How to install CorePlus without deleting my Windows XP

[Filisko]

Hello,

I would like to know how to install CorePlus in my HDD without deleting my Windows XP and having a Grub on the booting to select wich OS I want to start.

Thanks.

[beerstein]

Hi: There is a lot of info in the TCL wiki. If you have XP already installed you have to make room on your HD to create another partition or two. How to do this, just google.
Then you install TCL to the new partition and install grub or grub2 or grub4dos. Grub2 should see the XP OS on your drive and include it into its grub.cfg file.
You also may consider to run TCL in Virtual Box from the XP OS.

[Filisko]

Could you pass me some links?

[beerstein]

http://wiki.tinycorelinux.net/wiki:install_with_windows

[theYinYeti]

You can also use TinyCore without changing partitions in any way! If your XP is using FAT, then it is extremely simple. If however you're using NTFS, it is a bit more involved but not impossible. I did it before. If you are interested in not changing your partitions, and just install TC on your XP partition, and just add a boot-loader, then just say it, and I'll try and give directions

[Filisko]

I want to have 2 partitions, one for my XP and another one for TC (of course I already got the one with Win XP).

What's the next step? What I have to do now?

[beerstein]

HI:
Do you have your second partition already? If you need to create the 2nd partition you may use gparted. But watch out that you do not destroy data. Once you have that 2nd partition just follow the wiki and/or the  website from yinyeti.

[Rich]

Hi Filisko
But first boot into XP and defrag the drive a couple of times.

[theYinYeti]

Resizing XP goes like this:
1- Like Rich said: defrag a couple of times (not mandatory, but this lowers a lot the risk of losing all your data).
2- Boot a LiveCD or LiveUSB (eg: TinyCore), start gparted, and resize the NTFS partition without changing its starting point; just change its ending location: less risk again. Apply.
3- If you're paranoid with your data, restart the PC, let XP check the partitions (it's normal procedure, don't worry), then restart the LiveCD/USB and gparted again.
4- In the newly empty space, create a partition for TinyCore. Apply.
5- Restart the PC, and let XP check the partitions (Windows always does this when a "foreign" tool has tampered with the disk).
6- Follow TinyCore's WIKI for installation.

[Lee]

I haven't tried anything like this in a while but every time I did, there would always be some some un-movable file up near the end of the NTFS partition that would prevent the partition from being safely shrunk.  I suppose it was probably the pagefile or some such BS but I never had a tool that would tell me exactly what file was causing the problem - just a big block of data that the defragger refused to move.

What defrag tool/procedure will work around this sort of thing?  Would it be safe (from the Windows point of view) to move such files around while running linux?

This is largely a moot point for me since I've sworn off using Windows at home and I'm not supposed to use linux at work, but I know it will crop up again soon because my kids need a Windows box for some school work.

[curaga]

Newer Windows can do such shrinking live on itself, but XP cannot. I don't recall if it helps you with the unmovable files, probably does.

[Misalf]

I didn't had any problems related to shrinking xp partition from within linux.
Anyway..

I have a 384MB pagefile on my windows partition and a 1GB pagefile on seperate partition - both with fixed size. When I want to thoroughly defragment my windows, I disable the smaller one and reenable it afterwards.

I don't know if it would slow down the performance of defragmentation to disable the pagefile but it's less data to be processed then and probably more thoroughly.

If there is no pagefile when windows boots, then, I think, the OS just won't be able to save debug info in case an error occured. However, it boots and runs 'normally' until you use any programm which needs a pagefile to be present.

So, in case the pagefile produces trouble, I think it wouldn't hurt to disable it - boot linux - shrink - boot winxp - reenable it.

[beerstein]

Hi: If you have room for a second hard drive - this solution would be the safest.
low capacity HDs are cheap. I am using a IDE (pATA) to SDcard adaptor to run TCL. The other operating systems sit on my 300 GB SATA drive.

[mocore]

What defrag tool/procedure will work around this sort of thing?  Would it be safe (from the Windows point of view) to move such files around while running linux?

in the past
i never had any problems just deleteing the page file
 and a load of other bits ( see 'Slimming Down Windows XP: The Complete Guide' nostalgia / lofat xp info )
or dumping xp 'installed' files to new drive/partition (posibly also modifying registy..)

[tinypoodle]

Besides from deleting swap file it could also be of advantage to delete the hibernation file.