isadora Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 After having Windows2000 crashed, probably because of installing an automatic update of patches/fixes, i'm done with it. Since last summer i was working only on Mandrake10, later the Official version, and i'm getting more satisfied by the day. Because of mainly gaming the other os was useful, but that never will be of any loss. Now i intend to incorporate the windows-patitions into my linux-system, or otherwise; changing the now windows-partitions into ext2, likewise that for my Mandrake-environment. The partitions are defined as follows: Mount point: /mnt/win_c Device: hde1 DOS drive letter: C Type: NTFS Size: 29GB (15%) Mount point: /mnt/win_d Device: hde5 DOS drive letter: D Type: NTFS Size: 39GB (20%) Mount point: /mnt/win_e Device: hde6 DOS drive letter: E Type: NTFS Size: 39GB (20%) Mount point: / Device: hde7 Type: Linux native (Ext2) Size: 77GB (41%) Mount point: swap Device: hde8 Type: Linux swap Size: 1GB (0%) Formatted Mounted My main concern is the idea of damaging or losing the masterboot record (MRB), so that i won't even be able to get my Linux-box launched again. Near-future-plans are to transform my system to Mandrake 10.1, which could give reasons to leave everything as is right now. But nevertheless i would greatly appreciated to hear any comment or tips/ideas on this issue. Many thanks in advance. isadora [moved from Software by spinynorman] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 I don't reckon you would have any issues over losing the MBR (you can always restore it using a boot disk to get into Linux or using your installation disks without having to do a complete reinstall. Judging by the size of your Windows partions there is a fair amount of data there so make sure you back it all up (as if you didn't already know :D ) before you do anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeyKlitske Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 Near-future-plans are to transform my system to Mandrake 10.1, which could give reasons to leave everything as is right now.But nevertheless i would greatly appreciated to hear any comment or tips/ideas on this issue. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> What i did after i installed mandrake 10.1 CE was changing the partitions i created in window$ which caused me alot of grief in the process as windows when it changes partitions puts its own partiitions in front ie it renumbers the partitions and puts the linux ones in the back causing you lilo to fail (that is if you want to have a dual boot system). The reason for this change was to move back from ntfs to vfat (fat32) so linux can read and write to the disk. that way i can share the drives between window$s and linux without having to duplicate and waste diskspace. So my advise would be, reorganise your partitions before you move or install mandrake and verify if you need al these partitions to begin with, if you dont, delete them and leave the space unused. I created one partition to hold the system files (i left that on ntfs), one partition to hold all the data (changed that to fat32) grouped in documents and settings, downloads, music, mail. Make sure your partitions are created in sequence from the begining leaving the empty space at the end of the disk. Have one partition to copy all files (including the hidden ones!) if you want to change the ntfs to fat32 (re-format!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00i3 Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 So my advise would be, reorganise your partitions before you move or install mandrake and verify if you need al these partitions to begin with, if you dont, delete them and leave the space unused. I created one partition to hold the system files (i left that on ntfs), one partition to hold all the data (changed that to fat32) grouped in documents and settings, downloads, music, mail. Make sure your partitions are created in sequence from the begining leaving the empty space at the end of the disk. Have one partition to copy all files (including the hidden ones!) if you want to change the ntfs to fat32 (re-format!). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> thats a good tip... that's how i have it setup .. .a 40GB hd with crapdows and mandrake 9.2 and 120 gig drive thats FAT32 to store all my data :D this way if i need more space for linux then i can easily format one of the partitions on the second drive as ext2 or something... but for now i'm good as it's better securitywise... i mainly use linux and some partitions i just don't mount ;) hehehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 have a Knoppix CD handy, it's really useful for moving files around and creating/changing partitions. now there are 2 files you have to be careful with: 1) /etc/fstab 2) /etc/lilo.conf. MAKE SURE that they point to the right partitions after you fiddle around. (sorry for shouting) As before, Knoppix will be useful if you aren't careful with these files, if the system becomes non-bootable, just fire up knoppix and edit the files correctly. trust me, I've been there before another tip, of you run Knoppix, open a terminal and become root, you can run QTparted (just type 'qtparted'), which is like Partition Magic. it's an excellent tool for what you're about to do. Have fun :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.