[Serge_N_Gin]

Hi all,

I have Windows XP running and I want to dual-boot with Mandy '06 which I have on a DVD.

I have an 80gb and a 200gb harddrives and also have Mandy 9.2 installed.

I get a bit confused when I try to figure out exactly which drives have what but I think the 200gb isn't where Windows lives.

Can I use some of the left over space on the larger HD, how do I remove the current Mandy instalment, which I think may be also on the 80gb HD, and will I have to bite the bullet and re-format both HD's?

I know how to remove/install HD's, I know that one is a Master and the other Slave and I know that there is a little plasticky thing, I mean tiny removeable thing that is sort off plugged into the back of one of the HD's which I think determines how the PC picks up on which one is Master?

Basically, I'm a total noob at Mandy and need help with doing this installation right.

With the 9.2 install I just clicked on the defaults and it went through fairly smoothly.

I don't need any files from 9.2 I can completely obliterate it if only I knew how.

Thanks in advance.

[saikee]

Your computer alwayst boot up the first disk nominated by you. You control the dual boot by the boot loader occupying the MBR, which is the first 512 bytes of the first bootable disk.

Linux determines the disk as hda, hdb hdc and hdd according to their hardware connection points. Therefore the master of the primary IDE is hda and the last hdd will be the slave of the secondard IDE cable. Most moderrn mobos permit any of the 4 disks (which may contains CD drives) nominated as the first bootable disk. Mobos supporting Sata also have additional choices of make any of the Sata beome the first bootable disk.

I suggest you freeze the the disk order now and concentrate on putting a boot loader in the first bootable disk's MBR to control the dual boot.

Not too sure of where you are now with Mandrake but you can boot up a Live CD and "change root" into Mandrake and then restore it boot loader into the MBR. Once this is done you can edit Mandrake the bootloader to dual boot Windows.

If you install Mandrake again and install its boot loader into MBR then it should dual boot Windows automatically.

To know how the disk and partitions are called just boot up a LiveCD and type

fdisk -l

This command will list every partition in every disk in your PC. You need root privilege to issue this command.

The last link of my signature has a collection of booting tips that can answer all your needs but you may not know how to use them yet.

[Serge_N_Gin]

Hi saikee,

Last night I found your post on another forum about installing Linux and leaving Windows untouched..I printed it out and now I find you are responding to my post....

I suggest you freeze the the disk order now and concentrate on putting a boot loader in the first bootable disk's MBR to control the dual boot.

This appears to be what you suggest I do 1st. I just need to clarify the steps involved in doing the above?

I don't need the Mandy 9.2 instal, it can be wiped clean as it's only a new thing for me and I won't lose any files etc.

I have a DVD with Mandriva 2006 and want to instal it properly and for good. Can I insert this DVD and type fdisk -1 ?

Where exactly do I access a position in which to type?

My bios is set to boot from CD 1st but then I'm not too sure. I know how to look in Bios for this option.

How do I find out where Windows is; 80gb HD or 200gb HD? Would it be on the Master/Slave?

If I choose the slave to boot 1st, would I be able to boot from CD or would I choose slave to boot 2nd?

What if I already installed 9.2 into the Windows partition?

What happens if during the Mandriva '06 installation I need to clarify something that confuses me.....will it be too late, and therefore I may enter the incorrect settings or leave something not configured which I should have?

Can you cancel the instal, because nowhere in the Mandy 9.2 was there the option to cancel and exit.

Thank you in advance.

[saikee]

As far as I am aware Mandriva does not do a Live CD but other variants may, say Sam with which you can issue the "fdisk -l " command in the terminal mode. Sam LiveCD comes with a root password so that you can invokethe root privileges.

The "fdisk -l" lists all the partitions of every disk. Your XP should be in a NTFS partition with Type 7. Linux is always in Type 83 partition while swap is Type 82.

The booting order works in such a way that if the first bootable media has no boot loader the bios will search the next one down the line until a boot loader is found. Therefore if you elect the CD drive as the first bootable media and hard disk slave as the next bootable alternative the slave disk will boot whenever there is no CD in the CD drive.

