how to install two new linux versions on hdb

[Marc M]

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 22:05:29 -0500, Ralph E. Kenyon, Jr.
<diogenes at xenodochy.org> wrote:
> I have a dedicated Redhat 9 system running as my development server on a
> home LAN.
> I use it mostly with tux, apache, and samba mounts.
> I just added a second hard drive - 60 Gig.
> I would like to install Fedora Core 3 - I have the cd's and Mandrake 10.1,
> both on the new drive, but I can't afford to risk anything happening to
> the functionality of the Redhat 9 system, at least not until I can
> reproduce its setup.
> Right now the second hard drive has not even been partitioned. I'm
> reluctant to take any risks that might interfere with Redhat 9 on hda.
> 
> All my searching has only yielded dual boot setup that presumes that one
> of the operating systems is windows. So far I have found nothing on
> setting up two or three different linux systems on one machine.
> 
> My experience is limited. My original system was a pre-loaded Redhat 6.2.
> Later I did a "wipe-out everything" clean install of redhat 9, with mostly
> everything, so it could be both a server and a workstation.
> 
> Do I need to create partitions before trying to install?
> Do I need two new boot partitions, one for each version, on hdb?  Do they
> both need to be near the beginning of the drive?
> Can the fc3 installation be told to "not mess with" hda? How about
> Mandrake 10.1? Can it co-exist with redhat?
> 
> I still want to be able to run the Redhat 9 system, shutting it down only
> for temporary periods while I learn FC3 and Mandrake, and configure them
> to perform the same function that Redhat 9 does now.
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 


Uh, suggestion numero uno would be to back up whatever your
development data is.  Whenever I do a dual boot I go ahead and assume
that I am going to screw something up.  It is just safer to me than to
pray that I don't, with all the quirky things that can go wrong.  This
is a sysadmin talking, not a developer, but I have a healthy respect
for code and all the hard labor that goes into it.  Personally I
prefer to burn cd's since they are mountable right back where you had
them before, one of many things I dearly love about Linux.

Generally, I have seen a lot of people talk about doing dual boot with
various os-es that are at differrent release points.   I think that is
wise.  Like doing FC3 and FC2, then when FC4 comes out, blowing away
one of the current ones and replacing it with 4.  Note I say blow away
and not upgrade; I personally prefer that since I hate having a speck
of anything old still hanging around.  Also the myriad posts of
'trouble upgrading FCx to FCy' convince me not to go that route,
personally speaking.  And by that time, I have moved on, moved my
data, and there is nothing lost if I screw up the installation
somehow.

To answer a few questions directly:   

>>I use it mostly with tux, apache, and samba mounts.  I just added a
second hard drive - 60 Gig.

I assume the install on that went ok?  When you go into fdisk, do you
see an hda and hdb for example?  These _are_ ide drives we are talking
about, right?

>>I would like to install Fedora Core 3 - I have the cd's and Mandrake 10.1,
both on the new drive, but I can't afford to risk anything happening to
the functionality of the Redhat 9 system, at least not until I can
reproduce its setup.

What would it take to reproduce the setup?  Tux/apache/samba are one
thing, do you have a lot of code that would take weeks to re-do?  If
it were code, I would burn a backup.  If it were regular old network
services and stuff like that, I would just recreate it.

>>Right now the second hard drive has not even been partitioned. I'm
reluctant to take any risks that might interfere with Redhat 9 on hda.

Not a problem.   You can partition during the install process.  

>>All my searching has only yielded dual boot setup that presumes that
one of the operating systems is windows. So far I have found nothing
on setting up two or three different linux systems on one machine.

I agree, it *is* kinda weird that there isn't more out there on this
very subject.  I have googled myself for it and come up empty. 
Nonetheless, dual boots are possible.  I am more concerned about
triple boots since I find the degree of usefulness goes down in a
hurry with each successive os I load on a drive.  For one thing,
having to reboot is a pain!

>>My experience is limited. My original system was a pre-loaded Redhat 6.2.
Later I did a "wipe-out everything" clean install of redhat 9, with mostly
everything, so it could be both a server and a workstation.

The absolute best way to install short of an over-the-lan install.  No
'legacy' junk to give you nightmares.  Also this method allows you to
skip versions, rather than fight headaches all the way from FCx to FCy
to FCz.

>>Do I need to create partitions before trying to install?

No, the installer will allow you to do so.  However it is smart to
google and probably draw it out on paper ahead of time, so you have a
good idea of what you are doing.

>>Do I need two new boot partitions, one for each version, on hdb?  Do they
both need to be near the beginning of the drive?

Correct me if I am wrong (anyone), but I think that your second
install will detect your boot loader (preferably grub) and therefore
allow you to add the second os into the list.  Don't worry about drive
geometry or partition placement too much; it's a virtual thing and the
os takes care of the physical location.   DO worry about hda vs hdb
and where you are putting each new os!

>>Can the fc3 installation be told to "not mess with" hda? 

Yes.  This is what I mean by doing your homework ahead of time.  If
you do indeed (as asked above) HAVE an hda and hdb, then one obvious
thing to consider would just be doing an install onto hdb ONLY so you
would ONLY have the install happenning onto that physical drive.  Then
you will have the following:

hda  Redhat 9
hdb   FC3   

Let's say your hdb drive is pretty big (>40 GB).  You could allocate 
20 or so for FC3.  THEN when FC4 comes out, you could put that onto
the other half of hdb.  For fault tolerance purposes, set up the same
thing on both hda and hdb in case you screw that up in the future too.
 ANother thing:  make sure you don't use up every bit of space unless
you really want to.  Sometimes it helps to leave a few gigs in case a
partition becomes hosed or full or something, so you can go back into
fdisk and hopefully recreate a new one.

>>How about Mandrake 10.1? Can it co-exist with redhat?
Never heard any conflicts other than the usual franco/american variety lol...

>>I still want to be able to run the Redhat 9 system, shutting it down only
for temporary periods while I learn FC3 and Mandrake, and configure them
to perform the same function that Redhat 9 does.   

The only thing I would say to this is, 'why'?  Once you have FC up and
running you are free as a bird and it will do anything that RH9 would
do and then some. If it was my setup I would convert the RH9 to FC3
and eventually run a dual boot of Fedoras on one disk and whatever
other distro (in my case probably Debian) on the other physical disk.

Good Luck, 
Marc