I've finally decided to install a Linux distribution, that being Mandrake 10.1.
I plan to use it on a duel boot system for now with winxp. As far as I know Linux cannot read the NTFS file system? Can it (and specifically Mandrake 10.1) read FAT32? If so, would it be a sensible suggestion to make a FAT32 partition on one of my HDD to act as a 'swap' area between xp and Linux? My idea was to store MP3's and games etc on it, so they could be used regardless of what OS I was running. Would I encounter any problems if I try this? If it cannot read FAT32, is there any other method of easily sharing files between these two OS. If possible I’d rather not duplicate the files (wasting a lot of space).

Thanks,

Chris

Yes it is a good idea if your duel booting no matter what FS your using to create a medium that both Linux and windows can read/write too...

Linux will have no problem READING your NTFS partition but Writing is another story. It's possible but using a FAT32 partition to share your data is the easiest way...

KC

Thanks for the quick reply. Out of curiosity, does linux have a native or prefered disk format type? (ie FAT etc)

http://linux.org.mt/article/filesystems

Linux has many file systems, but for a first time install you'll probably want to use ext3 and SWAP only... some may say diff but for a basic install that is totaly adequate.

KC

Thanks again