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How to prepare to dual boot without reinstalling win-xp.
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0. Kiss your cherished data goodbye (unless you have it backed up).
1. reboot (can't hurt to have clean ram)
2. do a diskcheck to make sure the harddisk is OK
Start --> run
--> cmd
--> chkdsk c:
(if any errors appear you need to fix them by running "chkdsk c:/r")
3. reboot to ensure windows survived
4. close *all* programs and defragment the files
Start --> Programs
--> Accessories
--> System Tools
--> Disk Defragmenter
--> Defragment
5. reboot to ensure windows survived
6. shrink the size of the win-xp partition knoppix
burn the latest knoppix distribution to a CD
reboot from the knoppix CD
knoppix --> xterm
--> su -m (switch to root)
--> gparted --> select /dev/hda (top right)
--> select windows partition (/dev/hda1 ?)
--> partition --> resize
--> select a size
--> click "resize" button
--> click "apply" button
--> OK
--> quit gparted
7. reboot to ensure windows survived
You are now ready to install a linux distribution in the free space.
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