Required: Idiot's guide to installing 2 Linux Distros on a Netbook

Hello - I'm a bit of a noob, but I have genuinely searched hard for the answers to my problem.

What I would like to achieve:


Install at least two different Linux distros (e.g. MeeGo and Jolicloud) on a Dell Mini 10v


What I have tried

1. Installed Jolicloud:
   
   1. as part of the install process, I set up 3 partitions:
      
      • A Switch partition
      • Partition A for Jolicloud (ext4, mount point = '/')
      • Partition B for Meego (ext4, mount point = '/boot')
   2. - Installed successfully on partition A and confirmed working
2. Installed Meego:
   
   1. as part of the install, I set partition B to mount at /
   2. Installed successfully on partition B and confirmed
   working
3. Realised that only Meego boots: only one OS can be bootable at a time, so I need something called a "bootloader" to support multiple bootable partitions.
4. Found lots of posts talking about GRUB in relation to dual boot systems, but nothing to really explain how to use it.
5. Downloaded and installed GRUB (v1.99) through the MeeGo OS, according to the instructions in the GRUB package.
6. Stuck: no idea what to do with GRUB.

QUESTIONS

1. What Partitions do I need to create and what should I set the following to:
   
   1. Partition format (e.g. Ext4?)
   2. Partition Scheme (e.g. GUID Partition Table? Master Boot Record?)
   3. Mount Point (e.g. /boot? /?)
2. Which partition do I install GRUB on?
3. Do I install GRUB first or one of the OSs first?
   If it's GRUB first, do I need to boot an OS from USB to install it?
4. When I've installed GRUB, what do I actually do with it? How do I 'use' it to set up a dual boot?

Anyone who can point me at some enlightening links, or better still, explain it too me in simple terms, will receive my eternal gratitude.

Hello and welcome aboard! :)

I know nothing about MeeGo or Jolicloud, but the best HowTo I've come across for working with GRUB is this one:

GRUB 2 bootloader - Full tutorial

Hope it helps you.

I would second ozars recommendation for the tutorial site.
I have no idea what a "Switch" partition might be?

Quote:

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as part of the install, I set partition B to mount at /

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I expect that you installed Meego to the same partition you had installed Jolicloud to.

Every operating system needs a bootloader and all the Linux distributions include a bootloader with the installation. The installation of Grub is part of the operating system installation and is usually at the end of the install.

I think Jolicloud is an Ubuntu derivative and would use Grub2 (1.99). I don't know anything about Meego, never heard of it.

I would suggest you read through the tutorial referenced above and take notes during each step of the installation so that if you have errors, you can answer questions when you ask for help.

Many thanks guys - that tutorial looks interesting - I'm most of the way through it and things make a lot more sense.

I'm surprised there isn't a more simple answer though...

The fact that it's Jolicloud and MeeGo is a distraction: my question is basically about how I set up a dual boot system... I think that article gives me basically what I need, but I still don't quite understand how my partitions should be set up and that article doesn't explain that...

For Linux, all you really have to use is a root partition, and quite possibly a swap partition, depending on your RAM count.

Which filesystem and the size to make each partition is up to you (as long as it's big enough), depending on your particular needs. You can create various other partitions, such as /boot, /home, /var, etc, but if you aren't sure why you would need them, you probably don't. I personally like going with a root partition and a home partition, but with 12 GB of RAM there is no need for a swap partition considering my user habits. I usually go with a root partition of about 6 to 12 GB, or sometimes more, depending on the distro that I'm installing, and a home partition of about the same size. I like ext4 and use it currently, but have also used ext3 over the course of many years without issue.

Most modern Linux distros will setup a dualboot system for you during the installation routine. Again, I've never used either of the distros that you mention above so don't know if either of them will help with automatically installing a dualboot setup. If they don't, you'll have to install GRUB, then configure the bootloader manually by editing and adding your distros. The linked HowTo should help with that.

Maybe some users of your chosen distros will chime in with some other info for you.