cruicent

Hi, I have been using XP for ages now and found my brothers Mandrake 7.2 desktop box lying around so I thought since I was going to format and reinstall XP anyway I would also give Linux ago. Main problem is - the manuals are in french...er...yeah. I want to use XP as the main OS and have linux as the second. I have two drives - 30gb and 70gb. Would I be able to partition the 30gb and install XP on the first partition and Linux on the second without a problem (I read fat32 is best for dual boots, but the second drive I need ntfs due to large files)? Im sure my brothers done it before, I just have no idea how to. Another prob is I prefer to use my usb keyboard which it doesnt work until XP has booted, I have a pin keyboard (I think, recently gave it to my sister to play with so Im hoping it still works...). Would I be able to boot linux by inserting a floppy disk and not having to choose the OS as that wont work with my usb (I can use the pin to change the boot sequence to attempt to boot a:\ first before trying c:\ ). Could someone please help me with a simple stepped guide to installing and doing all this. Thanks for any help.

Idiot? Yes. No matter how many times I read to "install lilo on the master boot record of drive", it always seemed to be read by me as "install on bootsector of partition"... Thanks for your help, linux installed and working well.

Ive just ried it again and I definatly pressed install for the bootloader on /dev/hda5. Still nothing when I restart.

I thought I did, maybe not. Ive formated it again anyway and will try installing it again in a moment.

I was having a problem with the partitioning, I didnt understand what it was saying in the install help file on the desktop, the link you gave was great though thanks. I have one tiny problem though: It seemed to install fine, partitioned with \ , \swap and \home , set up the root password and new account, it then said to restart the pc and not to forget to take out the cd. It got some sort of error while shutting down though I think (cant remember what it was). When I turn on the pc again it goes straight into Windows, I dont have an option to choose my OS and I never saw anything to do with Lilo. SiS 650 motherboard I believe.

Ok, Ive formatted everything, installed XP on the first partition of the first drive, and I intend to put PCLinuxOS on the 2nd partition of the first drive. I can get the live cd to boot fine Im just having trouble installing it with the instructions it gave. WOuld someone be able to guide me? Thanks for any help.

Thanks for your replies Originally posted by danleff: Quote: You did not mention what your system is that you want to install Linux on. Giving some information would help...how much ram, processor on the system and what make video card would help determine what Linux distro (flavor) is best to try. Intel P4 1.715 mhz (x86 family) 512MB ram motherboard - Sis650, manufacturer - Gigabyte technology Nvidia GeForce4 MX with AGP8X, 64mb ram Windows XP Prof sp2 (will be installing home though)