www.thpc.info TweakHomePC www.thpc.info Dual-booting all versions of Windows and Linux
Requirements. Installation CD/DVD for Linux and preferably Win7's DVD. 1 download. A first hard disk that uses only NTFS and contains a working
Windows 7. A. Make your preparations. Backup important data before making any changes to a partition. You can burn files to a CD, clone an image of your hard disk, copy files to a USB flash/pen/thumb drive, or use an USB external drive (a good choice)
Download Fedora 11, standard or 64-bit version from You can use the excellent free GetRight download manager to help with the large download. Create the Fedora Live DVD from the downloaded .ISO file.
Optional: Download NeoSmart's free
Windows 7 System Recovery Disk if your Win7 DVD is missing!
Disconnect all external devices before you start. B. Make free space (Unallocated) for Linux.
The single 160 GB disk usually used in testing initially had: System Reserved (100 MB, Primary, Hidden, NTFS),
Windows 7 (150 GB, Primary, NTFS). The
Windows 7 drive was shrunk leaving about 60 GB Unallocated space at the end of the disk (to the right). After repartitioning it had: System Reserved (100 MB, Primary, Hidden, NTFS),
Window 7, Win7 (90 GB, Primary, NTFS), Linux (60 GB, Unallocated).
Restart computer correctly (close all programs/software before Restart).
Open Disk Management in
Windows 7 (right-click Computer, select Manage, click Disk Management). Note which partition is marked Active. Right-click the Win7 volume, and click Shrink Volume. In Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB: enter enough for Linux and its Swap file. Click the Shrink button (it may take some time!).
Note that we are leaving the newly acquired free space as Unallocated.
If Shrink does not give you sufficient Unallocated space, read Shrink the
Windows 7 or Windows Vista Partition for instructions on how to complete this task successfully. Then return here.
Restart to
Windows 7 two times. Open Disk Management and check that the change made is correct.
Use the free GParted Live CD to gain adequate disk space only if you absolutely must - read the page Use GParted to Resize the
Windows 7 or Vista Partition to learn how, and read Repair
Windows 7 Startup (below) before you use GParted.
C. Install Fedora 11
Raid/LVM was not an issue when testing so partitions were created manually during installation. Grub was installed either to the Linux EXT3 partition or to the MBR - both worked fine though the Linux partition is preferred unless you have specific reasons for overwriting the Windows boot sector and boot loader.
Bootup from the Linux Fedora 11 installation CD/DVD.
Select Install or upgrade an existing system. Continue with the initial screens until you're presented with the option of partitioning your hard disk
(you can skip the testing of media - it checks your CD/DVD for errors). Select Create custom layout in the top drop-down list and click Next. Highlight the Free space, and click the New button.
Add Partition will open. First create the Fedora partition. In Mount Point:, select / (a forward slash). In File System Type:,
Windows 7 Professional Key, select ext3 In Size (MB):, enter all available space (for Fedora) except 1 GB (for the Swap File) Click the OK button. Highlight the remaining Free space,
Microsoft Office 2010 Sale, and click the New button.
Add Partition will open. Now create the Swap partition. In Mount Point:, leave it blank. In File System Type:,
Office 2010 Professional, select swap. Tick to enable Fill to maximum allowable size Click the OK button
(it's fine if the Swap is made a Logical partition in an Extended partition).
Click Next when ready, or click Back to recreate partitions.
Then click Write changes to disk or Go back if unhappy with the changes.
The new partitions will be created and formatted on the disk now.
The next screen is vital to ensure the correct location for GRUB's installation - read Installation Notes above. If you wish to overwrite the Windows boot loader, leave the default at Install boot loader on /dev/sda or /dev/hda If you do not wish to overwrite the Windows boot loader, click the Change device button. Select First sector of boot partition and click OK. Using a boot loader password is optional. Under Boot loader operating system list,
Office 2007 Ultimate Key,
highlight the Device labelled Other and click the Edit button. In Label, enter a name like "
Windows 7".
Leave Default Boot Target unchecked unless you want
Windows 7 to be the default on bootup. Click OK. Click Next. Deal with the software applications screen as you think fit ("Customize later" is fine). Click Next and the install process will start.
Fedora will reboot your computer once before installation is completed (remove the DVD).
Restart computer.
Press the required key (within three seconds,
Windows 7 Sale!) when you see Press ... key to enter the menu to access the boot menu.
Office 2007 Ultimate Key NTFS
Linear Mode
