Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!

Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!

  • Congratulations strongm on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!

Installing Linux on XP laptop

Status
Not open for further replies.

elanus2

IS-IT--Management
Oct 27, 2001
8
AU
I would like to install Linux on a Toshiba laptop currently running Windows XP. I have defragmented the single partition drive, and there is 13Gb free space on the 30Gb drive.

On trying to install Mandrake 9.0, I was hoping that I could make a 5Gb Linux partition from the free space, but it seems that the install wants to erase all data on the drive. I am not yet ready to lose XP.

Am I able to create a Linux partition at the install stage without losing any Windows data, or do I need to get Partition Magic first and make another partition before installing Linux?
 
Mandrake 9 comes with a Partition Magic like Partioning program when running the installation..

The question is does it support NTFS 5...

I think on my main machine I used PMagic cant remember if that was out of habitt or because Mdrake9 does not support NTFS 5.. If you have a newer version of P Magic then use that...

Just resize your 30GIG down to the required size and leave the rest un partitioned etc...

Then let mandrake create the three partitions for linux itself automaticlly *check to see to make sure you still have yout 25GIG partiton etc..

when creating the bootloader If your happy to have GRUB to load WinXP and Mandrake then let it overright the MBR.
If not just create a boot disk and boot to mandrake through this.
*always good to have this disk handy just in case*
 
I tried the 'Resize' option under the Linux partitioner, and I was expecting it to ask the size to partition down to, leaving the rest unpartitioned, as you suggested. It was at this point that it said that it would erase all data on the resized partition. There goes my XP.

I don't have Partition Magic at this stage. If the Linux installer won't partition it without erasing my Windows data, then I guess I will have to consider that option.

That's why I'm posting here in the first place. I'm hopeful that someone will tell me that I have misunderstood the Linux partitioner and that it will do what I hoped, and what you suggested.

Any other suggestions without having to buy a copy of PM?
 
I just tried doing this with Mdrake 9.1 and your right if you resize any partiton it wants to delete everything on there....

borrow a copy of PQ Magic if you can..

Has anyone used the SUSE repartioning untility from their distro...

 
How about FIPS? isn't there a FIPS that supports NTFS 5? It will cut the drive in half, not on a user defined line, but it's better than nothing. The full version PQ Partion Magic allows non-destructive resize... So if you find it, it should work.
 
Go get the Knoppix Linux cd first before anything. It boots off the cd so you can use linux on any x86 computer. The neat thing is it has really nice hardware checking routines and doesnt use your hard drive.

So, if you'd like to make sure your hardware is supported, go get the 700 MB cd image and see how it works.

Please let Tek-Tips members know if their posts were helpful.
 
Partition Magic is the way to go. I have seen no Linux partition utilities that will resize without formatting. The $70 you will spend on Pmagic will be worth it. If you decide to resize your HD in the future, Pmagic will do it without losing one bit. Just leave the MBR alone (install grub or lilo somewhere other than the MBR) so that dual boot still works.

Good luck
 
FYI, Mandrake 9.1 (still in Beta) is supposed to support resizing NTFS partitions.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Part and Inventory Search

Sponsor

Back
Top