Linux/XP Pro Dual Boot System.

[RWild]

Recently a co-worker gave me a copy of Red Hat(Linux). I've always wanted to experiement with it. I just don't want to format my Harddrive and lose all my data. I think I have 22 Gigs(Part of the XP partition...free space left.)

What would I need to make a dual boot system?
How much space should I allocate to the Linux partition?
Any rules I should follow?

 

[comtec17]

Why not use VMware workstation? You can boot the vmware machine while running windows at the same time.

http://www.vmware.com

 

[sleipnir214]

I just set up the same thing on a Dell laptop with a 30GB hard-drive.

The machine came with all drivespace partitioned and under the control of XP. I reinstalled XP, wiping all partitions and telling XP to use only 19GB. I completed the install as normal.

Once I had completed the XP install, from XP I created a 1GB FAT partition to use as the shared drivespace between the two OSes.

I then installed RH 9.0 as normal. There is a point during the install where RedHat is going to want to know where to install.

One question it will ask you is whether to kill off existing partitions or to use the unpartitioned space. Make sure you tell it to use only the unpartitioned space.

RedHat will recognize the presence of another OS on the system and give you the option of setting up the boot loader configuration. On RH 9, the install program wants to call XP "DOS" in the boot menu, but it gives you the ability to change that.

The Linux boot loader (called "grub" in RH9) handles booting into either OS.

Want the best answers? Ask the best questions:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[JeffPr]

For more information, have a look at this lengthy, but informative thread:

thread619-660340

It talks about Red Hat 7.3, but the mechanics for Red Hat 9 are the same.

Do you think your friend could feed my cat? Heisenberg wasn't sure. ~ Erwin Schrodinger talking of his revolutionary paradox

 

[leadsling]

If you want to try Linux without messing with any partitioning or formatting, you can try one of several "Live-CD" distributions. The most well-known is Knoppix (

http://www.knoppix.org)

but there are versions from Mandrake (

http://www.mandrakelinux.org)

and also Suse and PCLinux. You boot your computer from a CD that contains the OS and a wide variety of applications in compressed form. It runs a little slower than a base install but it gives you a good taste of Linux without the partition hassle. It also gives you a bootable and transportable rescue CD.