creating partitiion to install second operating system

[ringo747]

hey guys,

want to have a play about with another operating system and before i do that i need to partition one of my drives.. what is the best way to do this?

Also I need to know how to install a second operating system and dual boot it?

Will running two os make my machine unstable? I need it for uni stuff so dont want to destroy it!

 

[Bobbler]

G-Parted is pretty good for this. Its a linux cd which you just boot from (dont worry its GUI driven so no real linux knowledge needed).
Depending on what OS you are going to be running would determine your boot manager.
Theres LILO, GRUB, Windows Boot.ini and paid for applications like Acronis which can manage it for you.

 

[Captain Fizz]

Empty a partition on another drive...
If you don't have a free one then Partition magic is good at resizing them.
(Can sometimes have a wobble at the permissions but easily remedied)

Boot from the new OS CD.
Tell it to format and install to the new partition.
Install OS.
Dual-boot is done automatically for you by windows.

Job done.

 

[Berserker]

You both forgot the most important bit...

Backup first!

Though that seems obvious to some, it's worth repeating plenty often.

 

[ringo747]

cheers for the info guys,

i have just freed up one drive so im gonna partition it then install a new os


what other things do i have to note so that i dont overwrite my c: windows partition??? Unplug all the other drives??