Alright, I'm a newbie, straight from the birth canal, all I have done is the downloading of Mandrake 9.2 isos. I just got a new (to me) 80GB hd. I really have no use for it so I thought it was time to expand my horizons and try out Linux. I managed to wade around every MS product ever so I figured it couldnt be terrible to try something else. Anyways, I start researching and realize I know nothing about what I'm about to do so based on my little research I have a couple of questions.

1. I figured I would use the whole 80Gb hd for Mandrake. How should I partion it and what freeware can I partion with? I'll use fdisk if I have to.

2. Mandrake will be in my XP Pro box, how do I dual boot with them on separate HD?

3. I have a RAID 0 that I use on XP Pro, the controller on my Asus P4P800 deluxe mobo is Via6410. If I understand correctly I can access my XP Pro hard drive from Mandrake, but will I be able to access the RAID?

As of right now those are my major concerns, I'm sure other stuff will pop up along my journey into Linux so if you have some other stuff to tell me besides the answers to those questions I'd be happy to listen.

Thanks in advance.

Dan

Thread on partitioning:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=142529

There are MANY threads on dual-boot configuration. Probably the most widely-discussed issue around.

As long as your kernel supports your RAID chipset, you'll be able to access it. go to:
www.tldp.org
and read the RAID howto. Check tldp.org for answers to any question, really, the howtos are very good and often provide basic information you'll need to understand and troubleshoot.

Search the forums before posting questions! most of the time, you can find more than enough information.

--Rounan