Partitioning for XP & Linux, How Much for What?

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I'm setting up a new boot drive of 120 GB (and I'm also going to have an
80 GB, but there's already stuff on that), and I intend to use XP Home
as my main OS. But I also want to learn this Linux thing I've been
hearing about, so I want to make a separate partition for that.

So what's the best way to partition the 120 GB HD? I assume three
partitions:
one for the XP OS,
one for Linux, and
one for documents and programs? Should this be separated into two
partitions?

How much space should I allocate for each partition? And does this
arrangement make sense?

My main concern is having a system that can be backed up easily, as a
regular precaution, and fixed easily should something happen. I've been
told that a separate partition for the OS is preferable because then a
reinstall is easier.

And while I'm asking, which Linux should I get? One Linux app I'm
interested in is Asterisk http://www.asterisk.org/ .

And one more question. When I install a program on the document-program
partition, should I make it put its common files on that partition too?
Or should I allow the program to put its common files on C:\Program
Files\Common Files , the usual default place?

--
*********************
* Nehmo Sergheyev *
*********************
 
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You are better off having Linux on a separate drive. During Linux
installation it requires 3 partitions of it's own and it can really screw
with a drive if you don't know what you are doing during setup. An
alternative to installing Linux, if you just want to get a feel for it would
be to use Knoppix or MandrakeMove. Both are self-contained Linux distros
that are run entirely off a CD. To play with Linux you simply reboot with
the CD and it runs without affecting your Hard drive. You can set it up so
that you can work with files on a drive if you so desire. Knoppix enables
you to save your configurations to a floppy so you don't have to reconfigure
everytime you run it. MandrakeMove can save your special configuration to a
USB key.

http://www.knoppix.net/docs/

http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mandrakemove

--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"Nehmo Sergheyev" <nehmo54@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:mAy8d.96442$nA6.86356@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
| I'm setting up a new boot drive of 120 GB (and I'm also going to have an
| 80 GB, but there's already stuff on that), and I intend to use XP Home
| as my main OS. But I also want to learn this Linux thing I've been
| hearing about, so I want to make a separate partition for that.
|
| So what's the best way to partition the 120 GB HD? I assume three
| partitions:
| one for the XP OS,
| one for Linux, and
| one for documents and programs? Should this be separated into two
| partitions?
|
| How much space should I allocate for each partition? And does this
| arrangement make sense?
|
| My main concern is having a system that can be backed up easily, as a
| regular precaution, and fixed easily should something happen. I've been
| told that a separate partition for the OS is preferable because then a
| reinstall is easier.
|
| And while I'm asking, which Linux should I get? One Linux app I'm
| interested in is Asterisk http://www.asterisk.org/ .
|
| And one more question. When I install a program on the document-program
| partition, should I make it put its common files on that partition too?
| Or should I allow the program to put its common files on C:\Program
| Files\Common Files , the usual default place?
|
| --
| *********************
| * Nehmo Sergheyev *
| *********************
|
|
 
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Separate it into 4 partitions:

1 Partition for the Windows OS
1 Paritition for Documents and files
1 Partition for Windows Applications
1 Partition for Linux OS

Just in case anything goes wrong with say your OS parition, all you have to
do is reinstall the OS and re-import registry settings for applications.

30 GBs for each partition
Andre
"Nehmo Sergheyev" <nehmo54@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:mAy8d.96442$nA6.86356@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> I'm setting up a new boot drive of 120 GB (and I'm also going to have an
> 80 GB, but there's already stuff on that), and I intend to use XP Home
> as my main OS. But I also want to learn this Linux thing I've been
> hearing about, so I want to make a separate partition for that.
>
> So what's the best way to partition the 120 GB HD? I assume three
> partitions:
> one for the XP OS,
> one for Linux, and
> one for documents and programs? Should this be separated into two
> partitions?
>
> How much space should I allocate for each partition? And does this
> arrangement make sense?
>
> My main concern is having a system that can be backed up easily, as a
> regular precaution, and fixed easily should something happen. I've been
> told that a separate partition for the OS is preferable because then a
> reinstall is easier.
>
> And while I'm asking, which Linux should I get? One Linux app I'm
> interested in is Asterisk http://www.asterisk.org/ .
>
> And one more question. When I install a program on the document-program
> partition, should I make it put its common files on that partition too?
> Or should I allow the program to put its common files on C:\Program
> Files\Common Files , the usual default place?
>
> --
> *********************
> * Nehmo Sergheyev *
> *********************
>
>
 
