newbie in need of help with dual-boot system
 

Hey I'm new to the Linux world and I am have many problems. To start with I have tried various versions of linux and have not been successful in an install, untill I tried Fedora (FC4). To get it to work I had to enter (linux acpi=off) and plug my monitor into the onboard graphics card. Real bummer, couldn't use my Nvidia card. Everything went ok, (I thought). I formatted and partitioned my second hard drive and completed the install. Now I can't boot Fedora. Did I make a mistake in installing to my second hard drive. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks:
:newbie: at work

Did you install a boot loader during your installation? Boot from the install CD and reinstall the boot loader. It should automatically give you a choice between Linux and your old OS. Installing on your second drive should not be a problem. That is the best way to dual boot...

What i have done with Redhat 9, FC1 & 4 is:

-First install Windows get it all working.
-Delete or shrink a part of your hard drive if you have only one.
-If you have 2 drives, delete the entire partition of the second one in Windows.
-Boot with your FC4 CD
-Be sure to choose to chose Custom Install with Boot Loader (Grub is great)
-Select options for using the non-windows partition for Linux (second hard drive)
-Install Grub on the Primary Boot Partition
-Select your packages, install and you should be all set!

When it re-boots Grub should ask you what OS to boot into. You can also easly mount your Windows drive if it's NTFS with an RMP from SourceForge.com, search for it.

thanks I'll it another shot. I don't know much about linux but if I have to I will try the custom install. Thanks again

hey by the way. this may sound stupid but what is a bootloader, how do I find it , and how do I start it?

It a program that installs itself on the first sector of your disk and get's run when you first bootup.

The standard one for Redhat and FC is called GRUB. It's worked flawlessly for all of my dual boot systems.

ok thanks I will try it again tonight. maybe I will have to try the custom install. I might try to install to the same drive that Windows is on as well

hey thanks for the advise but it is still a no go. I tried reinstalling, made sure I configured the boot loader, and still nothing. I had an error come up that said to check media or it was a hard ware issue. The media checked out. The only thing I can think of is that with the modifications I have done it doesn't like the configuration. Any ideas? Please help.

Sorry,

That's about all the advise I can think of... You'll need to find out exactly what hardware is in your system and check it against the approved hardware list on redhat.com.

Try Googling for your exact system and Linux and see if you get any new info that way. You can't be the only person that's tried to load Linux on that system ;-)

Paul

hey yeah I appreciate it. I may be the only one. I parted it together from a HP and then bought the rest of the parts here and there. Thanks though I will try.