Re: installing on a partition
* Christian Evans:
>
> I will be completing a build in the next couple of days and have
> decided to install Debian on my new system. However, I also need XP
> installed, and I am not sure which I should install on my hard drive
> first.
Install Windows first, then Debian. Otherwise Windows would overwrite
your boot manager (lilo or grub). The installer for sarge should even
enable you to resize an existing Windows partition, but I would
carefully plan the partition table before installing anything (takes
less time, involves no risk). Since you are reinstalling everything from
scratch that shouldn't be a problem.
Just use the Windows installer for creating an NTFS or FAT partition and
leave the rest of the disk empty. When you're finished, use the Debian
installer to partition the rest. You may want to have a 'shared'
partition, on which Windows *and* Linux can write (mp3s, movies...). The
best way to do this is to create a large FAT partition because Linux has
no (free) NTFS write support. You can do that at install time and select
a mount point for it (eg "/data").
> I have installed different distributions of Linux before, and you can
> usually setup a partition table. Is it similar with Debian?
Yes. Although sarge is not yet stable (and it may even take a while to
get there) I suggest you use the new sarge installer. Most people think
it is more user friendly, especially for new users. The drawback is that
you may run into minor or (very unlikely) major problems because there
are still some changes made to sarge. On the other hand, you save the
possible headache of updating from woody to sarge. And remember: the
woody installer cannot resize partitions.
> If I use a setup like this, will I be prompted for which partition I
> wish to boot to?
The installer will search for existing operating systems and ask you
whether Windows should be included in the boot menu. Say 'Yes' and
everything will be fine. Of course, if you miss that opportunity, you
still can add Windows to the boot menu later.
J.
--
Watching television is more hip than actually speaking to anyone.
[Agree] [Disagree]
<http://www.slowlydownward.com/NODATA/data_enter2.html>
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