Linux Mint Forums

I have a system running Windows 7 Ultimate. I want to run LinuxMint on a second hard drive. With Windows I do this by unplugging the first hard drive and installing Windows on the second
hard drive. When both are plugged in, I hit F8 and have a choice which hard drive to boot.
I tried this with LinuxMint 14.1 Cinnamon w/ Codecs. The first problem I have is an error message "General Error Mounting File System". A Maintenance Shell will now be started. It then
finishes starting up from the DVD and seems to work ok. When I try to install it as described above, I pick the first of two partitions I want it installed in and I get an error message, "No
root file is Defined". Is this caused by the first error message I get and how do I fix both errors? Do I have a bad download?

With Windows I do this by unplugging the first hard drive and installing Windows on the second hard drive. When both are plugged in, I hit F8 and have a choice which hard drive to boot.

No need for doing this in Linux. Every Linux distribution has some sort of boot loader. A boot loader is basically a program that will be started before everything else and will choose which Operational System will be booted each time you turn your PC on. Google for "boot loader" and "grub" to learn more.

When I try to install it as described above, I pick the first of two partitions I want it installed in and I get an error message, "No root file is Defined".

You must specify the mounting point for the root directory. In practice, you must put a / in the partition you want to install Mint. Read Mint's installation guide or see a video of someone doing it in youtube. It's not hard, but it can get a bit complicated if you don't know what you're doing. And be careful, you can mess up the other partitions if you do something wrong.

Do I have a bad download?

Probably not, but you can chek your iso integrity with md5sum. Google for "md5sum" to learn more.