dual-boot partition setup

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darkop16

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hey,

ok i know there are tons of articles on how to create a dual boot system, and i have probably read half of them in a span of one night. Least to say im very tired now :p.

Anyways after reading all those articles i still havn't figured out how i can set up the partitions so i can access the data i want to share between both OSes. I know that a FAT32 partition between the XP partition and the Ubuntu 7.10 (Gusty) will allow me to share the data, but i read in one of the articles that any files bigger then 4gb does not work on a FAT32 setup. I download a lot of dvd ISOs that are usually between 4-8gb big. So the FAT32 setup is a no go.

Next i found a program (ext2IFS) that will allow windows to access ext2/3 data, but how far functionality wise does this access go? Could i still mount a iso image from a ext3 partition into windows using daemon tools and watch the dvd using vlc player or media player classic? Could i also watch other video files (i dl TV show rips every now and then too) using vlc player or media player classic through this ext2IFS when the file is on the ext3 partition? This setup sounds like the best unless ext2IFS has limited functionality for windows.

The last setup i can think of is a NTFS shared partition since Ubuntu 7.10 (Gusty) has NFTS read/write functionality, but a couple of articles said its not 100% effective.

All in all i am really excited about trying out linux. I finally got enough money to build another computer (christmas is awesome :p) and will have a computer to work off of in case i screw up on my old computer with a dual boot setup. I don't want the old computer to blow up or anything though :p. Im just saying i will have another computer to use in case this little dual boot project takes a month to finally get to work.

XP pro is still installed on the other computer but i pulled all the data i want to keep and put it on my new computer, so if i screw up and lose all the data on the old computer then w/e, its just old game saves and halo 2 montages now :p.

So the computer im going to set this dual boot up on has 2 WD 250gb sata2 HDD in raid 0 for its main drive. There are no other drives. I came up with two partition setups that i think might work:

FIRST:
20gb NTFS for XP
30gb NTFS for Game installs (i play WiC and both SupCom games right now and plan to add SC 2 when it comes out)
400gb ext3 for shared data (mostly will be dvd iso's, mp3s, and avi/mpg files..using the ext2IFS for windows access)
48gb ext3 for ubuntu 7.10 (gusty)
2gb ext3 for the SWAP

SECOND:
20gb NTFS for XP
30gb NTFS for Game installs
400gb NTFS for shared data (hoping ubuntu 7.10 (Gusty) can read/write in this format ok)
48gb ext3 for ubuntu 7.10 (gusty)
2gb ext3 for the SWAP

The comptuer specs are:

asus p5b-deluxe/wifi
e6600 @ 3.2ghz
2x1gb g skill HZ's
evga 8800gts stock
2 x WD 250gb SATA2 HDDs in raid 0
2 x SONY DVD-RW (going to replace as soon as i get the chance...giving me problems as far as burning goes)
XP pro SP2 (has the whole drive to itself right now but i am prepared to wipe the drive completely for the new partition setup)

My goal is eventually to use XP just for games and ubuntu for everything else, but this is my first time using linux so the shared data partition needs to work for both OSes in case i can't figure out how to get a file to run on Ubuntu.

Thanks for the help and sorry for the long post, but i had too many questions the dual boot articles just did not answer and that were too long to expect google to find for me without shifting through thousands of hits.

darkop16
 
Ubuntu can read and write to NTFS by default. So why does everyone think you have to go with FAT32? Plus the limit of FAT32 isnt 4GB it is 2GB. As long as you put the torrents or whatever you download ontot the NTFS partition you will be fine. It will be able to be read/wrote to from both XP/Linux just fine. I do this all the time. I download from torrents to a NTFS drive from within Ubuntu and Sure enough when i reboot they are still there in XP.

With 2GB of RAM you really dont need Swap. I have 3GB and no swap.
 
hey,

Thanks, i guess i will go with the second setup i came up with without the swap.

Another question:

Heres an article for partitioning that i read: Partitioning Windows and Ubuntu

The forth option uses a "home" partition to save settings in. I understand the benefits that the article describes, but how does this work? I mean how do i tell ubuntu to save any settings i change to this "home" partition? And how big should it be if i use this partition?

Sorry for being such a newb. I just want to make sure i set the hard drive up correctly before i start installing stuff and downloading movies again to the different partitions.

Thanks for the help
darkop16
 
You used to have to use FAT32, because NTFS support is fairly new in Linux. However, the latest Ubuntu (7.10) can read and write NTFS partitions natively without any helper programs.
 
To add to the already wonderful information in this thread:

NTFS is still a proprietary format which Microsoft is very reluctant to share too much information on how it all really works inside. So, any interoperability has had to come from reverse engineering and trial and error. So, once upon a time you could seriously foul up your NTFS partition trying to modify it from Linux. Naturally there are still people out there who shy away from this sort of thing.
 
