Slackware and WinXP

I want to know how to run Slackware and Windows XP at the same time. I want to know if I need a boot loader such as Lilo or Grub. I also want to know if during the Slackware installation it will erase all my WinXP data.

If you create seperate partitions you should be fine and you can run both. I recommend installing Windows XP first and leave a good part of your hard drive free, not allocated to a partition. After you totally install Windows XP then try to install Slackware and use the remaining hard drive space for that new partition(s).

You could then use Lilo or Grub to manage which you boot to when the computer starts up.

I have done a partition with BootItNG. The partition is empty and ready, and it's FAT32. How do I install Slackware into that partition? Do I need to split it to do a Swap

You cannot put Slackware on a FAT32 partition. What you need to do is specify like half your drive FAT32 or NTFS and put windows XP on it. For the other half of your hard drive DO NOT parition it with windows. Just leave it as RAW (I think that is what windows will call it).

Then when you now go and try to install Slackware, you need to go thru the partition interface and create a linux partition or partitions with the remaining space you have on the hard drive.

FAT16, FAT32, NTFS are all windows partitions and you will not be able to install anything Unix or Linux with that. Hope that makes some sense.

I did the partition with BootItNG. Do I have to delete the partition and make it on a different file system such as ext3. Can you help me on that please

You should make the first partition with Windows itself, and I recommend you make it NTFS. What I would do is delete all paritions you have, make the NTFS on maybe half the hard drive, and the install windows completely.

Then pop in your Slackware CD and it should start up the install on the boot. I believe Slackware will have its own paritioning tool while you install, just use that and fill up the remaining space on the hard drive.

Hi

I am trying to install both windows XP and slackware linux together.

I have 80 GB harddisk and have partitioned it into 35 for win and rest for linux. My problem here is if I format win partition as NTFS and install windows and then format the rest as reiserfs and installed linux but when configuring lilo it just gave me msg saying that lilo encountered error.....then I tried to copy loadlinux onto win partition .....before that when i try to mount win partition onto /mnt/win it complains that NTFS is not supported by slackware.

so I tried an alternative .....I erased the whole harddisk.....booted with linux cd and partitioned 35 GB as FAT16 and rest for swap and linux as reiserfs and then without actually installing linux I have exited and used windows XP pro CD to boot and then it could not detect FAT16 filessytem......it gives only one option to format the unknown partition as NTFS......

I appreciate any help to get around this problem

Thanks
-Divs

From experience I can tell you that you have to install Windows first -- Windows doesn't play nice if it's not first in the MBR.
You may then install Linux in the unallocated space; during install it should notice that you have dual partitions and query you for a bootloader installation decision.

If lilo is not cutting it for you, you can either try grub or, if you don't think you can manage the grub install, move to a different linux that uses grub natively. I am not as familiar with slackware as I once was, but I assumed that you could choose between grub and lilo during install ... is that not the case?

IIRC you should just have to boot from the windows cd and install it into some of your space; a single partition.
Once installed, boot from the slackware cd, log in as root and run cfdisk. Add the paritions for linux and don't forget the logical one for swap.
Save the partitioning, and install slackware. That's when it should ask if you wish to install lilo, or whatever.

Just thought I'd throw this in: You might want to format your windows partition as a FAT so you can mount, read and write to it from Slackware.

Theoretically, you can do this with an NTFS part, but write support is experimental in the 2.6 kernel.

You can delete the extra windows partition you created through fdisk when you install slackware.

HTH

Hi, first install Windows XP on the first partition of your Hard Disk Primary Partition it can be FAT32 of NTFS (If you make it NTFS you will have problems writing on it from Slackware).
After that boot from the Slackware cd and begin instalation.
Be very careful not to delete or format the primary partition by mistake.
After that create a 4,5GB (minimum) or more of reiserfs partition and SWAP partition with 300 MB of space if it is not a server (Desktop computer).
Succes.

yea, i was going to say if you dont install windows xp first then when you do install it it'll overwrite the mbr and you wont have access to the linux partition as the windows 'boot loader' can only deal with versions of windows.
i would have specified FAT32 :]
i've always used the grub boot loader and never had a problem. except for with that hellacious installation of gentoo, lol.

Why? What's wrong with FAT16?

jk

whats right with it? ^_^ hahah

thought i might add this in. you could have an ntfs partition for windows and then a seperate partition FAT32 for media or whatever you want it for so you can read and write to it from both OS.

yea, thats how i have mine setup. the fat32 partition is my j drive and that just contains my music and any other files that i saved in linux that i knew i would want to access in windows. its fairly convenient because then, like with a music collection..you can add to it in either OS and have full access to all of your songs.