I am trying to dual boot my Windows 7 laptop with OpenSUSE Gnome. When I boot with a live Gnome USB 13.1 and start the installation process it does not see my Windows 7 operating system and offer to shrink it, so I aborted the process. There are many ways to dual boot a laptop, and I am wondering which is the safest way and how to do it step by step. This is my first attempt at dual booting a computer. I seem to be only on the path to destruction.
On 2014-05-20 01:16, New123 wrote:
>
> I am trying to dual boot my Windows 7 laptop with OpenSUSE Gnome. When I
> boot with a live Gnome USB 13.1 and start the installation process it
> does not see my Windows 7 operating system and offer to shrink it, so I
> aborted the process. There are many ways to dual boot a laptop, and I am
> wondering which is the safest way and how to do it step by step. This is
> my first attempt at dual booting a computer. I seem to be only on the
> path to destruction.
We need some info.
From that live, open a terminal and run:
sudo fdisk -l
and paste it all here, and please do so inside code tags (the ‘#’ button
in the forum editor).
See photo
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Minas Tirith))
Thank you for the reply. I have tried the command in the live disk and my results are shown in the URL below. The cut and paste did not work. I am new to this form of posting images. I hope you see it. Thank you.
it does not see my Windows 7 operating system
and offer to shrink it
This is a bit of a oxymoron isn’t it
I suggest you partition you HDD manually but first you should backup important files in windows and defrag windows. Then create free space using the windows disk management tool. Then use gparted cd to create partitions in the free space for openSUSE.
Now start the openSUSE install and follow this
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10573557/13.1_install/13.1_install.pdf
On 2014-05-20 06:26, New123 wrote:
>
> Thank you for the reply. I have tried the command in the live disk and
> my results are shown in the URL below. The cut and paste did not work. I
> am new to this form of posting images. I hope you see it. Thank you.
>
> [image: http://susepaste.org/45025168]
Mmmm… I do not see why the install would fail… :-?
Another possibility is shrink the windows partition (number 2 in the
photo), as much as you can/wish, but from inside Windows. Leave it
unpartitioned. Then boot the Linux install disk, which should see that
free space and offer to install on it. It will need to create an
extended partition on that space, and inside, 2 or 3 Linux partition.
That is what I did with my laptop, a Compaq, with about the same layout
as yours:
minas-tirith:~ # fdisk -l /dev/sda
Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk label type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xb4e583dd
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 2048 409599 203776 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda2 409600 333279231 166434816 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda3 950562816 976771071 13104128 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda4 * 333284490 950549984 308632747+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 333284553 345863384 6289416 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 345863448 346265009 200781 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 346265073 409175549 31455238+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda8 409175613 935850509 263337448+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda9 935850573 950549984 7349706 83 Linux
Partition table entries are not in disk order
minas-tirith:~ #
The dificulty is shrinking Windows first. You may need to unfragment it
in advance, and disable disk swapping and the hibernation image (sorry,
I forgot the Windows names for them both). They can be large files,
unmovable, right in the middle of the partition. There is advice in
Internet on how to do that… I should have the links somewhere… :-?
Anyway, I was unable to do it. There were some files in the middle which
I could not move, and it would just allow me to shrink very little. I
ended up by restoring computer to factory condition (using the recovery
partition), and then just after booting Windows and creating admin and
user account, shrink it before installing or using the thing (swap had
to be disabled, too).
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Minas Tirith))
I agree, except on one point.
The Windows Disk Management tool is limited, will not shrink your partition as much as the partition can be reduced. Then, after you have used the WDM to shrink the partition, you cannot use another tool to resize the partition.
So, if you have not used WDM to change the partition size in the past, use GParted instead. You will have far more control over the final partition size, and it will not break your Windows system.
… but first run Windows CHKDSK, defragment the partition, then run CHKDSK once more. Then do your resizing.
You can then use the GParted utility to create the Linux partitions. I recommend using ext4 for those, at this time.
Hmmm.
I have not run into that, in any of the many times I have done it, when doing the job – as I just outlined – using GParted or another 3rd party partitioning tool. Unless, of course, as I mentioned, the partition has previously been resized by WDM.
But, I cannot say with absolute certainty that it is a non-problem, just that I have not run into it so far.
Anyway, New123](https://forums.opensuse.org/member.php/83545-New123), try the method I just outlined and see if it works.
