Hello: I am trying to make the switch to Linux, but am starting from the point of absolute cluelessness, so any help would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to install Suse Linux 9.1 on a Pentium III system that has 4 hard drives. Until I become proficient enough to depend upon Linux I want to retain my Windows OS as well. I want to use the fourth hard drive exclusively for Linux and except for the boot loader, which I assume must be on the C drive, I want to leave all the other drives for exclusive Windows use. My problem is that I am not sure that I understand how Linux indicates hard drives. Here is my best guess based on its partitioning recommendation. Windows: Linux: C:/ hda1 D:/ hdb1 E:/ hde1 F:/ hdf1 Now, this is what the installer proposes to do by way of partitioning: Resize Windows partition F: (/dev/hdf1) from 233.7 GB to 77.9 GB Create swap partition 776.5 MB on /dev/hdf2 Create root partition 155.0 GB (/dev/hdf3) with reiser) Set mount point of /dev/hda1 to /windows/C Set mount point of /dev/hdb1 to /windows/D Set mount point of /dev/hde1 to /window/E My question is what are hdf2 and hdf3? Are they different partitions on the F:/ drive? If so does this partition suggestion mean that the only drive that Linux will be using is the F:/ drive? As I said any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Mark Dixon
Mark H. Dixon wrote:
Hello:
I am trying to make the switch to Linux, but am starting from the point of absolute cluelessness, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am trying to install Suse Linux 9.1 on a Pentium III system that has 4 hard drives. Until I become proficient enough to depend upon Linux I want to retain my Windows OS as well. I want to use the fourth hard drive exclusively for Linux and except for the boot loader, which I assume must be on the C drive, I want to leave all the other drives for exclusive Windows use.
My problem is that I am not sure that I understand how Linux indicates hard drives. Here is my best guess based on its partitioning recommendation.
Windows: Linux: C:/ hda1 D:/ hdb1 E:/ hde1 F:/ hdf1
Now, this is what the installer proposes to do by way of partitioning:
Resize Windows partition F: (/dev/hdf1) from 233.7 GB to 77.9 GB Create swap partition 776.5 MB on /dev/hdf2 Create root partition 155.0 GB (/dev/hdf3) with reiser) Set mount point of /dev/hda1 to /windows/C Set mount point of /dev/hdb1 to /windows/D Set mount point of /dev/hde1 to /window/E
My question is what are hdf2 and hdf3? Are they different partitions on the F:/ drive? If so does this partition suggestion mean that the only drive that Linux will be using is the F:/ drive?
As I said any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Mark Dixon
A simple explanation of partition addressing in Linux for the Windows newbie: There are (usually ) two IDE controllers on a motherboard, the Primary controller and the Secondary controller. Each controller has two channels which allows two drives to be connected to each controller. The first drive on the Primary controller is labeled HDA, the second drive is labeled HDB. The first drive on the Secondary controller is HDC and the second drive on the Secondary controller is HDD. If you happen to have a SCSI controller or you are using a USB memory stick then they are labeled in the same fashion but with a SD prefix rather than the HD prefix. Now, a hard drive can have 4 Primary partitions or an unlimited number of Logical partitions. The Primary partitions are labeled 1-4 and the Logical partitions are labeled 5-?. So, the first primary partition on the first drive attached to the primary controller would be HDA1. By the suggestion that you were given, your linux installer wants to shrink HDF1 (Windows Drive F:), create two new partitions (HDF2&3) and install Linux onto them. The other drives (Windows Drive C:, D:, E:) will be given mount points so that they will be visible to Linux. Since it seems that you intend to dual boot Windows/Linux, I would suggest you do some research on it as Linux and Windows XP have been having some issues with coexisting. -- Donald Grayson Systems Administrator SportPaint, Inc.
On Thursday 24 June 2004 09:56, Donald Grayson wrote:
Mark H. Dixon wrote:
Hello:
I am trying to make the switch to Linux, but am starting from the point of absolute cluelessness, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am trying to install Suse Linux 9.1 on a Pentium III system that has 4 hard drives. /snip/
Since it seems that you intend to dual boot Windows/Linux, I would suggest you do some research on it as Linux and Windows XP have been having some issues with coexisting.
-- Donald Grayson Systems Administrator SportPaint, Inc.
