install on less than cylinder 1024

[goesbatu <goesbatu@siu.edu>]

I (finally) have Red Hat 6.1 installed and running.  :-)

The problem was that because of my BIOS, the Linux boot partition had to
start lower than cylinder 1024 on my hard disk.  (This on a Compaq less
than one year old.)  For me, cylinder 1024 was somewhere around 7 gigs.
Neither FIPS nor the Red Hat install could handle this.

Somebody here mentioned Partition Magic (thanks!) so I went out and bought
it ($70).  This is how it went...

The computer came with an approximately 18-gig hard disk that was already
divided into a primary and an extended partition.  The primary partition
(c:) went up to about 15 gigs with the extended partition at the end.  This
extended partition was labelled "system_save".

I defragged and used FIPS to create a second primary partition of about 4
gigs at the end of c: (before system_save).  I tried Red Hat install and
was told I did not have enough disk space.  I tried a variety of stuff that
didn't work.

I ran Partition Magic, which recommended that I install Linux behind
system_save.  So I repartitioned, moving system_save forwards on the disk,
so that it was c: (11 gig), system save (3 gig), and Linux (4 gig).  Tried
the install and was told that I did not have enough disk space.  I tried a
variety of stuff that didn't work.

I used Partition Magic to put the partitions back like when I started (c:,
15 gigs; system_save, 3 gigs).

I told Partition Magic to take space from c: to create a Linux partition.
When it recommended that I put the Linux partition behind system_save, I
told it "no."  (I don't remember why, but I did.)  To my surprise, it did
it this way:  c:, 7 gigs; Linux, 4 gigs; unused 4 gigs; and, system_save, 3
gigs.

Why would it take so much space from c: and waste it?  I hit the Partition
Magic docs and found out:  some BIOS's have to have all operating systems
installed below cylinder 1024.  Bingo!

I was only using about 3 gigs on Windows, anyway, so leaving it with 7
gigs, seemed like plenty.  I ended up with C: (7 gigs), Linux (various
partitions, 8 gigs), and system save (3 gigs).  Red Hat 6.1 installed and
ran successfully on this.

I would never have figured this out just using FIPS and Red Hat install.

I had backed up, but miraculously did all this without losing a bit on my
hard disk (well worth $70 to me).  Also, I can now continue to adjust my
Linux partitions as I need to.

Oh, yes.  I delayed installing Linux so long because I was afraid of using
it with Plug-and-Play hardware.  As it turned out, Linux recognized every
piece of hardware I had, including my ethernet/ADSL hookup.  This turned
out to be a complete non-issue.

Moving on...

--Chester




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