I have used a different system to handle multi-booting. I've used this
particular setup for many years with good success.
If you don't mind using an external boot manager, you can have total
Linux/Windows/Solaris/etc. bootloader independence.
Here's what I do...
I use the freeware boot manager Xosl (www.xosl.org, you might have to
search for Xosl) which lives in a really small partition at the
beginning of the drive. You can create this at any time, before or after
a M$ install. This will change the partition numbering scheme, so if you
have *nix operating systems already installed, you'll have to correct
the partition info afterwards.
I set the Xosl partition up prior to M$ install, then create the M$
partition, install the M$ OS, install XOSL, get that configured, and
then install the other operating systems.
Linux operating systems are installed in one single root partition per
distro/release/etc. with the distro's bootloader of choice installed in
the boot sector of the distro's root partition, not the MBR. You can
install these at will, and as long as you re-use existing partitions no
partition numbering errors will occur as you install and try different
distros into the various partitions. And, of course, new partitions can
be added at the end of the drive(s) in unused space without any issues.
I share a single swap partition.
I typically have three or four distros or releases installed at the same
time in multiple hard drives, along with Windows. (If you are installing
Solaris, install or allocate partitions for everything else first,
leaving unformatted space for the Solaris slices, then install Solaris
last.)
After installing or changing a distro, use the Xosl GUI to add or
re-configure your boot screen. It'll chain to whatever bootloader you
have installed in that particular partition. If you are changing a
distro, it is just a matter of deleting and re-adding a boot chain, for
a new install it's just an add. It can be done via the GUI using
point-and-click in about 5 seconds. All the partitions appear in a
selectable list. Then boot that OS entry and you'll see the distro's
bootloader run. Every bootloader is independent, per partition. No
interaction issues at all.
The only gotcha in installing multiple distros/releases is that you need
to know your if your BIOS has a limitation on booting large drives. I
haven't had trouble with modern BIOS, but know this before you proceed.
Of course you'd have the same issue with lilo or grub, too. If you have
a limitation, you won't be able to boot partitions located above the
limit, high on the drive.
I like this setup because I don't have interactions between distro
installations, and any distro is free to set up and use whatever
bootloader it wants to. There is no bootloader interaction. There are
other boot managers you could use too.
It isn't a pure Linux solution, but it works slick and easy.
Rick Kunath
____________________________________________________
Want to buy your Pack or Services from Mandriva?
Go to http://store.mandriva.com
Join the Club : http://www.mandrivaclub.com
____________________________________________________
