It is possible to have multiple, bootable operating systems on the same computer (using multiple partitions on a hard disk and/or multiple hard disks). Setting up to boot more than one operating system, however, requires some thought. It also assumes some risks. While tools for resizing Windows partitions and setting up multi-boot systems have improved in recent years, there is still considerable risk of losing data on Windows/Linux dual-boot systems. Different operating systems often have different views of partition tables and master boot records that can cause your machine to become unbootable (at least temporarily) or lose data permanently. Always back up your data before you try to resize a Windows (NTFS or FAT) file system to make space for Linux. If you have a choice, install Linux on a machine of its own or at least on a separate hard disk.
If the computer you are using already has a Windows system on it, it’s quite possible that that the entire hard disk is devoted to Windows. While you can run a bootable Linux, such as KNOPPIX or Damn Small Linux, without touching the hard disk, to do a more permanent installation you’ll want to find disk space outside of the Windows installation. There are a few ways to do this:
* Add a hard disk—Instead of messing with your Windows partition, you can simply add a hard disk and devote it to Linux.
* Resize your Windows partition—If you have available space on your Windows partition, you can shrink that partition so there is available free space on the disk to devote to Linux. Commercial tools such as Partition Magic from Symantec (www.symantec.com) or Acronis Disk Director (www.acronis.com) are available to resize your disk partitions and set up a workable boot manager. Some Linux distributions (particularly bootable Linuxes used as rescue CDs) include a tool called QTParted that is an open source clone of Partition Magic (which includes software from the Linux-NTFS project for resizing Windows NTFS partitions).
Before you try to resize your Windows partition, you might need to defragment it. To defragment your disk on some Windows systems, so that all of your used space is put in order on the disk, open My Computer, right-click your hard disk icon (typically C:), select Properties, click Tools, and select Defragment Now.
Defragmenting your disk can be a fairly long process. The result of defragmentation is that all the
data on your disk are contiguous, creating a lot of contiguous free space at the end of the partition. There are cases where you will have to do the following special tasks to make this true:
* If the Windows swap file is not moved during defragmentation, you must remove it. Then, after you defragment your disk again and resize it, you will need to restore the swap file. To remove the swap file, open the Control Panel, open the System icon, and then click the Performance tab and select Virtual Memory. To disable the swap file, click Disable Virtual Memory.
* If your DOS partition has hidden files that are on the space you are trying to free up, you need to find them. In some cases, you won’t be able to delete them. In other cases, such as swap files created by a program, you can safely delete those files. This is a bit tricky because some files should not be deleted, such as DOS system files. You can use the attrib -s -h command from the root directory to deal with hidden files.
Once your disk is defragmented, you can use one of the commercial tools described earlier (Partition Magic or Acronis Disk Director) to repartition your hard disk to make space for Linux. An open source alternative to those tools is QTParted.
Boot KNOPPIX or any of several other bootable Linux distributions (particularly rescue CDs) and run QTParted by selecting System Tools➪QTParted from the desktop main menu. From the QTParted window, select the hard disk you want to resize. Then choose Options➪Configuration to open a window where you can select the ntfsresize tool to resize your NTFS partition.
After you have cleared enough disk space to install Linux (see the disk space requirements in the
chapter covering the Linux distribution you’re installing), you can choose your Linux distribution
and install it. As you set up your boot loader during installation, you will be able to identify the Windows, Linux, and any other bootable partitions so that you can select which one to boot when
your start your computer.
If the computer you are using already has a Windows system on it, it’s quite possible that that the entire hard disk is devoted to Windows. While you can run a bootable Linux, such as KNOPPIX or Damn Small Linux, without touching the hard disk, to do a more permanent installation you’ll want to find disk space outside of the Windows installation. There are a few ways to do this:
* Add a hard disk—Instead of messing with your Windows partition, you can simply add a hard disk and devote it to Linux.
* Resize your Windows partition—If you have available space on your Windows partition, you can shrink that partition so there is available free space on the disk to devote to Linux. Commercial tools such as Partition Magic from Symantec (www.symantec.com) or Acronis Disk Director (www.acronis.com) are available to resize your disk partitions and set up a workable boot manager. Some Linux distributions (particularly bootable Linuxes used as rescue CDs) include a tool called QTParted that is an open source clone of Partition Magic (which includes software from the Linux-NTFS project for resizing Windows NTFS partitions).
Before you try to resize your Windows partition, you might need to defragment it. To defragment your disk on some Windows systems, so that all of your used space is put in order on the disk, open My Computer, right-click your hard disk icon (typically C:), select Properties, click Tools, and select Defragment Now.
Defragmenting your disk can be a fairly long process. The result of defragmentation is that all the
data on your disk are contiguous, creating a lot of contiguous free space at the end of the partition. There are cases where you will have to do the following special tasks to make this true:
* If the Windows swap file is not moved during defragmentation, you must remove it. Then, after you defragment your disk again and resize it, you will need to restore the swap file. To remove the swap file, open the Control Panel, open the System icon, and then click the Performance tab and select Virtual Memory. To disable the swap file, click Disable Virtual Memory.
* If your DOS partition has hidden files that are on the space you are trying to free up, you need to find them. In some cases, you won’t be able to delete them. In other cases, such as swap files created by a program, you can safely delete those files. This is a bit tricky because some files should not be deleted, such as DOS system files. You can use the attrib -s -h command from the root directory to deal with hidden files.
Once your disk is defragmented, you can use one of the commercial tools described earlier (Partition Magic or Acronis Disk Director) to repartition your hard disk to make space for Linux. An open source alternative to those tools is QTParted.
Boot KNOPPIX or any of several other bootable Linux distributions (particularly rescue CDs) and run QTParted by selecting System Tools➪QTParted from the desktop main menu. From the QTParted window, select the hard disk you want to resize. Then choose Options➪Configuration to open a window where you can select the ntfsresize tool to resize your NTFS partition.
After you have cleared enough disk space to install Linux (see the disk space requirements in the
chapter covering the Linux distribution you’re installing), you can choose your Linux distribution
and install it. As you set up your boot loader during installation, you will be able to identify the Windows, Linux, and any other bootable partitions so that you can select which one to boot when
your start your computer.
No comments:
Post a Comment