I guess thats why some of the articles were telling me to stay away from the NTFS format for a data sharing partition.

Im currently reading an article about setting up a xp/ubuntu/home setup:
Win/NTFS+Fiesty/home

Its quite long and im only half way through it but hopefully it will explain how this home partition is supposed to work.

edit: ok that article tells me how to do it in extreme detail (eyes are bulging now :p), but i found another article that tells me how to use it once im in ubuntu which is what i wanted, so i know that space was going to be used for something. I like to use every bit of space i can get :p.

Aritlce: Ubuntu Unleashed: Easily Setup Seperate /home partition in Ubuntu!

So i guess this is what im going to go with:

20gigs XP pro
30gigs games on XP
400gigs NTFS shared data for both OSes
20gigs ubuntu
30gigs /home for ubuntu

Does this look good? Am i giving a excessive amount of space to a certain partition? How much will ubuntu take up if i move its "document and settings" (sorry im still used to the XP terminology) folder to the /home partition?

Here's another article explaining why its good for a /home partition: Why a separate /home partition should be standard on Linux installs | Dan Ruscoe's Blog

Guess a /home partition is a must for linux newbs since i will probably screw down the line with ubuntu and need to reinstall it, but at least i won't start from scratch. So i guess it pays to do my homework before jumping into something new.
 
See my setup is this...

I have 100GB XP
60GB Vista SP1 (Will change both of these soon since i will need more for Vista soon)
160GB Ubuntu

I have a 160GB drive with my music and pictures on it and a 320GB Drive that is pure storage. The storage drive is where i save all teh stuff from Windows and Ubuntu at. Both versions of Windows at that. The 160GB Drive can be accessed by all OS's as well but i only really read from it iwth Ubuntu.

I dont have a /home drive. I didnt see a need for it. So honestly i dont see why you cant just combine them and make a 50GB partition for all of Ubuntu. Plus dependeing on what games you play. Some of them can play thru Wine on Ubuntu. I have played Halo and UT2004 easily.

All in all i have installed Ubuntu about 5 times. After the first couple of times messing with it and learning it i am not scared if i have to format that drive and reinstall. It is a breeze to setup and get working again.

@ CalcProgrammer1

I know about the limitations that Linux had on NTFS before. But with Ubuntu that everyone is flocking to now it isnt necessary to go with anything but NTFS now. That is why i have suggested this OS to others and have converted a few die hard Windows people to the Linux side cause of this support.

@ mBernhardt

While i can that this is true i can also say that after a few months of massive downloading and messing with my NTFS partitions from within Linux. I think they have done a great job and i am not worried a bit about crashing any partitions. At least not cause i have modified data from witnin Linux. If it happens it will be because of some other stupid mistake i have made. :laughing:
 
wow, 160gb for ubuntu. Is that mostly data or do programs take up alot of that space?

I kinda like the /home idea. It makes linux sound more safe to use and gives me a little confidence with the knowledge that i won't have to start over when (yeah not if but when :p) i screw something up in ubuntu.

Ive read a lot of complainants that the G80 drivers are buggy in linux. I found this forum thread Graphics Driver: nVidia 8800 GTS - Ubuntu Forums which i hope will let me get by this problem quickly.

Also, i didn't even notice but i downloaded the x86 version of ubuntu. With my hardware, do you think the 64 bit version will be better?

Also, where is fdisk? I mean i thought i could just insert the win xp pro cd and boot from it, then creat the xp, game, and shared data partitions with the win xp pro cd and reinstall xp pro to the new xp partition. What i bring up on google is saying i need to make a floppy with fdisk on it, but i havn't used a floppy drive for a few years now.
 
Shockingly the only reason why i gave Ubuntu that much was cause i was also a n00b at the time i ventured into Linux. I gave myself that much space cause i really didnt know how much space thigns were gonna take up. I wanted to be prepared.

Funny thing is that there is only just over 3GB used on this partition. That is why i am going to shrink it down and add that space to my Vista partition. I ahve jsut over 20 applicaitons installed that i use constantly. Takes some getting used to with Linux known which app does what and how to work them.

Honestly i dont see any gain in 64 Bit right now. There are some great things about it but truth be told even Apple and M$ are having coding issues for 64 Bit so i dont think that Linux, even with its wide group of contributors, have gotten further in the 64 Bit developement than the big guns.

The only thing i can suggest is to try out the x86 and see if you like it. Then move on to the x64 if you really want to try it out. Or start with the x64 and tehn if you like it stay with it or go to the x86 version.

As for the vieo card i cant comment. I use a 6800 and it runs great with the nvidia restricted drivers i have running wiht it.
 
Thanks for the help. I think i got everything i need to know down, but its kinda late now and im having problems with burning some anime on my other computer (lost 25gb of anime....cries). Anyways I will give it a try tomorrow and hopefully post back here through ubuntu.

Thanks again,
darkop16
 
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