Windows 7 - Mint dual

[Gunivortus]

Hi.

At my computer is Windows 7 Ult. 64 bit installed.
Now I've downloaded here Linux Mint 8 Live, 64 bit.
How can I get now Mint and W7 at my hard drive with a dual boot option?

Regards,
Gunivortus

[oobetimer]

Hi.

At my computer is Windows 7 Ult. 64 bit installed.
Now I've downloaded here Linux Mint 8 Live, 64 bit.
How can I get now Mint and W7 at my hard drive with a dual boot option?

Regards,
Gunivortus

Resize Windows partitions using its own disk management (there can be only 3 primary partitions. If there are more, you have to delate one). After that install Mint. My suggestion for Mint partitioning:

1. / root partition ---> 10 GB logical ext3 or ext4
2. swap partition ---> 1-2 GB logical
3. /home partition ---> big enough (10 to 1000´000 GB) ext3 or ext4 logical

[seeley]

Hi Gunivortus!
1. After checking the md5sum you can burn an image (CD) and boot from this CD. Then you can test your Mint.
2. If everything seams to be as you want, the first thing you should do is: preparing windows for shrinking the windows partition. It's necessary to defrag it.
3. I prefer - and I had success in installing more than 20 dual- or tripelboot-systems - to make 3 partitions with GParted:
swap, root and home (more details if we know more about your hardware) and give the partitions labels to better
recognize them later.
4. The installation can be started from the desktop (Icon) - in Mint it's easy.
seeley

Edit:
a) The best Disk Defrag I know: http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/di ... /download/
b) Sometimes GParted is installed on a live-CD, if not it's easy to install.
I would shrink the windows partition with GParted and then make the partitions for Mint.
You should transmit some details (to see your free space) - it could be a picture from GParted or
the output as a root (you have GNOME or KDE?) of Terminal from your live-CD.

Code: Select all

fdisk -l

where "l" is not the digit 1 but a little "L" like list.

[Gunivortus]

Thanks a lot so far!

My harddrive of 500 GB was already partitioned. Partition C is the W7 system partition. I can't shrink it really much, there are some fileparts in higher regions, which couldn't be moved at defragging.
The D partition is very small, it was created by W7 at installing for recovery.
The E partition is free and has about 280 GB... in fact, I deleted it, it is now unallocated. I can make those three Linux partitions of it and format it with ext2.
However, my Windows partitioning program demands for driveletters.

If I reboot and start the Mint Live DVD, is there an option to parttion that free space and give it the needed names?


As for my hardware: A core2quad intel processer, Q6600, 3 GB system RAM, a GeForce 9500 with 512 MB RAM.

[oobetimer]

Thanks a lot so far!

My harddrive of 500 GB was already partitioned. Partition C is the W7 system partition. I can't shrink it really much, there are some fileparts in higher regions, which couldn't be moved at defragging.
The D partition is very small, it was created by W7 at installing for recovery.
The E partition is free and has about 280 GB... in fact, I deleted it, it is now unallocated. I can make those three Linux partitions of it and format it with ext2.
However, my Windows partitioning program demands for driveletters.

If I reboot and start the Mint Live DVD, is there an option to parttion that free space and give it the needed names?


As for my hardware: A core2quad intel processer, Q6600, 3 GB system RAM, a GeForce 9500 with 512 MB RAM.

Rename partitions in My computer ==>> http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... ed#p308537

You can make partitions (choose advanced choice) during the installation..

[Gunivortus]

Install is running... waiting now, where I've to choose:
either for "install them side by side, choosing between them each start-up"
or "specify partitions manually (advanced).
When I choose the latter, isn't then no choose at start-up possible?

And.... sorry to need to say it:
I simply don't understand things like:
/dev/sda1
/dev/sde
And at choosing the advanced partitioning:
which type of the new partition? (primary or logical?
Use as: ........
Mount point: ..........

I am a plain GUI Windows user, using almost always wizards, who do the 'difficult' jobs and thought, Mint could do that all itself, without such difficult questions.

[seeley]

Hi!
Good advice: check after having started your live-DVD, if GParted is installed - if not it's easy to install with the software manager. There you can see your partitions; in Linux you must accustom to /dev/sda, ...
The maximum of primary partitions is 4 (historical): sda1, sda2, sda3. sda4; one of these can be an extended partition, which is a container for logical partitions sda5, sda6, sda7, sda8,... In any case the numbers of the logical partitions start with 5 independent of the number of the primary partitions.
With GPatedy you can try partitioning without any risk, take a screenshot and ask in the forum if it's okay. If you don't choose "apply", you can undo your partitioning - nothing will happen.
seeley

Edit:
You can split your installation into 3 steps:
1. GParted: first create an extended partition and within this 3 partitions for "/" (10 GB, format to ext3 or ext4), "swap" (max. 2 GB, format to swap) and "/home" (format to ext3 or ext4), give them the labels rootMint, swap and homeMint or *Helena or...; root: 10 GB, swap max. 2 GB (depends on your computer), home: as you want. You should also reflect upon creating a DATA-partition (format to ntfs) if you want to have access to it from windows and linux.
2. Asking if it's okay.
3. Install Mint; don't choose side by side, make your own partitioning using the partitions you made with GParted.
Mount points: rootMint -> "/" first, then homeMint -> "/home", if you had created DATA -> "media/DATA".

[Gunivortus]

OK..... I installed Linux Mint from the DVD and choose the first option to let me choose at startup whether running W7 or Mint.
The partition was resized.....
After a few questions it was installed. Then my DVD station got opened and I removed the DVD.
The system rebootet and now, neither w7 or Mint can loaded. it says:
error: no such device: (then a long line of ciphers)
grub rescue>
and a blinking cursor.
What to do?

[seeley]

Hi Gunivortus!
You should have waited!
Please read what I wrote before, at 11:11.
seeley

[Gunivortus]

Hugh?
What did I wrong then?
What should I have waite for?
I defragmented W7. Couldn't resize the system partition enough with the w7 software, so I let Mint do that at installing.
There was no error during install.
And now my harddrive isn't seen anymore!

I'm afraid I've to reinstall W7 again and then Mint.

[Gunivortus]

GOT IT!
Mint hadn't installed itself at the free space of my internal harddrive, but at my external USB backup harddrive.
That one isn't in the bootsequence of the CMOS.
So I disconnected that drive and ran the Mint install again. Now it's installed at the internal drive and at reboot I can choose between W7 and Mint.

No first I'll seek in Mint for a resize option, to make things much bigger on the screen..... I'm rather strong visually handicapped.

[Gunivortus]

Thanks for the kind help.
Problem solved.
...............
Nerw probs appear.

Kind regards,
Gunivortus