Dual booting using XP and mandrake 8.1 (need help!!)
 

Ok I'm a newb :newb: to comps and need some help on "dual booting" (i think that's the right term).

Currently On HD "C" (IDE 0) I am running Win Xp (prof).

On HD "F" (IDE 1) I am running linux mandrake 8.1

(I have a amd athalon 1ghz w/ 133 256, elite group k7s5a MB)

Right now the only way i now how to switch from windows to linux is swithcing the boot sequence in bios.

I was told that i can simoltanously (how do you spell that??) run win and linux using a program called VMware. So I now have vmWare and have the following problem:

I start VMware (in windows) and it asks me what I want my guest OS to be.....I select Linux and then it asks where this OS can be found. So I try to "browse" for drive F where Linux is located and it is not an option.

Since I've installed Linux on drive F when I got to my computer in windows it doesn't even show drive F as being on my computer anymore....the same story for linux (when i'm in linux it doesn't show a drive C which is where my windows is).

I've heard that some "adjusting" needs to be done in order for these to programs to be able to "view each other" :newbie:

So any help on getting VMware working would be great!!

If more info is needed let me know and I'll post it....if this is a stupid question I appologize!!

Thanks
Rdiggidy

P.s. this is great!! LMAO :smash:

Hi,
here is a link that may help you. http://www.poopoccurs.com/linux/dualboot.html
Also, consider getting some tutorials ( lots of them on line) to start get to know Linux better. When you are in Windows, your explorer will not show you the F: drive and label it as Linux because it's a different file system. That's why you don't see it. I think this is not true for Linux. Some Linux distr. will show you a not recognize drive, others will not show it. It all depends whether you use SuSE, Mandrake, RedHat, etc. and what version of each one of the distros. Unfortunatelly I don't have a clear cut answer to your issue but try the link I'm giving you.

P.S. simultaneously is the correct spelling.

Good luck!
:study:

Go to this web site: www.v-com.com and check out System Commander 7.0. I saw it at "STAPLES" office store the other day for $39.00. It will be the best 39.00 you've spent. I dual boot XP, ME, Red Hat, and Mandrake 8.1 using V-com's System commander. Works great. It even has an OS install wizzard that shows you what you can install, and it's a bunch!!

on Mandrake 8.1 I can see individual folders and files, on my Fat32 files system. I have downloaded and saved specific linux files in a "shared download" folder in my drive D (extended logical drive), so I can view these thing from XP, ME, or linux.

Hope this helps.. at least take a look at the web link. *S*

Cheers!

Vmware runs a virtual machine, you dont install the operating system on a different partition. it creates a virtual partition in your exsisting windows or linux partition and then you install your guest OS there.

what you did first was installing windows on one hard drive and linux on second harddrive. So if you load one OS you cant use the other but if you use VMware you can use both the OS's without rebooting.

you can easily setup dual boot with winXP and Mandrake8.1.
Mandrake is very user friendely in this case. In case of dual disk you need to install Windows on the master disk( windows doesnt like to be installed on a slave disk ,it wont boot from a slave disk unless you make some adjustments in the linux bootloader)
and mandrake in the slave disk, now what you need is a bootloader to give you a choice of OS to boot at boottime.
Linux has a very good boot loader called LILO. when you install mandrake it will ask to you configure this and it will add all the exsisting OS for you.

So if have the same setup what you need to do is change the lilo.conf file to setup your dual boot


change the line boot=/dev/hda to boot=/dev/hdb
(you need to set the boot disk in BIOS to the second ie linux hard drive)

add these lines

other=/dev/hda1
label=Windows( you can give any name you want)


and then run command "lilo" in the console

this should do it. if you have any problems post again

manthram

Thanks
 

Thanks for the info!! I'll give that a try!!

Thanks again
Rdiggidy