Jerry Feldman wrote:
One possible solution that I suggested would be to use Partition Magic to insert a small /boot partition as the first primary. Since he is using XP, this should not cause a problem with Windows.
In any case, I am looking for a workable solution where he can retain the existing WindowsXP 50GB partition.
IMO this is the best option for dual-boot systems. It doesn't matter what flavour of Windows is already on the system, because any non-Windows primary partitions can always be marked "inactive" in GRUB, prior to Windows bootup. This is as good opportunity to teach your friend about mount points. Note that the /boot partition cannot be Reiser or XFS if you want to minimize drivespace requirements -- the partition doesn't need to be more than a few MB (20 should be more than enough), but Reiser in particular needs a minimum of about 120 MB just for its journalling.