Linux Partitions creation and Installation of RedHat Enterprise Linux WS(2.4.21-4.EL)

First make partitions as explained in the article How can you make partitions with FDISK For Windows/Linux Dualboot? Get ready with 4 C.D's of RedHat Enterprise Linux WS.

Boot the system with Linux first C.D. System will boot from the C.D and you will get RedHat Screen. Just press enter to install RedHat Enterprise Linux. Then it will detect all the hardware in the system. Sometimes it wont detect some hardware like mouse. Then it will display Mouse Not Detected. (In this case just give the details of your mouse type then you can proceed in the graphical installation Mode otherwise you can use text mode installation which does not require a mouse.)

If you get Mouse Not Detected message then with the help of Tab select O.K then press spacebar. It will display all models of mouses. Select your Mouse model with the help of arrow keys. Then with the help of Tab select O.K then press spacebar. Then it will display Device list with ports. Select your device with arrow keys then with the help of Tab select O.K then press spacebar. Then it will detect your mouse and it displays graphical installation mode window. Just click next. Select your language then click next. Select U.S English Keyboard then click next. Now select your Mouse Model, Device then click next. Now it will display Disk partition setup window. Just select Manually partition with Disk Druid then click next. Then it will display existing partitiuons and free space available on the Hard Disk. Now just click the Free under Drive/dev/hda then at bottom it will show free space and Starting,Ending cylinders. (Suppose for example it shows free space of 13201 MB with start cylinder 3189 and end cylinder 4871.) Just double click the free space at the bottom. Then it will display Add Partition window. In Add Partition window select Mount point as root '/'. Select File System type as EXT3. Then select start cylinder(suppose 3189) and end cylinder(suppose 4771, at least leave last 100 cylinders for Linux Swap partition). Now click O.K. It will give a warning message. Just click continue.

Now double click the Free Space at the bottom to create Linux Swap Partition. Then Add Partition window will come. Now select File System type as swap. Select Start cylinder(suppose 4772) and End cylinder(suppose 4869, it must be less than last cylinder 4871) then click O.K. Now click next. Now Boot Loader Configuration window comes. Select your default O.S as DOS then click next. Next select your Host name either Automatically Via DHCP or Manually as you wish. If you select manually then type a host name then click next. Now select Enable Firewall. Also select services like http,ftp as you wish then click next. Select the default language as English Usa then click next. Select your timezone then click next. Type your root password as you wish then click next. After some time it will display Package defaults. Just click next. Again click next to start installation. Then it will install all packages. After some installation it will ask disk 2. Install disk 2 then click o.k. Then after some installtion it will ask disk 3. Insert disk 3 then click o.k. After some installation it will ask disk 4. Insert disk 4 then click o.k. After some installation it will ask disk 1. Insert disk 1 then click o.k. Then after some time Graphical Interface(X) Configuration will come. Select your Vedio hardware type then select video RAM size then click next. Then select your monitor type and Sync's then click next. Now select your Screen Resolution then click next. Now Installation is complete. Remove the C.D from drive then click EXIT.

Now system will reboot and Grub Version 0.93 loader will come on the screen. Now select RedHat Enterprise Linux WS with arrow keys then press enter. After some time welcome screen comes. Just click next. Click Yes to agree the license agreement then click next. Now Date and Time settings will come. If you want you can Enable network Time Protocol. Also you can select a server for time protocol. Then click next. Next It will ask User Account Details. Type your user name,then enter your password then click next. Then it will detect your sound card and display it's details. Click next. Then it will display RedHat Registration choices. Select your choice then click next. It will display Additional CD's details. Just click next. Then it will ask your user name and password details. Enter those details. Now you completed your Linux Installation.

How can you make partitions with FDISK For Windows/Linux Dualboot?