I have xp on hda and SuSE 9.1 on hdb with its various partitions for swap, and so on. Suggest you move all your xp stuff off that last drive and devote it to Linux for simplicity's sake. You might want to make a small fat32 partition on it, for common file sharing. (I wish I had.) It was very easy to set up using the Pro disk set, except I could not figure out how to choose the file system, and had to default to Reiser, which has not given me any trouble. I have had my problems using Linux--most likely my own fault--but installing it was not one of them. You can read xp files from Linux, and there is supposed to be something that will read Reiser f/s from xp, but you may not be able to write to xp from Linux, altho there is a $69 program that claims to be able to. (Found with Google--don't remember the name.) --doug
On Thu, 2004-06-24 at 09:14, Mark H. Dixon wrote:
Hello:
I am trying to make the switch to Linux, but am starting from the point of absolute cluelessness, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am trying to install Suse Linux 9.1 on a Pentium III system that has 4 hard drives. Until I become proficient enough to depend upon Linux I want to retain my Windows OS as well. I want to use the fourth hard drive exclusively for Linux and except for the boot loader, which I assume must be on the C drive, I want to leave all the other drives for exclusive Windows use.
My problem is that I am not sure that I understand how Linux indicates hard drives. Here is my best guess based on its partitioning recommendation.
Windows: Linux: C:/ hda1 D:/ hdb1 E:/ hde1 F:/ hdf1
Now, this is what the installer proposes to do by way of partitioning:
Resize Windows partition F: (/dev/hdf1) from 233.7 GB to 77.9 GB Create swap partition 776.5 MB on /dev/hdf2 Create root partition 155.0 GB (/dev/hdf3) with reiser) Set mount point of /dev/hda1 to /windows/C Set mount point of /dev/hdb1 to /windows/D Set mount point of /dev/hde1 to /window/E
My question is what are hdf2 and hdf3? Are they different partitions on the F:/ drive? If so does this partition suggestion mean that the only drive that Linux will be using is the F:/ drive?
hdf2 and hdf3 are primary partitions on hdf. Do note that you are resizing the windows partition on hdf not eliminating it like you mention above. No matter how you slice it, if you are using hdf for your Linux install you will end up with at least two partitions on it. One for the swap file, and one for the OS file system. As suggested by the installer, only your hdf will contain Linux files, the other three hd's (hda, hdb, hdc) will be mounted for acess by your Linux system, and depending on their format type Fat or NTFS will be read\writable. (At this point a normal install will mount NTFS as read only, Fat as read\write.)
As I said any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I hope this helps some. Mike
Mark H. Dixon wrote:
I am trying to make the switch to Linux, but am starting from the point of absolute cluelessness, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am trying to install Suse Linux 9.1 on a Pentium III system that has 4 hard drives. Until I become proficient enough to depend upon Linux I want to retain my Windows OS as well. I want to use the fourth hard drive exclusively for Linux and except for the boot loader, which I assume must be on the C drive, I want to leave all the other drives for exclusive Windows use.
A boot loader for Linux can reside on a Linux / or /boot partition, but to start it requires a boot manager unless on the first BIOS drive and active. My Linux installs generally have Grub as boot loader on /boot, wherever that happens to be, as I generally use a boot manager.
My problem is that I am not sure that I understand how Linux indicates hard drives. Here is my best guess based on its partitioning recommendation.
Windows: Linux: C:/ hda1 D:/ hdb1 E:/ hde1 F:/ hdf1
What that indicates is that each of your disks currently has only one partition, in each case a primary.
Now, this is what the installer proposes to do by way of partitioning:
Resize Windows partition F: (/dev/hdf1) from 233.7 GB to 77.9 GB Create swap partition 776.5 MB on /dev/hdf2 Create root partition 155.0 GB (/dev/hdf3) with reiser) Set mount point of /dev/hda1 to /windows/C Set mount point of /dev/hdb1 to /windows/D Set mount point of /dev/hde1 to /window/E
My question is what are hdf2 and hdf3? Are they different partitions on the F:/ drive?
Yes. You may want to override the recommendation and use the whole drive for Linux.
If so does this partition suggestion mean that the only drive that Linux will be using is the F:/ drive?
Yes and no. It will be using only the #4 drive for itself, but will also have disks #1-3 accessible.
As I said any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
http://members.ij.net/mrmazda/partitioningindex.html should help with most partitioning and multiboot issues. -- "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20 NIV Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://members.ij.net/mrmazda/
participants (5)
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Donald Grayson -
Doug McGarrett -
Felix Miata -
Mark H. Dixon -
Mike McMullin