Disk Druid?

Question

I have to install Red Hat Linux as a dual boot on a Windows XP machine. I partitioned the hard drive with a section to install Linux onto using the Disk Management console in XP. Do I need to keep this partition as unallocated in order to set up my Linux partitions in Disk Druid (I have to go through Disk Druid for the installation lab--I'm doing this for a class), or should I format the Linux partition with a Winows file system and re-format when I get to Disk Druid? Which way would be easier, or does it even really matter?

Answer 1

Doesn't really matter, but I'd allocate it as a 'drive' in disk management.

Take the case where you only have two primary partitions - one for windoze and another for linux.

The very start of the HD will contain the MBR - it's a chunk of code followed by the partition table. The partition table just knows where each partition starts and ends and the type of partition that it is.

In this situation (it differs if you have more partitions), all disk management and disk druid are doing is reading this table and displaying the information. Windows will mark the linux area as a 'drive', and still the bare bones of an NTFS or whatever on it. Disk Druid will let you know that this partition is labelled as an NTFS partition, and allow you to change the label to something else. It's just changing one number in the partition table in the MBR.