[AuckLUG] Dual Boot

[Nevyn]

I know this probably doesn't help but a few years ago I was facing the
same sort of problems. It was really irritating me and then I had an
idea....

Instead I went out and brought a hard drive cradle and a inner tray. I
set up the computer to boot from the cradle (i.e. set it to master)
and in each inner tray, threw in a hard drive. One I installed Linux,
the other I installed Windows. I also threw another hard drive into
the computer so that I could swap files between the two of them though
I found that this became completely un-necessary.

Of course, this is only good if you've got a couple of hard drives
sitting around.

Regards,
Nevyn.

On Thu, May 15, 2008 at 6:51 AM, Richard Innes <unclerichard at xtra.co.nz> wrote:
> I believe more people than will admit are dual booting Windows and Linux; I
> do on both my boxes. Like you I am finding I do not use my Windows (Vista)
> as much as the Linux, but it is still useful for certain tasks. Do not be
> opologetic, most people are not fanatics and appreciate that dual booting is
> a practical option for many.
>
>  The Windows Installer/Bootloader is all consuming and doesn't like sharing
> with Linux, this is believed by many to be deliberate. To overcome this, it
> is necessary to install Windows first and Linux which is much more
> accommodating afterwards. While it is possible to install and manage a dual
> Windows/Linux just using the two OS's I think you would find it useful
> download a copy of Parted Magic 2.2 (which in an earlier post I referred to
> as Partition Magic, my apologies!). There is also the Trinity Ressure Discs
> (which I haven't found that useful) and Koppix. Parted Magic will help you
> resize and maintain your partitions, Trinity has programs to help with
> corrupted Partitions tables and MBRs. Every dual booter will find one of
> this discs useful at some point.
>
>  IMHO you will find it best to do a complete re-install of all your OS's.
> Start with Windows, then using Parted Magic or whatever reduce the Windows
> partition to the desirable size and install your Linux on the free space. I
> always keep my installations simple, just the main linux partition and the
> swap partition.
>
>  There are free programs that claim to manage multiple installations better
> than LILO or GRUB, but I have found the latter perfectly adequate and well
> behaved. I always do a manual install when the partitioner comes up on
> installation, and it is important to mark the partition as root (/) at this
> stage.
>
>  You might consider using the latest versions of Mandrive. I thought
> Mandrive Spring 2008 one of the best distros around, just as good as Ubuntu
> 8.04. These later versions have the ability to extract files from the
> Windows partition and therere also programs you can ins6tall on Windows to
> extract files from Linux. When you are dual booting this is a useful
> ability.
>
>  Others will have different approaches which may suit your way of working
> better. I have been duall booting for three or four years, using different
> combinations of Windows and Linux. As with all things computer-wise dual
> booting isn't perfect, sooner or later you will experience problems such as
> you have experienced. One thing I have found is that it is easier and
> quicker re-installing Linux than it is Windows so you might consider
> archiving your Windows installation on your second drive once you have it in
> a prostione condition or making a mirror copy on a DVD.
>
>  Of course at all time back up, back up, and back up again.
>
>
>
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