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Macca

Macca

New member
I'm going to do i dual boot in the next few days but there are some things i need to;

1) Should i bother partitioning? Any real advantages?

2) Can i still have a password protected account in XP and access it from linux? i don't think it is possible but is it?

3) The correct way to install is XP then Linux, right?

4)Does Mandrake 8.1 support ntfs?

That just about covers it

thanks :)
 
Hacktarux

Hacktarux

Emulator Developer
Moderator
1) You need to partition you hard drive to install linux (you need at least one partition for xp, one partition for linux and eventually one partition for swap). But i think that with a mandrake, you just have to make a partition for windows smaller than the whole hard drive. And then you install XP. And finally you install linux and during this process it will partition partition your free disk space automatically.

2) If i understand your question, yes you can access your protected files under linux.

3) right

4) AFAIK the Mandrake 8.1support NTFS but the XP's version of NTFS is supported in read only mode (maybe because it is older than windows XP :p ). I have not tested with recent version because i am using fat32 now (there's not so much differences for me and i really need to exchange files between my two OSes).
 
Malcolm

Malcolm

Not a Moderator
Yep, you can access your Windows NTFS under any version of linux that has that module either activated or compiled into the kernel.

Its very safe, just use partition magic.

For partitions you should start with a 2->3 gig Linux ext2(should be mounted as "/"), a 16mb Linux ext2 (should be mounted as "/boot") and a linux swap (its size should be 2x thhe amount of RAM that you have, should be mounted as [duh] SWAP).


:)
 
OP
Macca

Macca

New member
is it possible to have 3 main partitions plus swaps

c: - all stuff (17GB)
d: - Windows Installation (1.5GB)
e - Linux Installation (1.5GB)

is this a good idea? Would it work?
 
Hacktarux

Hacktarux

Emulator Developer
Moderator
This is possible but i think you need a liitle more space for the windows partition. (And the linux partition will not be e: it will not be visible by the windows system).


I recommand you to boot with a floppy disk and to launch fdisk, then erase all your partitions. Then install win XP and don't use all the available space when it ask for creating a partition (you have to reserve some Gbytes for linux). Then when you will install linux there's an automatic partitionning tool. Don't worry, all the installation procedure is made with an easy to use graphical program.
 
Tesla-Guy

Tesla-Guy

Moderator
Yea, that's a nice idea, but, make e: the big partition and put whatever stuff you want, and d: / c: for XP / Linux. It's better organised i think
 
OP
Macca

Macca

New member
how much space is needed for the win partition, i wanted it just windows, no program files. is it possible to redirect the program files and documents/settings folder to a different partition?
 
Hacktarux

Hacktarux

Emulator Developer
Moderator
It depends on how many dlls your favorite programs put into the windows/system32 directory. 1,5 Gbytes should be sufficient if you really don't install anything in this partition, you install the swap file on the other partition and you disable an option that allow laptop to shutdown safely (can't remember the name of this option but it takes 400 Mb on your hard drive).
 
Malcolm

Malcolm

Not a Moderator
yes it possible to move all that stuff around. The windows partition would need to be around 700mb if you dont want to install anything (just to be safe), the linux sawp partition should be around 400mb, the actual linux partition should be around 2.5gigs, and you should make another partition (16mb) for linux to mount as the /boot partition (so if your main partition get corrupt you can still boot).

If you make the filesystem for you main storage drive a FAT32 then you can access (read/write) from all Operation systems.

In the system settings (right click My Computer, Properties) in windows 2k/XP you can go to the last tab and follow one of the buttons to where you can change the default directories for your windows directories. These include: Program files, My Documents and your Windows Directory.

Hope that helps!

:)
 
OP
Macca

Macca

New member
yeh i'll probably do it 2gb cause it is 700 now but there are other files thati'll be in there

i'll do
c: - windows (2GB)
d: - linux (1.5GB)
e - The Rest (17.5GB)

linux doesn't need 2gb does it?
 
Malcolm

Malcolm

Not a Moderator
it doesnt need 2gb, i haven't gotten passed the 1.5gb mark yet, but its better to be safe :)

and remember the Linux partition won't show up in windows **at all**. and make sure your The Rest drive is in FAT32 format so you can write files to it from Linux.

:)
 
Hacktarux

Hacktarux

Emulator Developer
Moderator
Remember that when you install linux you are not only installing an OS. You are installing the OS and many many softwares. If you allocate more space to linux you will get more software.
To answer to your question, if you are not planning to make any programming work, i think that you can installed linux on a 1.5 Gb drive. But don't forget that many software in a linux environnement are distributed as sources only and you have to compile them and you need developpemnt tools to compile them. On the other hand i don't think that you need more than 2Gbytes for it.

I can't know how much space you need, it depends of your needs...
 
EdgeBlade

EdgeBlade

Brandonn
The partion for WinXP needs to be at least 900 or more, not sure on the exact number, try anything less and the install will say Win XP needs at least...

On a fresh install of WinXP and after installing all the updates my C drive is now has 2.15 Gig on it. This includes the swap file and what ever other spece is set aside for things, like tempory files and such
 
AlphaWolf

AlphaWolf

I prey, not pray.
Heres how I did my 20g on my laptop:
/dev/hda1 NTFS (Windows XP) 9.67G
/dev/hda2 NTFS (Filled with the windows XP page file, saves on fragmentation) 387M
/dev/hda3 EXT2 /boot 40M
/dev/hda4 EXT2 / (RedHat 7.3) 9.67G
/dev/hda5 SWAP 256M

EDIT: for those curious about how I get around with such limited space, I keep all of my ISOs, ROMs, and MP3s on a dedicated 60gb samba server, which runs redhat 7.2 24/7. If you have at least a 22mbit ethernet, you wont notice any slowdown if you open them remotely, thats what SMB is meant for :D
 
Last edited:
Hacktarux

Hacktarux

Emulator Developer
Moderator
Maybe off topic but
does someone know that the windows swap file can be used as swap for linux ? It can save a few Mb. (I have never tested it on w2k or xp but i know that this work perfectly on win9x).
 
OP
Macca

Macca

New member
geez...i must say thanks heaps to all of you guys you have really helped me heaps and made it heaps easy! i will probably format tomorrow and get some cds off my firend
 
OP
Macca

Macca

New member
Ok to clear this up, i will not be installing ANY software onto the windows and linux drives, just the os. on the other partition i will have a

/Windows Program Files
/Linux Program Files

so for just the os (and the dlls installed by various programs into the win or lin dir) will this work

Win 1.5GB
Lin 1.5GB

and that is just the os not programs, they will be on my other partition.

Is that enough, too much or too little?

Thanks and sorry for asking so many questions :)
 
Hacktarux

Hacktarux

Emulator Developer
Moderator
I suggest you to not make a program files linux partition. Just make a bigger partition for linux (2 Gb or 2.5 Gb should be ok). I don't say that it isn't possible but just wait to be more familiar with linux. (In linux a program is not install in a specific directory, it is integrated in a common tree).
 
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