[NTLUG:Discuss] Dual boot filesystems

[Gregory A. Edwards]

On Fri, 24 Dec 1999, you wrote:
> carefully when I was setting up my own machine. Here
> are some of the issues you might consider:
> 
> 1. I presume you'll be running LILO or System
> Commander on hda1-unless your BIOS can set hdb1 as the
> boot drive.


Yes LILO in MBR on hda.  I had considered trying an active primary
partition scheme but decided that was too much of a pain.  Also even on
single boot Linux systems I use LILO so I can always have multiple boot
images to choose from during kernel upgrades.


> 
> 2. On the 8.4 GB Maxtor, be sure the boot partition
> lives within the 1024 cylinder limit.


hdb1 mounted as /boot and configured as a 10M partition.  I install all my
Linux systems using this approach to avoid even the slightest hint of a
location problem.


> 
> 3. I'd suggest putting as little on a shared FAT
> partition as you can get away with. The FAT system is
> pretty slow, wastes space, and is not as stable as you
> might wish. IMHO, keeping the box connected to the
> samba box on the LAN with the shared data residing
> there would be optimal. That way, critical data for
> all users can be backed up more readily. In my
> experience, sys admins are more dependable to backup
> servers than most users are to back up their
> 


The reason I need to move the data local to the system is that my LAN is
moving to another site and I'd have to access the file server via ISDN
going through a firewall at both locations.  In general only 1 user would
need to access data at both locations (me) and I'm willing to live with
the performance issue for that rare occasion.  Backups are a non-issue
since I wear the admin hat as well.


> 
> Good luck.
> 
> David Neeley
> 


Have you had any problems with Linux using the fat for storage of data
from Linux database tools, Staroffice, WordPerfect, local mail, GIMP, or
any other applications?

-- 
Greg Edwards
New Age Software, Inc.
http://www.nas-inet.com