RE: Windows XP + Linux
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Luis Mendes [mailto:l.mendes@ic.ac.uk]
>
> Hi,
>
> I am about to install Woody in my new Toshiba 1800-314 which came with
> a copy of WinXp Home Edition installed. In the past I had linux
> coexisting with different flavours of Windows (3.11, 95, 98) but never
> with XP. I am a bit worried because after a search I got conflicting
> views on how easy it is to get linux coexisting with XP. As
> anyone in this list tried it sucssefuly? One other related issue is
> that XP comes installed in a WIN32 filesystem but I can convert it to
> NTFS. Should I do this? will Linux be able to see my XP partition in
> an NTFS filesystem.
>
> I looked in the archive for this list but it seems this topic was
> never raised.
>
> I have a 15G unpartitioned disk.
>
> Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Luis
>
>
Hi Luis,
>From my own experience (on a 10GB HP 6000 and a 6 GB Dell Xi) the safest
and easiest method to use is this:
1) Partition the drive like so:
10-50 MB FAT-16 primary Partition (bootable) initialize with a spare Dos
7.x boot disk using fdisk /mbr and format /s. Leave the rest
un-Partitioned. Load up the contents of the Dos recovery disk so you
access the cd-rom as a boot disk/Automated restore if needed.
2) Partition and install XP into a second Primary slice/partition. Leave
space for Debian (which goes into the third and forth primary
partitions). If possible, forgo NTFS or increase the size of the Fat-16
partition (okay to go to Fat-32) so that you have a read/write transfer
partition. Later, you can mount the transfer partition as a logical
drive or add on directory in XP under your "My Documents"
3) Once installed, make certain to use Windows XP Backup to save a
recovery disk and write the local registry to a recovery directory. Go
to "Accessories"|"System Tools"|"Backup" and select "Automated System
Recovery". You may also want to place a System Restore point before
continuing. If you need a dos tool to save the mbr, look at fdisk2
(iirc) from:
www.fdisk.com
I still have fdisk2 laying around if you need it.
4) Now install debian (with both Linux type 82 and 83 as needed -- you
can move ext2 to ext3 later with tun2fs -j). Use your favorite boot
manager.
5) You now have a "safe" area (Fat-16 or Fat-32) to boot from that both
OS's can read from.
6) If you used the "transfer partition" option, remember that the opens
you up for some security issues if your laptop is ever compromised. You
might want to look into encrypting the transfer data using PGP/GPG and
disk wiping when not in use. Remember that NTFS/CFS/PGP SDA's are not
compatible across Linux/XP. Please note this is a SIGNIFICANT concern
for some -- please plan early on how you are going to accomplish sharing
data between the OS's and the impact on laptop security security
comprise might have on your plans.
There are allot of other methods you can use, but this has always worked
for me (In 2K/XP at least ;> ). But then, my needs for data transfer
between partitions are met via PGP/GPG archives very nicely. This
method requires considerable diligence to keep secure (and is thus
fallible, but the data I work with (that needs transferring across OS's
)is not that sensitive. You Mileage may vary.
HTH,
Sam Stern
Bethesda, MD, USA
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