Suse9.1 and Win XP pro

[Guest]

I wanted to install Suse on my 40G HD to run it together with XP (dual
boot). I installed Suse, but then i found out that I only have Suse on my
computer and that the boot manager doesn't even include Windows. I realized
that I should have created the partition in windows and only then install
Suse. So I tried to install back XP and to create a reasonable partition,
which didn't work out well for me(Cartition1 NTFS 996MB, D: Partition2 NTFS
38084MB). In the process, Suse was unisntalled because the whole drive was
formatted while creating this partition. So right now the situation is the
following:
once I created the partition, it starts Windows installation on the big
partition (D, it installs some files and then I get a message that the
computer will be restarted in order to continue the setup. Once the computer
is restarted it boots from the Windows XP CD and starts the whole install
process over and over again. if i try to change the booting order in the
BIOS, so it boots from the Hard Drive first (instead of the CD rom) it gives
me a message that OS is not found.
Anyone could give me an explanation, or at least a direction, on how to get
out of this situation (what should be the size of each partition, how to
complete the Windows XP installation, and then how install Linux in a way
that the boot loader will have both Linux and Win in the loader menu)?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Malke]

I wanted to install Suse on my 40G HD to run it together with XP
(dual boot). I installed Suse, but then i found out that I only have
Suse on my computer and that the boot manager doesn't even include
Windows. I realized that I should have created the partition in
windows and only then install
Suse. So I tried to install back XP and to create a reasonable
partition, which didn't work out well for me(Cartition1 NTFS 996MB,
D: Partition2 NTFS 38084MB). In the process, Suse was unisntalled
because the whole drive was formatted while creating this partition.
So right now the situation is the following:
once I created the partition, it starts Windows installation on the
big partition (D, it installs some files and then I get a message
that the computer will be restarted in order to continue the setup.
Once the computer is restarted it boots from the Windows XP CD and
starts the whole install process over and over again. if i try to
change the booting order in the
BIOS, so it boots from the Hard Drive first (instead of the CD rom)
it gives me a message that OS is not found.
Anyone could give me an explanation, or at least a direction, on how
to get out of this situation (what should be the size of each
partition, how to complete the Windows XP installation, and then how
install Linux in a way that the boot loader will have both Linux and
Win in the loader menu)? Thanks in advance.

I'll be honest with you - I tried to follow all the ins and outs of what
you did by trying to read your post, but it was so unclear and so hard
to decipher, that I gave up. So rather than try and figure out what you
actually did, here is how to get things straightened out:

1. Set your computer to boot from the floppy drive and then boot it with
a Windows 98 boot disk. If you actually got any part of SuSE installed,
while you are at the A: prompt type:

fdisk /mbr [enter]

Then start Fdisk and delete all the partitions on the hard drive. You
might want to create three partitions, one for XP, one for data and one
that will be for Linux. You will need to read about partitioning in
Linux and do some Googling for partition schemes. A lot depends on what
you are going to want to do in each operating system. A good thing to
do if you want to share data between the os's is to create a data
partition and format it FAT32. Linux can read NTFS but it isn't really
safe to write to it. Linux can safely write to FAT32.

2. Set your computer to boot from the cd-rom drive and boot with the
Windows XP. Start the install by formatting the partition you made for
Windows NTFS. Install Windows XP.

3. After you have finished installing Windows XP, you can install SuSE.
Take the Expert Partitioning and that will allow you to decide where
you want the install. If you install Grub into the MBR, the Linux
bootloader will give you the option of loading either Linux or Windows.

Good luck,

Malke

 

[Guest]

I wanted to install Suse on my 40G HD to run it together with XP
(dual boot). I installed Suse, but then i found out that I only have
Suse on my computer and that the boot manager doesn't even include
Windows. I realized that I should have created the partition in
windows and only then install
Suse. So I tried to install back XP and to create a reasonable
partition, which didn't work out well for me(Cartition1 NTFS 996MB,
D: Partition2 NTFS 38084MB). In the process, Suse was unisntalled
because the whole drive was formatted while creating this partition.
So right now the situation is the following:
once I created the partition, it starts Windows installation on the
big partition (D, it installs some files and then I get a message
that the computer will be restarted in order to continue the setup.
Once the computer is restarted it boots from the Windows XP CD and
starts the whole install process over and over again. if i try to
change the booting order in the
BIOS, so it boots from the Hard Drive first (instead of the CD rom)
it gives me a message that OS is not found.
Anyone could give me an explanation, or at least a direction, on how
to get out of this situation (what should be the size of each
partition, how to complete the Windows XP installation, and then how
install Linux in a way that the boot loader will have both Linux and
Win in the loader menu)? Thanks in advance.

