Partition for dual boot

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by EADGBE, Mar 6, 2007.

  1. EADGBE

    EADGBE Private E-2

    I want to try Linux, so I need a way to dual boot. It is my understanding that the easiest way to dual boot is to have both OSs on different partitions of the same drive. This way the BIOS will ask which OS you want to boot to.

    Question 1: Can I partition my C: drive which has WinXP on it without reformatting or losing my dataso I will have another partition on which to put Linux? I went to the help utility where I was directed to select Disk Management and right click etc. etc. etc. and then select New Partition. However, there was no new partition choice. Can I partition a hard drive without reformatting it?

    Question 2: Alternatively, I have a 20GB hard drive lying around I could put in for my Linux, but I saw on another thread it would have to be set up as a slave and a slave is not bootable. How would I set up 2 bootable hard drives?
     
  2. risk_reversal

    risk_reversal MajorGeek

    If you want to try out Linux, in the first instance there is no need to go for a full install on a separate partition. You can use the bootable Linux versions. They fit onto a 700Mb CDR and you will be a able to get a flavour.

    There are also several different kinds of Linux and one may well be more suited to you. My best advise to you at this stage is download the bootable ones first and have a go.

    Alternatively, there is a Linux version DSL which is only 50Mb and which can be run inside windows just like any other program. I have been testing these versions and I would say that Linux is quite different.

    In respect of paritioning your hard drive. yes you could repartition your hard drive and make your current bootable partition smaller (always risks to this) and create another primary partition and install Linux on that.

    You would need a boot manager to select which o/s you want to boot to. Also o/s install on a hard disk must be ordered so XP would be first and Linux second (in that particular instance).

    Good Luck
     
  3. padams

    padams First Sergeant

    You can use Partition Magic to partition your drive, Install the second hdd and place the jumpers on the back of it to make it a slave, or you could use a bootable cd to try Linux.
     
  4. EADGBE

    EADGBE Private E-2

    Thanks for the suggestions. Is partition magic free (or cheap)? Is there a danger of losing the data on my existing HD if I partition it? (wife and kids who also use computer would not be impressed.) Alternatively, would the slave be bootable?

    I have Knoppix and it seems ok as a start, but its utility is somewhat limited because it ties up my CDROM. I also was unable to install a Linux application I wanted last night (dosbox). Clearly I need to do my homework to find out what I am doing wrong. However, if I am going to put in the effort to learn a new OS, it might as well be the one I plan on using permanently (fedora), rather than the one that seems to be better suited as a temporary application (knoppix).

    With that said, I have the OS and a hard drive to install it on. What I am looking for is a way to install the second hard drive as a bootable drive, or partition the one I have without losing the data on it.
     
  5. risk_reversal

    risk_reversal MajorGeek

    PM is not free no. Its now from Symantec. I started using it years ago when it was produced by the original people PowerQuest.

    Free would be BootItT NG

    http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/

    As always with partitioning software there is danger, though rare. In about 5-6 years of using PM I have had 2 accidents......

    If you want to be totally safe then copy all your important & irreplaceable data prior to any such changes.

    Good Luck
     
  6. padams

    padams First Sergeant

    Sorry, forgot Symantec owns PM now. If you have a spare HDD then just install it to that. I think it'll be easier for you.
     
  7. EADGBE

    EADGBE Private E-2

    To answer my own question

    What I ended up doing was taking my main HD and setting it up as a slave, and putting the 20GB HD in and setting it as master. Then I installed Ubuntu on the new HD (master).

    Now at boot I get the GRUB menu that gives me the choice of Ubuntu or Win XP. This way I didn't need to buy partition magic or risk all the stuff on my existing hard drive. When I boot to Ubuntu I can access the files on the Win XP drive, which is convenient. When I boot to XP I can't access the Linux drive, but I have a flashdrive for this.

    Dangerous things to watch out for:

    1. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH HARD DRIVE YOU ARE INSTALLING LINUX TO. The installer will not check to see if you are overwriting data, and this process, for obvious reasons, cannot be undone.
    2. Any time you open the case of your computer, make sure you touch something metal to ground yourself. Then ground yourself again. Finally, do it a third time. My friend Ted didn't do this last month and he is now the proud owner of a new computer (and an old computer with a fried motherboard.)

    This has worked fine for me so far and I think it's much simpler and safer than partitioning a drive with data on it.
     

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