Sharing a computer between two operating systems requires dual
booting. You can use either operating system on the computer, but not
both at once. Each operating system boots from and uses its own hard
drives or disk partitions.
For clarity, we will assume that the other operating system is
Windows. But the general procedures are similar for other operating
systems.
 | Note |
|---|
| | If Red Hat Linux will coexist on your system with OS/2, you must create your
disk partitions with the OS/2 partitioning software — otherwise,
OS/2 may not recognize the disk partitions. During the installation,
do not create any new partitions, but do set the proper partition
types for your Linux partition using fdisk.
|
Before starting the installation program, you must first make room for
Red Hat Linux. Your choices are as follows:
The simplest way to make room for Red Hat Linux is to add a new hard drive to
the computer and then install Red Hat Linux on that drive. For example, if you
add a second IDE hard drive to the computer, the Red Hat Linux installation
program will recognize it as hdb and the existing
drive (the one used by Windows) as hda. (For SCSI
hard drives, the newly installed hard drive would be recognized as
sdb and the other hard drive as
sda.)
If you choose to install a new hard drive for Linux, all you need to
do is start the Red Hat Linux installation program.
After starting the Red Hat Linux installation program, just
make sure you tell it to install Linux on the newly installed hard
drive (such as hdb or sdb) rather than
the hard drive used by Windows.
The next simplest way to make room for Linux is to use a hard drive or
disk partition that is currently being used by Windows. For example,
suppose that Windows Explorer shows two
hard drives, C: and D:. This
could indicate either that the computer has two hard drives, or a
single hard drive with two partitions. In either case (assuming the
hard drive is large enough), you can install Red Hat Linux on the hard drive
or disk partition that Windows recognizes as D:.
This choice is available to you only if the computer has two or more
hard drives or disk partitions.
| Note |
|---|
| | Windows uses letters to refer to removable drives (for example, a
ZIP drive) and network storage (virtual drives) as well as for local
hard drive space; you cannot install Linux on a removable or network
drive.
|
If a local Windows partition is available in which you want to install
Linux, complete the following steps:
Copy all data you want to save from the selected hard drive or
partition (D: in this example) to another
location.
Start the Red Hat Linux installation program and tell it to install Linux
in the designated drive or partition — in this example, in
the hard drive or partition that Windows designates as
D:. Note that Linux distinguishes between
hard drives and disk partitions. Thus:
If C: and D: on this
computer refer to two separate hard drives, the installation
program will recognize them as hda and
hdb (IDE) or sda and
sdb (SCSI). Tell the installation program
to install on hdb or sdb.
If C: and D: refer
to partitions on a single drive, the installation program will
recognize them as hda1 and
hda2 (or sda1 and
sda2). During the partitioning phase of
the Red Hat Linux installation, you'll delete the second partition
(hda2 or sda2), then
partition the unallocated free space for Linux. (You don't
have to delete the second partition prior to beginning Linux
partitioning. If you don't, however, Windows will complain
whenever you boot that it cannot read Drive
D; and should someone accidentally format
D, your Linux system would be destroyed.)
The third way to make room for Linux is to create a new partition for
Red Hat Linux on the hard drive being used by the other operating system. If
Windows Explorer shows only one hard drive
(C:), and you don't want to add a new hard drive,
you must partition the drive. After partitioning, Windows
Explorer will see a smaller C:
drive; and, when you run the Red Hat Linux installation program, it will
partition the remainder of the drive for Linux.
You can use a destructive partitioning program, such as
fdisk, to divide the hard drive, but doing
so will require you to re-install Windows. (This is probably not your
best option.)
A number of non-destructive third-party partitioning programs are
available for the Windows operating system. If you choose to use one
of these, consult their documentation.
For instructions on how to partition with
FIPS, a program that is on the Red Hat Linux
CD-ROM, turn to the section called Partitioning with FIPS.
