Dual Boot: Can I install Win7 after Mint17

[kkruecke]

If you want to dual boot Win7 and LM17, is it necessary to first install Win7 and the LM17? Since I already have LM17 installed and customized the way I want it (not to mention having overcome the Black Screen of Death post installation caused by the default nouveau driver (and solved by following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCWLAZy3gfQ).

According to http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 34#p727923 it is possible:

Code: Select all

Long answer: (Mint remains intact)
Boot to the Live mode using your thumb drive and run the partition manager. Be sure you don't click your hard drive in the file manager so that it won't be automatically mounted.

Open the partition manager (I think it is Gparted) and you will see there the partitioniner. Shrink your current Mint partition and Hit Apply Changes.
If your not familiar with it,
read http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2012/05/17/ho ... windows-7/
or this http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/dual ... buntu.html

After creating paritions, install Windows 7 on your newly created partition. After the installation of Windows, you'll lose the ability to boot Mint since WIndows 7 blows you boot record.
Next step, boot into Live mode again and follow this tutorial to recover you operating systems.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair

However, I'd hate to try this and find out that it actually doesn't work.

[seeley]

Hi!
How many minutes did your Mint installation take? (Mine 6 minutes on SSD.)
Did you prepare partitions (own home)?
You normally get no problems installing Mint as your second OS; but I would prepare partitions, e.g. with GParted or KDE Partition Manager.

[Incentive I.C]

It is possible you just have to make sure you can spare at least 1-2 primary partition. I dont belive windows inself has to be on a primary partition but its boot loader has to be. Windows bootloader overwrites Grub so you will have to go into the live cd and put Grub back on Mbr which is very easy to do. Just make sure to shrink your partition in Gparted because i don't think the windows installer can handle ext4. You can go on and format the shrinked space to NTFS or you can keep it as unallocated space and select it from in the windows installation disk.

[kkruecke]

Thanks Incentive I.C. . I did find a video howto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5LMoa1OK9Q
that shows how to install Windows on a pre-existing Linux machine, and then use Linux Secure Remix, http://sourceforge.net/projects/linux-secure/files/ burned to a USB, to put Grub back on the MBR.

[DrHu]

Yup
--but it is more difficult/awkward than a straight windows OS install to the first drive/partition C:|

Win7x will work on any partition, but windows OS will see drive letters starting at C: (1st drive, 1st partition)
http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/u ... 3_i386.deb
--and there is always the efi mode to consider..

When you have a choice, it is probably easier and better to let windows OS grab the first drive, 1st partition (C:\)
--otherwise some work is needed to make it work out.
http://windows7.iyogi.com/support/featu ... ve-letter/

• Many windows based programs refer to specific drive letters for environmental or other variables. If you change the drive letter, these programs may not work properly
  • Just one of the reasons not to mess with the windows installed setup..

--you can (within a windows OS) change the installed drive letter used, but sometimes that is more trouble than its worth: it can mess up the windows OS start-up/loading

Otherwise using grub 2x and booting the windows OS is easier and keeps everything Linux-centric
--boot list screens et al.

[kkruecke]

Thanks DrHu. Do you agree with Incentive IC's comment?:

Grub so you will have to go into the live cd and put Grub back on Mbr which is very easy to do.

[DrHu]

Yup
--that's usually what you have to do because windows any windows OS (up to the current version 8x insists on looking for the C:] drive (1st part/1st drive: physical)

I haven't looked for awhile, nut in the older grub it was chain load + 1 (to load the alternate OS boot loader/manager: windows OS that is..)


You can also load/install windows OS to a flash drive
--so it would seem that even if the windows OS looks at C:, it can use other alternate locations..

[kkruecke]

Here is the layout of my partitions as shown by GParted:

Partition FileSystem Size Flags
/dev/sda1 Fat32 512.00 Mig boot
/dev/sda2 ext4 224.42 Gig
/dev/sda3 linux-swap 7.97 Gig

Does this still look ok in terms of installing Windows after shrinking /dev/sda2?

Thanks,
Kurt

[Incentive I.C]

Here is the layout of my partitions as shown by GParted:

Partition FileSystem Size Flags
/dev/sda1 Fat32 512.00 Mig boot
/dev/sda2 ext4 224.42 Gig
/dev/sda3 linux-swap 7.97 Gig

Does this still look ok in terms of installing Windows after shrinking /dev/sda2?

Thanks,
Kurt

Yeah it looks fine but what is the Fat32 filesystem for? If its for the windows boot partition windows will make it for you.