Linux Install/Dual Boot Help

[DJ]

I have been trying to install Mandrake 9.0 for the last hour and I keep getting an error when it gets to the partition section...

I cannot read partition table device of hda...

I can try to go on (erasing over bad partitions)

I can not allow DrakX to modify the partition table

Do you agree to lose all partions?

Then yes or no boxes.

now, I click yes, the box pops back up, I click no the box pops back up. I have a 40GB HD and was trying to allocate 10GB for Mandrake (for now). Should I continue to attempt to install on this drive or install on a 5GB HD I have (is that enough?) All helpful advice welcome, TIA

Dj

[Calum]

yes, 5GB is enough, however what format is the big drive currently? it sounds like you don't mind erasing the entire drive, so do you have any other partitioning tools? i have used pqmagict and fips of ocassion, do any fdisks do something that might help here too?

i'm a bit at sea, so hopefully somebody else can be a bit more specific.

[pkd_lives]

From the title I assume you are dual booting - With what?

Have you had another Linux install, and you are replaceing or is this the first one.

Have you used a partitioning tool, such as Partition magic, and what did you do, did it EVER give you error messages on exit?

Are you confident on the quality of your disk, i.e. does scandisk under windows come out OK, you might want to defrag your Windows drive.

What are the exact messages, and have you visited Mandrakes website - I really can't recommend this enough, hunt around on forums, they have support e-mails for newbies, it might be worth your while.

Try it on the 5GB drive, that will be plenty.

[voidmain]

You might need to set your BIOS to LBA mode for that 40GB hard drive... (if memory serves correct).

[DJ]

I have a Windows fdisk but didn't know if it would be able to help, and no I haven't tried any partition wizard(s)/programs. I thought there was a utility built into the linux install so I didn't even bother.

I was planning on dual booting if possible with Win2K Pro, but if the 5GB HD is sufficient I will just install it on there until I become proficient enough to drop 2k Pro altogether.

I will definitely check out Mandrakes website for more info, this was the only full weekend I have had in a while which I could dedicate to getting it to work correctly. Thanks for the help everyone, Let ya know when I get it up

Dj

[Calum]

also remember to check out mandrakeuser.org as well.