Linux installation

[rsasalm]

Hi all,

I have a PC pentium 4 with window XP and hard disk 40 GB.
I have only one hard drive "C".

Now I plan to buy and install linux 7.2 from RedHat.
Further, I want to choose with boot between linux and windows.

In this regard I have following questions before I proceed further.

1. How to install linux so that I can choose between linux and window at boot time?
2. Do I need to install window XP again.
3. Is there any risk that I may loose my existing files and programmes installed on windows.
4. Do I need some backup before I start installing linux?

Any kind of help in this regard.

best regards
/rsasalm

[Kdr Kane]

I'd recommend you look at support.microsoft.com under Windows XP and use the keywords "dual boot linux". There are about 46 articles to help.

My best recommendation is that you try VMWare at www.vmware.com. It will make everything a whole lot easier.

[sjeng]

Haya,

I have mandrake (very simular to redhat) running on the same machine as xp.
I have used partition magic to make the disks that xp is using smaller, so that I have about 7 Gb of unpartitioned space.
If you have this free space then you can boot from the linux cd-roms and during the install, you can tell linux to use the unpartitioned space.
Linux will install a boot manager that will be displayed during boot time. there you can choose between xp and linux.
You can customize the default operating system of the boot manager and the timeout.
So there souldn't be any problem.
I did this dozens of times with Redhat, Mandrake and Debian

VMWare mentioned in the mail above is only useful when you want to use two operating systems at the same time.

Linux rulez :)

[rsasalm]

Hi sjeng,

Thanks for reply.

I still wonder the following as stated in my first mail.
2. Do I need to install window XP again. 3. Is there any risk that I may loose my existing files and programmes installed on windows. 4. Do I need some backup before I start installing linux and how to do that?

Further you stated in your mail
I have used partition magic to make the disks that xp is using smaller, so that I have about 7 Gb of unpartitioned space.

What is meant by "unpartitioned space"?
The only thing I can figure out is that I have only one driver i.e. "C" there is 30 GB free space on it (found be clicking c driver and highlighting properties)

Is unpartitioned space something else and if so how I can figure out this?
Further, I have access to only RedHat 7.2 version beacuse 7.3 is more expensive for me

Do I miss I lot if I install 7.2 version?

regards
/rsasalm

[sjeng]

Haya,

You first have to have a notion of what is a partition. A hard drive can be split up in partitions. These partitions can have different file systems like fat32, ntfs and ext3.
Right now you probably have one big partition.
There are two options for you:
1) You install Linux on the existing partition (I have no experience with this)
2) You make the partition smaller with partition magic and leave space on your hard drive unused. Linux can take this space and partition it.

free space is space that is not filled with files. Unpartitioned space is space that has no file system and so can't be written

I have always taken the second option because in the old day this was the only one and it is the best option I think.
This would mean that you do not touch you xp installation during the installation.
At the end of the installation a boot manager is installed in the master boot record and he gives a choice between booting linux and windows.
I have never lost any data with this and I never had to re-install windows.
The only thing that you have to keep in mind is that when you remove linux there is still a bootmanager in your mbr. This can be removed with something like (I don't recall exactly) "fdisk /mbr"
I do not give any guarentees to you; only my own experience. Partitioning a harddrive surely has risks for loss of data when you do something wrong.
The installation manual of redhat is on the internet. I would advise you to read it before you decide what to do.
I don't know the difference between redhat7.2 and 7.3 because I'm using debian and mandrake myself.

Grtnx,

Sjeng

[rsasalm]

Hi sjeng,

Now I have been able to install linux 7.2 on my PC.
But I face the following problems.

1. With boot time I don't see window OS option, the only option which appear is a line "Red Hat linux (2.4.7-10).
What have I missed during installation and how I can solve this problem.

2. My keyboard doesn't match what I type e.g. if I want to type "/", instead "&" appears. Where and how to correct keyboard settings?

3. I am using DHCP server for internet connection and during "Network configuration" process I clicked the check boxes "Configure using DHCP" and "Activate on boot".
It does not work either. How to solve this.

These are the problems I am facing right now, more may apprea on the way.

I am sorry if these questions sound you very basic.

thanks
regards
/rsasalm

[rsasalm]

Hi again,

I forgot one more question.
If because of some reason I need to uninstall Linux and go back to my previous WinXP OS, how to do that?

regards
/rsasalm

[rsasalm]

Hi sjeng,

I recently sent mails where I mentioned the problems I face after I have installed linux. It seemed to me that I have missed the partition step with the help of "partition magic" as you mentioned in one of your earlier mails.
As I mentioned that I have only one disk drive C: with the whole 32 GB and it seems that linux is there now. Is it too late to remedy this problem or is there any way I can go around this problem.

May be it would be better for mig to uninstall linux completely and restart the installation process again. Now I would appreciate if you or someone else can guide me to uninstall linux in my case where linux is using the only available disk drive.
Further, i don't have access to "partition magic" and I would appreciate if someone can mention me other alternative and where to get these.

Plz, help me in this regard

thanks
/rsasalm

[sjeng]

Haya,

You probably deleted the dos partition, so it is too late.
If you didn't you could have used a dos boot disk with fdisk on it and just type "fdisk /mbr" (you'll probably have to do this to get rid of linux)
this would erase the boot loader so dos would start automatically.
With dos there comes a program called fdisk. with this you can make a big primary partition for dos and leave the rest empty.
If linux sees this empy space it will suggest to use it, read the manual on this. If there is no empty space, it won't. mandrake ( www.linux-mandrake.com ) does this very easy. (I use it myself)
If you want to install linux on a dos partition... look at Phat ( www.phatlinux.com ).
There are special forums for linux where you'll get help faster. perhaps that is a better idea, because you'll want help soon.

