Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2001 2:48 PM, Duncan Smith wrote: > As a new Linux enthusiast, I am trying to configure > and install Debian Linux on my PC, and I am having > problems partitioning my new hard drive for this. I > would be reallly grateful for some advice. The new > disk is approx 40 GB, and I have tried lots of things. > What I don't understand from all the literature I have > been reading is how to partition the drive. I thought > I should make a DOS primary partition of say 40% > of the total disk space for use with Windows 98. > Should I then create another DOS partition in which > to install Linux, or have the Linux installation process > create a new partition in the remaining space? Right > now I get an error message saying that the primary > partition table is corrupted, when I try to partition >the disk in the Linux installation process. I have no > data on the new drive, and am a little stuck!
Hi Duncan- What has worked for me is to use the Debian installer to partition the drive. If you want your MS partition to reside as the first one, create /dev/hda1 to the size you want using cfdisk from the installer. Then create all your Linux partitions according to your needs (see the various HOWTO's to help with the partitioning scheme). Finally, delete the partition you reserved for MS or change it to the correct type for the OS ( I usually delete it so the MS installer can pick its own type). Another tip: if you don't mind jumping out of the Debian installer, quit it after writing the partition table, then install your MS OS. That way, you won't have to boot from a floppy in order to get Debian to start after installing Win98 (you will have to modify the lilo.conf to get MS to start :) ). If the error message is happening on boot, don't worry, it will be taken care of once you write your first partition table. I hope this helps and that some more experienced folks here can give you even better advice. -=greg
