Appendix G. Configuring a Dual Boot System

123

This choice available to you only if the computer has two or more hard drives or disk partitions.

If a local Windows partition is available in which you want to install Linux, complete the following

steps:

1. Copy all data you want to save from the selected hard drive or partition (

D:

in this example) to

another location.

2. Start the Red Hat Linux installation program and tell it to install Linux in the designated drive

or partition   in this example, in the hard drive or partition that Windows designates as

D:

.

Note that Linux distinguishes between hard drives and disk partitions. Thus:

If

C:

and

D:

on this computer refer to two separate hard drives, the installation program will

recognize them as

hda

and

hdb

(IDE) or

sda

and

sdb

(SCSI). Tell the installation program

to install on

hdb

or

sdb

.

If

C:

and

D:

refer to partitions on a single drive, the installation program will recognize them

as

hda1

and

hda2

(or

sda1

and

sda2

). During the partitioning phase of the Red Hat Linux

installation, delete the second partition (

hda2

or

sda2

), then partition the unallocated free

space for Linux. You do not have to delete the second partition prior to starting the Red Hat

Linux installation.

G.1.3. Create a New Partition

The third way to make room for Linux is to create a new partition for Red Hat Linux on the hard drive

being used by the other operating system. If Windows Explorer shows only one hard drive (

C:

), and

you do not want to add a new hard drive, you must partition the drive. After partitioning, Windows

Explorer will see a smaller

C:

drive; and, when you run the Red Hat Linux installation program, you

can partition the remainder of the drive for Linux.

You can use a destructive partitioning program, such as fdisk, to divide the hard drive, but doing so

will require you to re install Windows. (This is probably not your best option.)

A number of non destructive third party partitioning programs are available for the Windows operat 

ing system. If you choose to use one of these, consult their documentation.

For instructions on how to partition with FIPS, a program that is on the Red Hat Linux CD ROM,

refer to Section G.3.

G.2. Installing Red Hat Linux in a Dual Boot Environment

After Windows is installed and you have free disk space ready for Linux, you can start the Red Hat

Linux installation program. Go to Chapter 1 to begin. At this point, the only difference between a

Red Hat Linux installation and configuring a dual boot system during the Red Hat Linux installation

is partitioning the hard drive and configuring the boot loader. When you are at the Disk Partitioning

Setup screen as described in Section 3.16, return to this section.

G.2.1. Disk Partitioning

At the Disk Partitioning Setup screen of the installation program, you have a few options. Depending

on which option you choose, the steps for configuring a dual boot system vary. If you do not know

how many Linux partitions to create, refer to Section 3.18 for a recommended partitioning scheme. If

you choose: