[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: >> AFAIK, ntfs partitions can be resized. Maybe not all partition >> editors can do it, but I think Knoppix's can. Ubuntu can't right now, >> be it is on the roadmap. > > It's safest to use native tools to repartition.
Well, not in my experience. I used to think that way, but Windows partitioning tools screwed my disks too many times to my taste. YMMV. > Borrow a PartitionMagic CD, if you can. I have no experience with > cfdisk or QTParted making partitions for Windows. In any event, > make TWO partitions: the first for NTFS at whatever size you want > for Windows. (9GB will hold basic stuff plus one game.) Two data points : My home windows machine is OS plus basic tools, but nothing big (no Office suite, no Visual Studio). It tops at 4.5 GB. My work machine has Office, Visual Studio, and a couple of other things. It uses 9.8 GB. > The second can be very small (~300 MB), and is insurance in case you > ever need to reinstall Windows. So, I just had a look at the default partitionning: /dev/hda1 is 55GB FAT32 -> NTFS, /dev/hda2 is 4.6GB FAT32 flagged bootable. Is a 300MB partition enough ? I have no idea how IBM's recovery system uses it. Also, does anybody know why does IBM ships a FAT32 fs just to convert it to NTFS first thing when the machine comes to life - as opposed to shipping NTFS directly ? > Simpler for sure: you don't have to think about all this. But if you > want to use dial-up when you travel with a strange new provider (like > Roadrunner's, not to mention Europe), or play Windows-world games, or > get IBM automatic updates, or various other things, dual boot is > relatively painless. GRUB rules! As a side note: Is Europe much worse about strange ISP setups ? This is an honest question; I personally never saw much difference between EU/US regarding weird network setups. I wonder what makes you say this. As for dial-up, the modem is reported to work with resp. FC3, SuSE9.1 and Sarge: http://pmw.org/~gardnerj/Thinkpad/Install.html#Modem http://toys.lerdorf.com/archives/22-IBM-Thinkpad-T42p.html http://norman.walsh.name/2004/09/20/newLaptop >> > Any horror stories out there? > > One horror story: if you install Debian starting on the second > partition, then someday your XP system will lock up so that you have > to reinstall. Not only will the %^$&[EMAIL PROTECTED] hidden recovery write > over > the MBR on the first partition, but it will put junk on that second > partition so that you have to reinstall Debian! Good to know. Thanks for your valuable input. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]