[luau] Dual Booting with WinXP Pro

[Eric Hattemer]

On Thu, 2002-11-07 at 23:13, Brandon Jasper wrote:

> Windows will generally try to install its own bootloader NTLDR in the MBR,
> NT and 2k does so I expect XP would do so as well.

Yeah, winxp almost certainly will rewrite the MBR.  

On 11/7/02 7:05 PM, "W. Wayne Liauh" <LiauhW001 at hawaii.rr.com> wrote:

> Thanks.  I think you just answered the first part of my question, in
> that I should be able to install WinXP Pro in any of the three primary
> partitions.  If this is not correct, please let me know.
> 
> (It should be noted that although textbooks say that there are "four"
> primary partitions, since the fourth one will be used to create
extended
> partitions, there are only three primary partitions in which to
install
> a bootable partition.  Also, since Win98 does not use MBR, I am pretty
> sure that you must install Win98 in the first primary partition,
unless
> you install a multiple booting tool first, such as Norton something.)

I'm not sure I agree with you here...  See, first, a lot of the time you
don't need extended partitions.  I try to avoid them at all costs.  I
have two hard drives, so that helps a bit, but you could easily organize
it as:

Linux Swap
Boot
Windows
Linux

And have two OS on 4 partitions.  Now if you want a third OS, you can
replace the boot partition.  

As far as overwriting the MBR goes, what you can do is put LILO onto the
the linux/boot partition instead of the MBR.  This sets the MBR to chain
load lilo.  Then when XP writes over the MBR, it doesn't write over
lilo.  All you need to do now is go into NT fdisk (control
pannel/administrative tools/computer management), and set the linux/boot
partition as the only active partition.  This will restore the situation
with no need for a boot disk.  

But yes, probably the best method would be to think long and hard about
how you want the partitions to be.  Then, even though the NT and linux
partitioning programs have similar functionallity, I prefer to use the
linux one.  So boot a linux CD, run fdisk, set up the partitions the way
you like them.  Save that and reboot with the win CD.  You probably will
want at this point to remove and put back the windows partition just so
that windows formats it properly.  Windows NT+ does not need to be
installed to the first partition.  Then once that's finished and happy,
install the linux to the leftover partitions.  

-Eric Hattemer