[ale] Linux (vmware) and NT

[Robert Hoffman]

VMWare is great but you can't use it to run an existing NT disk from within Linux. You would have to install VMWare and then install NT. This option will let you run Linux and NT at the same time. Just a warning: VMWare takes a large chunk of memory to dedicate to its host OS. You get to decide how much but NT isn't really happy with less than 128 MB. So, if you have 196 MB ram and gave 128 to NT, Linux would be left with 64 while you have VMWare running.

Alternatively, You can put lilo in charge of the dual boot. This really
requires that you understand disk partitioning and assignments. I'll try to give you a runthrough here.

Disclaimer: Do this at your own risk in case it doesn't work. Back up your data. Note that I have never personally done this.

First, make an emergency bootdisk for linux using mkbootdisk.

Second, make an emergency bootdisk for NT using... well, I guess you don't really have this option do you? ;-)

I will assume that both disks are on your primary ide controller. You should be able to tell for sure by looking at your motherboard or checking lilo.conf to see if you're booting into hda and not hdc. NT has an equivalent file called boot.ini.

Now, let's make your Linux disk the primary drive and NT the slave. Boot into NT and edit boot.ini. It is a read only and hidden file, so you will have to change its properties to edit it. This should do the trick: attrib -s -h -r c:\boot.ini

Boot.ini should look something like this:

        [boot loader]
        timeout=5
        default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
        [operating system]
        multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows NT Workstation ver 4.0"
        multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows NT Workstation ver 4.0 [VGA mode]" /basevideo /sos

Since the NT disk is going to change from hda to hdb, you need to change
"disk(0)" to read "disk(1)". Just to be safe, we'll leave a copy of the old entry so that you can still boot the drive the old way.

        [boot loader]
        timeout=5
        default=multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
        [operating system]
        multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows NT Workstation ver 4.0"
        multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows NT Workstation ver 4.0 [VGA mode]" /basevideo /sos
        multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="NT Original Setup"
        multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="NT Original Setup [VGA mode]" /basevideo /sos

Note that I changed the disk number for the line starting with "default" as well as those starting with "multi". Save the file and shutdown NT.

Change the jumper on the NT drive so the slave setting.

Connect both disks to the ide cable so that Linux is master and NT is slave.

Boot up your machine. At this point, you should be booting into linux
without a choice to boot into NT.

Now we need to edit /etc/lilo.conf. It probably looks something like this:

boot=/dev/hda
map=/boot/map
install=/boot/boot.b
prompt
timeout=50
linear
default=linux

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.16-3smp
        label=linux
        read-only
        root=/dev/hda7


Add a section to boot to NT:

boot=/dev/hda
map=/boot/map
install=/boot/boot.b
prompt
timeout=50
linear
default=linux

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.16-3smp
        label=linux
        read-only
        root=/dev/hda7

other=/dev/hdb1
        label=NT
        table=/dev/hdb


We're almost done. Run lilo as root; this is important

That should do it. Reboot and hit the "TAB" key at the LILO: prompt. You should be given a choice to boot linux or NT. To run NT, type NT and hit enter.

Let me know how it turns out.

-Rob Hoffman


---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Gary S. Mackay" <Gary at edisoninfo.com>
To: ale at ale.org
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 12:59:00 -0400

>I currently have two hard drives, each is bootable. I just power down and
>change the cable from one to the other. Manual dual boot :).
>
>I would like to boot primarily into linux and have the NT drive boot via
>Vmware. I've looked at vmware, but can not figure out how to get it to see an
>already existing NT setup.
>
>Question in the mean time. What do I put in my lilo.conf to have lilo control
>the dual boot? 
>
>- Gary
>
>-- 
>Edison Information Technologies
>P.O. Box 554
>Milan, OH  44846-0554
>419.499.7040
>www.EdisonInfo.com
>Gary at EdisonInfo.com
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