Is it a good idea to set up my Windows XP + OpenSUSE dual-boot system like this, from scratch:
First, install Windows XP:
Insert the WinXP CD into the drive, reboot and boot into the CD.
Select Install Windows XP. When you get to the Partitioning Screen, delete all existing partitions and create a new NTFS partition for XP, but one that only occupies about 20GB out of my 40GB hard drive.
Install Windows XP on that 20GB partition.
After that, proceed to install openSUSE:
Boot from the openSUSE LiveCD.
When you reach the partitioning screen (Here’s where I’m confused, how exactly will the installer offer to use the 20GB free space; will it do it automatically or will I have to tell it exactly what to do?) choose to install openSUSE in the free 20GB space.
Is this the correct way of doing the job? And as I asked before, will the installer automatically detect the free, unpartitioned space and offer to install openSUSE there, or will I have to tell it exactly what to do?
Your approach is ok. I did it a little bit differently.
Fire up the SUSE Installation DVD, boot the recue system, make 2 primary partitions with fdisk; 1st is NTFS active, 2nd is ext3.
Install the “huge virus” into partition #1.
Install SUSE, selecting manual partitioning and arranging things to my taste. It’s possible to delete #2 at this step and create an extended partition or to go with primary partitions (root, swap, home |or| boot, swap, root).
Yast detected #1 (Vista in my case) and created the entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst correctly. It was running “out of the box”.
simple: your scheme will work and when you get to step 2 openSUSE
install unless something goes very wrong it will:
see the windows partition
see the free space partition
offer a suggested install partitioning scheme to dual boot by
loaded openSUSE into the free space (and slice up that partition into
three parts: root, swap and /home on three new individual partitions
replacing the one free space (probably about 8 GB root, and about 10
GB home…
and it will set up the dual boot system for you…
in addition to the cites others have given in this thread, i also
suggest you read and follow the advice in: http://tinyurl.com/6jwtg9
and review the install beforehand, so you kinda know what to expect,
here: http://en.opensuse.org/INSTALL_Local
reading those can ease the load a bit, and save time in the long run…
-welcome-
–
platinum
Note: Accuracy, completeness, legality, or usefulness of this posting
may be illusive.
Since I can dual-boot openSUSE like this with XP, do you think I can follow the same procedure and achieve the same result with a Windows 7 - OpenSUSE dual-boot?
> Since I can dual-boot openSUSE like this with XP, do you think I can
> follow the same procedure and achieve the same result with a Windows 7 -
> OpenSUSE dual-boot?
well, the problem is that each new OS which i’ve seen released by that
company in Redmond always does something a little different and seems
to always ‘accidentally’ make it just a little bit harder to work with
another system on the disk…
i remember way back when there was just Win3.1 and IBM’s OS/2 Warp
battling it out and M$ introduced NT as the new operating system
which was gonna solve all the user problems of Win3.1…well, all the
folks who were dual booting Win3.1 and OS/2 who tried to install NT to
replace 3.1 suddenly found that their OS/2 no longer would boot…
surprise!
and, so it goes…when Vista came out the Linux dual booters had to
adjust…and, i guess when Win7 is finally released, its final code
will have a little tweak (‘improving’ and or ‘innovating’ past the XP
and Vista way) which will cause all dual boots with GRUB to have to
make some adjustment somewhere, or Linux just will NOT boot…
back in the OS/2 days we used to say that MS had a slogan about their
code development: It ain’t done until Warp won’t run.
BrownieCat
Since I can dual-boot openSUSE like this with XP, do you think I can follow the same procedure and achieve the same result with a Windows 7 - OpenSUSE dual-boot?
This will work with what I have seen on the public release candidate for Win7.
In case there is a problem, look at the thread Fixing vista multiboot with openSUSE - openSUSE Forums.
I seem to remember when I installed it I had to fix the grub boot.