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<title>Windows/Linux Dual Boot LG #38</title>
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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</H4>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<font color="navy">A <I>Linux Journal</I> Preview</font>:
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This article will appear in the April 1998 issue of <I>Linux
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Journal</I> due out this month.
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<center>
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<H1><font color="maroon">Windows/Linux Dual Boot</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:vince@control-escape.com">Vince Veselosky</a></H4>
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</center>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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So you've heard great things about Linux: faster, cheaper,
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more efficient, more stable. Sounds good. You'd like to try
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it out, but probably have a lot of time and data invested in Windows
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and can't afford to be down while figuring out how to use
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Linux for your daily tasks.
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Windows and Linux can live comfortably on the same computer, even on
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the same hard drive. The choice of operating system can be made
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when you power on. This is commonly called a ``dual boot''
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configuration, and one of the most common questions among new Linux users
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is how to set it up.
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<p>
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My system is a Pentium II 400MHz with 128MB of RAM and an 11GB EIDE
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(actually Ultra-DMA 33 ATAPI, for you hardware gurus) hard drive.
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The hard drive had Windows 95 ``C'' on one big FAT32-formatted
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C: drive, which is a typical factory configuration. I tested installs
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of Red Hat Linux 5.1 and SuSE Linux 5.2.
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<p>
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Before starting, there are two terms you need to be familiar with:
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<i>partition</i> and <i>file system</i>. The disk can be divided into smaller, separate
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pieces which can belong to different owners. For dual booting, Windows
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will own some and Linux will own others. The word ``partition''
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does not refer to the wall; it refers to the separated space. Thus,
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we say Windows is installed ``on'' the first partition.
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The <i>file system</i> is a method of organization. Your hard drive can
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have different file systems. The operating system provides the <i>directory
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tree</i> (also referred to as ``the file system'')
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as a catalog of available files. Every operating system has its
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own type of file system, and other operating systems often don't
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know how to read it. Lucky for us, Linux is a versatile operating system
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and it does understand the file system used by Windows 95 and Windows 98.
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<p>
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<h3>Making Room for Linux</h3>
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<p>
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Most factory-installed Windows installations take up all the space
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on your hard drive, leaving no room for installing Linux. The first and
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most difficult thing we must do is clear some space where Linux can be
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installed. Linux needs to have partitions of its own, but Windows does
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not have the ability to resize partitions. Ordinarily, this would mean
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you would have to delete your existing partition (and everything on it)
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to make room on the drive and then create partitions of smaller sizes
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and reinstall. You can still do this, but there is a better way.
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<p>
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<h3>What You Need</h3>
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<p>
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Most Linux distributions come with a special tool to allow you
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to resize or divide hard drive partitions. Called FIPS, the First
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(non-destructive) Interactive Partition Splitter, it is normally found on
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your Linux CD in a directory called /dosutils. You will also need a blank,
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formatted floppy disk to use as a boot disk. For most older Windows
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installations, that should be all. However, if you have Windows 98 or a
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recent version of Windows 95 with a large hard drive (bigger than 2GB),
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you may need some additional tools if you are using the FAT32 file system.
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<p>
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To check what type of file system Windows is using, open Windows
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Explorer, right click on the C: drive and choose Properties. If
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you see ``File System: FAT32'' on the General tab, you will
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need some additional tools to support this newer file system.
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<p>
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<h3>FAT32 Support Requirements</h3>
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<p>
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To adjust your partitions, you will need version 2.0 or higher of FIPS.
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If the version included with your Linux distribution is older than this,
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the latest version is available for download from the FIPS home page
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at http://www.igd.fhg.de/~aschaefe/fips/. If you want to share files
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between Windows and Linux (a good idea), you will also need to
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have version 2.0.34 or higher of the Linux kernel. Table 1 is a list of
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Linux distributions known to support FAT32. If your distribution does
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not include support, you will need to upgrade the kernel. Upgrading a
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kernel is beyond the scope of this article, so check the
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documentation included with your distribution or your distributor's
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web site for information about how to do that.
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<p>
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<h3>Table 1. Distributions with FAT32 Support</h3>
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<table>
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<tr>
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<td>Distribution:</td>
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<td>Earliest Version with FAT32 support</td>
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</tr><tr>
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<td>Red Hat Linux:</td>
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<td>Version 5.1 (kernel 2.0.34)</td>
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</tr><tr>
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<td>SuSE Linux:</td>
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<td>Version 5.3 (kernel 2.0.35)</td>
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</tr><tr>
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<td>Debian GNU/Linux:</td>
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<td>Version 2.0 (kernel 2.0.34)</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<h3>Preparing Your Drive</h3>
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<p>
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Before you can resize your Windows partition, a few steps must
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be taken to ensure that the process goes smoothly. First, delete any
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files from your hard drive that are not being used; for example, any old
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files in the C:\windows\temp folder, and then empty your recycle
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bin. Next, check your file system for errors using Scandisk, and compact
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your hard drive using Defrag. I'll assume you Windows users know
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how to do this. When running Scandisk, be sure to check the box next to
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``Automatically Fix Errors''. Defragmentation consolidates
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all your data at the ``front'' of the drive to make room at
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the ``back'' of the drive for your new partition.
