Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Thu, 24 Jan 2002 07:32:00 -0800
From:      Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com>
To:        chip <chip@wiegand.org>
Cc:        David Schultz <dschultz@uclink.Berkeley.EDU>, "f.johan.beisser" <jan@caustic.org>, freebsd-chat@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: FreeBSD Installer (was "Re: ... RedHat ...")
Message-ID:  <3C5028F0.97A0CC56@mindspring.com>
References:  <20020123114658.A514@lpt.ens.fr> <20020123223104.SM01952@there> <3C4FBE5C.2AE8C65@mindspring.com> <200201240622374.SM01304@there>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
chip wrote:
> On Wednesday 23 January 2002 11:57 pm, Terry Lambert banged out on the keys:
> > I think you've been "lucky".  Part of it is the luck you made,
> > with your very non-standard configuration, compared to that of
> 
> I think I'll do a dual-boot setup just for the experience. I'm open for a
> little extra 'fun'. ;-)

If you must, then here are some "spoilers" for you.  Ignore
these, if you want to get the "full experience".

PS: Create a Boot Magic "Rescue disk" when it asks you to!
    You *will* need it, and if you don't have it, you will
    *NOT* be able to use the recovery CDROMs to reinstall
    Windows XP!

[ ... spoilers .... ]

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

1) You need Partition Magic 7.0 to do Windows XP partitions;
   previous versions don't work on them.  Expect to make a
   trip to the store and shell out $70 (you get a $20 rebate,
   if you buy the package with the rebate sticker AND you
   have the box from a previous version to cut the UPC off to
   send it in).

2) If you try to install Boot Magic up front, it's going to
   fail; you have to create a FAT16 or FAT32 partition to
   hold the Boot Magic data, since the boot blocks can't
   read Windows XP FS's, only FAT16 or FAT32.

3) If you want it to actually work, you have to create a
   "Primary" partition.  To do this, you have to tell it
   that you intend to boot an OS from the thing, even if
   you don't intend to.  Otherwise, it makes a secondary
   partition in a primary extended partition, and you are
   screwed.

4) The safest one to use is a FAT32 (Windows 98) partition;
   this means you have to burn 40M (actually, 47.1M) on the
   thing.

5) You have to put the new partition up front on the disk.

So, to recap and give explicit steps, you need to:

i)	Start with a Windows XP system
ii)	Install Partition Magic 7.x
iii)	Resize the Windows XP partition smaller; 6G is about
	the maximum, since the FAT32, Windows XP, and FreeBSD
	root disk all have to be in the first 8G of disk
	space (NT must be all within the first 4G, if you
	plan to boot from the disk!).
iv)	Create a small FAT32 partition at the front
        of the disk
v)	Apply the changes (requires a reboot)

Now we are in "shoot yourself in the foot" territory...

6)	Install Boot Magic

7)	CREATE A RECOVERY DISK

8)	DO *NOT* EXIT IT UNTIL YOU HAVE CONFIGURED IT
	COMPLETELY FOR THE BOOT OF WINOWS XP, OR YOU
	WILL NEED TO REINSTALL!

9)	You need to mark the XP partition as the default

10)	If you don't change the properties on the Windows
	XP boot selection, you *WILL NOT* be able to get
	back into the Boot Magic config program, and you
	*WILL NOT* be able to recover with the recovery
	disk.

10a)	If you find yourself in this position, you need to
	boot the recovery disk, and exit out to a DOS prompt;
	then at the DOS prompt, use the undocumented "/X"
	option on the FDISK program on the command line, and
	delete *ALL* the partitions, or the Windows XP
	recovery CDROM may not work! (vendor specific;
	that's "FDISK /X", if you weren't paying attention).

11)	You *MUST* modify the boot partition properties
	*away* from the defaults that Boot Magic installs;
	if you do not do this, then the parition where the
	Boot Magic files operate *WILL NOT* be accessible to
	Windows XP!

12)	Then, *AND ONLY THEN*, can you exit the Boot Magic
	setup and reboot.

Time for another recap, giving explicit steps:

vi)	Install Boot Magic
vii)	Do a "properties" on the Windows XP boot menu entry
viii)	Check the "Override defaults" checkbox, and make the
	FAT32 partition visible to Windows XP.  IF YOU DO NOT
	DO THIS, YOU WILL HAVE TO REINSTALL WINDOWS XP.
ix)	You also *MUST* mark the Windows XP partition as the
	default or Boot Magic will select the FAT32 as default,
	and YOU WILL HAVE TO REINSTALL WINDOWS XP.
x)	If you want, delete the FAT32 partition out of the boot
	menu entirely, since it's not really bootable.

13)	Reboot your system into Windows XP to verify that the
	installation is all happy.  If it's not, you made a
	mistake somewhere, and your will need to scratch the
	disk and restart the process.

14)	Shutdown and boot from your FreeBSD CDROM; you are
	now ready to try installing FreeBSD.

[ At this point, we note how dangerous it is to even try to
  install FreeBSD at all, these days... 8-( ]

[ Do your FreeBSD install thing ]

15)	Boot Windows XP again, and add FreeBSD to the boot
	menu.

16)	Use the "Properties" to override the default *again*
	and make the FAT32 and Windows XP partitions visible
	to FreeBSD, if you want to be able to mount them
	from FreeBSD at all.

17)	Reboot again to test both Windows XP and FreeBSD
	booting.  If it works, you have dodged the bullet.

Final recap:

xi)	Add FreeBSD to the boot menu
xii)	Make sure you override the visibility defaults, so
	FreeBSD can see the Windows XP and FAT32 disks; the
	FAT32 disk is useful for transferring data between
	the OSs.

If you actually get this far without giving up, I have a
couple of "FreeBSD Daemon" igon artworks for the Boot Magic
menu I can give you.  8-).  Compared to the rest of the
process, reverse engineering the icons so that they can be
replaced was a breeze.


Whee!  Isn't installing FreeBSD fun and simple for anyone
who wants to set up a dual boot system so that they can
try it out for the first time?!?

-- Terry

To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?3C5028F0.97A0CC56>