New computer comes in tomorrow want to know if I can do a Tri-Boot of OS's

[leglez]

Ok my friend is having me build him THIS computer. Everything is supposed to arrive tommorrow. I have the following install discs:

Windows XP MCE 2005
Windows Vista RTM (I think this is the newest one)
OpenSUSE 10.2

He is wanting me to install all 3 of these on it and have like a bootscreen where he can choose which one he wants. Is it possible to do a Tri boot? Also it will have at least 3 HDDs possibly 4 altogether if that makes a difference. Could someone link me to a Tri-Boot guide?

 

[nsafreak]

Sure it can be done. Just install the OSs in this order:

XP
Vista
Suse

Suse's GRUB will easily setup a tri boot selector screen which will allow him to boot into all three of the operating systems. Technically you could setup the Vista boot loader to do it as well but I'm not quite sure how to do it with that boot loader.

 

[pcgeek11]

Originally posted by: nsafreak
Sure it can be done. Just install the OSs in this order:

XP
Vista
Suse

Suse's GRUB will easily setup a tri boot selector screen which will allow him to boot into all three of the operating systems. Technically you could setup the Vista boot loader to do it as well but I'm not quite sure how to do it with that boot loader.

Concur with this, use Suse GRUB menu for OS selection. Install Suse last and it should set the menu options for you. I currently have SUSE 10.1 and Vista using GRUB as the boot loader.

pcgeek11

 

[leglez]

I have never even done a dual boot. So do I need to make separate partitions for it and then install each OS to a separate partion?

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: pcgeek11

Concur with this, use Suse GRUB menu for OS selection. Install Suse last and it should set the menu options for you. I currently have SUSE 10.1 and Vista using GRUB as the boot loader.

pcgeek11

Yeah, GRUB will take care of it, as long as you install Linux last; otherwise the Vista or XP install will overwrite the Linux bootloader.

You'll get two separate menus: The normal GRUB with the different kernels and recovery mode options, and then a 'Vista/Longhorn' option, which will then take you to Vista's own boot menu, from which you can choose XP or Vista.

I had this setup for the longest time but I recently wiped everything but XP, since it's the only OS I use at the moment any way, and the boot loader made remote access tricky upon reboot.

I have never even done a dual boot. So do I need to make separate partitions for it and then install each OS to a separate partion?

Yes, you'll need separate partitions for each of the OSes, specially since Linux uses a different file system from XP and Vista. I suggest you have the partitions ready before you install any of the OSes, as having to resize the partitions later might (though not likely, but the chance is always there) result in some loss of data. Have the XP install create the partitions for you.