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| Thread ID: 27946 | 2002-12-07 03:48:00 | How to backup dual boot winXP/Linux for easy recovery | dchip (1426) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 103926 | 2002-12-07 03:48:00 | I am setting up a pc for a friend who would like have windows and Linux on the same drive. Since he has a 10gig hdd I was planning on setting it up 2/3rds winXP Pro as the default (which he has already installed as NTFS and would mainly use) and 1/3rd Linux (either RedHat 7.3 or Mandrake 9.0) which I have on disk. He has PowerQuest’s DriveImage 2002 and Partition Magic Pro 7.0 already installed on his drive which is currently running XP Pro and Office Pro on NTFS. As he is new to linux and I have a little experience but am not advanced I want to make it as easy as possible for him (and me) to recover in the event of a misshap. I would describe my Linux experience level as beginner-intermediate as I am familiar with the KDE and GNOME desktops(RedHat 6.2 and 7.2), file structure and command line to the point that I can find my way around and get things done but when disaster strikes I normally re-format. Could someone please suggest the best way to back up the drive to protect both OS’s. My main concern is that if his Linux partition gets corrupted he (and probably I) will not be able to boot or recover either. |
dchip (1426) | ||
| 103927 | 2002-12-07 04:24:00 | One possible option is to leave the boot sector alone which will then always boot to Windows. You use a boot floppy to boot linux. I did that for a while until I was confident letting Linux play with the boot sector(s). | Dolby Digital (160) | ||
| 103928 | 2002-12-07 05:00:00 | You could use DriveImage 2002 to backup up both partitions if he has a CD writer installed. DriveImage should be able to see the Linux partition and can back it up too. Alternatively, there may possibly be room on the hard drive to set up a backup partition to store the compressed partition files that DriveImage creates, but with only 10 gig to play with it mightn't be feasible. Lilo can be easily removed from the MBR (if need be) by running the Fdisk /mbr command after booting from a DOS floppy. |
Rod J (451) | ||
| 103929 | 2002-12-08 01:57:00 | Always keep a boot floppy for Linux (pkus a spare one ;-)). I agree, the absolutly safest way to double boot is not to do it. It's very quick to start Linux from a floppy. But it's usually safe enough. I think XP will be able to repair the boot sector from its installation CD? "lilo -u" froma working Linux system will restore the original boot sector. | Graham L (2) | ||
| 103930 | 2002-12-10 06:47:00 | Thanks for the responses, I decided to go with the boot disk option and leave out the boot loader all tegether as my friend doesn't mind doing that. Unfortunatly I have incounterd a new problem. Linux failed to probe the monitor during the install so I choose a generic that I thought best matched the monitor being used. After the install I booted using the boot disk and was presented a text based loggin after an error message that refered to the monitor being a mismatch. It would seem that my guess was wrong so I need to do some research to find out the exact monitor type. I do however need to now how to reconfigure linux for the monitor once I have the correct details. Can anyone please explain how to do this from the command line please? |
dchip (1426) | ||
| 103931 | 2002-12-10 08:36:00 | You shouldn't have to find out the actual monitor model - you just need the vertical and horizontal refresh rates. If you are using RedHat (not sure about Mandrake) log in as root to a command shell and type Xconfigurator (caps sensitive!). Follow the instructions. For backup - could consider open source Linux ghosting software - see www.partimage.org. |
JohnD (509) | ||
| 103932 | 2002-12-15 02:24:00 | Got the monitor configured and everything sorted, my friend is very happy with his winXP/RedHat machine. Thanks to everone for the responses, merry Xmas and and a happy new year to all at pcworld. dchip:0) |
dchip (1426) | ||
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