Hi Dan, the good news is that I can confirm that it is possibly to run Linux on a VAIO SVZ13, using the original Intel-RAID0 and without destroying the pre-installed Windows. The bad news is that the way I did it is probably not easy to follow for everyone, and it might require some luck (i.e. using the correct versions of everything, and in the right order).
Unfortunately I cannot give you precise advice, but maybe telling you about my experiences installing Linux on this device will be of some help. However, in my case I did not install Debian Wheezy but Xubuntu 12.04. For this I had to use Ubuntu's "alternate installer", which I believe behaves very similar to the Debian installer, although I guess there are some differences. But before running any installer, I actualled used a Linux-Live-CD (GRML 2012.05) to back up (using ntfsclone) and shrink (using ntfsresize) the Windows partitions and to repartition (using fdisk -uc) the Intel-RAID0. If I recall correctly, the original partitioning was: p1 = recovery p2 = Windows boot loader p3 = Windows 7 p4 = hibernation I deleted p1 and p4 and shrank p3. Later during the installation, I used p1 for the Linux / filesystem, and the space gained from p3&p4 for /home. I do not recall having any trouble creating the filesystems. But if I had, I would have tried creating the filesystems manually via GRML, and then telling the installer to simply use the existing filesystems (which I believe is possible, but admittedely I'm not completely sure). For me the biggest snag was installing GRUB to the MBR, which requires giving the correct device name, i.e. /dev/mappers/isw_something or so. But in the end it worked, and dual-booting between Windows and Linux works fine so far. As such, I cannot confirm the statement from Julien's blog that "this kind of RAID is not supported correctly by GRUB". Another internet resource which might contain helpful hints is this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/675057-ubuntu-linux-svz1311.html Hope this helps and good luck, Frank P.S. this is the first time I use google-mail to reply to this list, so if this ends up in the wrong place or breaking the thread, I apologize. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/CAF0tj+oB=CZExYgtWjSiJUG-f1tH6vLXSRjsh=kcmrkzapb...@mail.gmail.com