| Jeffrey Froman 2004-12-04, 5:45 pm |
| Sjoerd Mulder wrote:
> "Bad primary partition 1. Partition
> ends after end-of-disk" and doesn't allow me to use the existing partition
> table.
>
> Is there a way to solve this while keeping my data and Windows
> installation? How?
> Will another linux-distribution produce the same error? IOW: is it
> Debian-related or Linux-related?
You will need to create a "linux native" partition to house your Linux, and
you'll mostly likely also want a "linux swap" partition, which is used for
virtual memory.
It appears that you have no such partition now -- but you do appear to have
enough unallocated space in which to create one. This saves you the trouble
of having to shrink your XP partition first to create that space.
Generally, something like 512MB for "linux swap" and the rest of the
unallocated space for "linux native" is about right. I'm not familiar with
the Debian installer (each distribution has its own unique installer), but
there should be somewhere along the way that allows you to re-partition the
unallocated space, and somewhere to tell the installer which partition to
use (so that it dutifully ignores your WinXP and leaves the data there
undisturbed.)
You'll also want to learn about "dual-booting" -- some installers set this
up for you during the install, but in other cases you will only be able to
boot to linux after installing, until you configure your boot loader to
recognize the WinXP partition as well. After proper configuration, you'll
have a choice at startup to boot one or the other. Just be warned that you
may have to navigate and configure Linux, perhaps even via the command-line
interface, before you can get back to your WinXP installation on the same
computer.
While I don't agree that some distributions are "for experts only" and
others are "ok for newbies", you have picked a distribution that has a
reputation for being difficult to install, so I suggest a little extra
preparation on your part (i.e. reading up on dual-booting strategies.)
I have always found the dual-boot configuration to be one of the most trying
things for new linux users. Ironically, by the time setting up a dual boot
is "old hat", that's the point where many people just drop Windows
entirely, making the skill moot :-) If you want an easier time of it, you
might try getting hold of an old piece of "junk" hardware for your first
Linux install, so that you don't need to dual-boot. (After you install
Linux on it, it won't be "junk" anymore either!)
Good luck,
Jeffrey
|