RE: Linux and Win95/98

["George Lenzer" <glenzer chuhpl lib oh us>]

> Hi,
>
> I am about to buy a new laptop and am thinking of a dual boot with
> Linux being primary. Having never used any dual boots I would how
> practical it really is. I have some tools I use in Win98 that I
> am comfortable
> with.

Good plan.  There are some things that just don't exist in the Linux world
yet, so it's always nice to have access to Windows.

> If I use dual boot will Linux be able to see the windows partition
> so I can share data. Are there any other thing I need to think about
> pro or con on this subject.

I haven't set Linux up on a laptop myself, so I can't help you there... But,
I have successfully set up dual and triple boot systems.  (Win95/NT, Linux)
In my opinion, the easiest way, most trouble-free way to set up a dual boot
system is to do the following:

1. Wipe out all partitions on your HD and start from scratch.  You should
use Win95/98's FDISK for this.
2. Create new DOS partition(s).  Leave some unpartitioned space for use with
Linux.  (I think RedHat 5.1 supports vfat32, so you should be able to mount
your DOS partitions.  I always use FAT16 so I can have NT on the system as
well.)
3. Install Windows on your system.
4. Begin the Linux installation and use the unpartitioned space.
5. Specify your mount points for your FAT partitions.
6. Follow Linux setup's instructions for installing LILO (Boot manager).  I
usually install LILO to the Master Boot Record.

When you reboot, you should get a LILO prompt allowing you to type DOS to go
to Windows or Linux to go to Linux.

Those are the basics.

George Lenzer