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I can see having all the partitions except for the partition for windows
applications. Why break the two apart when they are so integrated through
system dlls and the registry?
"Andre Da Costa" <andred25@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:eaxKL9uqEHA.192@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> Separate it into 4 partitions:
>
> 1 Partition for the Windows OS
> 1 Paritition for Documents and files
> 1 Partition for Windows Applications
> 1 Partition for Linux OS
>
> Just in case anything goes wrong with say your OS parition, all you have
to
> do is reinstall the OS and re-import registry settings for applications.
>
> 30 GBs for each partition
> Andre
> "Nehmo Sergheyev" <nehmo54@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:mAy8d.96442$nA6.86356@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> > I'm setting up a new boot drive of 120 GB (and I'm also going to have an
> > 80 GB, but there's already stuff on that), and I intend to use XP Home
> > as my main OS. But I also want to learn this Linux thing I've been
> > hearing about, so I want to make a separate partition for that.
> >
> > So what's the best way to partition the 120 GB HD? I assume three
> > partitions:
> > one for the XP OS,
> > one for Linux, and
> > one for documents and programs? Should this be separated into two
> > partitions?
> >
> > How much space should I allocate for each partition? And does this
> > arrangement make sense?
> >
> > My main concern is having a system that can be backed up easily, as a
> > regular precaution, and fixed easily should something happen. I've been
> > told that a separate partition for the OS is preferable because then a
> > reinstall is easier.
> >
> > And while I'm asking, which Linux should I get? One Linux app I'm
> > interested in is Asterisk http://www.asterisk.org/ .
> >
> > And one more question. When I install a program on the document-program
> > partition, should I make it put its common files on that partition too?
> > Or should I allow the program to put its common files on C:\Program
> > Files\Common Files , the usual default place?
> >
> > --
> > *********************
> > * Nehmo Sergheyev *
> > *********************
> >
> >
>
>
 
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- Harry Ohrn -
> You are better off having Linux on a separate drive. During Linux
> installation it requires 3 partitions of it's own and it can really
screw
> with a drive if you don't know what you are doing during setup. An
> alternative to installing Linux, if you just want to get a feel for it
would
> be to use Knoppix or MandrakeMove. Both are self-contained Linux
distros
> that are run entirely off a CD. To play with Linux you simply reboot
with
> the CD and it runs without affecting your Hard drive. You can set it
up so
> that you can work with files on a drive if you so desire. Knoppix
enables
> you to save your configurations to a floppy so you don't have to
reconfigure
> everytime you run it. MandrakeMove can save your special configuration
to a
> USB key.
> http://www.knoppix.net/docs/
> http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mandrakemove
> Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
> www.webtree.ca/windowsxp

- Nehmo -
Well, I want to get a feel for Linux, but I also want to go beyond that
and have it permanently. So you're saying I should devote a whole
physical drive to Linux? What would you do in my situation? Clean out
the 80 GB drive too? I suppose I could.


--
*********************
* Nehmo Sergheyev *
*********************
 
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"Nehmo Sergheyev" <nehmo54@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:mAy8d.96442$nA6.86356@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> I'm setting up a new boot drive of 120 GB (and I'm also going to have an
> 80 GB, but there's already stuff on that), and I intend to use XP Home
> as my main OS. But I also want to learn this Linux thing I've been
> hearing about, so I want to make a separate partition for that.
>
> So what's the best way to partition the 120 GB HD? I assume three
> partitions:
> one for the XP OS,
> one for Linux, and
> one for documents and programs? Should this be separated into two
> partitions?

Linux doesn't need much room. If you set aside 5GB for it, you'll probably
use less than half of that, even with all linux software you want to use
installed. Linux will play nice with Windows if you install Windows first.

