Fedora, XP, 98 how do I set the partitions?

So here is where I am at. I booted the computer and at prompt entered linux i686 and now at this window:
http://freehelpings.com/images/fedora/fedorapartition.jpg

So for a tripple boot using fedora, xp pro, and 98, where should I start? at the mount point I have 8 choices.
/
/boot
/home
/temp
/usr
/var
/usr/local
/opt


What do I use for file system type?
(choices)
ext2
ext3
physical voume (LVM)
software RAID
swap
vfat


And then there is the start/end cylinder what is that for?

So I think I want about 30 gig for xp pro 20gig for 98, 30 gig for the fedora should be enough right? I want a separate storage area that can be used for graphics, pictures, etc (flash, blender, corel etc) by any of the booted OS.


When I am all done partitioning, how many partitions should I have, and what would that look like?

I am the only user, so that does keep it a little simple.

I am not sure how the boot process would display for the choice of OS, but whichever is easer to work from is what I want the first boot to be.

On my mac, all I had to do is hold a key at boot up and then I could select the drive, is this how the boot selection works on these machines?

Excuse me for being so uneducated on the pc, but I want to make the install correct so as not to complicate life later.

I'm also trying for help at a linux site, no luck so far confused

 

How big are your WinXP and Win98 partitions?

Did you already have the drive partition, or is Fedora wanting to divide up what looks like the whole enchilada?

 

I haven't set any partitions yet. I formated the drive to all zeros using my mac.

I can't seem to get agreement on partitioning or just installing fedora and using virtual software stuff to switch OS.

I am pretty sure I want separate partitions, but I want to set the partitions correctly so the all the os's work and boot properly, and simply.

I am at that window in the setup process, and don't want to proceed until I understand what I am setting up :cry

So in order for this to work properly, which is primary, which is boot, swap shared , do I need to set something differently etc.

Most of my expensive software is for XP. But I am looking to see what linux has to offer. I hear it is far more secure online. Plus I am courious about it.

I do have some software that only seems to run on 98, and I don't use that alot.

So rather than go making a mess, my computer is still at that point in the picture above.

One other thing I'm courious about is RAID. Do I need that? I think my machine is compatable.

 

Install 98 first. 98 MUST be installed first. Then install XP on a separate partition. Then install Fedora on it's own partition.

Use Partitioning software, such as the GParted Live CD, to partition your drive into 3 partitions. First partition as FAT32 for 98, the second NTFS for XP, and you can leave the third one blank; the Fedora installer will handle configuring and formatting this partition.

 

After you've done all of the above, read this stuff.

This are all folders in the Linux filesystem. Linux handles partitions differently than windows. Instead of assigning each partition a drive letter, they get mounted transparently into the filesystem. In other words, this means any folder on your drive can point to another partition.
/ Is your root folder, this should always have it's own partition
/home is your 'My documents' folder, it does not have to be on another partition. The advantage of putting this folder on a different partition is that you don't lose your documents in case you need to reinstall Linux.
/boot is where Linux puts the boot loader. This folder also doesn't need it's own partition, but if you give it one, Windows can still boot in case Linux melts down. Otherwise you'll have to use a rescue cd. This partition should be no larger than 100mb.
These three folders are the most important ones, the other ones don't really need a separate partition.

You should also create a 'swap' partition around 1.5x your RAM's size. You HAVE to create a swap, even if you have outrageous amounts of RAM.

 

Thanks guys, I will give the install a shot later when I have time to emerse myself. All the pieces seem to make more sense now. I am going to take pics of the screen though the process and hopefully if everything works well, I will make a tutorial on this.

But I'm lazy and behind the 8-ball rolleyes so who knows when I can get to that. It's been a half year or more since the machine fried, and I am finally getting to that LOL

 

Well none of that worked. I don't know what I could have done wrong :cry

I tried using gparted but none of the partitions ever were recognized when trying to install os.

Then when I booted, I would just get the grub prompt AARGH

I tried installing 89 first, then the gparted, and when I went to restart, 98 at boot, big yellow letter, ok to shut down (or similar) and would shut down AARGH

So now I have xp on the 250 hd, do I have any other options to get 98 and linux bootable?

Will partition logic work?

 

You have to run gparted before installing 98 (not required, but a lot easier).

After executing the above instructions you should have a NTFS partition for XP, a FAT32 for 98 and unpartitioned space. Fedora will detect all partitions. If you have already created a blank partition, remove it. In the unpartitioned space, create at least two partitions. One for swap and one for /. Swap size should be 1.5 times your RAM. Format the remaining space as ext3 and set the mountpoint to /. Feel free to create additional partitions for /boot or /home (both ext3).

 

Gparted would not work. The hard drive was clean, when I started with fedora, and that is the screen shot up at the top.

I did not install fedora at that time, and tried gparted, to set the partitions, that did not work. I then put 98 on, it was fine for a little, but then it crashed. I tried the gparted again, it would not work.

I then installed fedora, and that worked. Then tried gparted and that worked, although I may not have got the partitions set I was encouraged.

At that point I tried installing 98 again, it could not format the hd for installation.

I then installed xp pro, and that is where I am at. I will try partition magic later, and see if any of the g parted partitions remain. The gparted supposedly has the grub and other stuff I will need later for the boot config.

Before I try again, I will be getting some more downloads, and get the machine set up ready for a full clone backup. Then if I mess up the fedora or partitioning, I am back up without alot of headache.

But what I don't understand is why I could not partition using the fedora as pictured above. All I would have needed to know is what settings to set what drives/partitions. using gparted, I still had to set the stuff, so what gives with that?


Oh well, I learn alot more when things do not work smoothly

 

AAAARGH, well I think I found some of my problems. Seems a memory stick was acting up, and would work sometimes and sometimes not, so when I boot, I would get error on c drive and it would want to re-install the OS

Just removed the one of two 1g sticks (new) New MOBO new hard drive, and things seem just fine. Now maybe I can get some formatting and partitioning done, LOL, still working on my new website, and need to get this fedora thing working to profile it at free helpings.

Which is easier to use, gparted or partition magic?

I think I may need the gparted for the grub (whatever that is) and some other stuff for fixing kernals (whatever they are probably not corn).