Installing Linux on new, 2nd HDD

[mike349]

Hello,

I just got a new WD 500GB Scorpio Black drive for the Ultrabay. I got it initialized, but I haven't partitioned it / formatted it. I want a bootable linux partition on it, and I want the rest for Windows files.

Years ago (1998) I had a dual boot Windows/Linux desktop - for around a year - and I loved Linux. But I haven't used Linux in all this time. I want to install Linux to learn MySQL, PHP, and maybe Perl for making web pages, and I want to set up a local Apache server - not on the internet - for developing and testing web pages locally. (I've tested web pages locally with a small Apache server previously.)

My original T41 drive (34GB) boots to Windows SP SP3. That drive is about full.

What Linux distribution would be best for these purposes on a T41? How should I partition / format the disk. I don't want to have to go back and redo anything. NTFS? EXT3?

I can't use a CD to install Linux, but fortunately thinkwiki (on Linux) says the T41 can boot from a USB flash drive, and you can do an install from there.

I guess a boot manager will be installed on my original T41 disk? I certainly don't want to crash that disk...

I'm just looking for some pointers on getting started on this. I'd rather start using that disk now for storing Windows files, but I want to be sure I can add Linux to it without having to move those files later. I want to add Linux very soon.

Thanks for your help.

[tom lightbody]

hi mike, belated welcome to the forum

interesting. if I understand correctly, you want keep existing XP drive
as a booter, add big drive in ultrabay and use it 1. to store windows
files from the installation on XP drive, and 2. to boot linux so you
have a dual boot situation.

my questions would be

1. can the t41 boot from a drive in the ultrabay?
2. if so, can it boot from the second partition of that drive?
3. will any of the linux bootloaders let you choose to boot an OS on a
different drive?

I've never experimented along those lines so can't help with answers

> start using the big disk now for windows files

Sure, right away. My experience in many dual-boot arrangements, has
been that linux (debian) installs very co-operatively on disks whose
first partition is ntfs/fat32. With a disk as huge as that, I might do
ntfs 400 leaving unallocated 100 for linux, who can partition and format
from raw unallocated space but not adjust the size. I use gparted to
set up the partitions.

things are a lot easier then they were in '98

personally, I use debian but not the "desktop"--instead I use the window
manager fvwm with a custom setup on 6 virtual consoles.

debian in my experience is solid, and has very good support, some
inherited from its progeny, ubuntu. I find "apt-get" to be near magic.

let us know how you get on

tom

[twistero]

Now, if you want your Linux installation to be as close to a real server as possible, you're looking at a command-line-only setup, no graphical desktop environment. For that I would suggest Arch Linux because it's very customizable and gets you closer to what's under the hood. On the other hand, if you do want a graphical interface, and would rather have things work out of the box, then Ubuntu would be a great choice.

As for using the new disk, you can start using it right away. Just leave a contiguous block of free space either at the beginning or at the end of the disk for Linux. Even if you use up the whole disk now, it wouldn't be a problem: Linux tools like GParted can resize partitions easily. When you install the Linux distro of your choice, the installer should help you add partitions to the free space.

You don't have to install a new boot loader on your main HDD. There are 2 ways how this can be done:
1. Set boot order in BIOS to boot from UltraBay first, then install Linux on UltraBay HDD as usual. The installer should find your XP partition and add an entry to its own boot loader on the UltraBay HDD. This way, when the machine boots it boots from the Linux boot loader on UltraBay HDD, and the Windows boot loader on main HDD is not touched. (There is possibility that XP will not like being on a "second" hard drive and refuse to boot.)
2. Just install Linux on the Ultrabay HDD, and install its boot loader either in the MBR of the UltraBay HDD, or in the Linux partition. Then, add GRUB4DOS to Windows boot loader (by editing boot.ini file and putting an ordinary file in C:\. There's no need to make changes to MBR.) This way you boot with Windows boot loader, load GRUB4DOS from it, and then load Linux from that.

[Orclas]

I have never really used Linux - only short testing out of curiousity and for using some Linux tools, such as Gparted, for which I have Linux Mint on a USB stick - but if you're choosing between a few distros you could always install a couple on USB sticks and spend an hour or two getting a feel for the basic differences, with the possibility to quickly swap between the variants without installing on the HDD.