Help: How to partition to install Mandrake 08 with XP

Software, Cloud and Development Software & Tools
1

I tried searching for existing topics, but could’nt find any. So, if these questions are already asked plz excuse😄

Am a newbie to Linux n I’ve a 80 gig HDD with XP running in it. Now, I want to install Mandrake 2008 which i have downloaded and planned to use it alongside XP (Dual Boot). The problem is, I asked my friends on how to go about it, and each one had a different opinion and left me utterly confused.

Now that i want to get started, i have no clue on how to go about partitioning and the tools required. i have used FDISK in the past, but that was very very long ago.

Here are my Qs,

  1. Which tool would you recommend to create the partitions.

  2. I’ve planned to partition the disk into 10 GB (for XP) + 20 + 20 + 20 + 10 GB (for Mandrake), all FAT32. Is it ok if i do it this way?

  3. I’ve planned to install XP first followed by Mandrake. Should i go in this order or is it better the other way around.

  4. Can i access my MP3 and Video files from both XP and Mandrake?

2

Use Gparted to partition, it is an opensource partition manager that can be booted into from a LiveCd. Download it here

Ntsf would be better than Fat32 for Xp, and Linux is now pretty stable with reading Ntfs drives.

It depends on which boot menu you plan on using XP or Grub? But If you are going to use grub, install XP first.

Since you are a newbie at this, i would suggest letting mandrake partition the rest of the free space automatically during installation.

3

^^Thanx mate.

Am done with the installations and everythingÅ› workin fine. Jus getting to know Mandriva.

Can anyone guide me on how to install MPlayer? I´ve downloaded and unzipped the contents but just dunno what to do next!

4

I don’t use Mandrake myself, but I would imagine that you would be best installing from the correct repo rather than compiling your own.

5

Please post your fdisk -l out put here :slight_smile: So that we can help you allocating better partition :wink:

6

And hoe do I do that?

7

Hope this work in Mandriva ..

[ol]
[li]Unzip the Mandriva .tar.gz zip pack..[/li][li]Open terminal and type **cd **path of mandriva folder.[/li][li]Then type ./configure[/li][li]Then make[/li][li]At last **su or sudo make install **[/li][/ol]

Hope this helps :slight_smile:

8
  1. Unzip the Mandriva .tar.gz zip pack..

  1. Open terminal and type cd path of mandriva folder.

  2. Then type ./configure

  3. Then make

  4. At last su or sudo make install

This should work fine, but will not necessarily upgrade if it isn’t installed via apt/yum or whatever Mandrake uses, my suggestion would be to install via OS software install/upgrade system. Also if installed this way it will be easier to uninstall too.

9

You need to enable 3rd party repositories..Follow this link and you will be able to setup the repositories without much difficulty :slight_smile:

Easy Urpmi

After adding repository,it is just a matter of starting Mandrivas “Add/Remove SOftware” , searching for mplayer, right click and “Install”

10

You need to enable 3rd party repositories..Follow this link and you will be able to setup the repositories without much difficulty

Thanks, I didn’t know how to do this in Mandrake :slight_smile:

11

First your partition scheme seems unnecessarily complex, why not have 2 partitions for the OS and one share partition. Linux can read/write ntfs with ntfs-3g so thats not a worry.

I would suggest 20MB for XP, 10M-15MB for Linux and 45MB shared. You can use FAT but beware its has file size limitations and NTFS-3G is quite reliable.

For partitioning you can use Gparted to shrink XP partition to make space for Linux. For a total newbie I would suggest you use a tool like Acronis Disk Director/Partition Magic 8 instead of Gparted.

12

^^ :rofl: Which age dude :lol: Mb :stuck_out_tongue: you mean Gb :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

13

That helped solve all the issues with installing MPlayer :blush: