Setting up a dual boot (Win9x/Linux) system
===========================================

NOTE: this will not work on Windows NT

BACKGROUND

If you are new to Linux and normally use either Windows 95 or 98 as your
primary operating system (OS), your computer will probably naturually boot
into Windows, necessitating a boot floppy to get into Linux.  While this
is perfectly good, uncompressing the kernel from the floppy can take
forever in some cases.  This makes the assumption that Linux either lives
on a separate partition to Windows (if you have only one hard drive)[1],
on a separate hard drive, or perhaps a combination of the two.  In any
case, this guide should help you.

If you have already got a working dual boot system with LILO, you don't
need this article!

[1] RedHat Linux's installer guides you through this process of
partitioning, for instance.  Partition Magic(TM) is a Windows-based
utility that allows you to repartition your hard drive without erasing the
existing data (as is usually the case.


WHAT YOU NEED

1. The location of the root partition (e.g. /dev/hda3)

   You can find this out by typing 'mount' in a Linux shell

   e.g.

   dermot:~$ mount
   /dev/hda5 on / type ext2 (rw,errors=remount-ro,errors=remount-ro)

   In this case root or / is on /dev/hda5.

2. loadlin (a DOS Linux loader)

   In Debian: apt-get install loadlin

   As for the other distros?  You can download a compressed file (.zip, .tgz)
   which contains this document and the loadlin executable from: 

   http://www.srcf.ucam.org/downloads/


INSTALLING LOADLIN

You must be root to do this.  This also assumes that Windows is installed
on the first partition of your first hard drive.

~# cd /mnt
/mnt# mkdir win95
/mnt# mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 win95
/mnt/win95# cd win95
/mnt/win95# mkdir bin
/mnt/win95# cp /vmlinuz bin/

Then find out where loadlin.exe has been installed.

/mnt/win95# updatedb
/mnt/win95# locate loadlin.exe
/usr/lib/loadlin/loadlin.exe.gz
/mnt/win95# gunzip /usr/lib/loadlin/loadlin.exe.gz
/mnt/win95# cp /usr/lib/loadlin/loadlin.exe bin/
/mnt/win95# cd bin
/mnt/win95/bin# chmod 555 *


CONFIGURING CONFIG.SYS TO DUAL BOOT

1. Reboot to Windows

2. In Windows, select Start | Run...

3. Type 'sysedit'

4. Edit your config.sys file as follows:

[menu]
menuitem=linux, Boot to Linux
menuitem=win95, Boot to Windows 95
menucolor=15,1
menudefault=linux, 5

[linux]
shell=c:\bin\loadlin.exe c:\vmlinuz root=/dev/hda5 ro

[win95]
>>>>contents of original config.sys file here<<<<

5. Close and save the file.

6. Reboot your system and it should all work.


FURTHER READING

Manpages (e.g. to read foo(1) type "man 1 foo")
apt-get(8),  mount(8), locate(1L)