[vox-tech] dualboot noob question

[Alex Mandel]

Cylar Z wrote:
> Two questions about dual-booting:
> 
> 1. Is it possible to add a Linux partition to a
> computer that's already running Windows XP on a
> single-partition drive, without disturbing the
> pre-existing Windows installation?
> 
> 2. If the answer to #1 is "NO" and it is necessary to
> repartition the drive, what is the best tool to do so?
> Secondly, which OS should be installed first, or does
> it matter?
> 
> I know MS products suck, but I need to use this
> computer as a gaming machine as well as an
> experimental Linux box. I suppose I could just add a
> second hard drive and physically switch the IDE ribbon
> back and forth, but that seems like a lot of hassle. 
> 
> I found some documents on this on tldp.org, but most
> of them are several years old and pre-date newer
> filesystems like NTFS, so I was a little afraid to
> trust the information.
> 
> Thanks in advance.

I do this on several machines.
Better to do windows first just so that it doesn't destroy Grub and
cause extra steps.
Knoppix using parted resize NTFS, then pop your install disc in and use
the free space for linux.

This is the method I used for the laptop I'm on right now.
Defragging windows while not necessary anymore is still a good idea to
help make ntfs-resize(what parted uses) safer.

Alex