I'd suggest:

Install Windows XP, but when it creates partitions, create two partitions.
If your disk was exactly 120GB (it will show up as less than that during
partition creation), then I'd suggest 110GB for Windows, 5GB for Windows
swap file and 5GB NOT partitioned at all. Whatever the actual size of your
hard drive is when you run the partition program, just subtract about
11000MB, and use whatever's left to create a partition to install windows
on. Then create a second partition of about 5000MB for a window swap file.
That should leave about ~6000MB of unpartitioned space on your hard drive.
(linux will be happy to use that)

After Windows XP is fully installed, tested, and running fine, THEN install
linux. (I'd suggest Mandrake linux or redhat fedora) During the linux
install, you will need to create at least two partitions including a linux
swap partition. The linux swap file only needs to be about 500MB, so that
will leave plenty of space for other partitions. Obviously, when you are
creating your linux partitions, you should use the previously UNpartitioned
space on your 120GB drive.

In case you are worried about storing large files downloaded or created in
linux, you should keep in mind that linux will mount windows partitions
automatically. Thus you will have a mostly empty windows partition to use
for storage space in linux. Or you can use any free space there is on the
80GB drive you are recycling.

During the linux install, a boot menu will be set up that will allow you to
choose which OS you want to boot.

Whether you experiment with linux or not, you might want to get yourself a
DVDR/W drive and a image program like Ghost or similar (I use acronis true
image). With Windows and all software installed correctly, I am able to
back up my entire hard drive on two DVD-Rom disks. You won't likely have a
problem with linux, but it's good to have a backup anyway. -Dave
 
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Nehmo,

There is another alternative from Linspire (a.k.a Lindows). This is a
simple setup and rather 'mickey mouse' for the true Linux user, but on
the other hand it is very straight forward and gives you the opportunity
to play around with Linux.

I have XP Pro setup on my primary HDD and I just let Linspire do its
thing on the secondary HDD. Linspire does setup as the primary boot when
booting up, but that isn't a big deal.

There had been a deal on www.linspire.com. Somewhere in the ordering
process you will be able to enter a coupon code ( deviant9 ) which will
then give you a credit for the purchase price. I'm not sure if the deal
is still available, but I took advantage of it 2 weeks ago. You also get
a 15 day subscription to their software library.

Wayne

Nehmo Sergheyev wrote:
> - Harry Ohrn -
>
>>You are better off having Linux on a separate drive. During Linux
>>installation it requires 3 partitions of it's own and it can really
>
> screw
>
>>with a drive if you don't know what you are doing during setup. An
>>alternative to installing Linux, if you just want to get a feel for it
>
> would
>
>>be to use Knoppix or MandrakeMove. Both are self-contained Linux
>
> distros
>
>>that are run entirely off a CD. To play with Linux you simply reboot
>
> with
>
>>the CD and it runs without affecting your Hard drive. You can set it
>
> up so
>
>>that you can work with files on a drive if you so desire. Knoppix
>
> enables
>
>>you to save your configurations to a floppy so you don't have to
>
> reconfigure
>
>>everytime you run it. MandrakeMove can save your special configuration
>
> to a
>
>>USB key.
>>http://www.knoppix.net/docs/
>>http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mandrakemove
>>Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
>>www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>
>
> - Nehmo -
> Well, I want to get a feel for Linux, but I also want to go beyond that
> and have it permanently. So you're saying I should devote a whole
> physical drive to Linux? What would you do in my situation? Clean out
> the 80 GB drive too? I suppose I could.
>
>
 
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- wayneP -
> There is another alternative from Linspire (a.k.a Lindows). This is a
> simple setup and rather 'mickey mouse' for the true Linux user, but on
> the other hand it is very straight forward and gives you the
opportunity
> to play around with Linux.
>
> I have XP Pro setup on my primary HDD and I just let Linspire do its
> thing on the secondary HDD. Linspire does setup as the primary boot
when
> booting up, but that isn't a big deal.
>
> There had been a deal on www.linspire.com. Somewhere in the ordering
> process you will be able to enter a coupon code ( deviant9 ) which
will
> then give you a credit for the purchase price. I'm not sure if the
deal
> is still available, but I took advantage of it 2 weeks ago. You also
get
> a 15 day subscription to their software library.

- Nehmo -
I once tired to download Lindows (it was supposed to be free), but I
couldn't download. I never got the problem resolved, but I didn't devote
much time to it. The brief email exchange was discouraging. I'm sure,
however, if I had worked more on the problem, it would have been solved.

Anyway, now I just want to use one of the regular versions of Linux. I
really can't go wrong because I'll always have my XP OS available.

--
*********************
* Nehmo Sergheyev *
*********************
 
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Nehmo,

There is another alternative from Linspire (a.k.a Lindows). This is a
simple setup and rather 'mickey mouse' for the true Linux user, but on
the other hand it is very straight forward and gives you the opportunity
to play around with Linux.

