Dual Boot RH8.0 and WinXP

Dual Boot for Linux Red Hat 8.0 and Microsoft Windows XP

I will not go through step by step details on how to install the O/S’s because it’s all in wizard format and if you can follow it then you should be shot. I will help you with selecting the right partition during the Linux install.

Ok, the first thing you want to do is to cut the power to all your hard drives except the one you are planning to install to. This is because during the Linux installation, it decides that it wants to use a different hard drive as the swap file.

Once that is done, you need to create a Fat32 partition for Windows XP. Partition the whole drive as Fat32. usually when partitioning for the first time it is best to use fdisk. You want to create a new partition and follow the prompts from there on in. once you have created the partition, reboot the machine and format the hard drive you just installed the partition on. Best achieved by format. Fdisk and format should be automatically put onto a standard DOS boot disk, if not it is easier enough to find them manually and add them.

Ok, once the drive has been formatted, and it seems so be the right size, we are ready to install Windows XP. Place the XP CD in the CD drive and reboot the machine. If the boot sequence is set right, it should come up with a phrase saying press any key to start windows installation or something along those lines. Go through the wizard and completely setup windows. Once the installation is finished and you are able to use windows, install a program called partition magic 7.0 this is what I find to be the best partitioning tool around.

To use this, you need to run it and it will come up with a list of the current partitions. There should only be 1 Fat32 partition. Right click on that partition and select re-size. Once another window pops up, resize the partition so that there is at least 12 GB of unallocated space. Close that, and there should now be the Fat32 partition and 12 GB of unallocated space. Right click on the un-allocated space and select create partition. You want to chose Linux Ext 2 . if it asks if you are going to put a operating system on there select yes. The linux Ext 2 partition should be set to 10BG (2GB less that the unallocated space) next you need to partition the swap file. This is similar to the way you created the linux Ext 2 partition, but select Swap file and allocate the remaining 2Gb (actually 1.99Gb)

Now, quit partition magic and it will ask you to re-boot. Allow it to do so and let it go through its course. It will come up with a list of jobs just before windows seems to boot up. Once this is finished you should be returned to windows.

Restart the comp and put your linux Red Hat CD in and let that install. Follow the prompts selecting what you want. When it come upto the partitioning section. Set it to automatic, we do this because we have already created the correct partitions and it will pick these up.

Go through and finsish the install. Once linux is up and running (all set up and finished installing) you can turn off the computer and plug those extra hard drives you had if you had any.

You now have a dual boot system with Linux Red Hat 8.0 and Windows XP

Sorry if this wasn’t too detailed but I am really tired and anything I didn’t cover, was probably obvious what to do. I only intended to explain the partitioning sequence so people didn’t stuff up their hard drives like I did my first time.