Need help installing Win98 and Red Hat Linux 6.1...please I'm desperate. **ATTN: SufferinSuccatash**

[Mears]

This is all going on a WD 20.5gb HD. I have decided to use FDISK to do the partitions. Should I put Win98 on the primary partition with a size of 2gb and formatting it with the system files?
Then I need to set up an extended partition to fill the rest of the HD right, because I can only use 1 primary. Then my first logical I should make for the Linux root 1.5 gb? Next I was thinking of making my second partition for its swap file...256mb. I shouldn't format the Linux ones right? Then I would make the third and final logical partition for my junk and make it fill the hd and format it. Does that sound right? I heard I don't really need to make a boot partition, but if I did where would I put that...before the root or after the root and swap?

The other thing I was thinking was maybe making the primary partition for Win98 and then the first logical for my junk leaving enough unpartitioned space for Linux and letting Disk Druid make the partitions.

 

[SufferinSuccotash]

If I were you, I'd use Linux fdisk and partition my disk thusly:

1 - 4MB Linux Native mount it on /boot.

2 - Linux Native (you might want to make this an extended partition that is about 10GB (depending how much space you want for Linux), and make logical partitions for /var, /home, etc but its not necessary).

3 - Primary Win98 FAT32

4 - 256MB Linux Swap

Install Windows first, then Linux, and tell the RedHat installer to include the Windows partition when it sets up lilo. Should be all good after that.

 

[ssadams]

use windows fdisk and make a 2.0G primary and the rest as extended.
after you install winblow's install linux in the extended with 3G as / and 128M going to swap.you can then later add partitions with windows.linux fdisk to fill your drive.

 

[Mears]

Thanks both of you guys. I really appreciate it. ssadams let me check this with you. You are saying to make a 2gig partition for windows on the primary and then make those other two linux partitions on logical right? Why make Linux's partitions bigger. Lastly...are you saying that I should make the final partition with FDISK or Disk Druid...I would assume FDISK, but hey what do I know.

Sufferin...what is the advantage of that /boot partition? Do you think I could add it as the second to last logical partition before my application/games partition?

 

[thaneboy]

Hello !
We both seem to have the same problem. SAME SAME!
I am also trying to install on 20GB hdd, but i have 7GB + 10 GB FAT32 partitions. But at REDHAT 6.2 installation when i give / size of 2 GBor anything less , it tells 'TOO BIG SIZE' . If you are sucessful please tell me what you have done , and your win98 partitions .

 

[SufferinSuccotash]

Having the /boot directory mounted on the first partition ensures that the kernel will be within 1024 cylinders. Actually, the more I think about it, you might want to switch partitions 2 and 3 in my proposed solution so that Windows will also be within the first 1024 cylinders. This only matters at bootup, so of course the rest of the OS can reside anywhere on the harddisk.

 

[Mears]

Hey sufferin...thanks a lot...that sounds good. One last thing, if I did it your way I should make the boot the primary right and everything else logicals. So the only two I should format in FDISK would be my Windows and games partition. However, I was wondering which drive I should format with the system files. It should be the windows one and not the primary /boot one right? Then I would format the other partitions in Linuxes disk druid right?

 

[Mears]

Check the second to last editted post.

 

[SufferinSuccotash]

I'm a little confused by your last post. Let me elaborate and see if it answers your question. Use Linux fdisk and do the following:

delete the entire partition table.
Create partition one, make it ~4MB, type Linux Native.
Create partition two, however many MB's you want Windows to have, type Win95 FAT32 (type 0B, I think, double-check in fdisk).
Create partition three, Linux Native, however big you want, to hold the rest of Linux. The 4MB partition will hold the kernel, while this will hold everything else.
Save 256MB or so at the end of the disk and make it Linux Swap. With this done, all your partitions are set up, all you need to do is format them.
If you type h in fdisk, it tells you what keys to press to do what (c to create a partition, d to delete one, etc). Personally I hate Disk Druid because it messes with your partition tables in a way that is completely illogical to me. Anyways, install Windows, then go through the Linux install. During the setup, tell LILO to include the DOS partition it finds in its configuration. It should detect it automagically, and tell itto put LILO on the MBR. I am now subscribed to this thread, so if you have any more questions, post them and I'll know.

 

[Mears]

Wish I would've seen this sooner. Well this is what I ended up doing. I installed win98 first and and put it as my first primary partition. That is all the farther I got because I am waiting on a new part before I install Linux. Do you think it would be alright to keep windows as the first partition? Lastly, is there any real differences between primary and logical partitions. I don't know whether or not to make my games/everything else partition a primary or logical one.

 

[Quinto]

Depending on your particular drive's geometry.. having Windows installed at the beginning of the drive might not allow Linux to boot.

Due to some rather rediculous (and not completely understood by myself) limiting factors, any boot partitions must be within the first 1024 cylinders on the drive. If they are not, they will not be bootable.

About the other stuff. I'd recommend using all primary partitions, unless your partition count goes to 5, then you need a secondary partition and two logical.

Other notes: For installing Linux, if your current windows partition ends before the 1024th cylinder, then I would recommend formatting like this:

1 - Windows Format (already existing, primary partition 1)

2 - 500 MB to 1 gig Linux Native Partition (mounted as root, primary 2)

3 - 3+gig Linux Native Partition (mounted to /usr, with /home symlinked to /usr/home, Primary Partition 3)

4 - A Linux Swap Partition equal to the amount of RAM you have, 128MB RAM = 128MB Swap, etc. (Secondary Partition, Logical Drive 1).

5 - whatever else is left (Secondary Partition, Logical Drive 2).

I have a _similar_ setup running on my machine now, except I have my root/boot partion on a seperate hard drive from my Windows/home/usr partitions. You, ideally, don't want your root partition to also contain your /home directory... I've heard from several people that if you fill up your /root partition entirely, you have a hell of a lot of problems booting. If your /home directory is on your /root partition, this is MUCH easier to do than if you /home and /usr partitions are seperate from your /root partition.

Hope this helps.

-Quin