On Thu, 14 Jun 2001, Jason Hataye wrote: > Here's what I want to DO: > 128 MB RAM > One 3 gig hard drive (in second IDE slot) > One 30 gig hard drive (in first IDE slot) > Red Hat Linux 7.1, give the partition about 2/3 of my HD space > Windoze 98, give the partition about 1/3 of my HD space > Use LILO to boot Here's how I would do it: 1. Make all the hardware play nice the way you want it. 2. Partition the drive from some manner of Linux rescue disk, giving Windows the beginning of the drive (minus a /boot, if you need it, and possibly swap - I like to keep that as a primary partition). 3. After the drive is partitioned, install Windows. It will overwrite your MBR, of course. 4. Boot with the Linux installer, make filesystems on the Linux partitions you've created, and install Linux. Make it install LILO on the master boot record. 5. If the Linux install didn't automatically add a stanza to lilo.conf for your Windows install, add one. 6. Do you need to share files from the 3GB drive between Linux and Windows? If so, copy all the files over to the 30GB drive, format the 3GB as vfat/fat32, and copy the files back over. Also, if you're open to experimentation with different distributions, this would be an excellent opportunity. :) Ones I would recommend trying are: - Progeny: nice installer and some good config tools. If you do this, *don't* create a /boot partition. Progeny uses GRUB instead of LILO, so the kernel doesn't need to be below the 1024th cylinder. - Debian: more command-line based, but excellent for configuration and maintenance - SuSE: solid install and configuration tools - YaST has been around for a long time and covers most config tasks. > QUESTION: Should I leave the 3gigHD "as is?" I'm afraid of having two > linux kernels, one on each HD. I can't just wipe out my 3gig HD because > I need the data. What do I do here? I see two possible choices, but > don't know how to execute either: 1) Have a kernel on each HD, but make > the computer only use the new one which is on the 30gigHD. --or-- 2) > Delete the old kernel (and any other "operating system" stuff, but > nothing else) on the 3gig HD. Any thoughts on what to do? There's no need to worry about having an extra kernel sitting around, except that it will be wasting space that could be taken up by other files. The default lilo.conf that gets installed on the MBR of the new drive won't boot the secondary drive unless you add a stanza for it. The BIOS will not touch the secondary drive for booting - it will only go to the first IDE hard drive. Pacem in Terris / Mir / Shanti / Salaam / Heiwa Kevin R. Bullock