Blackroute - Dual boot?

[fev]

Thought this might be the right forum since Blackroute is based off Slackware. Is it possible to install this onto the hard drive and dual boot with Windows? I can partitions things about, but I'm unsure what file would need to go where from the ISO, or how big the partitions need to be (like for the swap partition).

Running from the CD is fine and all, but when I reboot, all my settings are lost and I can't add anything to it.

[fev]

Looks like this topic is better suited for the Installation forum =x.

[oz]

Looks like this topic is better suited for the Installation forum =x.

moved per your request...

[Freston]

Hi,

I don't know the first thing about Blackroute *Googles* Oh!?! May I ask how you came to this distro? Not all I wrote below may apply

Yes you can dual boot any Gnu/Linux distro with any flavor of Windows. The difference is the ease of it. If you're running Blackroute because you have your mind set on it, than I'd be glad to help. If it's Slack based it shouldn't be to hard for anyone knowing the inner workings of Slackware.


That said, I have a feeling (because of your introduction in the coffee lounge) that you may have bit of more than you can chew here. please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm making assumptions that don't have to be right.
Anyway, this distro is aiming for advanced users. It's not the sort of thing I'd recommend to new users in a dual boot configuration.

Running from the CD is fine and all, but when I reboot, all my settings are lost and I can't add anything to it.

Yeah? They got a lifeCD? That's good! Running from CD has the benefit of never touching your hard drive. The downsides are 1) it's slow and 2) you can't store anything (unless you set it up to store data on a USB-stick). For normal, day to day operation of your own computer it is not very useful because of said reasons. But it is of course a very good way of checking out a distro without committing drive space to it.

I can partitions things about, but I'm unsure what file would need to go where from the ISO

Well, if you're unsure about that...

In order to run this distro smoothly, you should at least know:
- Partitioning
- Mounting
- Basic Bash commands
- Editing and configuring:
- lilo.conf
- xorg.conf
- fstab
- rc.*
- inittab
- etc...

If you still feel uncomfortable with these things, I'd recommend using another distro. One that is more geared towards new users. You don't have to know all the above to run Linux, but the level of manual configuration required differs greatly among distro's. Here is a poll that may be useful.


If you like to get your hands dirty however... than it's a different story
Some of us, like me, started using vanilla Slack as newbs and absolutely love it. There is a flavor for each taste

[fev]

I get lost after:
- Partitioning
- Mounting

hehe =p.

I also have debian downloaded. But (no offence) the gui looks close to that of windows and seems like a big handie cap. I have bit off more than I can chew, and was just going to play around with it till I got better. But... I lose all my settings after rebooting, I can't save scripts, install programs, or drivers since I'm booting off the CD. Or at least thats how things seem to be so far, correct me if I'm wrong =).

Maybe I should take a set back, check out debian. Come back to this one later perhaps. Suppose it just depends if I can get everything working or not =).

[devils casper]

also have debian downloaded. But (no offence) the gui looks close to that of windows and seems like a big handie cap. I have bit off more than I can chew, and was just going to play around with it till I got better. But... I lose all my settings after rebooting, I can't save scripts, install programs, or drivers since I'm booting off the CD. Or at least thats how things seem to be so far, correct me if I'm wrong =).

I am using Debian these days and you are correct, its not possible to save settings while using LiveCD. Its very easy to install any Linux distro along with Windows OSes. I have installed Windows XP and 6 linux distros in my test machine ( Single HD ).

Just shrink existing partition(s) and create free space for Linux. You can use PartedMagic LiveCD for that. 6-10GB is enough for most of distros. Start Linux Installation and select free/unpartitioned space in Partition Section. Installer will create and format partitions out of free space itself. Dual ( Multi ) boot is default in all distros and Installer will set it up automatically.

[fev]

I do have a partion ready, but I am unsure how to initialize the install. The CD boots, I login as root, and do startx to start the gui.

Is there a way to initilize the install after logging in as root?

[devils casper]

Which Linux Distro's CD do you have? I am not familiar with Blackroute.
Is there any reason for installing that only? You should install any mainstream distro.

[fev]

The whole "forensics tools" appealed to me =). I do have the 3 debian dvd's downloaded too. But like I said above, the mainstreem ones with windows like gui's didn't have as big as an appeal.

[devils casper]

Okk ! Downloading Blackroute right now. I have slow internet connection and it will take 6-7 hours atleast.