Mandrake killed Windows

[Tony Hammitt]

Eeek, sorry to hear that.  I feel partially responsible since I gave you
the disk...

What is the state of the hard drive now?  Does it have multiple partitions?
Are there ones big enough to put windows into along with a Linux distro?

If there is still the option of changing the partitions, I'd recommend
making a big primary partition for windows and leaving an extended one for
Linux's parts.  Possibly something like the following (adapted from my 8GB
ide disk):

Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 1046 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes

   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1             1        26    208813+  83  Linux          # Linux /boot
/dev/hda2            27       512   3895762  <win32 partition>
/dev/hda2           513      1046   4281322    5  Extended
/dev/hda5           513       537    192780   83  Linux          # /
/dev/hda6           538       560    176715   82  Linux swap
/dev/hda7           561       888   2626627   83  Linux          # /usr
/dev/hda8           889      1046   1261102   83  Linux          # /home

It is possible to do this partitioning and then install your OSs.  I'd
install windows first, let it take over the MBR and use a boot floppy for
Linux.  Windows doesn't play well with other OSs.  Other people could
probably give better advice since I haven't dual booted since 1995.

Make sure that no matter how you end up, you keep a hardcopy of the
partition map.  If you want to bring the machine to tomorrow's meeting
(geez, we have you running boxen al over town, don't we..) we'd be glad
to help out.

Regards,

Tony Hammitt

SFIKE at twa.com wrote:
> 
>  I tried to install Mandrake 7.1 in a dual-boot configuration with Windows
> 98. Unfortunetly, Mandrake over-wrote Windows and took over the hard drive
> for itself. Not good.
> 
>  Mandrakes partitioning tool, in the installation process, is confusing at best
> and very inadequate at worst. Especially for a novice user without
> documentation to go by as in my case. I didn't have a clue to what was to be
> done when I got to this step in the installation process, and Mandrake's
> partitioning tool was no help. I ended up doing what I thought was correct and
> somehow ended up letting Mandrake take over the entire hard drive for itself.
> 
>  At least Corel Linux won't do this without giving you fair warning. Corel
> Linux is the only distro that I've been able to successully install with
> Windows in a dual-boot configuration, so Corel gets a pat on the back and an
> "at-a-boy" from me for that!
> 
>  I was wondering if someone could help guide me throught this difficult and
> confusing step in installing Mandrake in a dual-boot config on my hard drive?
> 
> Thanks,
> Scott
>