Re: Debian Linux and W95 coexist?
Hi,
I assume that you have the LSL Debian1.3.1 disk, since I don't
think any of the commercial vendors have yet produced disks for hamm,
the soon to be released 2.0.
The installation documentation is in the directory
bo/disks-i386/1997-05-30/ on that cd. Since you refer to the
installation instructions, you must have found install.txt in that
directory (unless you were reading it from the web page). There are
some important differences between the version of install.txt on the
cd, and the version on the web page, which refers to the upcoming
release.
I believe W95 can read the long file names used on that disk. If
not, refer to the file READ_CD.txt on the root directory of the disk.
Linux must be installed on an empty partition, or, if not empty,
one that has nothing important on it. One of the early steps in
installation is to initialize the partition, which is equivalent to
formatting in DOS. That deletes anything that might be on the
partition.
If your W95 installation occupies the whole disk, and you don't
have a second disk, you must either shrink the W95 partition or get
rid on W95. The tools directory on the cd contains fips15.zip, which
unzips to DOS binaries to non-destructively shorten a FAT partition.
That zip file should also include documentation for using it. If that
isn't sufficiently clear, come back to the list with further questions.
The file cfdisk.txt in the bo/disks-i386/1997-05-30/ directory of
the cd explains how to use the cfdisk program, which is used by the
install program, to partition a disk. However, cfdisk.txt is the
manpage (Users Manual) for the cfdisk program, and assumes some basic
knowledge of the formatting concept. Fundamentally, partitioning
subdivides a hard disk into smaller sections that look to the user and
act like separate disks. There is an excellent document on the
subject in the debian util-linux package, README.fdisk, that is too
long to attach to this message. If you wish I will email it to you
privately. If you ask for it, let me know what decompression
utilities and decoders you have available.
If you write to the list with further questions, please include
the specs of your machine, including memory size, number and size of
hard disks, present partition arrangements, etc.
Bob
> Just received Debian Linux on the LSL CD which will be used on a shared
> Pentium which already has Windows 95 installed. The installation
> instructions look straight forward with one exception. It is not clear
> whether the installation routine is designed to overwrite what is
> already on the hard disk or if only the unused part of the disk will be
> used. Could someone please point me to a discussion of this and/or more
> basic information about disk partitioning? This must be an elementary
> question but is not apparent in the FAQs.
--
_
|_) _ |_ Robert D. Hilliard <hilliard@flinet.com>
|_) (_) |_) Palm City, FL USA PGP Key ID: A8E40EB9
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