At First in CMOS Settings select First boot device as Floppy. I already explained about this in my previous article How To Format the hard disk?. Keep the 98 start up disk in the Floppy Drive then boot the system with floppy. After booting from floppy system will come to A Prompt. At A:\> type FDISK like below then press enter.
A:\>FDISK

It will display message like this. Do you wish to enable large disk support(Y/N)? [Y]
By default Y is selected. So you just press enter. Then it will display Fdisk Options like this.

1.Create Dos partition or Logical Dos drive
2.Set active partition
3.Delete partition or Logical Dos Drive
4.Display partition information.

Enter choice[1]

If it is a new hard disk select option 1. If it is a hard disk already with partitions then select 3 in order to delete the existing partitions first. You will create new partitions after you delete old partitions only.

If you have old partitions then select option 3 and press enter. Then again it will display delete options like this.

1.Delete primary Dos partition
2.Delete Extended Dos partition
3.Delete Logical Dos Drives in Extended Dos partition
4.Delete Non-Dos partition

Generally we do not have Non Dos partition. So select all the three options one by one. First select option 1 then press enter. Then it will give a warning. Again press enter. Then it asks Volume Label of Primary partition. You can observe the Volume label over the top on the same screen. Just type that name and press enter. Some times there is no name for Volume label. In that case just press enter without typing any name. Now it will ask are you sure? Type Y then press enter. Now Primary Dos partition deleted.

Press Esc to continue. Again it will come to Fdisk Options menu. Select 3 to delete partition and press enter. Now first delete Logical Dos Drives in the extended Dos partition like the same as Primary partition deletion. After deleting all Logical Dos Drives in the extended Dos partition press Esc to continue. Again press Esc to continue. Again it will come to Fdisk Options menu. Select 3 to delete partition and press enter. Now delete Extended Dos partition in the same manner as Primary Dos partition. After deleting Extended Dos partition press Esc to continue. Now again it displays Fdisk Options.

Now you can create New partitions. First select Create Dos partition or Logical Dos Drive then press enter. Now select Create primary Dos partition and press enter. It will verifies drive integrity. Then it will display Do you wish to use the maximum size? Press N then press enter. It will again verifies drive integrity. Then it will ask primary Dos partition size. Type the size as you like then press enter. Now it creates Primary Dos partition. Press Esc to continue. Now Fdisk Options menu comes. Now set the Primary Dos partition as Active partition by selecting option 2 then press enter. Then it displays Enter the number of the partition you want to make active. Type 1 then press enter. Now partition 1 made active. Press Esc. Now fdisk Options menu comes. Select Create Dos partition then press enter. Select Create Extended Dos partition then press enter. It verifies drive integrity. It will ask the partition size for Extended Dos partition. (For Linux installation we must have NON DOS partition of at least 5 GB. So at the time of creating Extended Dos partition, leave 10 GB space for non dos partition and type the remaining space for Extended Dos partition)
So leave 10 GB space for Linux installation and type the remaining space for Extended Dos Partition then press enter. Now Extended Dos Partition created. Press esc. It verifies drive integrity. Now you have to create required logical drives in the Extended Dos Partition. Suppose if you want to create 3 logical drives in the Extended Dos Partition. Now type the first logical drive size then press enter. It verifies drive integrity. Now after verification type the second logical drive size then press enter. Again it verifies drive integrity. Now after verification leave the remaining space for third logical drive then press enter. Now press Esc. Then it comes to Fdisk Options. Now again press Esc to exit Fdisk. It will display a message. Again press Esc to exit Fdisk. It will come to A Prompt.

Now reboot the system without removing the 98 start up disk from the drive. Now system will boot from the 98 start up disk and come to A Prompt. Then for formatting C drive type like this at the A Prompt.
A:\>format C:/S then press enter.
It will give a warning message. Just press Y then press enter. After Format completed then it asks enter a Volume Label. Just press enter. Then it will come to C Prompt. Now you can format D drive by format D: command. You can format E drive by format E: command.

Now you can install Any Windows O.S in primary partition. Then you can install RedHat Linux in Non Dos Partition of the disk. Thus you prepared Windows partitions, NON DOS Linux Partitions by fdisk program.