses installer (blue keyboard driven menus, think windows 98 installer style)
etc etc