Installing OpenSuse 12.3 beside Win7 Ultimate

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

I have HP PAckarde Bell PAvillion g6 , with AMD Vision 8 CPU. I have WIn 7 Ultimate on iyt, but when I want to install OpenSuse 12. 3 I get information that parted cannot read /dev/sda partitioning.
Please advise.

#2

So consider that there must be space there to install openSUSE. There are issues that exists as to how you will boot into openSUSE. For help in understanding partitioning, look here:

Creating Partitions During Install for MBR and GPT Hard Disks - Blogs - openSUSE Forums

We need to know if this is a MBR or GPT partitioned disk. MBR is most likely with Windows 7 I would think. You could go into the Windows Partition/Drive manager, make a screen capture, pair it down to 512K or less and post it here as an image that does not expire: SUSE Paste

You can then post a link for us here to see or at least tells us:

  1. Size of entire disk
  2. Number and size of each partition
  3. Where do you expect to install the three openSUSE partitions of SWAP, root / and /home?

I have often went into Windows and did the following:

  1. Uninstall (not just delete) unwanted applications
  2. Empty the garbage
  3. Remove all temp files through the Windows disk utilities
  4. Do Defrag of your Windows Partition.
  5. Reduce the size of Windows partition by 40 to 80 GB in size
  6. With 40-80 GB of free hard disk space install openSUSE.

Do not create partitions for openSUSE to use from Windows. The disk space needs to be free and blank and not in control of Windows.

Thank You,

#3

Hello,

It is GPT disk with 912 GB space. There is nothing installed except plain Windows so there is more than sufficient space. I would spare for Windows 200GB and the rest for Open Suse. There is no anything installed. Just freshly installed Windows 7.

PLease advise,

Veki

#4

So, in order to install openSUSE on this disk, you must select the EFI boot from your UEFI setup in your PC. The openSUSE DVD is a hybrid disk that includes UEF booting. Here is an article on the subject:

https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:UEFI

A GPT disk format complicates the ability to boot between different OS’ and in any event, requires an EFI boot selected by any OS during the install. There are only a couple of reasons now to use GPT over MBR and that is because the boot disk is larger than 2.2 TB or you have Windows 8 in secure boot configuration. If the GPT disk is not the boot disk, it can exist just fine with Windows and openSUSE on a MBR boot disk as a data disk that can be larger than 2.2 TB. If this was me, I would wipe out the GPT boot disk and reinstall everything as MBR, but you can get GPT to work, but after the install of openSUSE, for which you may need to manually create partitions on an existing setup, you may need to select the proper OS to boot from your PC every time. What size is your hard disk and how did it become GPT formatted?

Thank You,

PS I see that the disk size does not require a GPT disk format.

#5

Also is the whole disk taken up by the Windows partition. How is the partition formatted??

#6

veki wrote:

> It is GPT disk
Then I think you need a fake msdos partition (bios_grub) at the start
of the HD for Linux to work anyway.

#7

On 2013-07-21 13:16, veki wrote:
>
> I have HP PAckarde Bell PAvillion g6 , with AMD Vision 8 CPU. I have
> WIn 7 Ultimate on iyt, but when I want to install OpenSuse 12. 3 I get
> information that parted cannot read /dev/sda partitioning.
> Please advise.

Please post the exact parted error message.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

#8

I do not need GPT. IT came like that as factory default setting. I deleted all partitions from HD and installed WIndows 7 Ultimate on it on NTFS partition. I would like to do MBR but when instllation procedure detects hd it says that it cannot read partitioning on /dev/sda and that I cannot do edit, resize, delete of partitions.
Do you have any suggestion how to make it able to read /dev/sda partitioning?
Thanks,

veki
So that is the catch.

#9

Hello,

yes, whole partition is taken by WIN7 and it is formatted as NTFS by the Windows 7 installation program.

Thanks,

veki

#10

To wipe out everything and start over (if you have a data backup and a way to reinstall Windows), you would need to download a LiveDVD or USB openSUSE image. Using Linux gdisk from a LiveDVD, you would use this procedure to wipe out the disk:

  1. Input “sudo gdisk” into Terminal, then press “Enter” to run gdisk as a superuser. Input the name assigned to the boot device, then press “Enter” again.
  1. Press “r,” then hit “Enter,” to switch to the recovery and transformation options. Press “g,” then press “Enter,” to select the option to convert GPT to MBR on Linux.
  1. Press “0,” then press “Enter,” to convert GPT to MBR on the primary partitions. Press “y,” then “Enter,” to finalize and exit.

