newbie trouble

[champ_rock]

i am complete newbie to linux.... i am trying to install turbo...
can anyone give me the exact steps to dual booting it...... actually when u guys say install to hda1.... i want to know how to do that.........and how to further divide the hda1 for swap and all that.............

[budman7]

Most distros will set you up with a dual-boot by default.

If for some odd reason it doesn't, don't let it install to hda1. That is your Windows partition.
It should resize Windows for you. Unless you have a partition ready for it to go into.
It will also setup a bootloader so you can dual-boot.

[champ_rock]

actually my disk is divided in to 50-50 1 and 2 partition...... but i dont know which one is hda1 and hda2...... can i use some pro windows partitioning tools.....(i have heard they r for newbies like me)..... to create a linux ext3 filesystem on one partition.... and then wait for linux to auto install it on this partition instead of touching my fat32 partition....

[champ_rock]

now i have installed partition manager..... in xp.... i know the following details....
i have a dual boot ME- on primary partition
XP- on logical partition......
i want to format primary partition... i want to know whetehr this is risky.. will my xp continue to work...(u know the word formatting primary partition is dangerous)....
also if i format it and make it a ext3 partition...will my turbolinux install directly install into it without touching or resizing the logical partition...........

[foogoo]

Are you saying you already have a dual boot with ME and XP? If you install Linux (at least with mandrake), it allows you to resize your Windows Partition. You don't have to prepare the installation of Linux before hand as it already does it in the installer.