Linux/WIndows dual boot question

Factual Questions
1

I’m planning to dualboot my laptop. It’s been along time since i’ve done dualboot, and that was 2 different window’s version. What needs to be done for windows/linux boot besides differing partitions?

Also, i’m a linux noob. I’m going to probably use mandrake or suse. I was wondering if there was any way for my linux partition to access data from the windows partition and vice versa. I realize they are differing file systems, but what can be done about that? Can linux read NTFS, fat 32?

thanks,

2

The first thing I’d do is partition my hard drive. It can be done during the installs, but I like to get it out of the way beforehand. Programs like Partition Magic make it incredibly easy, but I know Mandrake can do it too. I think Linux can now read and write to NTFS, so that’s what you should use for your Windows partition. I forget what the standard Linus file system is, but that’s what the Linux partition should be.
The next thing to do is install Windows on one of the partitions. After installing Windows, install your Linux OS. I’m happy with Mandrake, but I haven’t tried SUSE. I’m not very Linux literate, so Mandrake is good for me. I hear SUSE is almost as user friendly. Since you’re not an expert, stay away from things like Debian. I had nothing but trouble trying to get X running with Debian, but Mandrake sets things up like a dream.
When installing Linux, be sure to include the Windows drive in your LILO config. Mandrake should detect it automaticly, but check to be sure. You should also be sure to include the NTFS drivers for your Linux kernel during install. I don’t htink Mandrake includes them by derfault, and you’ll be left unable to write and perhaps even read the NTFS partition.

3
      • Most major Linux distros will ask how you want your partitions and include a partitioning utility to do alterations during install. I don’t know right off if they handle the WinXP file format well, so you may wish to investigate that first–or partition the drive from within WinXP beforehand.
  • Also: Linux can read and write FAT32 and all-but-XP-NTFS just fine, but last I heard (a few months back) Linux could read a WinXP drive, but letting Linux write to a WinXP drive was still a hit-or-miss affair. There were special thingers you had to have for your Linux, and even then often the WinXP filesystem needed repairing after the next WinXP bootup–the native “WinXP NTFS” is an extended version of the Win2K NTFS–they are not quite the same. This situation may have improved, but it is typical to separate a HD into three partitions for this reason–two OS partitions, and a third in FAT32 or Win2K-NTFS that is just for data, that you know both OS’s can safely read and write to.
    ~
4

I have been using SuSE 8.2 for about 6 months now that dual-boots with Win98.

It was a very easy and painless install, Linux repartitioned the drive, squeezing windows onto 1/3 of it.

Linux can read from and write to the windows partition no problem. I can and do dual save files in OOo formats and MS Office formats. Openoffice can read Microsoft documents but not vice versa. The Windows drive is available on the desktop as an icon.

The bootloader is GRUB and resides in the Master Boot sector.

When you boot into Windows, the Linux section is completely invisible and inaccesible.

I have Windows as a safety net but very rarely use it, I have grown to prefer Linux. The only current use for Windows is to do very high quality printing as HP won’t supply any data on their printers to enable the OSS to write the drivers for the printers. There is a better one than I have installed available but untill I get it sorted it is only a minutes work to reboot into windows and print from there.

5

Triple-booting Windows XP, Mandrake 9.2 and Java Desktop System on a laptop. During installation, both Mandrake and SuSE were able to repartition the Windows drive without loss of data. Worked wonderfully.

I’m a Mandrake bigot, but I have to admit that SuSE (the basis for JDS) installed just as simply.

As for accessing partitions, obviously Mandrake and SuSE can read and write with no problem (ext3 file systems). Both Linux partitions can mount and read NTFS from the Windows partition, but they cannot write to the NTFS file systems. There is a program called “capture-ntfs” that lets Linux read and write to NTFS. I had it for a bit, but I haven’t kept up with it because I just don’t write to Windows all that often. Heck, I don’t even boot it all that often.

Windows can not mount, read or write the Linux partitions.

6
  • leenmi

Not entirely true. The wonderful little program called explore2fs (http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/explore2fs.htm) can read from your linux partition, and it allows you to export files to Windows, after which you can modify them and save them to your Windows partition. This also works for “writing” to NTFS in a roundabout way from Linux - let Windows actually do it!

As others have said, you can read and write to your Windows partition from within linux by mounting the Windows partition pretty much exactly as you would mount a floppy or cdrom drive.

  • mnemosyne feels smart :smiley:
7

yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m sure I’m not the only one that noticed you had to pull that file out of uranus.

Seriously, though, thanks for the tip. I’d never heard of explore2fs.

8

Thanks guys. As soon as I got time, i’ll be doing this.

Any other tips?