I have XP Pro setup on my primary HDD and I just let Linspire do its
thing on the secondary HDD. Linspire does setup as the primary boot when
booting up, but that isn't a big deal.

There had been a deal on www.linspire.com. Somewhere in the ordering
process you will be able to enter a coupon code ( deviant9 ) which will
then give you a credit for the purchase price. I'm not sure if the deal
is still available, but I took advantage of it 2 weeks ago. You also get
a 15 day subscription to their software library.

Wayne

Nehmo Sergheyev wrote:
> - Harry Ohrn -
>
>>You are better off having Linux on a separate drive. During Linux
>>installation it requires 3 partitions of it's own and it can really
>
> screw
>
>>with a drive if you don't know what you are doing during setup. An
>>alternative to installing Linux, if you just want to get a feel for it
>
> would
>
>>be to use Knoppix or MandrakeMove. Both are self-contained Linux
>
> distros
>
>>that are run entirely off a CD. To play with Linux you simply reboot
>
> with
>
>>the CD and it runs without affecting your Hard drive. You can set it
>
> up so
>
>>that you can work with files on a drive if you so desire. Knoppix
>
> enables
>
>>you to save your configurations to a floppy so you don't have to
>
> reconfigure
>
>>everytime you run it. MandrakeMove can save your special configuration
>
> to a
>
>>USB key.
>>http://www.knoppix.net/docs/
>>http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mandrakemove
>>Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
>>www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>
>
> - Nehmo -
> Well, I want to get a feel for Linux, but I also want to go beyond that
> and have it permanently. So you're saying I should devote a whole
> physical drive to Linux? What would you do in my situation? Clean out
> the 80 GB drive too? I suppose I could.
>
>
 
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Nehmo Sergheyev wrote:

> - Harry Ohrn -
>> You are better off having Linux on a separate drive. During Linux
>> installation it requires 3 partitions of it's own and it can really
> screw
>> with a drive if you don't know what you are doing during setup. An
>> alternative to installing Linux, if you just want to get a feel for it
> would
>> be to use Knoppix or MandrakeMove. Both are self-contained Linux
> distros
>> that are run entirely off a CD. To play with Linux you simply reboot
> with
>> the CD and it runs without affecting your Hard drive. You can set it
> up so
>> that you can work with files on a drive if you so desire. Knoppix
> enables
>> you to save your configurations to a floppy so you don't have to
> reconfigure
>> everytime you run it. MandrakeMove can save your special configuration
> to a
>> USB key.
>> http://www.knoppix.net/docs/
>> http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mandrakemove
>> Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
>> www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>
> - Nehmo -
> Well, I want to get a feel for Linux, but I also want to go beyond that
> and have it permanently. So you're saying I should devote a whole
> physical drive to Linux? What would you do in my situation? Clean out
> the 80 GB drive too? I suppose I could.

If your primary OS is Windows XP and you just want to dink around with Unix
(note--Linux is just one flavor of Unix--if you can drive one flavor of
Unix you can generally figure out another one without too much trouble) a
little, then install Cygwin <http://www.cygwin.com>--you can get a very
good feel for it and at the same time use its capabilities in conjunction
with Windows. If you want to go a little deeper, then pay Microsoft the
hundred bucks for Virtual PC and then install whatever flavor of Unix you
like on the virtual machine. Works far better than one would expect.

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
 
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"Dave C." wrote:
> Linux will play nice with Windows if you install Windows first.
>
> [......]
> After Windows XP is fully installed, tested, and running fine,
> THEN install linux.
> [.......]
> During the linux install, a boot menu will be set up that will
> allow you to choose which OS you want to boot.
>
> Whether you experiment with linux or not, you might want to
> get yourself a DVDR/W drive and a image program like
> Ghost or similar (I use acronis true image). With Windows
> and all software installed correctly, I am able to back up my
> entire hard drive on two DVD-Rom disks.


Do you use the WinXP multi-boot capability for choosing
between Windows and Linux? Is that why you choose to install
WinXP first?

I assume you run Ghost from the Windows partition. How
is it at cloning/copying a Linux partition? Can it copy a Linux
system *to* your system drive to be bootable?

