On Mon, 2005-08-01 at 17:33 -0400, Phil Schaffner wrote: > On Mon, 2005-08-01 at 11:43 -0500, Mike McCarty wrote: > > Some of this may be off-topic, some on-topic. > > I'll spare you the gory details of how we got here. > > > > Here's the hardware setup: > > > > Main board with 512MB RAM. > > 3 1/2" floppy drive > > 24x DVD/CD reader > > 48x CD writer > > 80GB WD drive, partitioned as 40GB FAT32 + 40GB unallocated > > 80GB WD drive, partitioned as 80GB NTFS > > > > Win 98 is happily running in the FAT32 partition. > > We need to get the data off of the NTFS partition. > > > > I started up Knoppix, and mounted the FAT32 r/w, and the NTFS r/o, > > created a directory named "oldd" on the FAT32, and did a massive > > > > cp -pr /mnt/hdb1/* . > > > > which ran for about 3 hours. Then I did a > > > > diff /mnt/hdb1 . > > > > and between 6000 and 7000 files miscompare, due to having different > > names. They differ in the case of the file names. It took 1 1/2 hours to > > run, so I guess about 1/2 of the data did not get checked. I tried > > > > diff --ignore-file-names-case /mnt/hdb1 . > > > > and got exactly the same results. Hmm. The man page for diff under > > FC2 and Knoppix apparently differ. FC2 doesn't list that option... > > > > So, ok. I'll try making a script which will do renames, and then go back > > and do more diffs. And BTW, the names probably need to be fixed, anyway. > > > > First question: How better to get that data from the second drive? > > Sounds like you've already got it pending filename case problem > resolution. Might have a look at g4l. > > > I've considered using tar and WinZip. Would that be better? > > > > But the next question is how to partition the drive so Windows and Linux > > can co-exist on the first drive? > > > > The fdisk supplied with Windows 98 cannot manage that disc. Win98 > > apparently can live happily in something already formatted for it, but > > cannot manage the large partitions itself. A utility from Western > > Digital can manage the partitions, and even format a FAT32 disc and make > > it bootable. But if it is run on a drive, it insists on wiping the MBR. > > (That's how we got Win98 on that large partition.) Hmm, maybe use > > dd to lift the MBR, use the WD utility to repartition, then merge > > in the bootstrap from the original? I looked at parted but do not > > feel confident in my ability to use it. I'm not very familiar with > > dd, either. > > Should be able to do everything you need with Linux fdisk under Knoppix, > or fdisk/disk-druid on the install disk. Ctrl-Alt-F2 in a graphical > install, before getting to the partition stage, will get you to VC#2 > where you can get full control on partitioning with fdisk. > > > She'd like to make additional partitions in the 40GB of unallocated > > space on the first drive, and make a multi-boot system which can > > boot several versions of Linux for try-out. She's thinking about > > Red Hat (try Fedora and if she likes it, she'd buy RHEL), Debian, > > Knoppix, Mandrake, Suse, Puppy, and CentOS. She'd try two or so > > at a time, and when she found one she likes, she'd go with it. > > May be heresy on this list, but if the only reason for playing with FCx > is so she can test-drive a RH-family OS before putting out big bucks for > RHEL, forget Fedora and just try out CentOS4 (RHEL4 rebuild). Unless > you really need the support that may be the best choice. > > > have the FC2 discs here, and the FC4 ISOs, and don't mind getting the > > FC3 ISOs if they might be better, > > I certainly would not mess with FC2 on a new installation. > > > so the second question I want to pose is > > > > How shall I make a multi-boot system out of that machine, with the > > possibility of booting at least Windows 98 and two versions of Linux > > concurrently? I must either not use the second disc, or I must reliably > > recover the information from it before using it. > > Could consider saving the NTFS partition and resizing it with ntfsresize > - should be on your Knoppix disk if it's not too old - to get more > space. Google "ntfsresize knoppix" for details. Backing up first is to > be recommended in any case. > Would also certainly do a full defrag of hte NTFS partition before I played with the size. > > Also, when a version > > of Linux has been decided upon, how to re-partition and get maximum > > use out of the disc with Win98 and Linux on it? I'm strongly considering > > putting /home on a separate partition. Can we do that in such a manner > > that different versions of Linux can remount it later without having to > > save/restore the data there? How about swap? > > > > I'm pretty sure Anaconda can handle what she wants, but I'm not > > so familiar with Anaconda, either. I'm an old hand at *NIX machines > > from the development standpoint, but not with the admin side > > of things, and those things differ from system to system anyway. > > Anaconda should be able to handle it, but would have to manually > partition to leave room for 2 Linux installations. > > > Third question: Her main use for the Linux boot will be web page > > management. She has tried Open Office, and several other packages > > which run on Linux, and has not found one with all the features > > she wants. Apparently there is a package for WinXP which is > > very nice, and which she likes. Don't ask me, I know nothing > > about Web Pages. Are there some really nice web management / HTML > > editors available for Linux? I found Amaya, but it really couldn't > > install properly when running from CDROM (Puppy). > nvu is a very good web editor, and is nearly as good as dreamweaver (or maybe better now). It has been about a year since I last looked at it. As far as web management now, I don't understand what you mean that is different than editing/posting. > Can't advise there, but you might get better results posting that > question separately. > > > She doesn't want to become a "fiddler" again, though she has, in > > past done that. She'd like to "install and go" now. Her interest > > in computers is now more on the "tool" side than the "hobby/fun" side. > > Testing out all those Linux distros might be considered serious > "fiddling". :-) > > Phil > >