Thank you everyone for all of the help! I am back from hesitation and distraction. I have decided to dual boot a different computer first from the one I had described earlier because my laptops take turns annoying me. I have freed 225 gigs for OpenSuse GNome and have left 356 gigs for Windows 7 Home Premium. I have expanded and shrunk my C drive a few times since I could not decide how much to give to which operating system. I hope I am selecting the correct number of mib for improved speed and efficiency. I was disconcerted when I found that with the 200 gigs I had freed earlier the partition editor from GParted said that there was 1 mib more than 200 gigs I had freed, yet Window’s partition editor said that there was available 1 mib less than I had freed, but OpenSuse saw the correct amount which it wanted to create an extended partition for in the Yast partition editor with the live USB I am working from. I would have to look further into the way GParted works and the other topics like which partition editor is preferable, but I want to move forward right now, and I guess it looks alright from this point. I am curious about which way of dual booting is safest, least messy, and works the best etc. Below is what the Yast partition editor wants to do with my unpartitioned 225 gigs of free space. I am having trouble following the partitioning instructions posted since the sda goes from one to three and there is no sda seven to start the instructions with. Thank you.
*Create extended partition /dev/sda4 (224.99 GB)
*Create swap volume /dev/sda5 (2.01 GB)
*Create root volume /dev/sda6 (20.00 GB) with ext4
*Create volume /dev/sda7 (202.98 GB) for /home with ext4
Follow the install guide by going the advanced route
set the mount points for sda6 as /
and sda 7 as /home
If you can’t see everything, make sure you expand the tree on the left first
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10573557/12.3_install_complete/12.3_install/6.png
I saw the sda 1 through 7 briefly, and now it is sda 1 through 3 again and I am not certain why. Sorry about my sloppy earlier post.
Ups! I have found the sda 1 through 7. Sorry.
Sorry I should not be doing this so late at night. Anyway, I get sda 1 through 7 and it says on page ten of the 13.1_intall pdf that I should not format sda8 although sda6 and sda7 on my laptop coincide with sda7 and sda8. I wonder if I will be able to access my files in Windows and if that is really what it means. I would like to be able to access the same files from both operating systems and should look into that, but I want to get this done before I move.
Sorry I have made lots of silly mistakes tonight. Anyway, I am not clear why I would need to not format the /home or highest numbered sda to be able to access my files through Windows on the pdf posted. I have not tried to access files between operating systems before. Some people format it when they dual boot, and I prefer to format it although NTFS is Windows compatible. I am not completely clear about all of the system ID options to label it I guess if I am not formatting it. I will worry about how to make my files accessible by both operating systems after the fact I guess because I am trying to finish it finally. Also, the pdf instructs to change the boot loader settings to boot from the mbr, extended partition etc. My computer is giving the booting options to enable booting from the mbr and / partition which is set to disable. Someone else doing a configuration that looks similar to mine does not change it, so I will follow suite since I am not certain about it and hope it works. The examples of not booting from mbr etc are in virtual boxes I noticed. There is a lot I need to learn about here. This looks risky, but I am going to try to get it done.
I enabled the booting from MBR and / since I don’t know how Linux will boot. I can’t decide. I am scared!
I will wait until I understand better the two issues above. I will try again in the daytime. Do I need to use another program to handle the booting of Windows and Linux? I am not using GParted or anything else right now. I am just unclear how to configure the boot loader, and a bit unclear about formatting and accessing files between systems which seems like a smaller issue to me.
Follow the guide and you will be fine
The bootloader seems to be the least of your worries.
What concerns me is your significant lack of understanding. Which can be disastrous.
Thank you for the response. I lack understanding of how the boot-loader will work, if I need third party software to deal with this, and weather or not to enable or disable booting from mbr and /. I would like to learn how this works. I see different people use different setups in this area, but do not know why. My situation seems slightly different. I have only created space in Windows 7 and am trying to install from the live USB where Linux is creating the extended partition and everything inside. I am trying to insert an image, but it seems to be messed up this time. Here is an image of the screen I have doubts about. I hope you can see it because it seems not to be working as well this time. Sorry. http://susepaste.org/64600093 http://susepaste.org/64600093
You don’t need anything. But you should know if your BIOS is the old style or the new EFI. It makes a difference.
Assuming old BIOS and MBR formatted drive
The old MBR stype drive can have a max of 4 primary partitions, To get around the limit one of the primaries can be an extended partition which then can hold many logical partition.
So for easiest install with a Single partitioned windows is to remove all partitions not being used by Windows. Then let the installer make the new partitions. If the Windows is hogging all the primaries ie uses more ten 4 (happens from some manufacturers) You need to get rid of at least one and replace with an extended or let the installer do it.
For EFI BIOS and GPT partitioning things are different since the partition limit is much higher then you would ever use and there is no need for extended partitions. But it looks like you have the old BIOS and thus should simply follow the above, but that is not clear. If the machine is less then 3 yeas old chances are that it has an EFI BIOS. You could still install to MBR but it becomes a bit more complicated.
Note that the install will present you with a suggested partition scheme you have options to change it if it seems incorrect or not what you want… Probably should check here first before accepting one that seems wrong.
Hint be careful following random instructions form the internet since you seldom know when they are written and what version they were written for. Follow instruction only from the page you downloaded from.