RetepNamenots Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Hi guys, I managed to install both Mac OS X 10.5.2 (Kalyway) and Linux Mint onto the same hard drive. However, somehow I cocked up my original Windows XP install. (It just vanished, don't ask me what I did wrong because I haven't a clue!) Anyway, I now want to install Windows XP onto my last partition. How should I go about doing this? More specifically, I'm worried about how I will get GRUB back up and working in order for me to be able to choose my OS. Currently, GRUB starts, allowing me to choose either Linux Mint, or OS X. If I choose Linux Mint then it will boot up Linux properly, if I choose Mac OS X then Darwin will start, and OS X will boot automatically. I'm afraid that by just going gung-ho and installing XP onto my final partition will stop GRUB from booting when I start up the PC... Even if it doesn't, could it possibly mess up the Darwin bootloader? Thanks for any advice... Pete Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOGIC.delayed Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Everytime I've installed Windows after having Linux installed, Windows always has seemed to take over GRUB and decide for itself to manage bootups. I never see GRUB after installing Windows but I've read that you should install Windows first then Linux. Times might have changed though. I'm not really sure how you could protect GRUB from Windows screwing with it. Maybe install Windows and just install GRUB only? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/#findComment-842557 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetepNamenots Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 Thanks for the quick reply. Apparently simply booting into rescue mode on the live CD will restore GRUB. Will installing XP have an effect on the OS X installation or Darwin bootloader? I'll try and post a screenshot of the partition setup in a moment. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/#findComment-842564 Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOGIC.delayed Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 I'm not 100% sure. I don't think it would as long as its on a separate partition and you don't tamper with it during the Windows installation. This is why I always use separate HDDs for separate OS with a boot manager handling it all. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/#findComment-842577 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetepNamenots Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 Ok. I might as well give it a shot. I've backed up the menu.lst for my GRUB anyway, and somewhere I just read says that simply running the repair option on the Mint Live CD will fix GRUB... Anyway, here is my current partition setup. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/#findComment-842602 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetepNamenots Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 I have successfully installed Windows XP! Thankfully I can still boot into both Mint and OS X. I had to restore GRUB through the Mint live-CD, with the commands (for reference): sudo grub root (hd0,0) setup (hd0) quit exit Currently I can access the OSes through the following: GRUB loads on startup. Here I can select Mint or OS X. If I choose OS X, Darwin loads. By default, it will load Windows (since it is the first OS marked as bootable on the HDD), but if I 'press any key' and choose partition 6, OS X will load. How can I go about setting Darwin to load OS X as the default OS? Thanks for your help LOGIC. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/#findComment-842749 Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOGIC.delayed Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I'm not 100% sure again but I'm sure Darwin has some config file that has a list of all the OS to boot with a default. Just find that config file and change the default. That is my best guess. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/#findComment-843003 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Leopard Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I simply just installed Windows Xp first. Have to tell you having a SATA drive made it more difficult but i used Nlite, to get the drivers and stuff and reloaded my acer. Sumyungai, was the one that told me about installing the windows first, that way there aren't any problems. I used the leo4all, disk utility to partition the drives, took it out rebooted to install xp. works like a charm. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/#findComment-843019 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetepNamenots Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 Arrrgh, it seems installing XP first would have been much easier! Oooh, I just had an idea. GRUB loads first, but if I set the default to Mac, and have it timeout at 0 seconds it should go straight into Darwin. From Darwin I can currently boot into either OS X, Windows XP or 'partition 4' (Which strangely appears, even though it is not marked as bootable and is only actually the storage partition...? If I can add Linux to darwin, then I could just use Darwin as my boot loader. I'll look around, but does anyone know how to do this? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/#findComment-843319 Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOGIC.delayed Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 That I'm not sure about. I'm not familiar with Darwin that much, try Google. Sorry I couldn't help any more. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/118968-how-should-i-install-windows-xp/#findComment-843538 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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