Partitioning my hard drive for second OS
#1
02-29-08, 05:19 AM
Partitioning my hard drive for second OS
I currently have a 5 year old HP laptop with ~40 GB hard drive and 30 GB free space. It is currently running Windows XP Pro. Currently, the hard drive is not partitioned
I need to install a second OS (Sun Solaris) to the hard drive. Sometimes I will boot up the XP and other times the Solaris. I understand that to add Solaris, I need to partition the hard drive. How do I do this? What's the best software to use?
I need to install a second OS (Sun Solaris) to the hard drive. Sometimes I will boot up the XP and other times the Solaris. I understand that to add Solaris, I need to partition the hard drive. How do I do this? What's the best software to use?
#3
02-29-08, 06:49 AM
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When you partition the hard drive you will have to reinstall xp. You can partition the drive during installation. You don't need diskpart.
#4
02-29-08, 06:57 AM
Originally Posted by oneofamill
When you partition the hard drive you will have to reinstall xp.
So, there's no way to partition the drive without wiping out the contents of the drive?
What's the easiest way to reinstall XP? I don't think I have an installation CD, since the XP cam preloaded by HP when I bought the laptop.
I have an external hard drive? Should I create an image of my hard drive and copy it to my ext HD?
#7
03-01-08, 06:11 AM
A Word of Caution
Things CAN go wrong when repartitioning a drive with an existing operating system, so it would be wise to back up your Windows install first.
The install CD will most likely have the partition editor you need--the command line version is "parted" but most linux/unix distros include a GUI version of it, which you may see in a menu of the install disk if using a live CD. "GParted" is what I'm familiar with.
Don't try to do everything in one session. Do only the resize operation first, shrinking the Windows partition to leave free space above it, then boot back into Windows before going back to the install CD. Don't ask me why but I always seem to have better luck when proceeding cautiously.
After that, the next step would be to create the new partition with the proper file system, plus the swap partition but I am not familiar with Solaris so you'd best go to the proper channels to get advice for doing that.
The install CD will most likely have the partition editor you need--the command line version is "parted" but most linux/unix distros include a GUI version of it, which you may see in a menu of the install disk if using a live CD. "GParted" is what I'm familiar with.
Don't try to do everything in one session. Do only the resize operation first, shrinking the Windows partition to leave free space above it, then boot back into Windows before going back to the install CD. Don't ask me why but I always seem to have better luck when proceeding cautiously.
After that, the next step would be to create the new partition with the proper file system, plus the swap partition but I am not familiar with Solaris so you'd best go to the proper channels to get advice for doing that.
#8
03-01-08, 08:53 AM
A word of caution......
Partition magic will be alot easier to use than most linux based apps (unless you like fumbling around with oddly worded apps and figuring out commands). Partition magic also has an app included called boot magic which can/will correct booting issues. This program works very well, I've even used it on servers in a live environment without problems.
Partition magic will be alot easier to use than most linux based apps (unless you like fumbling around with oddly worded apps and figuring out commands). Partition magic also has an app included called boot magic which can/will correct booting issues. This program works very well, I've even used it on servers in a live environment without problems.
