Win98,XP, Linux Tri-boot & Partitions??

Thanks to everyone's assistance here I finally got Win 98 SE installed and running perfectly on my new build:

System :
AMD 2100+
Asus A7V266-E
Radeon 8500 Video card 64MB
1024GB PC2100 RAM (512 X 2)
2 WD 80GB HDs in Raid 0 {=160gb total)

Now it's time to attempt adding XP next. Before I do, and end up with problems, I would like to ask for opinions on the best partitoning setup. I will be installing XP on FAT 32 so that I can share files. I would like to (if it's possible??) to be able to only have to install games and programs once, as opposed to once in each OS's drive (at least the one's that will run in both 98 & XP). I have purchased Partition Magic, so repartioning the current 98 drive should be easy (it's currently approx 55GB).

How big should 98s partion be? XP's? and let's not forget Linux (probably Mandrake) when I can get to it. I am assuming I should have another partition just for files and programs? Any other suggestions?

Thanks for everyone's input!
-Eve

my win ME is 720mb of its 814 mb partition
xp is 2 gigs of its 3 gig partiton
2k is 1.5 gig of its 2 gig partition
.net is 2.2 of its 2.7(lol i abuse this one theres installers all over my desktop)
i have a 5 gig partiton set aside for mandrake
all my windows os are running with nothing installed on their partition. all programs and files go elsewhere. as for the linux ,im clueless as to how big to make it. ive come up short before with less so im fat to be on the safeside.
oh and just put xp on ntfs. 98 can read it with a patch and you wont store anything there anyhow. linux cant read ntfs at all though that i know of.
and one more thing you need at least 15% free space to defrag effectively.

A word of advice, get partition magic w/ boot magic(comes w/ it i think). It will make it A LOT easier.

Thanks for the replies. I already went and bought Partition Magic

Now my only problem is figuring out the best partition setup. Since I've never used Linux (going to use Mandrake 8.0) I'm not quite sure the best layout. Does anyone know if a Linux partition has to near the begining of a drive? And can I have, say, just it's boot there and the rest of it's files on an extended partition?

this is where mine are on the disk. i havnt heard about putting linux at the front of the disk. maybe your sopposed to,not sure. when making the partion for linux just make one big one and let linux chop it up the way it wants on install. i have a folder on the partion "fast" for all the things i store for mandrake and cant lose.

colombo3 said:

Thanks for the replies. I already went and bought Partition Magic

Now my only problem is figuring out the best partition setup. Since I've never used Linux (going to use Mandrake 8.0) I'm not quite sure the best layout. Does anyone know if a Linux partition has to near the begining of a drive? And can I have, say, just it's boot there and the rest of it's files on an extended partition?

Click to expand...

There are a bnch of pdf's you NEED to read w/ partition magic explaning some of this. I can't get as in depth as they will. Reed ALL of the pdf's that come wih it.

What I know:
With boot magic you don't have the restrictons of putting certain parttiions near the beginnig of the drive. To make it easier here is what I would do with a 30gb drive:
In Order:
1gb fat32: label "Win98", just OS files, no progs
5gb NTFS: label "WinXP", just OS files, no progs
[The Rest]gb fat32: label "Data", All your programs and files go here
3.9gb linux ext2: label "Linux"
0.1gb linux swap: Linux swap partition(??might not need one??)

Make "Program Files", Documents, etc. directories in "data" and put all the windows progs there. Most programs and games will let you run on both versions without double installing. Boot magic will hide both versions of windows from each other but since all they will be are system files it won't matter. Linux can see everything. Hope that helps.

oh, btw. You can't have two primary partitions visable or windows98 will freak out. So just make XP NTFS as win98 would not see it anyway.

drunkmonkey said:

5gb NTFS: label "WinXP", just OS files, no progs

Click to expand...

why 5? its not that bloated

drunkmonkey said:

3.9gb linux ext2: label "Linux"
0.1gb linux swap: Linux swap partition(??might not need one??)

Click to expand...

let linux decide what it needs. any modern distro will cut up the partion you give it and take the optimal size for the partions. you can worrie about custom size swaps and what not later when you figure out what your going to do with it.

phantom punisher said:

why 5? its not that bloated

Click to expand...

Didn't know how much room xp takes.

phantom punisher said:

let linux decide what it needs. any modern distro will cut up the partion you give it and take the optimal size for the partions. you can worrie about custom size swaps and what not later when you figure out what your going to do with it.

Click to expand...

RedHat7.1 never did that to me, I just make one ext2 partition an a swap partition and it didn't do any more. If you let linux edit the partions at all partion magic will not work right, or so it says in the pdf's.

modern meaning new witch in the linux world i guess is anything in the last year. sorry that was a little vague. i belive all the way back to mandrake 7.2 partitioned it self for me.

patition magic and linux installation are seperate processes. use partion magic to cut up your hard drive leaving 1 partition for linux. then after. install linux to that partition and allow it to further cut its partion to its likeing.

phantom punisher said:

modern meaning new witch in the linux world i guess is anything in the last year. sorry that was a little vague. i belive all the way back to mandrake 7.2 partitioned it self for me.

patition magic and linux installation are seperate processes. use partion magic to cut up your hard drive leaving 1 partition for linux. then after. install linux to that partition and allow it to further cut its partion to its likeing.

Click to expand...

Yes but for some reason once you use any of the linux partion utils Partion Magic can't read the partition tables correctly. My linux setup has all the root/home/etc. in directories instead of separate partitons. Seperate partitions will give you a bit more performance in linux but be more complicated I think.

My partition table:

The first partition is DOS(in case of emergency I can use Partition Magic off of the data partition in Dos. The lil red partition after the linux on is a swap file.

well i too have partition magic and i have no problems with it seeing the linux partions "correctly". here you can see it identifies the seperate partions and knows they are linux. the seperate partion style of installing linux is the default method for mandrake. to set it up mandrake up today as you have, would be extra steps with no bonus.

hmm.. linux is awsome when it is working ..

phantom punisher said:

well i too have partition magic and i have no problems with it seeing the linux partions "correctly". here you can see it identifies the seperate partions and knows they are linux. the seperate partion style of installing linux is the default method for mandrake. to set it up mandrake up today as you have, would be extra steps with no bonus.

Click to expand...

Awsome, i was just goin by what the PM7 pdf's said, glad to know it will still work.

drunkmonkey said:

Awsome, i was just goin by what the PM7 pdf's said, glad to know it will still work.

Click to expand...

glad i didnt read any of those pdf's cause i made half my windows partions in linux. nothing like a free graphical partitioning tool(mandrake expert install) to make me what to do some slicing