How to dual boot win2k on a rig already w/ linux

[agnitrate]

After browsing these forums for a while, I have finally decided to stand up to the peer pressure and install win2k pro again on my other comp before I make the big plunge and install it on my gaming rig. The only problem is, it already has RH 7.1 on it. I want to use RH as a router via ipmasq for this comp so it can run a game server and all that good stuff, but I would also like to try win2k.

How exactly do I go about installing win2k without trashing my linux partition? I think when I installed Linux I got lazy and gave it all 40gb for its swap + dirs instead of leaving some room for other OSes. Is it even possible to dual boot win2k + linux in this situation?

Do I need to shrink the linux partition, and if so, how?

Any responses welcome. Thanks!

 

[LuckyJim]

You can resize your Linux partition with PartitionMagic, then add Win2k.

If you want to spend the money and are proficient with Linux and have another computer running Linux, I would tar copy the partition to the other machine over the network. Repartition the disk, run Linux from the setup CDs (you can get to a shell prompt by shift-alt-F2 or F3 or F4, I can't remember which), set up the network and restore the tar. You must be proficient to do this though.

 

[DeeK]

Make a Linux boot disk first. I simply fdformat a floppy and use dd to put a copy of my kernel on it. Adjusting the partitions should be doable using PartitionMagic. I've heard that PM 5 and later have a shell script on the CD that can be run under Linux to create diskettes that PM runs off of. Downsize the partitions so that there's free space at the end of the drive. If your last partitions are within an extended partition, make the free space within that extended partition. The Win2K installation will let you choose a partition to install to, and should overwrite the MBR so that ntldr starts up by default. After the Win2k install, boot up into Linux using the floppy. Add an entry to your bootloader's config that points to the partition that Win2k is installed on, and write that to the MBR. That way choosing the Windows option in your bootloader should start ntldr.

 

[agnitrate]

How can I run partition magic when I don't have windows installed though? I'm sorry if I was unclear, I meant that I have the software but it isn't loaded on the linux comp. Is there a way to resize it from DOS or does partition magic support linux and I'm not aware?