*TimDaniels*
 
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It's not THAT hard to setup partitions so that you can install linux &
windows on the same drive. Especially now that recent versions of various
bootloaders don't need to be installed in the first 1024 cylinders.

On Tue, 5 Oct 2004 09:22:54 -0600, Harry Ohrn <harry---@webtree.ca> wrote:

> You are better off having Linux on a separate drive. During Linux
> installation it requires 3 partitions of it's own and it can really screw
> with a drive if you don't know what you are doing during setup. An
> alternative to installing Linux, if you just want to get a feel for it
> would
> be to use Knoppix or MandrakeMove. Both are self-contained Linux distros
> that are run entirely off a CD. To play with Linux you simply reboot with
> the CD and it runs without affecting your Hard drive. You can set it up
> so
> that you can work with files on a drive if you so desire. Knoppix enables
> you to save your configurations to a floppy so you don't have to
> reconfigure
> everytime you run it. MandrakeMove can save your special configuration
> to a
> USB key.
>
> http://www.knoppix.net/docs/
>
> http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mandrakemove
>
 

matt

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Nehmo Sergheyev wrote:
> I'm setting up a new boot drive of 120 GB (and I'm also going to have an
> 80 GB, but there's already stuff on that), and I intend to use XP Home
> as my main OS. But I also want to learn this Linux thing I've been
> hearing about, so I want to make a separate partition for that.

If you have something like a Dell, where XP is already installed and you
have trouble reducing its partition size, it is somewhat simpler to have
Linux on a separate drive. Otherwise it can go on the same drive as
Windows. Since you have lots of room, I would give 10G or more to
Linux, but you could get by on as little as 600M for some standard Linux
distributions. A regular 8G Linux partition plus a 2G Linux swap
partition is very comfortable and sufficient for a newby. But you might
make a few 2G partitions here and there for when you learn the
tradeoffs: it is common for /home and /usr/local to have their own
partitions because that simplifies reinstallation and reorganization,
and often /var is put on a separate partition. There are somewhat
obscure ways to share a swap partition between Linux and Windows. Since
you are experimenting, you might try out each of the big three distros:
Fedora Core, SUSE, and Mandrake. I have had the least trouble with
Fedora. Also when you learn how, you can have several Linux systems
present simultaneously, each sharing the same /home and /usr/local.
 

matt

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SlowJet wrote:

> Thse guys are from the 90's and haven a clue. :)

> When you want to do XP just switch cables back to 120GB drive and boot up.

Oh, now the scales drop from my eyes. It sounds like you are very much
on the cutting edge. Yeah, back in the day we had to select the OS from
a boot menu---I gather that now we can just power down, open the case
and switch cables. Well, it pays to keep up on new techniques ...
 
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In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Nehmo Sergheyev <nehmo54@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I'm setting up a new boot drive of 120 GB (and I'm also going to have an
> 80 GB, but there's already stuff on that), and I intend to use XP Home
> as my main OS. But I also want to learn this Linux thing I've been
> hearing about, so I want to make a separate partition for that.

> So what's the best way to partition the 120 GB HD? I assume three
> partitions:
> one for the XP OS,
> one for Linux, and
> one for documents and programs? Should this be separated into two
> partitions?

Yes, that would be better. Use FAT32 for the windows partitions
and ext2/3 for the Linux partitions. One reason is that FAT32
does not support the Unix/Linux permission model to a reasonable
degree.

> How much space should I allocate for each partition? And does this
> arrangement make sense?

For Linux I use Debian sarge (download form the net, needs
DSL/Cable modem to be comfortable) and generally have found
6GB for the root partition to be generous if a lot and large
apps are installed. Same for data, unless you plan to
put media files in there. For XP you also need something
like 4GB for the OS and swap-file. Install applications
preferrably not on c:.

Also advisable is a 500MB (or so) partition for Linux swap space.
As bootloader I would advise Grub, which can boot both
Linux and XP without problems.

> My main concern is having a system that can be backed up easily, as a
> regular precaution, and fixed easily should something happen. I've been
> told that a separate partition for the OS is preferable because then a
> reinstall is easier.

I would advise doing the backup with Linux. If the Windows partitons
are FAT32 that works well.

> And while I'm asking, which Linux should I get? One Linux app I'm
> interested in is Asterisk http://www.asterisk.org/ .

If you have a fats internet connectivity, I advise to go for
Debian Sarge (testing). A bit confusing in the begionning, but
once you did the first major update without even a reboot,
you will be convinced.

