Subj : Getting started with XP/Debian dual boot (long)
To   : comp.os.linux
From : mephraim2
Date : Fri Jul 02 2004 06:04 pm

Hi,

Going the Usenet route because this newbie doesn't understand 75% of
the HOWTO's yet...

I would like to use Grub to choose between Windoze XP and Debian Woody
on my Dell Dimension 2400 (or die trying).  I have 2 hard drives.  The
1st is currently entirely XP (NTFS); the 2nd has 30 GB as NTFS and 50
GB with no partition or anything.  I used the 30 GB on drive 2 to save
a Ghost image of drive 1.

So here are my problems/questions:

1.  The BIOS only seems to allow booting from drive 1, not drive 2. 
So I think this means I need to put Grub on drive 1?

2.  I read that Grub must be stored within a Grub-supported partition
type.  I don't think NTFS is Grub-supported.  So if Grub must indeed
be on disk 1, does that mean I need a small partition (probably FAT?)
at the start of drive 1?

3.  I've read it's safest with Linux for a bootable partition to be in
the 1st 1024 cylinders of a hard drive.  So if I do go ahead and
create a FAT partition at the start of disk 1, does this mean I should
make it only about 500 MB big?

4.  Assuming I want to repartition drive 1 to be 500 MB FAT at the
start and the rest NTFS for XP, I plan to use Ghost to restore the XP
image from drive 2 back onto drive 1.  But what do I use for
repartitioning drive 1?  For the NTFS partition, since it's being used
by XP, I think I should use a Windoze version of fdisk.  Does XP give
you a way to put fdisk on a bootable floppy?  For creating the 500 MB
FAT partition, should I use a Linux or Windoze version of fdisk?

Uggggghhhhhhh!!?  Thanks very much.

.