linux then windows?

[friskydrifter]

Ok had a mate ask me if he can put linux on his machine then win2k afterward.
Is this possible, any pitfalls?
Im guessing that windows will overwrite lthe MBR (lilo)? And that you wont be able to boot linux anymore.
is it possible to just put lilo back on as the bootloader after the install of win?

Any other thourghts on this? Or other alternatives?

Thanks guys

[mugs]

Everything I have always heard and read said to install Windows first, for the reason you mention.

[babbing]

some of thre reasons they say to just do it that way is because M$ has designed windows to want to be first everywhere. It wants to be on the first partition of the primary HD, and wants to also be in the MBR. Rather than go through issues such as mapping and stuff to fool windows into think it is there, if you install it first and linux second, it takes care of all those little things that need to be taken care of. It is just that most people don't realize what windows *cough* requires :P :


-Babbing

[Spot]

You can successfully install windows after linux. You wil, however, need a verified working boot floppy for the linux installation - remember when you were asked to make one at the end of the linux install? If you've since removed the original kernel from the linux install, you'll want to make a new boot disk (man mkbootdisk for more info) that corresponds to the new kernel. Apparently, you can also use your bootable linux CD as well - I've not done that myself though.

You'll need this because when winders is installed, it overwrites the MBR on the hard drive - removing the lilo or grub that was there before. Oncer winders is installed, you can boot linux with your boot disk and run lilo once again to put it back in the MBR (read the docs for grub if you use that).

[bentbike1]

it would be much easyer to get a secound hard drive and install linux on it as master then replace it as slave then when booting go into bios and choose which drive to install from mainly becuse linux files sytem dvides up a drive into sevral smaller sections and windows will over write the master boot recodrd and you can partion the drive up one to windows and linux then you have to figure out which is which

[trommaster]

it would be much easyer to get a secound hard drive and install linux on it as master then replace it as slave then when booting go into bios and choose which drive to install from mainly becuse linux files sytem dvides up a drive into sevral smaller sections and windows will over write the master boot recodrd and you can partion the drive up one to windows and linux then you have to figure out which is which

not always...
i had win xp and mandrake running fine on a single hard drive, the xp box had 2 partitions and the linux one 1 and the swap. it worked fine, although i had to make sure i had a boot dosk for when i reloaded xp when it went spastic and asked me to activate it when it shouldn't have.... but yeah. ;D

[babbing]

windows has _never_ overwritten my MBR

[trommaster]

wtf... ??? ??? : : :-\ :-\
9x will *always* overwrite it.
maybe its a 2k thing?

[babbing]

prolly, who knows

then again, it is just as easy to put grub right back there, matter of fact, it is one simple command

[trommaster]

mmmm
[me=alastair]goes and hets himself some grub : : :P :P [/me]