> And one more question. When I install a program on the document-program
> partition, should I make it put its common files on that partition too?
> Or should I allow the program to put its common files on C:\Program
> Files\Common Files , the usual default place?

You should have all programms store their data in the document
partition. The problem is that Windows has a tendency to foul up the
c: partition in a way that only a complete cleanup of that partition
helps. If your data and apps are elsewere, they still work.

Arno
--
For email address: lastname AT tik DOT ee DOT ethz DOT ch
GnuPG: ID:1E25338F FP:0C30 5782 9D93 F785 E79C 0296 797F 6B50 1E25 338F
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws" - Tacitus
 
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Sorry about the double posting. I posted from Linspire for the first time
and must have done something wrong. I got some kind of a error message
during first attempt at posting; so I reposted. Must be the error didn't
keep the first post from going through .

Wayne

"Arno Wagner" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:2sg6h8F1gsp3eU2@uni-berlin.de...
> In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Nehmo Sergheyev <nehmo54@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>> I'm setting up a new boot drive of 120 GB (and I'm also going to have an
>> 80 GB, but there's already stuff on that), and I intend to use XP Home
>> as my main OS. But I also want to learn this Linux thing I've been
>> hearing about, so I want to make a separate partition for that.
>
>> So what's the best way to partition the 120 GB HD? I assume three
>> partitions:
>> one for the XP OS,
>> one for Linux, and
>> one for documents and programs? Should this be separated into two
>> partitions?
>
> Yes, that would be better. Use FAT32 for the windows partitions
> and ext2/3 for the Linux partitions. One reason is that FAT32
> does not support the Unix/Linux permission model to a reasonable
> degree.
>
>> How much space should I allocate for each partition? And does this
>> arrangement make sense?
>
> For Linux I use Debian sarge (download form the net, needs
> DSL/Cable modem to be comfortable) and generally have found
> 6GB for the root partition to be generous if a lot and large
> apps are installed. Same for data, unless you plan to
> put media files in there. For XP you also need something
> like 4GB for the OS and swap-file. Install applications
> preferrably not on c:.
>
> Also advisable is a 500MB (or so) partition for Linux swap space.
> As bootloader I would advise Grub, which can boot both
> Linux and XP without problems.
>
>> My main concern is having a system that can be backed up easily, as a
>> regular precaution, and fixed easily should something happen. I've been
>> told that a separate partition for the OS is preferable because then a
>> reinstall is easier.
>
> I would advise doing the backup with Linux. If the Windows partitons
> are FAT32 that works well.
>
>> And while I'm asking, which Linux should I get? One Linux app I'm
>> interested in is Asterisk http://www.asterisk.org/ .
>
> If you have a fats internet connectivity, I advise to go for
> Debian Sarge (testing). A bit confusing in the begionning, but
> once you did the first major update without even a reboot,
> you will be convinced.
>
>> And one more question. When I install a program on the document-program
>> partition, should I make it put its common files on that partition too?
>> Or should I allow the program to put its common files on C:\Program
>> Files\Common Files , the usual default place?
>
> You should have all programms store their data in the document
> partition. The problem is that Windows has a tendency to foul up the
> c: partition in a way that only a complete cleanup of that partition
> helps. If your data and apps are elsewere, they still work.
>
> Arno
> --
> For email address: lastname AT tik DOT ee DOT ethz DOT ch
> GnuPG: ID:1E25338F FP:0C30 5782 9D93 F785 E79C 0296 797F 6B50 1E25 338F
> "The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws" - Tacitus
>
>
 
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On Tue, 5 Oct 2004 12:32:37 -0400, Dave C. <mdupre@sff.net> wrote:

> In case you are worried about storing large files downloaded or created
> in
> linux, you should keep in mind that linux will mount windows partitions
> automatically. Thus you will have a mostly empty windows partition to
> use
> for storage space in linux.

