About to install linux on my computer need advice.

[dahliorse]

I'm want to install Linux on my computer. Well it's the family's computer and I'm outnumbered when it comes to what OS is used. The rest of the family are happy with windowsXP and they are not happy about me wanting to install Linux for fear of messing up the whole computer. Which is fair enough. That's why I'm writing here to ask for help and advice on how I can do this the right way.

The computer has two hard disks each with 250G. One is C: and the other is D: I presume that windows is installed on C: and I also presume the D: hard disk is a slave hard disk. About 5% of the D: drive is in use.

I wanted to use at least 75% of the disk space on the D: hard disk for a linux. I was also thinking of using this space for more than one linux distro.

So I'm aware that I will have to partition the D: drive.

When doing this will I have to do anything to the 5% of files which is on the D: drive apart from the obvious back up. What I mean is will I have to put the linux partition in a specific place on the hard drive? I will be using partition magic to split the drive.

when installing the os system I will have to use a boot loader. I presume the MBS is on the C: drive. I know that some distros use lilo and others use grub. If I use two distros which use different boot up systems will it work or not?

Can I choose with grub or lilo which os system will be the default boot if none is chosen at boot. For example can I set it so that Windows will boot as a first choice if none are selected? This is important as this was one of the reasons why my family don't want me to use linux on this computer. On our old computer, they got fed up with switching on the computer and when they where ready to use the computer it had booted up into linux instead.

If there is anything else I have over looked or need to know prior to installation I'd be grateful for any advice.

Thanks

dahliorse

[techieMoe]

When doing this will I have to do anything to the 5% of files which is on the D: drive apart from the obvious back up. What I mean is will I have to put the linux partition in a specific place on the hard drive? I will be using partition magic to split the drive.

No, you don't have to stick Linux on any particular special place, however before you do any partition editing I strongly recommend you both backup the data on D and also defragment it. You don't have to worry about making Linux partitions; just shrink your NTFS partition to the size you want and leave the rest of the drive empty. Most Linux installers will be able to pick up on your leftover unpartitioned space and partition it to their liking automatically.

when installing the os system I will have to use a boot loader. I presume the MBS is on the C: drive. I know that some distros use lilo and others use grub. If I use two distros which use different boot up systems will it work or not?

Yes, the Master Boot Record your computer is using is most likely on the C: drive. You'll need to specify during the install of your first Linux distribution that you want to overwrite the MBR of your C drive. Find out what this drive is named in Linux because letters like C and D don't exist outside of the MS Windows world. Usually they're something like /dev/hda and /dev/hdb.

When you install your second (and every subsequent) distribution DO NOT overwrite the MBR. You'll need to manually edit your bootloader configuration to add in each new distribution as an option. We can help you cross that bridge when you come to it.

Can I choose with grub or lilo which os system will be the default boot if none is chosen at boot. For example can I set it so that Windows will boot as a first choice if none are selected?

Yes. Both LILO and GRUB have an option for a default OS after a certain number of seconds. The exact line of code in the configuration depends on which bootloader you use.

If there is anything else I have over looked or need to know prior to installation I'd be grateful for any advice.

Just a few general suggestions:

1. ALWAYS back up your data on both drives before doing any partitioning/installing.
2. Make sure you know the proper Linux device name for the drives you're using so that you don't accidentally repartition the C drive instead of your D.
3. If you have boot problems don't automatically assume you just need to wipe everything and reinstall. There are ways to fix this non-destructively.
4. Have fun.