Question on dual boot Linux and Win2K

[ahsia]

Suppose I already have Linux installed, is it still possible to setup a dual boot on a system and add Windows 2000? I am assuming that I will have to create another partition, and install Windows 2000 there? But what are the steps?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Nothinman]

If all things go well you should just install Win2K, add an entry to /etc/lilo.conf and run 'lilo' to make the changes stick.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

win2k will overwrite the master boot record (MBR), so after installing it you will have to boot to linux with a rescue CD/floppy, mount your root partition, chroot it (chroot /mnt/point), edit /etc/lilo.conf and then run /sbin/lilo like nothinman said. i had to do this myself when i reinstalled win2k and had no problems.

 

[Nothinman]

win2k will overwrite the master boot record (MBR),

Not true, it will only write to the partition it's installed on's boot record and set it's partition active, the disk MBR will be untouched. This will only be noticable if LILO or GRUB was installed to the partition boot record not the MBR.

 

[manly]

If W2K doesn't overwrite the MBR, how does it boot up the OS?

 

[Nothinman]

If W2K doesn't overwrite the MBR, how does it boot up the OS?

If there is no MBR, i.e. a totally blank disk, it will add the normal DOS MBR, but otherwise it leaves it alone. The normal DOS MBR just read the partition table for the active partition and gives CPU control to that partiton's boot record.

 

[manly]

So you're saying that if you install W2K after Linux, W2K won't boot?

I was definitely *not* under that impression.

When I installed WXP after having Linux as my primary OS for a long time, it definitely overwrote the MBR with a boot loader, overwriting LILO.

I'm skeptical that W2K is more forgiving.

 

[Nothinman]

So you're saying that if you install W2K after Linux, W2K won't boot?

It's been so long since I've installed Win2K that I'm not 100% sure, but IIRC Win2K never overwrote my copy of LILO in the MBR.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

<< If W2K doesn't overwrite the MBR, how does it boot up the OS?

If there is no MBR, i.e. a totally blank disk, it will add the normal DOS MBR, but otherwise it leaves it alone. The normal DOS MBR just read the partition table for the active partition and gives CPU control to that partiton's boot record. >>


interesting, i was always under the impression that it overwrote the MBR. oh well, either way its a pain to clean up after 😛

manly: i dont think its any more forgiving, it just does it in a different way than 9x. either way you have to rerun lilo (if i understand correctly)

 

[manly]

I think Nothinman is mistaken this time. 😉

The MBR question isn't really about LILO per se. The question is in the absence of a Mickeysoft boot loader in the MBR (and the presence of a "foreign" boot loader), what does new installation of W2K do? I'm pretty sure it installs its own boot loader in the MBR.

Obviously, you have to configure LILO (or grub, whatever) to install an appropriate boot loader for your multi-OS needs.

"Forgiving" in this case means that fresh installation of an OS doesn't automatically hijack the MBR, affecting other vendors' already installed OS(s). Knowing Mickeysoft, I'd bet that they are *not* forgiving. If you don't have a non-MBR means of booting back into Linux to re-run LILO (i.e. a boot disk), then you have to overcome this problem. Without a working boot disk, some newbies would feel forced to reinstall *nix from scratch.

 

[SUOrangeman]

Windows not overwriting the MBR during install is news to me. After all, it doesn't even ask you. I'm pretty sure that it assumes it will anyway. Keep in mind that I try to multi-boot with the best of them (currently 6 OSes on one HD).

-SUO