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<p>
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When both are finished, it would be wise to note how much space is
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available on the disk. If this number is less than the amount required
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to load Linux (check your distribution's documentation for space
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requirements), you'll need to delete more files or uninstall some
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software to make room.
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<p>
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<h3>Using FIPS</h3>
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<p>
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Before using FIPS, you <i>must</i> read the FIPS.DOC text file
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which accompanies the program. The use of the program is not entirely
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obvious, and you may need the background information the documentation
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provides. Also, while running FIPS you should carefully read all the
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messages it displays. They will provide valuable information on the
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steps you will need to take next. Most importantly, FIPS comes with no
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warranty. Although it has been used safely many times, there is
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always the chance it could damage the data on your hard drive. If
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you value your data, <i>back it up</i> before you begin.
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<p>
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For safety, create a DOS or Windows boot disk to work from. To do
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this, click Start <tt>-></tt> Settings
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<tt>-></tt> Control
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Panel. Double click ``Add/Remove Programs'' and select the
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tab called Startup Disk. Press the button and follow the instructions.
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<p>
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Next, copy the working files for FIPS to the floppy. The files FIPS.EXE,
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RESTORRB.EXE and ERRORS.TXT are mandatory. You may also want to copy
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the documentation files included with FIPS. When your data is backed
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up, restart your computer and boot from the new floppy.
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<p>
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When you arrive at the <tt>A:></tt> prompt, type
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<tt>FIPS</tt> and press enter. A warning will appear
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about using FIPS in multitasking environments like Windows. Since we
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booted from a floppy, we are safe, so press enter. FIPS
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will analyze your existing partitions. It may pause for a long time at
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``Checking FAT'' and ``Searching for Free Space'';
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this is perfectly normal, so just wait. The bigger your hard drive,
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the longer it will take. When FIPS is done with its analysis, it will
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display the results. You may get a warning of something being wrong with your
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FAT. If you read the message carefully, you will find that this is normal
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with large hard drives and will not prevent FIPS from working properly.
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<p>
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FIPS will then demonstrate how it plans to split the existing partition
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and you will have the opportunity to make changes. Do <i>not</i> just press
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enter. By default, FIPS will take <i>all</i> of the available
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free space for the new partition it creates, leaving your Windows
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partition with no free space at all. Windows will not run if it has no
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free drive space, so you <i>must</i> adjust the partitions. Use the up
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and down arrow keys to make large changes (ten cylinders at a time) and
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the left and right arrow keys for small adjustments (one cylinder at a
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time). The size of the existing partition is shown on the left and the
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size of your new empty partition is on the right. In the middle is the
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cylinder number where the split will take place. I left about 1500MB
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for my own Windows partition. Adjust yours according to your needs,
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but I would recommend using at least 1024MB for Windows.
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<p>
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When you are satisfied, press enter. FIPS displays
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information on the new partitions and asks permission to write
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it to disk. Your hard drive has not been altered at this point. You
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may choose to write this configuration to disk or re-edit the
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partition table. On my machine, when I chose to re-edit I received
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an error message that said FIPS couldn't find some files it needed.
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If this happens to you, just press
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<tt>ctrl-alt-delete</tt> to reboot from
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the floppy and start over. This did not cause me any trouble.
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<p>
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When you choose to write the new partitions, FIPS will offer to make
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a backup of your existing boot sector--you should definitely do
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this. The backup file it creates is only 1KB in size and will be
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invaluable if anything goes wrong.
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<p>
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After FIPS completes its work, it will display another message stating
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that you should run scandisk on your old partition. I found that Windows
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will sometimes miscalculate the used and free space on your drive
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after using FIPS, and Scandisk will correct this problem. If you choose
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to restore your original partition scheme using the RESTORRB utility,
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you should run Scandisk after this as well.
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<p>
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After FIPS was done, I received another error. This one said ``Memory
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Allocation Error, Unable to Load COMMAND.COM''. If you see this, just
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press <tt>ctrl-alt-delete</tt>
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to reboot and all is well. This should not affect your hard drive.
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<p>
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Finally, you may want to run the Windows FDISK program from your
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floppy. This is not necessary, since Linux has its own fdisk program
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for manipulating partitions. You will find that your hard drive now
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contains two ``Primary Partitions'' (or ``Primary DOS
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Partitions''). The second one was created by FIPS out of the free
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space on your drive. For Linux installation, delete this second partition,
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freeing up the space for allocating Linux partitions. (Be careful not
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to delete the first one, where Windows lives.)