I'll be honest with you - I tried to follow all the ins and outs of what
you did by trying to read your post, but it was so unclear and so hard
to decipher, that I gave up. So rather than try and figure out what you
actually did, here is how to get things straightened out:

1. Set your computer to boot from the floppy drive and then boot it with
a Windows 98 boot disk. If you actually got any part of SuSE installed,
while you are at the A: prompt type:

fdisk /mbr [enter]

Then start Fdisk and delete all the partitions on the hard drive. You
might want to create three partitions, one for XP, one for data and one
that will be for Linux. You will need to read about partitioning in
Linux and do some Googling for partition schemes. A lot depends on what
you are going to want to do in each operating system. A good thing to
do if you want to share data between the os's is to create a data
partition and format it FAT32. Linux can read NTFS but it isn't really
safe to write to it. Linux can safely write to FAT32.

2. Set your computer to boot from the cd-rom drive and boot with the
Windows XP. Start the install by formatting the partition you made for
Windows NTFS. Install Windows XP.

3. After you have finished installing Windows XP, you can install SuSE.
Take the Expert Partitioning and that will allow you to decide where
you want the install. If you install Grub into the MBR, the Linux
bootloader will give you the option of loading either Linux or Windows.

Good luck,

Malke
--
MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"

Sorry my message was so unclear and thank you for your patience trying to
follow what I wrote.
I was wondering, is there a way to get around step#1 (my computer is a
laptop, which doesn't have a floppy drive).

 

[Malke]

Sorry my message was so unclear and thank you for your patience trying
to follow what I wrote.
I was wondering, is there a way to get around step#1 (my computer is a
laptop, which doesn't have a floppy drive).

OK, then you received some sort of restore disk that came with the
laptop (if you didn't hose any hidden partition it might need). Restore
your laptop to factory condition. If you want to dual-boot and don't
have a floppy, you will need to get XP back on your machine. The
easiest way to deal with this would be to get a usb floppy drive and
make sure your laptop can boot from it, but here's how I set up a
dual-boot on my laptop, which came with XP Pro and no floppy drive:

1. Boot into XP Pro. Install Partition Magic (latest version). There are
less expensive partitioners like BootIT NG (very good), but AFAIK BING
needs to be started from a floppy. Start PM and shrink XP's partition,
create a new smaller partition to be FAT32 for data sharing between the
os's, create a third partition that will be used for SuSE (yes, I also
use 9.1 Pro). I chose to leave my laptop's special restore partition (I
have a ThinkPad and IBM calls it the pre-boot) alone and it would be a
Good Idea for you to do that, too.

2. Once you've done that, boot with the SuSE cd and install using Expert
Options.

If you can't get XP back on your laptop by restoring it to Factory
Condition, buy a usb floppy drive and do what I suggested in my first
post.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Thanks again for the valuable advice.
I got a Win ME system restore disk. When I boot that cd, it suggest me to use
fdisk, however when I type in the fdisk command it says:
No fixed disks present
C:\>

does that mean that my BIOS are not properly set?
how can I fix it?

 

[Malke]

Thanks again for the valuable advice.
I got a Win ME system restore disk. When I boot that cd, it suggest me
to use fdisk, however when I type in the fdisk command it says:
No fixed disks present
C:\>

So your computer originally came with ME and you upgraded to XP? Since
you posted in an XP newsgroup, I assumed you had an XP machine. Please
post back with:

a) a clear description of your computer including the operating system
it originally had, any upgrades you performed, if it is an OEM machine
(HP, Compaq, etc.).

b) When you turn on the computer, does the BIOS report any drives? Which
ones?

Malke

 

[Guest]

Malke,
A friend of mine helped me today out with the installation, so I'm good to
go. It really was something with my BIOS.
I really appreciate your help and the time you've put into writing your
advise.

 

[Malke]

Malke,
A friend of mine helped me today out with the installation, so I'm
good to go. It really was something with my BIOS.
I really appreciate your help and the time you've put into writing
your advise.

You're very welcome, Talib. I think you made the right decision to have
a friend come over and help you rather than try to solve this in the
newsgroups. Now, as we on The Dark Side (SuSE) say:

Have a lot of fun!

Malke