xp and linux

[gtb12846]

can i install knoppix linux and xp pro on the same hard drive.
xp pro is already install.if so where can i fine out how?i am new at this
but i love the looks of linux.

[master_b]

I currently have XP Pro and Knoppix 3.2 installed on the same HDD.

XP is on C (hda1) partition and Knoppix is on hda5 (D:).

However, I had partitioned the drive (40gb seagate ATA 4) BEFORE either install.

Install XP first, then install Knoppix - dont let setup partition automatically - choose the correct partition yourself.

Knoppix will install Lilo boot menu and will set the default boot to Knoppix.

Don't forget to make a boot floppy for knoppix during the install process.

Note that should lilo stuff up and you cant boot XP (knoppix should boot from the floppy) you can boot from the XP CD, skip the "Rescue" choice, and on the install screen select "R" (I think) and Windows will repair itself hopefully.

The best way to dual boot is to have 2 hard drives. Install XP on C: then detach the drive, attach the drive for knoppix as your Primary Master and install Knoppix. Then reattach your XP drive as either Primary Slave, or Secondary Master or Slave (dont forget the drives jumper setting).

If you have a motherboard that is no more than a couple of years old, you should be able to set its BIOS to boot from any hard drive.

I have run XP without problems as Primary or Pecondary master and as Primary or Secondary Slave. Its just important that when XP is installed that Windows sees the Drive as C: (Primary Master) as you CANNOT change the drive letter on the Operating System drive in XP. It will still work OK as a drive named other than C: but some programs are badly written and expect the OS to be on C: and will cause problems if this is not the case.

Good Luck

master_n

[rickenbacherus]

can i install knoppix linux and xp pro on the same hard drive.
xp pro is already install.if so where can i fine out how?i am new at this
but i love the looks of linux.

If you have only one drive, boot Knoppix, fire up qtparted and shrink the partition so that you have room for another partition in which to install Knoppix. master_b is correct in that some winapps are so poorly written that not having wimpdoze on drive C: will hose things up. If you do hose up your Master Boot Record read this post for a fix.

Search this forum for more advice on using qtparted- it's here.

[aay]

Search this forum for more advice on using qtparted- it's here.

To be honest I've had lots of problems with qtparted. It's screwed up a number of my hard drives. I've essentially given up on it for the time being. For resizing I use a copy of the install disk for Mandrake 9.1. It can resize very well (even ntfs). I simply do the resizing and skip the install. It's a lot cheaper than using Partition Magic and it seems to work better than QTParted.