How to Install Fedora 11 to Dual Boot With Windows.

[jurman]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me how to correctly install F11 on the same disk as Windows. I have created the partition but can’t tell what F11 install to use to setup as dual boot with Windows XP Pro 64bit.

Regards Jurgen

[stoat]

Hello jurman,

First, if you are going to use the ext4 filesystem (the default), then Fedora will require at least two partitions (a small ext3 /boot and the ext4 /). Actually, Anaconda (the Fedora installer) is perfectly capable (better, really) of creating Fedora's partitions. I recommend that you delete that partition that you have created and leave unpartitioned space for Anaconda to use for Fedora's partitions. There is a partition option to do that. Watch for it and choose it.

Next, if you have no reason not to allow Anaconda to install GRUB in the master boot record of the hard drive (and there are sometimes some reasons not to), then simply allow the boot loader option selected by default in Anaconda to happen. By default, Anaconda is set to install GRUB in the master boot record. Don't interfere with it. After the installation finishes and you reboot, GRUB should be launched instead of your familiar Windows boot screens. It will present a boot menu to choose operating systems.

Lastly, Anaconda is usually good about detecting and adding existing Windows systems to its boot loader. It is usually listed as "Other" in the Fedora boot menu. And it often works. But sometimes Anaconda misconfigures GRUB to boot a utility partition or a recovery partition. That is a common thing and easy to fix. You can also change "Other" to "Windows" or whatever.

[bg3075]

I would like to do the opposite, install Windows XP on the same disk as Fedora 10. In need to reinstall Fedora anyhow, as it never has worked right from the installation until now. Will Anaconda allow to format a partition as Fat32 or NTFS to install Windows into?