How to install Suse pro 9.3 and Mandriva LE 2005 in the same Hard Drive

[dee24 0]

I Have Win XP and Suse Pro 9.3 in my PC. Now i want to install Mandriva LE 2005 in the same Hard Drive. Anyone can tell me the step to install? (Please give me the details information because I am newbie in Linux). Thanks

[danleff 0]

First, let's err on the side of caution, especially if this is your main system.

 

If you are installing another flavor of Linux just to try it out, I suggest putting the third OS on a second hard drive.

 

Your request is too long for a real post on this forum, but take a look at this thread.

 

You did not post ant specs. on your system, which would be helpful for us to guide you more effectively.

 

Assuming that you have enough disk space, you can resize your current partitions with a partition manager, like PartitionMagic or 7 Tools Partition Manager. Then install Mandriva, which will give you the option when it is finished to boot XP, SuSE and Mandriva. But, this requires a little knowledge on Linux, so that when you install Mandriva, you know what partition to use for Mandriva and not overtake one of your other OS installations.

 

Make sure if you decide to do this, that you defrag your Windows partition first and back up your data files. This assures that you dont lose any files that may have strayed toward the end of your Windows partition and may get lost when you resize your partitions.

 

But be aware, if you use only one hard drive, no guarantees. We have seen too many folks who try this and make a mistake, then post that they can't boot into Windows or their previous Linux OS anymore. The tools in Mandriva are good, but you need to keep track of your partitions and their linux assignment, just in case. And of course, when doing your most recent install, picking the correct partition for to install to.

 

Having two hard disks reduces this error.

 

I have no less than eight Linux distros on my current system, but not without some mistakes on my part!