I recommend you use a Live CD's cfdisk to partition the disk to create a 10Gb type 83 (for Mandriva) and 1Gb Type 83 (for swap). No need to format just write the partition table before existing cfdisk.

When installing Mandriva just tell its installer to use the partitions you have created.

You can use cfdisk to remove any unwanted partition. ALternatively you can submit it to a Linux installer and let it reformat it for a new installation.

[Serge_N_Gin]

saikee

I thank you for you time but i can't understand the level of technicality that you speak from as I'm a total noob.

I booted off the mandriva powerpack 2006 dvd and got totally stuck at the custom partitioning section.

I deleted the mandy 9.2 partitions [of which there were 3 small ones] and then it got a bit too complex when it came to whether to resize the windows_c to fill up the empty space left on hda, or why was it that I couldn't create any partitions in hdb?

Sorry............but now i'm completely stuck with my pc running and still waiting for my actions and I just want to hit the re-boot button and get out of this jam

[Serge_N_Gin]

OK....update....

I just hit the reboot button after making 100% sure that I couldn't press on with the install due to utter noobishness and when my PC rebooted I was presented with the linux option window where I select which OS I want to boot.

I thought I had deleted the linux partitions and Mandy 9.2 but it's still there???

So it appears there has been no change to my HD at all???

Now at least I have the status quo restored but am no closer to installing 2006???

[Serge_N_Gin]

Further update:

I try to boot the PC this afternoon and after the usual initial text is displayed it types out 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 etc, about 10 rows of them and just stops with a blinking horizontal flashing cursor....

oh, oh....????

[saikee]

The 99 in the screen is an indication that Lilo, the boot loader used by Mandrake, has failed. The reason is likely due to a change in the partitions so that Lilo can no longer find the original positions of the hard disk to boot. Pretty harmless situation if you know how to restore it.

The boot loader occupies the starting sector of partition (the one in the first partition is the MBR) and is not part of the file system and so cannot be deleted. It can only be overwritten by another boot loader. Take a look at the Task B section of the last link in my signature as this section which describes the methods to restore the boot loader for Windows and Linux, including your Lilo.

If you didn't manage to erase the partitions then you might have not finalised it in the partition table.

Your current course of action is simple.

(1) Restore your Windows MBR, Task B1 or B2 refers according to availability of a Dos floppy or an Intslllation CD off XP or Win2k.

(2) Use a Live CD to partition/re-partition the spare disk.

(3) Install Mandriva using the partitions created by you.

I did state

"I recommend you use a Live CD's cfdisk to partition the disk to create a 10Gb type 83 (for Mandriva) and 1Gb Type 83 (for swap). No need to format just write the partition table before existing cfdisk.

When installing Mandriva just tell its installer to use the partitions you have created."

It will avoid a lot of confusions.

When you run Mandriva installation CD it is the installer that communicating with you. Mandriva installer is one of the simplest around. 90% of the confusions to a newcomer is lack of the understanding how a Linux should be installed. It is no different to a MS system----it needs a partition to reside in. Standard full-size Linux also needs a swap partition to store temporary files. If you use cfdisk program in a Live CD the partitions created are automatically Type 83 for native Linux. The cfdisk program allows you to alter to other types and it can list the available types for you too.

[Serge_N_Gin]

O.......K...........

...................I get the message.........it's all crystal clear now.........

[Serge_N_Gin]

Hi,

There are 2 things remaining which when hopefully resolved, will see me finally set and up and running with my new Windows/Mandy '06 dual boot PC:

1. I have no sound yet.

2. When shutting down there is a "Failed" in red after the following....Stopping NF Locking....(Failed)

[saikee]

I am afraid you need to raise tha matters in a separate thread as these are not booting-related.

The sound may require extra work of loading the additional packages but I wouldn't worry too much about the message on shutting down as Linux check a lot of things that may be of no interest to you.

[Serge_N_Gin]

Originally Posted by saikee

I am afraid you need to raise tha matters in a separate thread

I had to raise these matters in a different Forum and everything was resolved there!

Thread closed.