Another Partitioning Question

Wamzlee · 02-14-2005, 02:19 PM

Here is my situation. I am trying to install Mandrake 10.1 Beta 2 on my University tablet laptop and want to do a dual-boot with Windows XP Tablet Edition.

Now, the harddrive has two partitions. Here are the specs for it:

Partition 1
C:\
Contains Windows XP Tablet Edition
3.1 GB free space

Partition 2
D:\
Contains all my files and such.
10.6 GB free space

Now, I know that the space in Partition 1 is not enough, and I doubt I can clear up anymore. I am curious if Mandrake will be able to recognize my second Partition and I wonder if that it can make a partition out of that.

Reason being is that, the second partition is easy to back up, and I don't have to worry about losing anything on it.

I am curious of what options I should select, and what I should expect to see.

I am just really scared of screwing up the C:/ partition.

Padma · 02-14-2005, 04:00 PM

The Mandrake Installer should recognize any and all partitions you have on your system. If you want to be sure, you can tell the partition module that you want to do it yourself, and it will let you define and format the partitions you want manually.

linux_or_bust · 02-14-2005, 04:04 PM

If Mandrake does not recognize the partitions, you can always use Knoppix live cd, it has a progam on it called Qparted, to partition the drives. I used it yesterday and it worked great.

mjrich · 02-14-2005, 04:05 PM

Yes, it should recognize both of your partitions, and yes, the Mandrake Partition Wizard should be able to resize the second one. You will probably need to use the 'Custom Partitioning' button, rather than automatic - otherwise you will probably overwrite something important.

However, if you are worried about losing data, I would strongly recommend backing up the entire drive first, and then playing around with one of the 'live' distros (such as Knoppix or Mandrake Move) first...

Cheers,

mj

Wamzlee · 02-14-2005, 04:08 PM

Thanks guys! I am going to give it a try tonight!

Wamzlee · 02-14-2005, 04:11 PM

Oh, and also...could you guys direct me to any software or program or how-to page for backing up everything?

I have an external harddrive I plan to back things up with. I guess it does have an auto-backup feature for it...but...I will have to look into it once I get the manuals out.