[SOLVED] Fat32 NTFS

[VirtueLess]

I am getting more fed up with MS by the day. So I am finally taking a serious look at Linux Mint. I have XP PRO SP3 and 4 drives, all NTFS. I have downloaded the dvd version of Julia, and used it to boot with, just to have a look. So far I am impressed, but of course, it was slow since it was running from the dvd drive. And I did open a few of my files just to see how open source office looked. But I did not try to save anything.

One of those drives is 80gb, and I intend to dedicate it to LM. Then just rearrange the boot order in bios depending on what OS I desire. I have found a few references that LM may be better off in FAT32. If that is a fact (if I need to to format it FAT32), then my major reservation is that all of my data since 1995 is now in NTFS, and if writing to NTFS from LM is a problem, that would make it rather difficult to switch OS at anytime.

In the end, I would like to be able to boot in either OS, make changes to any data, and have the other OS see it all.

If I understand this correctly, I will have to store all of my office documents, graphics, well, all my data on FAT32 because LM does not play well with NTFS. I could use one of those drives (500gb) for data only (I have about 150gb of data files), but then I run into a problem with backups of that data.

Anyway, after all that rambling, really the questions is, can I install LM on NTFS? Will it be possible? Is it asking for trouble?

Thanks

[MikeTbob]

I am getting more fed up with MS by the day. So I am finally taking a serious look at Linux Mint. I have XP PRO SP3 and 4 drives, all NTFS. I have downloaded the dvd version of Julia, and used it to boot with, just to have a look. So far I am impressed, but of course, it was slow since it was running from the dvd drive. And I did open a few of my files just to see how open source office looked. But I did not try to save anything.

One of those drives is 80gb, and I intend to dedicate it to LM. Then just rearrange the boot order in bios depending on what OS I desire. I have found a few references that LM may be better off in FAT32. If that is a fact (if I need to to format it FAT32), then my major reservation is that all of my data since 1995 is now in NTFS, and if writing to NTFS from LM is a problem, that would make it rather difficult to switch OS at anytime.

In the end, I would like to be able to boot in either OS, make changes to any data, and have the other OS see it all.

If I understand this correctly, I will have to store all of my office documents, graphics, well, all my data on FAT32 because LM does not play well with NTFS. I could use one of those drives (500gb) for data only (I have about 150gb of data files), but then I run into a problem with backups of that data.

Anyway, after all that rambling, really the questions is, can I install LM on NTFS? Will it be possible? Is it asking for trouble?

Thanks

Hello and Welcome.
No, you cannot install Linux onto an NTFS partition but Linux can read files on an NTFS partition as well as FAT32.

[VirtueLess]

As always, the trick is asking the right question. I have spent about 4 hours just reading, before creating this post, and still failed to ask the right question.

So, when I install LM on this 80gb drive, it will not be FAT32 either. Or am I wrong about that?

Then, will I have have a problem writing to a data file in NTFS from LM?

Then, if it is not a problem wrting to NTFS from LM, will I experience problems reading or writing that same data file when back in XP?

And if I install LM on it's own 80gb drive, I have completely preserved my current OS and programs, right?

I know, the incredible ignorance of a rookie!

Thanks

[rcgreen]

If you install a second hard drive for Linux, it will be able to
read and write to your Windows partitions, NTFS or FAT32.
Linux has its own types of file systems, the most popular
at present is EXT3. Unfortunately, Windows does not have
the ability to read or write to these file systems, so any sharing
of data in both directions would have to be on a Microsoft
type partition. BTW, the Linux installer will set up a dual
boot menu, so there is no need to muck about with the BIOS.

If you do not install a second hard drive, it will be necessary
to format one of your existing partitions, destroying all data.

[VirtueLess]

OK, thanks. Since I do the luxury of a dedicated HD, I think I will start that way. Not afraid of the big bad bios.

Mostly because if I manage to completely mess this up, it is just an extra hd not in use anyway.