Win XP and Linux

[tablex]

Got a small problem here, I'd like to install Linux (RH9) on my computer, now I got 1 NTFS partition running WinXP Pro.
I got 2 left hands when it comes to partitioning, and I'm 'scared' I might need to re-install Visual Studio and XP(time consuming), when things go wrong.

How can I do this, without messing up my hdd?

Thanks a lot in advance.

[lanjoky]

1. does the one NTFS partition the size of your hdd?
2. What linux do you plan on installing?

[tablex]

I plan to install the distro RedHat9,yep WinXP sucks up entire hdd

[lanjoky]

I am not positive on this but I cant think of a way to partition you drive without wiping everything out .... I would wipe everything out ... instally XP on half your hard drive (NTFS) leaving the other half for the Redhat 9 install ...

[Mordecai]

Very rarely can you keep data when partitioning, mainly because the partition you're editing uses up the entire drive (in order to alter it, you must first clear it). Copy important files over to another HDD, then copy back later.

[tablex]

Ok, thanks a lot guys!
Does it matter which os I install first?
Also the size of the hdd is 7gb, what's the best way to split it up?

[lanjoky]

1. I would install the windows partition first then the Linux.
2. Would probably give 4 GB to Windows and 3 to Linux ... but be careful when installing redhat ... It can take a lot of space if your not careful on what you install... I think the full install is something like 4-5GB ... just make sure u install only what you need.

HTH

[elToro]

You may very well be able to resize your Windows partition using PartitionMagic. I've done it many times (usually for the same purpose as yours--to install a Linux distro), and I've never had a problem. Still, you'd want to do some backing up first.

Install Windows first. RedHat will install a boot menu that will make it easy to choose from among your installed OS's. Windows will do no such thing if you install it second (necessitating the use of a boot disk--hope you made one--to get into Linux).

[mattfletcher]

Or you could install Mandrake 9.1 - which offers NTFS resizing (never tested it though, if anyone has, I'd love to know) If you like Mandrake, then keep it, if not overwrite it with RH 9 afterwards

[ksandom]

Correct, The latest mandrake does support partition resizing, and I'm pretty certain that did include NTFS. I've heard second hand that it went without a hitch.

Partition magic is shareware, or more accurately crippleware. It doesn't actually do anything useful unless you buy/pirate it. Thus the mandrake option is quite a good one.

Make sure the windows partition is defraged. I don't know if this is a must for mandrake, but it will certainly reduce risk of something going wrong when resizing partitions.

Partition sizes really depends on what you want to do with each OS. Remember you will have to create a swap partition as well which is generally twice the size of your ram (doesn't have to be though). The Win4G,Lin3G suggestion before sounds pretty good.

FYI: I have RH9 installed to a partition that is just under 4GB. I installed pretty much everything because I wanted to play around a lot. On another computer I have a fairly bare install running a GUI on just under 1GB. If you run out of space, you can always pick up an old drive from somewhere and mount partitions as you need them where ever. Thus you can get away with undersizing the Linux parition a little, but try not to undersize intentionally as this can be very restrictive.

[Boris Senker]

You may very well be able to resize your Windows partition using PartitionMagic. I've done it many times (usually for the same purpose as yours--to install a Linux distro), and I've never had a problem

Isn't partition resizing possible for partitions created/formatted with Partition Magic only?

Concerning 1 partition setup... ALWAYS use a separate partition for OS + Program Files ONLY, and the other one for user files. This way you can always reinstall if something happens, or restore backed up system from another drive. No user data losses.

Since you will have to reinstall XP:

Check the size of your Windows + Program Files directories and make that amount max. 49% of the C: partition. (For some reason, even if you assign another drive for pagefile and temp dir, Windows systems tend to decrease in speed if their partition is less than 50% empty. The more free space they have, the faster both disks and OSes perform).

D: Partition to be used for your user files.

Leave 2-4 Gb UNFORMATTED SPACE for Linux. I have assigned SuSe 4 Gb and it's more than enough, can do comfortably with less. Let Linux format it's system partition itself. If I remember well, SuSe needed cca. 600 MB for system and the rest it used for scratch (it made two partitions).

It will also install Boot Manager and usually Boot Managers will prefer Windows installed previously.

Since you would reinstall, a bit of advice:

Get another disk for speed. Install:

HDD 1 C: XP System + Program Files
HDD 1 Linux System Partition (you won't use these two simultaneously so you won't lose speed reading from both partitions simultaneously)

HDD 2: D: XP Pagefile, Temp (Virtual Memory and Environment Settings), Temporary Internet Files, Fonts (if used with a Font Manager like Adobe TypeManager and Suitcase which is reccomended anyway). 2 GB is enough, providing you have up to 512Mb RAM. Leave some free space here for fast disk access and refreshing. After you set it up thus, you'll notice substantial overall operating speed increase of your PC.

HDD 2: E: User files, My Documents etc. Leave place for APR Backup of the system. Make the backup after you install all you need, apply SP1, clean up unnecessary files and defragment. Or even better, get Norton Ghost for system partition ghosting.

Although you surely would like to avoid installation (who wouldn't?), now you have a chance to do it properly with a little extra work. In future, your system will be significantly faster and you'll be free to format and reinstall all you need without worrying about your documents and user stuff.

If you use some of Adobe's apps handling scratch files (Photoshop, Illustrator) set the Primary Scratch Disk to E, secondary D, leave the 3rd and 4th empty it will slow down apps).

[ahundiak]

I don't believe Partition Majic is shareware. I bought my copy off the shelf. And yes you do have to pay for it though it's worth the money if you really need it. And no you don't have to have created the partitions using Partition Majic. It should work just fine on your Windows XP box. But backing up your data is a good idea.

[elToro]

Isn't partition resizing possible for partitions created/formatted with Partition Magic only?


No, as long as it supports the file system on that partition, it can resize it. It is, as others have pointed out, commercial (that is, you have to pay for it).

I've also successfully used Mandrake's NTFS partition resizing, which [i]is[/is] free, of course. Mandrake is similar to RedHat in a lot of ways, but unlike RedHat, it has built-in support for NTFS, so you might want to go with it. I personally prefer the latest version of Mandrake to the latest version of RedHat for use on a desktop system.

Whatever you do, just backup anything incredibly important before fiddling with partitions, just in case. And defragging beforehand is also a good idea. (Defragging every so often is a good idea anyway.)

[yelvington]

NTFS support in Linux is new, and I would not be whacking on my XP partition with a Linux tool at this point.

The list price of Partition Magic is something like $69.

If you're in the United States, you can buy a 20-gig hard drive for $65 at CompUSA. Plug it in and install Linux on that device instead of mucking around with your XP setup.