Partitioning problem

[stevesmithx]

I am having two hard disks(20GB and 80GB).
One having Linux installed and other Win XP.

I would switch to either of the OS by plugging the power cord to the HDD
and unplugging the other.(to avoid conflicts between the OSes)
When i connect both power cords and boot to XP I can't see
the 20GB HDD(maybe coz' its using different File System)

Now the problem is i want to format 20GB HD(having Linux installed)
so that i could use it in win XP.

How can I do this?.
Please help.
Thanks in advance.

[matsp]

As far as I'm aware there should be no conflicts if you use for example GRUB to do the boot-loading of either Windows or Linux - I have used that for about half a year or so on my office machine at last employers.

Linux will be able to see NTFS disks, but can't write new files, so I doubt this will cause a problem. Windows can't even see Linux type file-systems, so definitely shouldn't cause a problem.

--
Mats

[zacs7]

Repartition it with window's disk manager, or get a 3rd party partitioner like Gparted.

Control Panel -> Administrative tools -> Computer management -> Disk management

Alternatively, you can get http://www.fs-driver.org/ if you want to read off the linux partition.

[stevesmithx]

Hi guys thanks for replying.
I tried both the options.
Disk Management shows only the 80GB harddisk.
The fs-driver s/w says it is not able to find any Linux partitions.
Still the Linux Harddisk(20 GB) is not visible in Win XP
although BIOS detects both hard disks.
Please help.

[matsp]

Sorry, I misread your original post. Yes, I think you will have to remove the file-system from your Linux disk so that Windows doesn't think "Hmm, this is a filesystem I don't know of, lets hide it for now".

--
Mats

[stevesmithx]

thanks Matsp.
How can i remove the Linux filesystem.
I want to format it.
But I can't do it while i'm in the Linux itself.Can I?

[zacs7]

Use a commercial quality partition manager then? Like Gparted, get the Gparted live-cd.

[stevesmithx]

thanks a lot zacs7.
The file seems to be an iso
Is there any s/w for making a bootable Live CD from an ISO?

[zacs7]

Yes, burn it to CD, using some burning software. Nero can do it if you've got it... Otherwise k3b if you're on Linux.

I did a search on sf.net and found http://sourceforge.net/projects/cdrtfe/ It looks okay, and seems to burn Images (ISO)

Gparted is a really handy tool to have either way.

[stevesmithx]

thanks again Matsp.
I have nero.
What option should i use in Nero?
i)As a Data CD
ii)As a Bootable CD

[zacs7]

Can't say Been a while since I've used Nero.

Do it as a data CD because the ISO will already have the bootable stuff in it, there should be a burn image to disk option somewhere. Make sure you burn it as an image, DON'T just chuck the ISO onto a data disk, or else it won't work.

[stevesmithx]

I hope it works.
Thanks you very much Zacs7.
[PTO]

[stevesmithx]

What a Bad Luck!.
I tried changing the filesystem to FAT32,NTFS using GPART LiveCD.
The time taken for GPART to format the Linux HD was surprisingly fast.(perhaps suspiciously fast!)
Still Windows refuses to see it.
One hard disk was recognized by BIOS as ST380817AS(called SATA).Another as something like ST380817A(I don't remember exactly.But didn't end with S)
Former is 80GB Win XP HardDisk and Latter is 20GB Linux Harddisk.
Has it got anything to do with this?
How can I format the Linux Completely?(After formating with GPART still GRUB is Loaded if I tried to boot with the Linux HD).
Please help guys( )

[electronetics]

Try this.

1. Make the the 20G as your primary HDD
2. Dont install the the other HDD (install only the 20G)
3. boot your PC from CD ROM
-Using Ultimate boot disk and use the HDD tools to format your HDD

http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/

-Using your xp installation disk can do the job also (either you instal XP or just format it)

[stevesmithx]

Try this.
-Using your xp installation disk can do the job also (either you instal XP or just format it)

Thank you electronetics.The Last Option worked well.