[erg57]

I currently run WinXP. I have installed a second HDD so I could install Linux (Mepis) and leave my C: drive with XP untouched. I would like to run this as a dual boot. I have never installed or even used a non-Windows OS except for running Mepis and a few other Linux OSs off of a live CD.

My second HDD is 320 GB. Lots of space for oter OS and lots of storage. It is not partitioned and is currently formatted as NTFS. It’s essentially untouched. My question has to do with the best way of installing Mepis on this new, second HDD. All of the Mepis and other Linux guides assume you’ve partitioned a single HDD so the installation guides tend to be skewed towards this scenario. Does anyone using Mepis or similar know of a good beginner installation source or one geared towards installing on a second hard drive for dual boot?

Should I install Mepis (ext3) on to the ‘entire’ second HDD and then resize and create the other storage/swap partitions (NTFS, FAT32, ext3) using QTParted, which comes with Mepis? Or should I create partitions first using the Maxtor utility that came with the second HDD (or Windows Disk Management) before installing Mepis? Also most guides show installation on “/hda” partitions, but because my second HDD is a slave, QTParted (off of the Mepis live CD) sees this as “/sda”. Can I install on sda?

I want to keep Windows as my primary OS, but still want to have the dual boot option. If I want to dual boot will I have to change the boot order in my BIOS first? I have it set to finding CDDVD then my one and then my HDD with Windows. Do I need to move the second HDD up in order of boot sequence? Do I need to put the GRUB anywhere special? Put GRUB in MBR? I hope I did not screw these explanations up. Any caveats and advice or information sources are appreciated.

Also, what is the difference b/w GParted and QTParted…not a big deal question? Just asking.

I think I’ll leave it at that. I have looked at so many Linux and Mepis websites that I think I need human advice.

Thanks

ERG

[erg57]

If it matters, both HDD in my machine are SATA

[erg57]

I just figured out that 'sda' refers to me having SATA disks so that is answered Also learned that GRUB will install on MBR that windows uses. If I were to uninstall Linux will my MBR be compromised by GRUB still if I revert to using Windows only?

[saikee]

Most current distro including Mepis have 2.6.20 or later kernels that see all hard disks as sda, sdb, sdc, sdd, sde... etc. That means every SCSI, Pata, Sata and USB disks. Some may still support Pata disks as hda to hdd but this is on its way out.

I assume you XP is the first disk known to Linux as sda.

You can see how the disks/partitions are named by terminal command in Mepis

fdisk -l

You should run Mepis as a Live CD. Use it to create sdb1 10Gb (or any size you fancy) and sdb2 as 1 Gb, using a terminal program cfdisk (command "cfdisk /dev/sdb") Make sdb2 Type 82 so that it becomes a swap. Highlight "write", press return and confirm with "yes" then quit cfdisk.

You can then install Mepis into sdb1 and install Grub in the MBR of sdb (not sda).

Thereafter just follow Section A of the 2nd link in my signature.