On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 14:58:20 GMT, tom <wolfemet@ameritech.net> wrote:
> I have an XP machine that I want to set up for
> dual booting. I have done this several times
> in the past on Win 95 and Win 98 machines using
> fips and lilo.
>
> Is there any changes with the XP machine?
>
> Also what is the best method to repartition the HD,
> fip, parted or something else?

I used what I think was a Mandrake 9.2 based rescue CD to repartition my
200g drive (ntfsresize and fdisk).

One thing you have to be cautious about with recent Linux versions (or
64-bit XP Pro beta) is that they may ignore existing partition table
geometry and use their own, which might make Windows inaccessible. So you
may want to configure your partitions like you want them with fdisk. And
make sure you record partition table data from fdisk before installing
Linux (or 64-bit XP Pro beta). When 64-bit XP changed my heads from 240
to 255 it could not even reboot itself until fixed with Linux fdisk from
the rescue CD. So I noticed the odd cyl. numbers when installing 64-bit
SuSE 9.1 and avoided repeating the problem.

I put GRUB on my Linux partition (instead of the MBR) and marked that as
the boot partition, so I do not have to worry about Windows tampering with
the MBR. GRUB boots first, and if Windows is selected, ntldr on a Win
partition can select 64-bit XP Pro or XP Home.

PS: I was Windows free except for my Win98se/Linux laptop until I got this
new PC. But I needed to be familiar with XP for work.