On Sunday 30 September 2001 15:46, Charles A Edwards wrote: > Begin forwarded message: > > Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 09:26:46 -0400 > From: Charles A Edwards <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [newbie] Dual Boot with XP? > > > On Sun, 30 Sep 2001 09:11:50 -0400 > > Doug Anderson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > It's time to buy a replacement for my wife's old Gateway that's running > > dual boot with Caldera 2.3 and W95. She wants one with a USB port for a > > digital camera, which also means she will need a bigger HD. My new ASL PC > > came with LM 7.2 installed. I am sold on LM but I have never installed > > it. I want to run the replacement PC (probably a low-end Gateway or Dell > > - any thoughts?) dual boot with LM 8.1 and some version of Windows, which > > brings me to the question: > > > > Does the Linux utility that creates the partitions when LM is installed > > over an existing Windows partition care what is in the Windows partition? > > She would prefer to wait a few weeks and buy the new PC with XP. Will I > > have a problem because the contents of the Windows partition will be > > newer than the Linux utility that resizes it? > > 8.1 and WinXP will dual boot without problem. > I am doing so with 8.1 and XP RC2 using Lilo and have had no problems. > BUT!! > The Mandrake installation CanNot resize NTFS, which is how XP will come > pre-installed. > If you can afford the $49-69 I would suggest getting PartitionMagic. > It works very well and is easy to use. > If you prefer not to do so, there are a few 'free' programs which profess > the ability of PM. > Just do a google search for partitioning programs. > > A side note on XP. > Also if the cost is not prohibitive get XP Professional not not version > marketed as Home/Desktop. > > > Charles
If the manufacturer has installed XP with the NTFS made for XP, there is _NO_ chance that you can even install Mandrake there without first wiping the hard disk. If they have installed with FAT32 filesystem, then there is _NO_ problem at all, Mandrake will make room for itself and install without disturbing XP. XP is not difficult to install, but the manufacturer may supply you only with a system restore disk which will simply put XP the way the manufacturer wanted it right ion your disk taking up all the space with an NT Filesystem that linux cannot read because it is a Microsoft trade secret. There is no particular advantage to XP, and like all win systems, it is suicidal to operate it connected to the internet. My tests showed it was smooth enough, and would cooperate well with mandrake's bootloaders if it was either NTFS and installed on only part of the disk or FAT32 and installed on all or part of the disk. COSMOS engineering supplies hard disks with linux preinstalled, and I think it is pretty much to order as to what system you have. That may be the necessary workaround if you buy a cheap, mass-produced system with a "System Restoration" CD. Much the same statements apply to Win2K which also has an unreadable filesystem that is probably "illegal" to reverse engineer. Civileme
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