If you intend to do that, you should remember that linux currently doesn't
support writing to NTFS partitions (the XP default). You will need to
format the XP partition as FAT32.
 

matt

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J. Clarke wrote:
> Nehmo Sergheyev wrote:
>
>
>>- Harry Ohrn -
>>
>>>You are better off having Linux on a separate drive. During Linux
>>>installation it requires 3 partitions of it's own and it can really
>>
>>screw
>>
>>>with a drive if you don't know what you are doing during setup. An
>>>alternative to installing Linux, if you just want to get a feel for it
>>
>>would
>>
>>>be to use Knoppix or MandrakeMove. Both are self-contained Linux
>>
>>distros
>>
>>>that are run entirely off a CD. To play with Linux you simply reboot
>>
>>with
>>
>>>the CD and it runs without affecting your Hard drive. You can set it
>>
>>up so
>>
>>>that you can work with files on a drive if you so desire. Knoppix
>>
>>enables
>>
>>>you to save your configurations to a floppy so you don't have to
>>
>>reconfigure
>>
>>>everytime you run it. MandrakeMove can save your special configuration
>>
>>to a
>>
>>>USB key.
>>>http://www.knoppix.net/docs/
>>>http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mandrakemove
>>>Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
>>>www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>>
>>- Nehmo -
>>Well, I want to get a feel for Linux, but I also want to go beyond that
>>and have it permanently. So you're saying I should devote a whole
>>physical drive to Linux? What would you do in my situation? Clean out
>>the 80 GB drive too? I suppose I could.
>
>
> If your primary OS is Windows XP and you just want to dink around with Unix
> (note--Linux is just one flavor of Unix--if you can drive one flavor of
> Unix you can generally figure out another one without too much trouble) a
> little, then install Cygwin <http://www.cygwin.com>--you can get a very
> good feel for it and at the same time use its capabilities in conjunction
> with Windows. If you want to go a little deeper, then pay Microsoft the
> hundred bucks for Virtual PC and then install whatever flavor of Unix you
> like on the virtual machine. Works far better than one would expect.
>

That is pretty much wrongheaded. The OP should just try Linux, and so
should you.
 

matt

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Andre Da Costa wrote:
> Separate it into 4 partitions:
>
> 1 Partition for the Windows OS
> 1 Paritition for Documents and files
> 1 Partition for Windows Applications
> 1 Partition for Linux OS
>

He will also need a Linux swap partition (2G recommended).
 
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Matt wrote:

> J. Clarke wrote:
>> Nehmo Sergheyev wrote:
>>
>>
>>>- Harry Ohrn -
>>>
>>>>You are better off having Linux on a separate drive. During Linux
>>>>installation it requires 3 partitions of it's own and it can really
>>>
>>>screw
>>>
>>>>with a drive if you don't know what you are doing during setup. An
>>>>alternative to installing Linux, if you just want to get a feel for it
>>>
>>>would
>>>
>>>>be to use Knoppix or MandrakeMove. Both are self-contained Linux
>>>
>>>distros
>>>
>>>>that are run entirely off a CD. To play with Linux you simply reboot
>>>
>>>with
>>>
>>>>the CD and it runs without affecting your Hard drive. You can set it
>>>
>>>up so
>>>
>>>>that you can work with files on a drive if you so desire. Knoppix
>>>
>>>enables
>>>
>>>>you to save your configurations to a floppy so you don't have to
>>>
>>>reconfigure
>>>
>>>>everytime you run it. MandrakeMove can save your special configuration
>>>
>>>to a
>>>
>>>>USB key.
>>>>http://www.knoppix.net/docs/
>>>>http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mandrakemove
>>>>Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
>>>>www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>>>
>>>- Nehmo -
>>>Well, I want to get a feel for Linux, but I also want to go beyond that
>>>and have it permanently. So you're saying I should devote a whole
>>>physical drive to Linux? What would you do in my situation? Clean out
>>>the 80 GB drive too? I suppose I could.
>>
>>
>> If your primary OS is Windows XP and you just want to dink around with
>> Unix (note--Linux is just one flavor of Unix--if you can drive one flavor
>> of Unix you can generally figure out another one without too much
>> trouble) a little, then install Cygwin <http://www.cygwin.com>--you can
>> get a very good feel for it and at the same time use its capabilities in
>> conjunction
>> with Windows. If you want to go a little deeper, then pay Microsoft the
>> hundred bucks for Virtual PC and then install whatever flavor of Unix you
>> like on the virtual machine. Works far better than one would expect.
>>
>
> That is pretty much wrongheaded. The OP should just try Linux, and so
> should you.

Next time you're tempted to spout off in this fashion, check headers first.
Want some ketchup for that foot?

