Hi! I thought I'd posted my eXPeriences earlier, but looks like I forgot to. Anyway, I recently successfully converted my sisters HP machine with XP over to dual boot with 9.1 on the same drive, and hit all the same problems with defrag and repatitioning and no XP CD's, but the good news is that it is do-able with some free-trial windows tools. I now know more about WinXP than I ever wanted to, and I can say that Linux is now officially easier to install and use than WinXP anyday!!! Like my sister says "It won't let me do anything!"...
The following description is of moving from an existing WinXP system with a single NTFS partition to a dual boot WinXP 3 partition and Linux multi-partition system, and assumes you will be using both systems actively. Let me explain those 3 WinXP partitions. NTFS is the WinXP default filesystem, which Linux can currently safely read, but writing is still unsafe, hence you need a separate FAT32 partition if you want to safely pass files back and forth between WinXP and Linux. It is also good practice in Windows (Linux too!) to have separate system and user data partitions (e.g. C:/ and D:/ drives in Windows, /usr and /home in Linux), so that you can screw-up/re-install your Windows system without losing all your user data. You could use the same FAT32 data sharing partition for your Windows user data, but FAT32 does not have the same security features as NTFS. On a single user system, that's OK, but on a multiple user system, it leaves your data open to other users, and any passing virus. To be safe, you should therefore have an NTFS C:/ drive with your system files, an NTFS D:/ drive with your user data files, and a FAT32 E:/ drive for sharing files with Linux. I'll leave it up to you to decide on relative sizes, but I found that C:/ needs to be at least 6Gb (!!!) for a basic WinXP install. While we're on the subject of multiple WinXP users, be aware that most WinXP installs default to single user mode, i.e. you are automatically logged in as the WinXP Owner account, the equivalent of the Linux root user. This is VERY BAD, so make sure you set up a proper user account without admin rights for everyday use. Now, onto the steps I followed. 1) First of all: back-up your Windows data files first!!! All the important user data files are now under the "Documents and Settings" folder in XP. This folder is roughly the XP equivalent of /home in Linux. If you haven't actually used the machine yet, then obviously don't bother :-) 2) Next check, defrag and check again your XP drive. The WinXP defragger is a brain-dead version of Diskkeeper, that only makes files contiguous and doesn't move them all together at the start of the disk. Instead, you can download a trial version of Diskkeeper Lite from www.executive.com, which is better than the XP version in moving files to the start of the disk, but still not as good as the full version as it leaves some supposedly unmovable system files splattered everywhere. You may want to turn off the XP swap file, as this cannot be moved by the defragger and may be in the middle of the disk. While logged in as Owner, go to Control Panel/System/Advanced/Performance Settings/Advanced/Virtual Memory and turn off the swap file. While you're in Control Panel/System, turn off System Restore for now, then use the built-in Disk Cleanup utility to delete all the old restore data and any other files you don't need for now. Uninstalling as much software and backed-up data can also help in extreme circumstances. Reboot, then run the defrag, followed by a disk check to be sure all is OK. It pays to run the defragger a few times over, with reboots in-between, to maximise the effect. 3) Next we resize the NTFS C:/ drive. While the Mdk 9.1 installer can safely resize NTFS partitions, it does so conservatively by only using the spare contiguous space at the end of the disk. It will not move any files to make more space. If you're lucky, you may already have all the space that you need for D:/, E:/ and Linux. If so, skip to the Mandrake 9.1 installation step. If you're unlucky and don't have enough space yet, you need to download the 30-day trial version of "Boot It New Generation" from www.booitng.com. This is a full scale boot manager which includes a fully featured partition manager, which can agressively resize NTFS partitions by moving files around. Download the file under Windows, extract it and install it on a floppy disk by running bootitng.exe (you could also create a boot CD, but that's overkill). Next reboot your machine from the floppy, from which BootItNG will run. The first question it asks is to click OK to install to the HD, don't! Instead click on cancel, which will take you into "Maintenance Mode". In the GUI, click on "Partition Work". You'll now have a list of partitions, select your NTFS system partition, click the resize button, choose the new size, and let it run. Save the MBR and exit, rebooting into Windows and run yet another file system check. All should be happy now. 4) Next we run the Mandrake 9.1 install. When you reach the disk partitioning, choose to allocate the partitions yourself in expert mode. If you haven't already done so (i.e. you already had enough space in step 3), first re-size the NTFS partition in diskdrak, then boot back into Windows to do a filesystem check. Next in diskdrak, allocate your D:/ and E:/ drives as required, and your Linux partitions according to your personal preferences. Now complete your install, write the LILO boot manager to the MBR, create a boot floppy, and all should be well with the world. You'll want to go back into WinXP to re-format the NTFS D:/ drive, just to be safe, then move your user data files across to it. A word about the HP WinXP Restore partition. HP hides the WinXP restore files on hda1, at the start of the disk, and installs WinXP on hda2. The restore program re-installs WinXP on hda2 by wiping it first, you do not have the option of choosing any other partition. Ensure that Linux installs starting at hda5 (i.e. on the extended partition), Mdk 9.1 tends to set it up this way by default, so that shouldn't be a problem. For example, on my sisters machine, FAT32 HP Restore is on hda1, NTFS WinXP System is on hda2, NTFS User Data is on hda3, FAT32 Share Data is on hda4, Linux /boot on hda5, etc. Also, the HP Restore partition can be booted by running a program within WinXP, so don't worry about overwriting the WinXP boot manager with LILO. Well, I think that about covers it. Of course, it is a LOT easier just to install Mandrake on a second hard drive, or to wipe and re-install WinXP, but this should work for you if you can't afford that option and need to keep your existing WinXP install. Note most of this is from memory and obscure scribbled notes I made, so it may not be 100% accurate, but I'm sure you'll all cope. I also did a re-install of WinXP after it was all over, just to be ensure that still worked, and to clean up the mess I made from my initial attempts. WinXP does suck, Bill has tried to graft the best bits of the UNIX world onto the old Windows model, and it just doesn't quite gel properly. There are just as many hassles moving from Win98 to WinXP as there would be moving to Linux. Feel free to improve/copy/share this as you want, or to ask questions if I haven't been clear enough. Just don't blame me when WinXP screws everything up... Cheers! John.
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