Create that LiveDVD before you make any other moves and make sure it works.

Thank You,

#11

On 2013-07-21 22:46, veki wrote:
> I do not need GPT. IT came like that as factory default setting. I
> deleted all partitions from HD and installed WIndows 7 Ultimate on it on
> NTFS partition. I would like to do MBR but when instllation procedure
> detects hd it says that it cannot read partitioning on /dev/sda and that
> I cannot do edit, resize, delete of partitions.
> Do you have any suggestion how to make it able to read /dev/sda
> partitioning?

It would not matter what type of partition setup, MBR or GPT you have in
order to read the setup. Changing is another thing.

The output of “parted -l” would perhaps help to learn why.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

#12

I deleted all partitions from HD and installed WIndows 7 Ultimate on it on NTFS partition. I would like to do MBR but

Wiping a HD is not sufficient to change from GPT to MBR MSDOS

You need to re-write the partition table with Gparted

Gparted
From the top menu > Device > Create Partition Table > msdos

You will get a warning about it erasing all data > OK

You will end up with a wiped disk, all unallocated msdos (mbr) partition table.

You can now create partitions for windows and Linux as required

#13

Hello,

yes, I do that with gparted and when I install Linux it wipes partition of WIndows and I Do not have dual boot. How to make that step better?

Best wishes,

Vedran

#14

Does your machine have UEFI?
James asked you this here: https://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/install-boot-login/488881-installing-opensuse-12-3-beside-win7-ultimate.html#post2573542
I’m not sure how windows 7 fits in with UEFI. My guess is it doesn’t, so either you don’t have it or you turned it off?

If you don’t have UEFI. You could use GPT but only IF you had a fake msdos partition for boot

Earlier you said you want to use msdos MBR partitioning
To do that you must re-write the partition table… so unfortunately you will need to install windows again.

#15

I got information in Yast during installation that GRUB/MBR option is not supported in X64 technology. Any suggestion?

Thanks,

Veki

#16

I need more information than you are providing.

Are you actually installing now? Did you start with a new partition table. If you do, you should install windows first.

Again… Is your machine EFI?

#17

Hello,
As I noted above, the Windows is installed already. It takes cca 270GB. The rest is unallocated space that shoudl Linux use. Yes, machine is EFI. Interestingly enough I have had Windows 8 on it and openSuse 12.1 was installed flawlessly.

Please let me know do zou need more information.

Thanks,

veki

#18

On 2013-07-22 13:16, veki wrote:

> Please let me know do zou need more information.

YES!

Please reread the entire thread and answer ALL the questions we have asked.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

#19

Hello,

let me summarize since many people suggest various solutions based on various approaches.
I have installed WIndows 7 Ultimate on partition of size 246GB. The WIndows partition is NTFS. The rest of space on HD 683.5 GB is unallocated.
Some infromation about boot in BIOS
Legacy support is enabled
Secure Boot Disabled
UEFI Boot order
Internal CD/DVD ROM drive
OS boot manager
USB diskette…
Legacy boot order:
Notebook Hard drive
Internal CD/DVD ROM Drive
Boot option menu:
Boot from EFI file

I used gparted deleted all partitions and freshly installed Windows 7 in partitions as stated above. When I try to install Open Suse 12.3 Linux it suggests to delete Window partition and install Linux only. It suggests as boot loader option GRUB-UEFI It odes not accept MBR since it prompts that combination of GRUB2 /MBR Does not work in X64 bit technology.
Please advise.

Thanks,

veki

#20

On 2013-07-22 14:56, veki wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> let me summarize since many people suggest various solutions based on
> various approaches.
> I have installed WIndows 7 Ultimate on partition of size 246GB. The
> WIndows partition is NTFS. The rest of space on HD 683.5 GB is
> unallocated.
> Some infromation about boot in BIOS
> Legacy support is enabled
> Secure Boot Disabled
> UEFI Boot order
> Internal CD/DVD ROM drive
> OS boot manager
> USB diskette…
> Legacy boot order:
> Notebook Hard drive
> Internal CD/DVD ROM Drive
> Boot option menu:
> Boot from EFI file
>
> I used gparted deleted all partitions and freshly installed Windows 7
> in partitions as stated above. When I try to install Open Suse 12.3
> Linux it suggests to delete Window partition and install Linux only. It
> suggests as boot loader option GRUB-UEFI It odes not accept MBR since it
> prompts that combination of GRUB2 /MBR Does not work in X64 bit
> technology.
> Please advise.

You forget:

The output of “parted -l”.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)