Hello Eric,

Wednesday, 7 July 1999, you wrote:
>> My questions are:
>> 1) how can I make Linux partition while I don't have any Linux boot
>> disks?

Very carefully, however, being that the boot disks provide the
compression tools by which to open the installation packages, your
most successul linux install will be done via these boots disks. the
source code is easily downloaded from the internet at the various
linux outposts, for free of course. They take only a few minutes, and
can be created from a DOS prompt.

>> 2) the client also asked to do a SINGLE Linux partition for the rest
>> of HDD, but all I heard from this list and other Linux people is Linux
>> needs a swap partition for installation and running. So I think it is
>> impossible to do what client asked for, however he said he saw
>> someone else did this (single partiton) before. So, is it possible to do so?

Part of the linux installation includes Fdisk for Linux(which btw, i
find much more efficient than the DOS version). You will want to
create at least 1 'Linux Native' partition and 1 'Linux Swap'
partition. To the best of my knowledge you *must* use at least one
swap space, created during install with the mkswap -c /drv/par
command, and cannot be in excess of the amount of RAM installed in the
machine.

>> 3) As a part of the partition processing, I had to install win2000
>> (beta 3 built 2081) in order to do the NT partition. My next step is to
>> install win98 on the FAT32 partiton, is there any problem with
>> win2000 and win98 dual-boot? is there any problem with Linux boot if I can
>> manage the Linux partition? I ask this question because I have to
>> test  everything before hand over the computer.

Personally, i prefer Slackware Linux, which comes with LILO(Linux
Loader). Much like NT, the installation process will detect
alternative drives and bootable partitions and will include them in
the startup menu which you can arrange defaults etc from.

>> 4) I don't have partition magic, and I want to format the NT
>> partition so when I give the machine to client, he will get a clean NTFS
>> partition (I can't give win2000 to him), how can i do that?

In my humble opinion, i think you are doing a lot of work that is
unnecessary. I would utilitze Fdisk to create a Fat32 Partition.
Install 98. Then install NT, creating the Partition size during the
install, selecting NTFS. Then, using the Linux Installation boot disks, I would create the
final, linux partition and its subsequent swap space. It *should*
detect the 2 other partitions and allow for the addition of the
boot options.

I would, speaking from experience, seriously reconsider the thought of
installing a large drive to support 3 OS's. If that drive goes,
everything is gone. I would suggest going to two smaller drives to
support each, perhaps a linux/98 drive and an NT drive.

Hope that helps!


Best regards,
Carl W. McGarry
Technician

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