linux on extended partition?

S

soaringthor

Member
So if you've read my previous posts, you will know that my HDD looks like this:
<Dell Diags(tiny)><Dell Recovery(5GB)><Vista(60GB)><XP(80GB)>
I just found out that with moving everything around, the Dell Diags don't work, and the whole 4 partition limit was the only thing in the way of installing Gutsy on my laptop. So I'm getting rid of the Dell Diags so I can put Gutsy on. So.... my questions:
1) Will GParted allow an extended partition on a laptop drive? M$ won't let me.
2) I know M$ OSes don't like to be on extended partitions. Will Gutsy?
3) Any problem with making the swap partition a logical partition in Gutsy's own extended partition?
Then on a completely unrelated subject:
4) I think that I can't access any of XP's advanced boot options (LKGC, safe mode, disable automatic restart, etc). Any way to restore these ex post facto?

Thanks!
 
You can access those options by pressing F8 prior to the Windows bootloading screen.

As for the logical partition issue... Ubuntu has no problem with living on an extended partition, and SWAP partitions can also be logical without a problem.

You should be able to use GParted from the Ubuntu live CD to create an extended/logical partition without a problem.

Best of luck!
 
Okay, great. I set up the partitioning before I went to work this morning, so it *might* be done by the time I get home!

Will the Ubuntu wiki entry tell me everything I need, or are there special instructions for a triple boot with all of Vista's and XP's boot stuff is on C:? (which is like sda2)?

Speaking of sda2, obviously, when I delete partitions at the beginning of the drive, the other partition assignments are readjusted, right?
 
It depends on what's loading them... Vista's bootloader doesn't care for the numbers, but GRUB and NTLDR (the XP bootloader) do.
 
I'm planning to install XP X64 and OpenSUSE 11.0. There exists Dell preinstalled Vista 32-bit; DOS and System Restore partitions exist. Should I create a primary for XP x64 and an extended for Linux? From above, I learn that Linux GRUB should be installed to the Linux (extended? - root, home, boot?) partition. But, I'd prefer neoGRUB...
Should I create the XP x64 partition using the VIsta CD Diskpart utility, or is GParted OK for both?
 
You can create 2 new Primary partitions for both. But you will most definately need a primary for Windows. Linux will be jsut fine on a extended. GRUB i have installed right to the same place i installed the OS. Which i used a mount point of / for that.

GParted will be just fine to use as i have used that to create all the partitions that i am on now and Windows is just fine with it.
 
I tried adding a fourth NTFS primary to 460Gb first drive using gparted but was told there was an error and operation could not continue. I had noticed unallocated space before the main Vista OS and when GParted rescanned, that wasn't there.
I'm now guessing I should try using Vista CD's Diskpart utility to try to create the fourth primary on the first drive.
I have a second drive installed, and could create an 80Gb partition there (I had created one at front of drive there with gParted before, but removed it when I thought a Linux partition might be possible on the first drive). I noticed that Vista required a separate disk-dedicated recycle bin when the Linux ext3 Primary was at the start of that second drive. So, perhaps I should on my next try using GParted for that second drive place the ext3 Primary at the end?
My problems probably relate to the Dell Recovery software...
Any guidance appreciated!
[BTW, tnx for so quick a reply to my earlier post!]
 
From what i remember you can only have 3 Primary partitions. Your best bet is to just use a logical partition or extended aprtition for Linux at this point.
 
Actually the maximum is 4 primary partitions, provided that you don't have any logical partitions. If you have any logical partitions on that drive, then you can only have 3 primary partitions + as many logical as you want.
 
Back
Top