Grtnx,

Sjeng

[rsasalm]

hi all again,

Now I plan to uninstall linux completely to reinstall it later.

As for as uninstalling linux is concerned I got few responses where it is stated the easiest way to achieve this could be with the help of making a boot floppy.

I don't know how to make a floppy boot .

Can someone help me in this regard?
Once I have made a floppy boot how to proceed further.
How can I access a floppy disk from linux as it the OS which is running on my machine now.

Sorry, if my wonderings sounds you very basic.

thanks for your help
regards
/rsasalm

[sjeng]

Haya,

The easyest thing to do is to ask someone with a windows machine to make a boot floppy for you and make sure he copies fdisk to that disk.
then you make sure that the boot sequence of your computer starts with A: (disk drive). Ik this is the case the computer wil first try to start from the floppy drive. then you can use "fdisk /mbr" it will remove the bootloader and then you can re-install windows.

U might want to check this forum:
http://www.computing.net/linux/wwwboard/wwwboard.html

grtnx,

Sjeng

[rsasalm]

Hi Sjeng,

Thanks for all your help.

Actually, I have another PC with win95 and it has fdisk.exe under catalogue
c:\window\comman

If I copy this file on a floppy disk and then insert in the PC running with Linux
then you make sure that the boot sequence of your computer starts with A: (disk drive).

What you mean by that and how I can find out boot sequence?
then you can use "fdisk /mbr"

To give the above command I have to start a linux termial (I guess).

hen you can re-install windows.

What do you mean that I have to reinstall window from the very beginning and which further mean possible loss of my data and a lot of work waiting for me ;-(

any comments
regards
/rsasalm

[sjeng]

you have to format a floppy disk and copy system files to it (an option with formatting in windows) and then copy the file to that disk.
Put that disk in your other computer and then start the computer.
If the computer boots from the disk it is ok. otherwist during boot there is probably a message:
press del to enter setup
you should press del and somewhere in the menu's there is the bootsequence that you can edit. If you have a A-brand computer it may be another key, but I wouldn't know which

if it starts from disk then execute
fdisk /mbr

If you didn't whipe your dos disk, the next time you start your pc without boot disk it will start windows.
If not, then you have to re-install.
with fdisk you can them make new partitions and then set the boot sequence to the cd-rom and boot your windows cd

You should really look at the other forum, because there are people who have seen this dozens of times.
I had only succesfull linux installations. it NEVER went wrong, because i went through the manual.

[rsasalm]

Hi sjeng and others,

I found a boot disk followed with win 95 kit.
With the help of this I have been able to remove linux Boot manager i.e. command "fdisk /mbr" worked.

Efter that I re-installed winXP and this time instead of having only one disk drive "C:" I configured the hard disk to two disk drive "C" (20 GB) and "D" (18 GB).

Now my win Xp works fine and I am standing where I started to install Linux except the difference that now I have two hard drives instead of one.

Now I want to install Linux again.

Any suggestions besides those written in the previous mail so that I don't run into the same problems I have had.

Note: I don't have access to "partition magic" or such tool.

Thanks for help

/rsasalm

[sjeng]

Haya,

If you didn't install anything on the d drive, redhat can use that disk.
first read this:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/install-guide/
There are a few things you need to look up:
-the keybord layout (can be found in windows)
-ethernet settings (run "ipconfig /all" from the xp command prompt and print it)
This will probably do.
partition your system manually
look here:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/install-guide/s1-guimode-partitioning.html
leave the big disk (c) alone and delete the other one.
then create a linux swap partition (128mb) and a linux ext3 partition (the rest, mount point "/")
After you deleted the d-drive you can also let linux take the free space automatically

when installing the boot loader
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/install-guide/s1-guimode-bootload.html
make sure the dos partition is listed there and you can make it the default boot image.

If you can't configure using dhcp then type the info from xp manually
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/install-guide/s1-guimode-netconf.html

good luck and read the manual!!!!

[Steve Rendell]

You haven't deleted the windows partition, you just didn't lable it, so the GRUB boot loader cannot see i.

To fix it this is what you have to do!

If this is the case, add the following lines to the /etc/grub.conf file:
title Windows XP

root (hd0,0)

makeactive

chainloader +1


HTH's

[sjeng]

Originally posted by Steve Rendell
You haven't deleted the windows partition, you just didn't lable it, so the
he told us this:

As I mentioned that I have only one disk drive C: with the whole 32 GB and it seems that linux is there now.

He didn't make free space, so linux takes it all....
if this hadn't be the case, then windows would have started normally after the "fdisk /mbr"
because this removes grub and sets the boot image to windows.

[Kdr Kane]

Dual boot to support desktops (http://techupdate.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t483-s2110637,00.html)

You are making it too difficult. Sometimes all you have to do is search the web for the information.

[sjeng]

It would be as simple as that; as long if the D-drive would be unallocated space. But what I hear fram him the D-drive has been allocated as a fat32/ntfs partition, so this one has to be deleted to give room to linux.
It might be possible that the automatic partitioning can guess that tis is you meaning; but it is better to go safe.
The partition with the windows os is most likely /dev/hda1
The other one(s) are probably for the d drive.
but you can make this up from the size. make sure you know what a extended partition is :)