Disk partition for Win2ks & Solaris

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alex
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A

Alex

Hi all,

Actually, I wasn't aware of this at all before.

I've just been told recently that, while partitioning hard disk for windows,
the disk itself can only be partitioned into 4 individual partitions
including primary & extended partitions with the maximum of one extended
partition only.

What's the benefits of having multiple primary partitions? I used to have
multiple windows OS with which the second OS is installed in a logical
partition only.

Why can only one extended partition be created?

Additionally, I'd like to try Solaris or Linux out. Should there be anything
particular I've to take care of when partitioning the disk?

TIA

Alex
 
From: "Alex" <[email protected]>

| Hi all,
|
| Actually, I wasn't aware of this at all before.
|
| I've just been told recently that, while partitioning hard disk for windows,
| the disk itself can only be partitioned into 4 individual partitions
| including primary & extended partitions with the maximum of one extended
| partition only.
|
| What's the benefits of having multiple primary partitions? I used to have
| multiple windows OS with which the second OS is installed in a logical
| partition only.
|
| Why can only one extended partition be created?
|
| Additionally, I'd like to try Solaris or Linux out. Should there be anything
| particular I've to take care of when partitioning the disk?
|
| TIA
|
| Alex
|

Use SCSI and allow each OS to reside on it own hard disk. The you can you the SCSI BIOS
"Hot Key" and choose which SCSI ID (representing the hard disk with the OS) you want to boot
from.

This may not be the cheap way to go about it but it is the *best* way to do it and a wide
SCSI controller can support up to 15 different hard disks and thus you could conceivably
boot from a choice of 15 different OS'.
 
Alex said:
Hi all,

Actually, I wasn't aware of this at all before.

I've just been told recently that, while partitioning hard disk for windows,
the disk itself can only be partitioned into 4 individual partitions
including primary & extended partitions with the maximum of one extended
partition only.

What's the benefits of having multiple primary partitions? I used to have
multiple windows OS with which the second OS is installed in a logical
partition only.

Why can only one extended partition be created?

Additionally, I'd like to try Solaris or Linux out. Should there be anything
particular I've to take care of when partitioning the disk?
Click to expand...


a hardrive can have 4 primary partitions
however it was not until recently that windows could recognize more than
one primary partition. viz: disk management


anyway...I'd recommend using Linux rather than Solaris as it's more
"desktop" oriented.
all you need do is have sufficient free space on your drive
and the Linux installer should be able to make us of it.
most Linux distros will setup a boot loader by default
 
Four partitions aren't a Windows limitation but rather IBM PC or IBM-clone
or x86 architecture one. Intel and Microsoft developed for the IA-64
architecture the Extensible Firmware Initiative (EFI) project which has a
component called GUID Partition Table (GPT). GPT can contain upto 128
primary partitions (goodbye, single letters).

IBM PC architecture uses a Partition Table. The partition table is located
in the Master Boot Record on the disk. The MBR is the first sector on a
disk. The partition table consists of 64 bytes. There are 4 partition table
entries. Each is 16 bytes in length. The partition table starts at offset
0x1BE after 446 bytes of boot code. Last two bytes in MBR is a Boot
signature 55AAH.
Only one and only Primary partition can be Active. Extended partition may
contain Logical partitions which entries saved within Extended partition
itself.
 
From: "Alex" <[email protected]>

| Hi dave,
|
| That's a good idea but surely too expensive for me.
|
| Thx anyway,
| Alex
|

Sometimes --- If you want to play, you have to pay ;-)
 
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