YADBQ

(read: yet-another dual-boot question)

Here's the current drive configuration I have (windows is not present...at all) :
/dev/hda - /boot and / (grub installed in MBR)
/dev/hdb - /usr
/dev/sda and /dev/sdb are software-RAIDed together and serve as /home

The ASUS board I have looks for a boot record/boot loader on the IDE's (hd*) first before looking at sd* for a boot record.

Question:

I would very much like to add another Serial ATA drive (/dev/sdc would be it) and boot Windows from it. I'd like to do this without hosing my Linux install (as I finally have this thing set up just so!).

(Note: While I did not intend to go back, Wine/Cedega just doesn't cut it for HL2 and Far Cry. It cuts it for everything else. Ergo...sigh...pains me, install Windows somewhere, and I have a friend with some cheep but reliable SATA drives.)

The way I see it:
*boot from CD
*select appropriate drive
*install XP to sdc/whatever drive Windows says it is
*pray during reboot that the MBR on /dev/hda isn't hosed by Windows so we still boot into Ubuntu
*edit /boot/grub/menu.lst to include XP (root=wherever it is, chainloader+1)
*reboot and select Windows from the grub menu
*go forth and game some more

The questions --

Will it work?

Is this the right way to go at this?

As always thanks in advance.

(Also as a side note, what's the best way to back up a sprawling /home over a network?)

even though it would have been easier to install WinXP first and let your linux install find it and auto-grub/lilo it for ya.

If you install WinXP second, it will re-write the MBR, but that can be fixed by booting off the install CD for whatever distro you use, and reinstalling your bootloader (be it Grub/Lilo/other)

probably the easiest thing to do would be disconnect the ide and other serial drives, install windows and then plug the rest back in and add the windows entry to grub.

Alright guys, good to hear. Thanks

Suicide Al: What he said, I did it this way a couple of times.