Dual Boot

I got a new desktop computer for my job,

it has a dual core cpu, four gigabyte memory and 160 gigabyte harddisk
volume. On the first partition (20 gigabyte) is a windows xp system
already installed. For some administration jobs I need the xp system.

On the free space I want to install opensolaris together with the
virtual box software. I want to create a second xp system as virtual
machine and move step by step all necessary windows applications into
this virtual machine.

On the first step however I need a dual boot configuration. Now my
question. Is it possibly to install, without any workarounds, the
opensolaris on the free partition without destroying the xp
installation? Get I automatically the correct grub boot menu configuration?

If no, is their any description of a sufficiant workaround?

Kind regards stefan

stefan.sprungk <stefan_sprungk@yahoo.de> wrote:
[snip]
[color=blue]
> On the first step however I need a dual boot configuration. Now my
> question. Is it possibly to install, without any workarounds, the
> opensolaris on the free partition without destroying the xp
> installation? Get I automatically the correct grub boot menu configuration?
>[/color]

With Windows XP this should just work without any extra fuss. With
Windows Vista life is a bit different, but will work using one of the
latest Nevada builds of Solaris.

For your Windows XP machine, you should be fine with either the latest
official release (currently 05/08, but an update is expected within the
next month) or with a recent Nevada build. Boot from the Solaris install
CD and follow your nose from there.

Note that it asks you quite a few configuration questions before it ever
gets to the point of asking which disks you want to use. At that point it
should notice that you already have a Windows XP partition, and it will
suggest to install to the empty partition. It should configure grub to
work correctly without any extra magic on your part.


--
Dr Tristram J. Scott
Energy Consultant

Tristram Scott schrieb:
[color=blue]
> Note that it asks you quite a few configuration questions before it ever
> gets to the point of asking which disks you want to use. At that point it
> should notice that you already have a Windows XP partition, and it will
> suggest to install to the empty partition. It should configure grub to
> work correctly without any extra magic on your part.
>
>[/color]

Thank you for information. After building a backup image I installed the
opensolaris. The dual boot configuration works fine.

Stefan

stefan.sprungk wrote:[color=blue]
> I got a new desktop computer for my job,
>
> it has a dual core cpu, four gigabyte memory and 160 gigabyte harddisk
> volume. On the first partition (20 gigabyte) is a windows xp system
> already installed. For some administration jobs I need the xp system.
>
> On the free space I want to install opensolaris together with the
> virtual box software. I want to create a second xp system as virtual
> machine and move step by step all necessary windows applications into
> this virtual machine.
>
> On the first step however I need a dual boot configuration. Now my
> question. Is it possibly to install, without any workarounds, the
> opensolaris on the free partition without destroying the xp
> installation? Get I automatically the correct grub boot menu configuration?
>
> If no, is their any description of a sufficiant workaround?
>
> Kind regards stefan[/color]

Have you considered using VirtualBox ([url]www.virtualbox.org[/url]) to run your
Windows XP. This eliminates the need for dual boot.