LinuxQuestions.org
Help answer threads with 0 replies.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Software
User Name
Password
Linux - Software This forum is for Software issues.
Having a problem installing a new program? Want to know which application is best for the job? Post your question in this forum.

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 04-15-2004, 05:39 PM   #1
ulrik
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Apr 2004
Posts: 4

Rep: Reputation: 0
dual boot - one thousand questions


I need to make an XP/Mandrake dual boot on my laptop. I have XP already installed, and planned to use partition magic 8 to make it work. I have no floppy drive on the laptop, so any advise should not require the use of rescue discs and so on.
When prompted by PM8 where to create the new Linux partition I can choose between one of the following

'before C: - primary'
'after C: but before D: Dise_backup - primary or logical
'after D: Dise_backup' - primary or logical

I tried to put the new partition before C: on another computer but had XP left non bootable, so one question is if it would be better to make the partition after C: or D: Also should I leave both as primary?

I've read that it should be a problem if both of the 'boot-thingies' aren't within the first 8 GB of the HDD, so if I put Linux after 25 GBs of XP-partition wouldn't I have a problem with this limit?

which boot manager should I use - microsoft's or Linux's?
I had lots of problems on an ealier attempt because Linux left the XP MBR haywire, so advise on how to avoid these frustrations are much appreciated.

Any help and tips are very very welcome
cheers
 
Old 04-15-2004, 05:46 PM   #2
PenguinPwrdBox
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2003
Posts: 568

Rep: Reputation: 31
This is from a post I put up a while back, but, I think it may apply, other thatn the fact that you are working with seperate partitions, not seperate drives......



This is what I have done, and it is what I recommend you do.

First.

You have two HDD's. I am assuming the following.

1st HDD is the XP Partition.

2nd HDD is going to be the Linux Partition (All data will be wiped!!)

Here is the process to install a dual-boot linux machine without surrendering your MBR to Linux.

Boot your ISO CD. After it has started, before you can run the install (depending on the distro) you have to run cfdisk to format the drives.
Because you are formatting a disk other than /dev/hda, you must specifiy which one to cfdisk.

cfdisk /dev/hdb

Now, create your swap, and system partitions here. Be sure to Write when you are done.

After this, run your install, and specify any options you may need (swap, etc. If you don't know what any of this is, ask!) as well as that your root partition is /dev/hdb*.

After the install, you will be prompted to choose a bootloader, and where to install it. Choose lilo, and choose to install it to the SuperBlock (this is the first sector of your root drive, in your case, /dev/hdb*). After the install is complete, do the following BEFORE YOU REBOOT. (Where * is the # of your boot partition)

1) insert a floppy (#1) in your floppy drive.

2) run the following command: fdformat /dev/fd0

3) dd if=/dev/hdb* bs=512 count=1 of=/dev/fd0

4) cd /

5) dd if=/dev/hdb* bs=512 count=1 of=bootsect.lin

Leave your floppy (#1) in your drive, and reboot. This should boot you into your new OS!!! Now, for the dual boot.

1) insert a DIFFERENT floppy (#2) into your floppy drive.

2) run the following command: fdformat -fat /dev/fd0

3) then: cp /bootsect.lin /dev/fd0

Remove this floppy (#2), and reboot into XP. Now, one final thing. When XP is loaded, and you are on the desktop, do the following:

1) insert floppy #2.

2) right click on my computer, and choose "Properties"

3) click "Advanced"

4) click the "Startup and Recovery" button.

5) Check "Display a list of Operating Systems" and set your timeout.

6) Click "Edit"

7) This is your boot.ini file. It will look something like this:



code:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


8) add the following lines to the END of your boot.ini file:


code:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C:\BOOTSECT.LIN="Linux"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


9) Copy bootsect.lin off of the floppy (#2) to C:\

10) Remove the floppy, and reboot.

You should be able to choose Linux, and it will boot your Linux partition!
Just be careful, as if you change your lilo.conf, you will have to recreate and recopy this file.

Hope this helps.


__________________
Registered Linux User #317345
No TCPA!
root@SCO# rm -fR /*
 
Old 04-15-2004, 06:25 PM   #3
ulrik
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Apr 2004
Posts: 4

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
I affraid that your kind reply didn't help me much as I first of all only have one HDD and I don't know where to put the linux partition.
Second I don't have a floppy drive on my laptop, so I can't really use your pointers unfortunately.
but please keep the replies coming......
 
Old 04-15-2004, 07:18 PM   #4
mysterio
Member
 
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Springfield Ma.
Distribution: Mandrake 9.2,Knoppix 3.7,Slackware 10.0, FreeBSD. 5.3, OpenBSD 3.6, NetBSD 2.0, Debian
Posts: 275

Rep: Reputation: 30
Mandrake has a partitioning tool that works really good, during the install it will ask how much space you want for your windows partition and linux and it will do it for you .
 
Old 04-15-2004, 07:23 PM   #5
ulrik
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Apr 2004
Posts: 4

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
I have ealier tried to use mandrake's own partitioning tool and its true that it is fairly user friendly. The only problem was that I could not get it to be a proper dual boot. Only if I used a boot floppy for Linux was it possible (for me that is). I don't have a floppy drive so I don't feel like ending up in that situation again....
Any ideas of how to fix that?
 
Old 04-15-2004, 07:37 PM   #6
mysterio
Member
 
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Springfield Ma.
Distribution: Mandrake 9.2,Knoppix 3.7,Slackware 10.0, FreeBSD. 5.3, OpenBSD 3.6, NetBSD 2.0, Debian
Posts: 275

Rep: Reputation: 30
Hmm.. I've installed Mandrake 8.2 and 9.2 and it uses lilo by default, and it configures it so I can choose which OS. I want when I start the computer. Which install do you use?
 
Old 04-15-2004, 07:40 PM   #7
ulrik
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Apr 2004
Posts: 4

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
I used a mandrake 9.1, but one thing is that I used Grub, the second thing was that I had never tried messing with that kind of stuff..
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Dual Boot Questions cowboy45 Linux - Newbie 3 05-20-2004 08:57 PM
Dual Boot Questions dangerboy Linux - General 3 05-15-2004 03:14 PM
100 thousand, OR 500 Thousand first? MasterC General 23 10-05-2003 12:05 PM
Dual Boot Questions ZhiYi Linux - Software 4 07-07-2003 07:23 AM
Dual Boot questions saiz66 Slackware 10 05-25-2003 08:02 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Software

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:44 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration