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Help me install Linux.

N

NateSLC

Senior member
OK, here's what I got:

Athlon 1.33 on an EPoX 8K7A
Primary HD - IBM 60GXP 60GB in 2 30GB NTFS partitions
Secondary HD - IBM 75GXP 30GB NTFS
HP 10x4x32 Burner
Pioneer 115 DVD
Radeon 64 DDR VIVO
Logitech Mouseman Optical USB
2 Realtek NICs. 1 to ATT cable and 1 to another Windows PC
SB Live!

Main partition on Primary HD has WinXP. 2nd Partition is practically empty (would like to install Linux here). Secondary HD has data files on it. All partitions are NTFS. I have downloaded and burned Mandrake Linux 8.1. How do I safely install this (dual boot)?

Thanks
 
1) Copy files from Secondary HD to Primary HD.
2) Stick in Mandrake CD, boot it up, and let the installation fly. Customize any options you really want to customize (hd partition sizes, etc.).

Have fun! 🙂

In all honesty, the Mandrake installation cd (I'm running 8.1 right now, and run Debian and Redhat 7.2 at work) is the the easiest install, possibly including WindowsXP, that I have ever been through. On my home PC (HD1 -> WinXP/NTFS, HD2 -> Mandrake), it installed everything, including the boot loader, without problem.

Rob
 
Thanks Entity.

So you're saying there is no way for me to install Linux on the second partition of my Primary HD?
 
You should be able to install it on the second partition. You may have to delete that partition and make two new ones b/c linux needs a root partition and a swap partition the same size as your physical memory.
 
Heisenburg,

Just tried the install by booting from the Linux CD and it says my Primary HD is 60GB. It doesn't say anything about partitions so I cancelled... Do I need to prep it in Win2k first?
 
Is there an advanced option somewhere? Its been a long time since I messed with Mandrake. Are you just selecting which hard drive you want to install it to or is it gonna start overwriting stuff as soon as you select it?
 
Well, there's a series of steps, but I won't move beyond that step until I'm sure. I took Entity's advice and moved all my data files over to the Primary HD. How the Secondary is empty and I'm going to use it.

I'll let you all know if I mess it up!
 
Okay, I read the install guide on the Mandrake site. You want to do an expert installation. If you're gonna use the second HD for only linux, you can select the "erase entire disk" option at the "setup filesystems" step.
 
Heisenburg,

Don't hate me because I'm stupid, but I was just about to install it and I used the expert mode this time and it identified all my partitions. I am now moving my data files BACK to the Secondary HD, because it's better to have the OS on the primary, no?
 
I'm not sure it makes a difference. It might make dual-booting a little easier to have both OS's on one drive. If you're gonna install it on the main drive you'll have to delete the second partition, and make the root and swap partitions. You can do this at the "setup filesystem" step with "DiskDrake".
 
Did you choose Cable Modem as your connection type when installing ? If so select DHCP _client and just skip through the ip and DNS stuff leaving it blank and just type in your host name that should look like this : Cxxxxxxx-A or something simuluar
 
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