[color=cyan]Dual boot problem: win2k and Linux[/color]

hi genius guys,

i have only one partition in my drive. how can i install windows2k as well as Linux Red Hat 9?

i am not able to format my partition also because i have a big data.

please let me know if any other alternatives are there.

thankx,

sid

Use something like partition magic to create a space of your unused HD -- say half.

Have the Windows installation in the first half, and then add your *nix flavor to the second.

During the install it should ask you if you wish to install a boot manager -- uh, yes.
Chances are RH9 will install lilo by default.

That should work just fine, though YMMV. I would check out the many resources on the net as I am sure someone fitting your exact specifications has tried this before.

Cheers.

thanx Daemonguy...................but where shall i get that partition magic cd???

At your local software shop, office depot, or computer center.

try google.....

Is there any freeware Partition Magic software. Do you guys have any response? anything appriciable.................


Sid

I haven't specifically looked, but SourceForge might have something ( http://sourceforge.net/ ). You could also try using a "Live Linux" CD like Knoppix ( http://knoppix.org/ ) - just stick it in your computer, boot up, and it will run linux right off the CD for you!

I decided to do basicly the same as sid_maj was wanting to do.
And I followed the above quote.
80 gig HD partitioned
~50 gig for first partition (Windows XP) ~ installed first
~30 gig for second partition (Red Hat 7.2 - just because I had it) ~ installed second

Both Windows XP and Red Hat 7.2 installed and ran fine.
However when booting I get two options for loading Red Hat, but none for Windows.

I'm new to Linux but have done a decent bit of research on it. I see questions reguarding "dual boot" problems. Dual boot is actually that right? Both OS's are booted up and ran at the same time.

Back to the issue of selecting the OS.

*Installing Windows first and Linux second is the best way to do it? (Or atleast a possible way to get it done)

*When installing Red Hat (or any Linux I belive) you are given options of boot loaders. LILO or Grub or the option to not install one. From what I have read YES I do want to install a boot loader. Not really mattering which one, but most likely Grub for my level of knowledge of Linux.

*I'm not totally sure of the differance of a boot loader and a MBR. I think that the boot loader is basicly Linux's loading software, and the MBR is the area where OS's can be selected. (Closly related to the BIOs) I belive this to be where I am not doing something incorrectly.
My question here is. How should I be configuring the Linux install to handle the MBR? And do I need to do anything other than install Linux properly? ( i.e. run additional software? Open something and edit how the MBR works ... ect)

Thanks for the help

Grrrrr now I'm having the opposite happen. Windows XP loads automaticly with no option to load Linux. (Just re-installed linux with different MBR settings)

Still working at it .. any advice is greatly apriciated.

If you plan on configuring grub, try this;
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Remote-Serial ... -grub.html



Dual boot is right, however is does NOT boot both at the same time.
Typically if offers the option of booting one or another and again, typically, if no answer is provided within a certain timeout, the last OS to be booted boots automatically.

Thanks Daemonguy.
I'm not grasping what you've recommended to me. I'm going to try something I just found and actually have been looking for all day.
http://www.geocities.com/epark/linux/grub-w2k-HOWTO.html

Hopefully this works, if not I'll dig into what you showed me.