Linux and XP Installed on 2 drives,,,,how?

I have XP on my C Drive and wish to install Linux on my D drive,,install goes ok,,but Disk Director doesnt show the linux icon when booting up the PC, only the XP icon. What have i done wrong?

 

Check out this thread. You are not alone.
John

 

apparently.....

Acronis OS Selector 8.0 could only detect Linux if its loader is installed in Master Boot Record (MBR) or in boot sector of primary partition. You should boot your Linux from bootable diskette or CDROM and install Linux loader into MBR or boot sector of primary partition. Look at your system manual on how to do this, or contact your system vendor support team.

 

If you are only installing XP plus ONE Linux distro,you don't need to spend money on third party partitioning software.

Install XP first.Run chkdsk,then defragment the drive.Then boot from the first installation CD of the distro of your choice.It will detect your XP installation,so be careful not to opt to "take over the entire drive".Write the Linux bootloader to the MBR.You'll then find that Linux is the default operating system.You'll see the distro's start up screen and an option to boot XP if you ever feel the need.


However,if you have multiple OSes,each Linux bootloader should be written to the first sector of the root partition,in this instance,O.S selector/Disk Director is probably a useful tool for a beginner.

After a bit of practice,you will become more familiar with QT Parted,and other Linux partitioning tools,and the finer points of installing your favourite distros.By that stage,you'll realise you don't need O.S selector.

As for accidentally over-writing bootloaders-we've all done it.Nothing to be ashamed of.