Second disk drive dedicated for Linux ?
What I wanted to do was use my second disk drive /dev/hdc exclusively for Linux while using System Commander or BootMagic to boot up 1) Windows ME 2) SuSE Linux 7.0 and 3) Caldera Linux 2.4. However I lost sight of the fact that since both SystemCommander and BootMagic are DOS/Win based they are unable to 'see' a drive that is entirely formatted for Linux.. Due to this oversight when I re-partitoned my second drive to accomodate Caldera Linux along with my already existing SuSe Linux, BootMagic / SystemCommander failed to boot either of them ! My only alternative then was to use MSDOS fdisk to reformat the second drive, create new partitions, and re-install both SuSE and Caldera Linux. However fdisk needed its own partition too on my second drive and so I had to allocate a minimum amount of space for a DOS partition too. Could anyone advise me of a simple way to get rid of the unwanted DOS partition while at the same time having a decent boot manager, or whether in the Linux world there are good equivalents to e.g. SystemCommander. Else would it be OK to install lilo in the MBR of my primary drive from two different Linux distros, without conflict beteen the two on the same MBR ?
What I wanted to do was use my second disk drive /dev/hdc exclusively for Linux while using System Commander or BootMagic to boot up 1) Windows ME 2) SuSE Linux 7.0 and 3) Caldera Linux 2.4. However I lost sight of the fact that since both SystemCommander and BootMagic are DOS/Win based they are unable to 'see' a drive that is entirely formatted for Linux..
Due to this oversight when I re-partitoned my second drive to accomodate Caldera Linux along with my already existing SuSe Linux, BootMagic / SystemCommander failed to boot either of them ! My only alternative then was to use MSDOS fdisk to reformat the second drive, create new partitions, and re-install both SuSE and Caldera Linux. However fdisk needed its own
too on my second drive and so I had to allocate a minimum amount of space for a DOS partition too.
Could anyone advise me of a simple way to get rid of the unwanted DOS
I am running two dual boot win98/95 linux boxes , I used to have win95/9 on the first drive and linux on the second drive , and used lilo to boot between them.Matero fact there was an artical in one of the recent linux mags on dual booting several diffrent linux versions using lilo. I ahve allways set up windows firts , then used the boot disk or boot cd to boot to install linux. Make DOUBLE SURE that when you get to the partioing section that you choose the correct disk ,or you will blow away windows. I would set the second drive with a /boot , / (root) and swap partion. The isntall process will set up lilo as well. I have allways had to redo the lilo thing in yast so that it will boot windows as default , is the suse set up has linux as defoault. I dont like others mucking with my linux stuff. If they trash windows I can re install it. I usualy install lilo to the MBR , and that has allways worked. Make sure you create a boot disk. That way if you ever neeed to reinstall windows (it overwrites lilo ) you can use it to boot into linux and re do lilo using yast. I prefer to use suse/yast/linux to do the partioning as the dos fdisk id not as good or flexable as the linux fdisk. You can use yast to setup the partions as well as the mount pionts as well. Not that the dos fdisk freaks out on meny of the linux created partions with the linux fdisk. So make sure you are creating those linux partions on your linux drive , as if you screw up your windows drive you are realy hosed and will not be able to recover you windows stuff. (who need it any way <grin> Right ) With todays 20 + gog drives you can put both linux and windows on the same drive if you want , using 4 partions , /boot dos/win partion , / (root) and /swap. At 11:02 PM 2/3/2001 +0100, Roy Leembruggen wrote: partition partition
while at the same time having a decent boot manager, or whether in the Linux world there are good equivalents to e.g. SystemCommander. Else would it be OK to install lilo in the MBR of my primary drive from two different Linux distros, without conflict beteen the two on the same MBR ?
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-----Original Message----- From: Roy Leembruggen [mailto:r.c.leembruggen@freeler.nl] Sent: Saturday, February 03, 2001 5:02 PM To: suse-linux-e@suse.com Subject: [SLE] Second disk drive dedicated for Linux ?
What I wanted to do was use my second disk drive /dev/hdc exclusively for Linux while using System Commander or BootMagic to boot up 1) Windows ME 2) SuSE Linux 7.0 and 3) Caldera Linux 2.4. However I lost sight of the fact that since both SystemCommander and BootMagic are DOS/Win based they are unable to 'see' a drive that is entirely formatted for Linux..
This is not true. If booted from a floppy both use Caldera Dr-DOS not MS-DOS and both can be installed to systems without the need for Windows. SysCom/PartCom and BM/Pm can both see, create, resize, and move Ext2 and Linux Swap partitions as well as most any other type you might think of except for Resf.
Due to this oversight when I re-partitoned my second drive to accomodate Caldera Linux along with my already existing SuSe Linux, BootMagic / SystemCommander failed to boot either of them !
Which are you using SC or BM? I use SC and inorder for an OS to be auto added to its boot record it must already be install to the MBR at the time that SC is installed or you must use the OS Wizard and start the installation from a floppy. If you choose to boot the installation from the CD, which is how I do, then after installation you must enter SC Setup and toggle the approprite partition as bootable, it will then be added to the boot record. ( This also applies to SuSe since you did not install Lilo to the MBR.) My only
alternative then was to use MSDOS fdisk to reformat the second drive, create new partitions, and re-install both SuSE and Caldera Linux. However fdisk needed its own partition too on my second drive and so I had to allocate a minimum amount of space for a DOS partition too.
Could anyone advise me of a simple way to get rid of the unwanted DOS partition while at the same time having a decent boot manager, or whether in the Linux world there are good equivalents to e.g. SystemCommander.
I have been and am very happy with SC. My system has 2 hds containing 7 OSes co-existing happily and each OS I boot successfully with SC.
Else would it be OK to install lilo in the MBR of my primary drive from two different Linux distros, without conflict beteen the two on the same MBR ?
You can configure Lilo from 1 of the distros you are using to include Windows, and the other distro and then install it to hda allowing you to choose either of the 3 at boot. Charles (-: Forever never goes beyond tomorrow.
participants (3)
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Charles A Edwards
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Roy Leembruggen
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Samy Elashmawy