dual boot winxp and linspire

[hungrygoose]

my main system right now is dual booting win2k and xp pro.......i want to get rid of the win2k and change it to linspire....this is how my hard drive is partitioned

5gb partition c: = win2k
5gb partition d: = winxp
70gb partition e: = storage

i know there are some complications in that the mbr is on c: unless i'm mistaken, so if i format c: then my xp won't boot right?....so how do i then load linspire on c: and get both installs booting again???..thnx ahead for any help

 

[MrNutz]

I just did this recently with Win2k and Linspire. I ended up putting Partition Magic on a HD and using that HD to format 2 FAT32 partitions on my main HD. The main thing is that you have to install Win2k first then install Linspire using the Advanced install option. You will have to choose what partition you want to install on based on size so make the differences between the Win2k and Linspire partitions noticeable.

You may be able to use the Win2k installation disk to create two partitions. Install Win2k on one of them. (The other will remain as unformated trash.) Use the Linspire install disk and see if the trash partition is available in the Advanced install options.

If you have trouble installing Linspire, check out my post:
Linspire Forums - Install Screen Fades Black

I see you have a nvidia graphics card so you may need to check my other post too:
Linspire Forums - Nvidia Install

 

[hungrygoose]

thnx man

 

[MrNutz]

Did you get it werking just using only the Win2k disk and creating 2 partitions?

 

[hungrygoose]

haven't tried yet

 

[MrNutz]

Did you try this yet? I was planning to do another Linspire install this weekend...

 

[MrNutz]

UPDATE: I did a dual boot Linspire/WinXP this past weekend on my parent's Dell. I wasn't able to use the Partition Magic HD so I had to only use the WinXP CD to create the partitions.

So, I ended up booting the WinXP cd and deleting all of the current partitions. Then, I created a new partition for WinXP and formatted it (FAT) then proceeded into the WinXP install.

That left a WinXP partition and a chunk of unformatted space. Linspire wasn't able to see the unformatted space, so I had to boot the WinXP cd again and tell it to format the unformatted space to FAT. After it finished formatting, I turned off the PC before WinXP could begin coping files. I booted the Linspire CD and was able to install on the newly formatted space with no problems.

The Dual boot setup works great. The only problem is that the WinXP is in FAT formatting because the windows boot cd just gives you two options: FAT and NTFS. Doesn't really matter though, cause they are mostly using the Linspire Partition.