Hey ppl... Im deffinetly a newbie when it comes to linux... just starting to get into it... I think I wanna use Fedora 8 only because a friend of mine uses it and it seems to fit like a glove when I use it... I want to know how to do a dual boot on my laptop with visat allreayd installed...

My system specs are....

Compaq Presario v6210
AMD Turion 64 MK-36
2 Gigs DDR
80 Gig HDD
Geforece Go 6150 Video
DVDRW
Integreated WIFI (intel i think)
Vista installed on part. 1... HP recovery on part. 2


Maybe someone can point me in the right direction.. I searched google but didn't get many clear results on how to do this dual boot...

thx

Start with first-things-first.

www.google.com/linux is the place to go the research things in re Linux, rather than www.google.com. The first filters out 99% plus of unrelated hits; the second is very general in nature.

Second, google up a copy of the Linux Partition HOWTO and read through it. There is valuable information you should consider in re types of partitions, partitioning schemes, etc.

If it were my machine, I would use windows tools to resize the windows partition to make room for Linux. I would want a /boot partition (to house the boot directory, compressed kernel, bootloader) so that is something gets out of whack elsewhere in the system, I can still boot into text mode to try to fix things.
I would want /home in a seperate partition (sort of like a D drive in windows for files to keep them seperate from the operating system). Finally, I'd have a root partition (for the root of the operating system) which is where all applications (except the bootloader) would be installed.

But, opinions vary. That's mine. Other folks will probably offer oposing opinions.

For the /boot partition, 15 to 20 MB should be enough.
For the root partition, that can range from 2.5 to 12 GB depending on how much software you want to install. Also, log files will grow and consume disk space. You either do regular housecleaning to clear out log files (not delete them, but empty them), or you loose disk space in the partition. Also, defragmentation is not a problem until the partition gets around 95% full. So you want extra room to avert those problems. Add 2 or 3 GB.
For /home, it's going to grow rapidly as you add files, music, etc to your user space. You want the most room for /home.

I'd resize the windows partition and leave it as a primary partition. I suspect that the HP recovery partition is at the end of the disk. So, I'd create an extended partition between the windows and HP recovery partitions. The extended partition is just a container for logical partitions (let's you go around the 4 partition limit). Inside the extended partition, I'd create the Linux partitions (using the Fedora installation cd if it gives you the ability to make more than one partition).

If it doesn't, download and burn to cd one of the Linux liveCDs such as Knoppix, Kanotix, PXLinuxOS (there are many others you can find at distrowatch.com) and boot the liveCD (an operating system on cd; nothing gets installed to hard drive unless you specifically use the install script to do so). The files on the livecd are compressed, so they must be decompressed before they can be run. They'll run slower that a hard disk app would run, but they'll run just as effectively. You can use paritioning software from the liveCD to make your logical Linux partitions in the extended partition, and even format the partitions with the filesystem type you want (native Linux ext2, ext3 [journaled ext2 which makes recovery in the event of power failure easier], reiserFS [also journaled], and a few others)

Ok... it sounds good... I used the windows tools to resize and move around my partitions.. I deleted the recovery partition seeing as I have the recovery DVD anyways that came with system... and it gives me an extra 7 gigs. I am using 55 gigs for my windows partition and all my personal stuff... and I have left 20 gigs of unallocated space for anything Linux.

1. Now is there anything I should consider on how to do this dual boot before i actually do it... is it as simple as putting in the install CD in and letting the installer do all the work?

2. Are there any common mistakes that a newbie would make to screw it up?

3. Is there anyway to make sure all of my hardware would be compatible?

Thanx...

Firekid1239, CT, US

Not much. Tell fedora to auto partition in unused space and it will detect windows as well. It will install GRUB a boot loader and that will give you your dual booting choices.

Fedora will detect the windows installation during the install of Fedora. When it writes the grub bootloader config file, there will be and entry for Fedora (probably the default to boot when you power up the machine), and an entry for windows. You can easily change the default system to boot by editing the /boot/grub/menu.lst (grub.conf on some systems). Count down the menu entries for operating systems, starting from 0. 0 is first, 1 is second, etc. Edit the 'default 0' line th change the 0 to the number of the menu entey you want, or, a bit of cut and paste. Cut out the entey for the OS you want, and paste it in the first postion in the list of OSs.

The most common mistake a newbie will make is to install the bootloader to the root partition (the root of the filesystem) instead of installing grub to the MBR (master boot record) of the hard drive (where the windows bootloader is now). With grub in the MBR, you will see both OSs listed in the boot menu. Just use the arrow keys to select which one you want to boot, and press enter. You have about 8 seconds to decide before the default OS boots. If you want a longer period to decide, go back to the same /boot/grub/menu.lst, and change the timeout. Timeout is in seconds. If it reads 'timeout 8', that means 8 seconds. Change it to whatever you want.

If you install grub to the root partiition, you won't be able to boot Linux unless you made a boot disk during installation, or use the installation CD to access you Linux installation on hard drive.

The best way to make sure your hardware is compatible is to use a liveCD before you install Linux. Knoppix, Kanotix, PCLinuxOS and others have very good hardware detection. It your hardware works for them, it will work for Fedora.

Sweet I just installed fedora 8 on my system in a dual boot and it works great. Windows is running no problem either... The only thing I'm trying to figure out now is how to get my integrated wireless lan to work. It seems even though i flip the switch on the front to turn it on... it wont turn on. It is a broadcom wireless b/g WLAN. I'm gunna see if i can find an update or something for it... any suggestions if I can't find anything?

Thanx Much

Yeah. Check your Fedora documentation (the books if you bought the boxed set, or their website) for how to setup wireless. I've never used Fedora, so I don't know what tools are provided. But they should have users or administrators manuals of some kind that you can download or read on-line to get the info you need to setup your wireless connections.

You may need to load the driver that communicates with the box before the switches will work. I don't know. As I said above, I haven't used Fedora, so I don't know what tools are provided.

hi,

i am a newbie and i want to dual boot my preinstalled vista laptop with fedora 8..i want to know whre exactly during the installation will the grub installation menu appear? how exactly do i select to install grub in the mbr? will the installer give me time to do that or i have to be quick enough? i dont want to make any mistakes...so if it is possible please explain.

thanks in advance

On most systems it is just about the last thing you do to install. The default option is to install to the mbr and you have to agree to it. Install halts until you click. If this is your first time partitioning, formatting and installing Linux, I would suggest a backup. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Also, suggest you read carefully at each step.

thanks for the info...

i am going to install linux in a few days from now...and i know these tips will come handy....i will let you all know how it went.

Forgot to post this link yesterday. Detailed with lots of graphics:

http://www.apcmag.com.au/how_to_dual...lled_first.htm