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<p>
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<h3>Linux Install Tips for Large Drives</h3>
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<p>
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Once you've made room for Linux on your drive with FIPS, you should
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be able to install Linux by following the steps in the installation
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guide that accompanied your Linux distribution. Here are a few tips
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that should help you with the areas where dual booting might make
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a difference.
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<p>
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<h3>Planning your Partitions</h3>
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<p>
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Both the Red Hat and SuSE installation guides have excellent chapters
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on how to divide up your hard drive for use by Linux. Personally,
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I favor the ``Keep It Simple'' principle, especially for
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beginners. I let Windows keep the first partition, create a second
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for the entire Linux install, a third for Linux swap space and
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the fourth for my /home directory (where data is kept). Having /home
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on a separate partition will make things much easier, if you ever have
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to reinstall Linux. The size of each partition will depend on your
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individual situation, but this should suffice for most folks. However,
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if your hard drive is larger than 8GB, there is something else to
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think about--LILO.
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<p>
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<h3>Booting with LILO</h3>
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<p>
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The usual and recommended method to boot into Linux is using LILO (the
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LInux LOader). LILO can install itself in your boot sector and allows
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you to choose which operating system you would like at boot time.
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Due to a technical limitation, LILO is unable to read data
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from the hard drive past the 1024th cylinder--the 8GB mark for modern
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LBA (Logical Block Addressing) hard drives.
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<p>
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Does this mean you can't use the rest of your drive? Not at all. What
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it does mean is that your <i>boot partitions</i> must all live <i>below</i> the
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8GB mark, that is, below cylinder 1024. Thus, if you want Windows to
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use the first 9GB of your fancy new 18GB drive, you won't be able
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to use LILO to boot Linux. Because of this limitation, Red Hat's Disk
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Druid tool for partitioning the hard drive will not allow you to create
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your Linux boot partition past cylinder 1024. You can still create
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the partitions using fdisk, but Red Hat setup will not install LILO
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if you do.
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<p>
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<h3>Booting from Floppy</h3>
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<p>
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It is possible to avoid the entire problem of the 8GB barrier by booting
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from a floppy disk. Although this may sound inefficient, it actually
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works quite well. The kernel loads into memory from the floppy
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disk and never accesses the floppy again, so loading the kernel is
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slower; but after that, the system runs the same as if it had booted
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from the hard drive. The Linux kernel has no difficulty accessing
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the end of large hard drives, so it can still reach all the files
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of your Linux installation.
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<p>
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The setup program for your distribution will almost certainly ask you to
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create a boot floppy during installation. Even if you don't plan to
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boot from floppy regularly, you should definitely make a boot disk.
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If for some reason LILO fails to install or becomes corrupted, you
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will have no other way to access the files on your Linux installation.
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<p>
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<h3>Booting with Loadlin</h3>
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<p>
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Loadlin is a program that runs under DOS (or Windows 95 in MSDOS mode).
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It can load the Linux kernel into memory from the DOS partition. Because
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it loads the Linux kernel from the hard drive, there is still a possibility
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the 8GB barrier could cause problems, but only if your Windows
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partition is larger than 8GB and is almost full. That's not likely
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at the time of this writing, but who knows--the next release of Windows
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might take up that much space by itself.
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<p>
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Frankly, I wouldn't recommend Loadlin to Linux novices because it can
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be difficult to configure correctly. If you simply must use it,
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an excellent Loadlin + Win95 Mini-HOWTO document available from the
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Linux Documentation Project should get you up and running.
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<p>
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<h3>Conclusion</h3>
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<p>
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Giving Linux a try does not mean you have to buy a whole new computer
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or even a new hard drive. With just a little extra effort, you can
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run both Linux and Windows without losing any data or any productivity
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while you learn Linux. I think you will find it is well worth
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the effort.
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<p><HR> <P>
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<h3>Resources</h3>
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<p>
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The FIPS home page: http://www.igd.fhg.de/~aschaefe/fips/
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<p>
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The Linux Documentation Project: http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/
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<p>
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The Loadlin + Win95 Mini-HOWTO: http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/mini/Loadlin+Win95.html
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<p>
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The Linux + Win 95 Mini-HOWTO: http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/mini/Linux+Win95.html
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<p>
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Moving from MS Windows to Linux: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Grid/2272/
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<P> <EM>Contact the author through his web site,
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<A HREF="http://www.control-escape.com/">http://www.control-escape.com</A>.
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H5>Copyright © 1999, Vince Veselosky <BR>
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Published in Issue 38 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, March 1999</H5></center>
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