Hello,

I'm trying to install Windows XP beside a Mandrake Linux 9.0 already installed.

I have 2 Hard Drives
ID 0 MASTER 40 Go hda
ID 1 SLAVE 20 Go hdb

Here is the actual geometry of the MASTER ID0 (hda)

Hard Drive Geometry for /dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/disc: 0.000-39266,718 mégaoctets
Disk Label Type : msdos
Minor Start End Type Sys.fichiersFanions
1 0,031 1992,436 primary ext3 amorce
2 1992,437 39260,412 extended
5 1992,467 2384,648 logical linux-swap
6 2384,679 10770,139 logical ext3
7 10770,170 35997,209 logical ext3
8 35997,240 39252,568 logical lba

so it's partitionned like this :

/dev/hda1 Linux Swap /dev/hda6 /dev/hda7 /dev/hda8 Empty
1,9 Go 392Mo 8.1Go 24Go 3.1Go 7.8Mo

| / |swap| /usr | /home | C:/ | |


the second one is not partitioned/formated at all.

What I'd like to do is install WinXP on /dev/hda8 (C:/)
and put XP docs, softs,... on the second drive (ID 1)

but when I try install it, XP tells me :

"To install XP on the selected partition, the installation program must copy some boot files on the disk :

Disk 0 of 39261M1 with ID0 - bus0 on atapi [MBR]

to go further with installation, go back to the screen to select another partition or
to create a partition compatible with Windows XP"

Note that the C:/ is in FAT32, maybe I've first to format it in NTFS ?


I've red on some forums that's it's preferable to install first WinXP and then a Linux distrib,
but now that I've stabilized my Mandrake 9.0 and the Linux softs to work as I want,
I don't want to spend again a lot of time to reinstall everything,
so if anybody got a solution, It would be great !

Thanks @ lot

Frederic

I have done this with W98 so I am assuming it will work with XP. You need to create a primary parititon to install XP. Delete your logical hda8 and create a hda3 and make this partition bootable. Format it as FAT32.

I've done Win2K and Mandrake and W98 and Mandrake installations. I install Windows first, either on a separate hard drive (which I make a slave after the install), or on its own partition. If on its own partition, after the install, I move it to the end of the hard drive, leaving free space at the begining. That's where I install Linux. Mandrake recognises the Windows partition (or drive) and sets up Lilo with the proper boot procedure. Both my kids have dual-boot machines like this. I generally use Partition Magic for partition manipulation.

I'm probably not the most qualified person to answer this one, but I just put XP Pro alongside Mandrake 9.1. The best way I found to do it was by swapping my primary master, and my primary slave. XP likes to put pre-install files on the primary master, so by swapping the drives, the empty drive can become the new master, and will therefore install correctly.

Probably not the best, or easiest way to accomplish this, but it worked well for me.