Dual Booting Linux Operating Systems
One further last point I am dual booting LM8.1 with LM8.2
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Now THAT is an accomplishment! If you care to explain how you configured
that, I bet others would like to know. My explanations seem to overpower
people in that regard.
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I have to say that I too found it difficult at first to dual boot Linux . My
problem , like most other people , was that I was brought up dual booting
Windows OS's where the general principle is that you create separate
partitions on your hard drive for each Operating System and let the boot
loader go in the MBR at the beginning of the first hard drive.
That is simple enough .
When it comes to Linux the principles are different.
Perhaps it might be compared to pealing the segments of two
separate oranges and putting like for like segments in the same
directory partitions where the /boot partitions are concerned and separate
/root partitions where the binaries are concerned . Don't worry about
how you are to accomplish this it does not matter, drakeX knows how
to do the job properly provided you give it the correct partition
configuration.
The very minimum set of partitions is :-
/boot /root of OS 1 /root of OS 2 / swap partition.
It does not actually matter how many /swap partitions you have
and they will work anyware but if you are concerned about the
flow of data in and out of your /swap partition(s)and you should be,
then it is best to site one /swap partition somewhere close to the
middle of the hard drive.
I think it is still necessary, correct me if I'm wrong, but the /boot
driectory/partiton has to be within 1024cylinders(about 7.75gigs)
of the start of any hard drive, it matters not a jot if you have more than
one hard drive and elect to put it in the second or third etc. Something
to do with bios ,not sure what.
In addition I am told you can have /var /home partitions as
well but I like to keep it simple, and I elect to keep to the
minimum of abovementioned partitions.
As far as the DrakeX install goes you merely follow the script as
usual , the tricky bit comes when defining your lilo script , this
has to be just right. My advice is if you plan to dual boot earlier
then I think it was LM8.0 or it might of been LM8.1 I cannot quite
remember , it is importand to put the earlier version in first because
the lilo install programme is a bit basic and cannot define the vmlinuz
kernels at all, and will have to be accomplished on desktop before the
second Os install. Don't forget to run /sbin/lilo
It is absolutely important to define which kernel version your boot
script is to boot . To give you a simple example :-
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.8-19mdk
label=LM8.1
root=/dev/hda6
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.8-19mdk.img
append=" devfs=mount hdd=ide-scsi quiet"
vga=791
read only
What this script is doing is to call for the vmlinuz-2.4.8-19mdk kernel
to be run and to find it in the /boot directory/partition and operate LM8.1
which is installed in hda6, the boot script is to be run in graphical
quality 791 ( which is equivelent, I think, to 1024x766 pixel rate, but don't
quote me) for the other linux boot scripts such as failsafe and nonbf(does
anyone know what that means) you want a lower quality VGA number or
as I choose to do , I select ask at boot time. The important thing here
is to define you kernel version as in the example above. IT IS NOT
GOOD ENOUGH TO LEAVE IT DEFINED AS VMLINUZ you must
have the kernel version appended.
You do exactly the same thing with the second OS install and again take care
to define which kernel version is to be booted .So the second example is:-
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-6mdk
label=LM8.2
root=/dev/ha7
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.18-6mdk.img
append=" devfs=mount hdd=ide quiet"
vga-788
read-only
The separate Linux OS's are then booted by lilo at boot time.
Now I will tell you why you cannot just create separate partitions
for each OS , without creating a separate /boot partition. If you try to do
this the windows way , you will find that the kernel version of the second
install will overwrite the kernel version of the first OS install, so that
effectively you are trying to boot both OS's with just the one kernel version.
It took me some time to work that out so don't be embarrassed either. My son
in law and I spent many long hours proving you cannot do it. But provided
the abovementioned partitions are created , and I like to do that beforehand
with a partion tool , all will be well and DrakeX will know how to find the
relevant partitons and put what it needs to be put in whichever
directory/partition. In principle there is no reason why other linux OS's
cannot go in additional partitions , you only need to add another /root
partition and the install ought to be accomplished, but I have to say
that I have not accomplished this yet ,.and I do not know whether their
install programmes can cope with it. I expect that they can .
Throughout you only need one /boot director/partition and all the
kernel go in there, automatically by DrakeX .
If you want, print this off and have it by you during the installs.
Now, please don't shoot the writer if it goes wrong. I am not good at
explaining things, I am a dyslexic and typing is quite an effort. I do my
best.
John
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John Richard Smith
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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