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
 
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"Dave C." <mdupre@sff.net> wrote:

>After Windows XP is fully installed, tested, and running fine, THEN install
>linux. (I'd suggest Mandrake linux or redhat fedora)

You guys do know, of course, that the latest versions (2.6 kernel) of
Linux will render you Windows partition unbootable? This is well
documented. Happened to me with Fedora C2.

Of course, Windows will (intentionally) do the same to a
previously-installed Linux partition. So, basically, you're screwed
for dual-boot, unless you use same third-party boot manager (which I
regard as kludges).
 
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"Nehmo Sergheyev" <nehmo54@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:ZNA8d.96449$nA6.6376@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com:

> I once tired to download Lindows (it was supposed to be free), but
> I couldn't download. I never got the problem resolved, but I
> didn't devote much time to it. The brief email exchange was
> discouraging. I'm sure, however, if I had worked more on the
> problem, it would have been solved.

You should try and resolve the problem. I've tried several distros of
Linux and only Mandrake 10.1 or Mandrake 10.0RC1 64bit or, believe it
or not, Linspire, will find and install correctly all my hardware! I'm
impressed but I believe Linspire could become costly over time if you
needed a lot of software?

Anyway, back to WindowsXP and Windows XP 64-bit edition as Linux isn't
quite what I need.... yet....
 
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On Wed, 06 Oct 2004 07:43:56 -0500, chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> "Dave C." <mdupre@sff.net> wrote:
>
>> After Windows XP is fully installed, tested, and running fine, THEN
>> install
>> linux. (I'd suggest Mandrake linux or redhat fedora)
>
> You guys do know, of course, that the latest versions (2.6 kernel) of
> Linux will render you Windows partition unbootable? This is well
> documented. Happened to me with Fedora C2.
>
> Of course, Windows will (intentionally) do the same to a
> previously-installed Linux partition. So, basically, you're screwed
> for dual-boot, unless you use same third-party boot manager (which I
> regard as kludges).


You what? Since when? I've just installed Gentoo 2004.2 with 2.6, lilo &
no problems whatsoever. I don't see why the kernel should affect how the
boot works, since its not loaded until after you start booting linux.

Of course, since I haven't yet bothered to go google for it, could well be
talking outta my ass, so feel free to ignore me if thats the case.... :p
 
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In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> "Dave C." <mdupre@sff.net> wrote:

>>After Windows XP is fully installed, tested, and running fine, THEN install
>>linux. (I'd suggest Mandrake linux or redhat fedora)

> You guys do know, of course, that the latest versions (2.6 kernel) of
> Linux will render you Windows partition unbootable? This is well
> documented. Happened to me with Fedora C2.

Huh? I have been using stock 2.6.x up to 2.6.9-rc2 without any
problem like this. Care to give a reference? Or is this just
a problem of Fedora?

> Of course, Windows will (intentionally) do the same to a
> previously-installed Linux partition.

Not if you create the installation partition with Linux. At least
I have done this successfully several times.

> So, basically, you're screwed
> for dual-boot, unless you use same third-party boot manager (which I
> regard as kludges).

"Huh?" again: Lilo and Grub do the job without problem. And they
are not "third-party".

Arno
--
For email address: lastname AT tik DOT ee DOT ethz DOT ch
GnuPG: ID:1E25338F FP:0C30 5782 9D93 F785 E79C 0296 797F 6B50 1E25 338F
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- Andre Da Costa -
> > Separate it into 4 partitions:
> >
> > 1 Partition for the Windows OS
> > 1 Paritition for Documents and files
> > 1 Partition for Windows Applications
> > 1 Partition for Linux OS
> >
> > Just in case anything goes wrong with say your OS parition, all you
have
> to
> > do is reinstall the OS and re-import registry settings for
applications.
> >
> > 30 GBs for each partition

> I can see having all the partitions except for the partition for
windows
> applications. Why break the two apart when they are so integrated
through
> system dlls and the registry?

- Nehmo -
Are you saying the programs should go with the OS, or are you saying the
programs should go with the documents?

And (referring to Andre's post) I understand the logic of putting the X
P OS on its own partition; you can reinstall the OS without disturbing
the documents. But "re-import the registry settings" to get the programs
working doesn't sound that easy to me. I would have to backup the
registry to a non-OS partition after every install. I suppose that would
work. Are there people who do that?

--
*********************
* Nehmo Sergheyev *
*********************