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RonaldRaygun
06-23-2002, 03:23 AM
What program do you guys recommend to partition my drive. Right now i got Windows 98 loaded on a Fat32 partition. It has all the 60 gig drive. How can i make a partition of about 10 gig that is blank, so i can load linux. Also, i have read about different boot loaders, what should i use to boot between Linux(Red hat 7.3) and Windows 98.
Also i have heard about FIPS and Partition magic. partition magic i heard was the best, but i cant find it for free.
mdwatts
06-23-2002, 03:50 AM
Partition Magic would be your best bet, but it's not free.
Redhat 7.3 should already include paritioning tools you can use during the installation.
Just defrag your Windows drive first.
There's also GNU Parted (http://www.gnu.org/software/parted/parted.html) which is one of the best free partitioning apps out there.
jaygee432
06-23-2002, 03:03 PM
With win 98 I recommend loadlin for a bootloader, that way you never have to worry about what happens to MBR.
RonaldRaygun
06-23-2002, 08:48 PM
Ahhh loadlin that was the name. That is the boot loader i am going to use. As for the partition. If what i have heard is true, or i understand correctly, Red Hat can partition the drive for me. This is my first time playing around with Linux, and putting more than one partition on a drive. Thanks
Redhat 7.3's installation program should allow you to shrink your existing Win partition to make room for Linux. Just make sure that you defrag first to move all of your files to the beginning of the Win partition; most partition-resizing programs can't actually move files, they can only "shrink" the empty space at the end of a partition. Also, be aware that some Windows utilities create hidden files which are stored at or near the end of the Win partition. These (and the Win swapfile) will not be relocated during a defrag, as they have hidden and/or system attributes. Here's some info on the problem. It spaecifically relates to fips (a popular freeware partitioning program), but the concepts are the same for all similar programs: Be aware that the Windows Swapfile will not be moved by most defragmentation programs. You must uninstall it (in the 386enhanced part of the Windows Control Panel) and reinstall it after using FIPS. If you use IMAGE or MIRROR, the last sector of the hard disk contains a hidden mirror files. You _must_ delete this file before using FIPS (it will be recreated the next time you run mirror). Do 'attrib -r -s -h image.idx' or 'attrib -r -s -h mirorsav.fil' in the root directory, then delete the file. If FIPS does not offer as much disk space for creation of the new partition as you would expect it to have, this may mean that
a. You still have too much data in the remaining partition. Consider making the new partition smaller or deleting some of the data.
b. There are hidden files in the space of the new partition that have not been moved by the defragmentation program. You can find the hidden files on the disk by typing the command 'dir /a:h /s' (and 'dir /a:s /s' for the system files). Make sure to which program they belong. If a file is a swap file of some program (e.g. NDOS) it is possible that it can be safely deleted (and will be recreated automatically later when the need arises). See your manual for details.
If the file belongs to some sort of copy protection, you must uninstall the program to which it belongs and reinstall it after repartitioning.
RonaldRaygun
06-24-2002, 02:04 AM
i put the red hat disc in and ran the install up to the partitioning, I let it auto partition and it ran in to a problem. I was just looking around for the first time so im going to defrag my comp and try it. If i get another error ill write it down and go from there. If all goes smoothly then thats great.
Wolff
06-24-2002, 02:26 AM
When dual booting .. the safest way to do so is writing lilo to a floppy disk and insert it whenever you want to boot linux.
Win2k or WinXP can really get pissed off at linux sometimes.
Just .. run linux on its own... you don't need windows ;)
Originally posted by RonaldRaygun:
<STRONG> I let it auto partition and it ran in to a problem. I was just looking around for the first time so im going to defrag my comp and try it. If i get another error ill write it down and go from there. If all goes smoothly then thats great.</STRONG>If you run into trouble using the "auto-partition" function of the install (and many people have), you might have better luck doing a custom/expert install. It demands a little more understanding of what your doing, but it also provides more flexibility during the install, which can often allow you to overcome problems that you might not normally be able to get around when doing a standard installation.