Am I able to install/run Gentoo? I don't know, you decide =P

[Anonymout]

Hello,

Longtime Windows user here. I tried to run Red Hat v. 6...I don't know, back in 98 or 99, and I didn't have very much success because of issues with obtaining the proper CD drivers and establishing a network.

Now I'm going to try Gentoo again, but after discussing some things with my friends I think I might have a roadblock. Here's my current configuration.

C:\ <-- 40GB available
- main data drive
- NTFS format
- I *need* the data off of this, so format is not an option

D:\ <--- 6 GB available
- Boot drive, XP and all programs are in here
- I would like to feasibly run a dual boot off this drive
- I can delete all programs and move whatever I need to run Linux over to C:\
- Also NTFS format

So tell me...is there a possibility that I can run Gentoo? If so, giving me some ideas on how to tackle this would be greatly appreciated...

[drwook]

1/ d/l and burn a knoppix CD
2/ resize the 'big' partition with qtparted
3/ create some sensible sized partitions for your gentoo install.
4/ follow the manual.

If you need to fit linux and winxp on a 6GB drive, gentoo is a bad choice (my distfiles take up around 2GB IIRC)

[Anonymout]

[opentaka]

Hey there,

since you have said that you are a long time windows user, it might need some time and reading to understand the fundamentals of GNU with the linux kernel.

First of all, both C\ and D\ drives are windows way of calling partitions, thus perhaps posting those is not going to help anyone.

Yes, it is possible to dual boot with XP and Linux. However, it is highly recommend to install windows first and *then* install gentoo as windows does not recognize any non-MS formatted partitions.

It would be best to read up some more docs, or check out http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Dual_boot
and google or search the forum when other issues appear.

good luck!
_________________
"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent" - Marilyn vos Savant

[Anonymout]

[i92guboj]

Strange post.

From my experience, you need an average of 1.5-3 gb to get a working system. Note that, unlike other distros, Gentoo *needs* the kernel source tree, and some development packages that on a binary distro are not needed. So, 1,5gb is needed at least for a basic desktop system. Note also that you will need to store (at least temporally) the source tarball files (packages) that will be downloaded for compilation.

Some packages, like openoffice, will also require a huge amount of disk space to compile (in this case, 3-4 gb, or even more, this is only at compile time, once it is installed this is cleaned, it is just temporal stuff) though, fortunatelly, there are binary versions of those big packages in portage, so you can just install the binary version, easing the installation process and cutting down the compile time requirements for those).

The type of the windows partitions is not relevant. You will need to shrink them to make room for a linux partition (at least one). The installation handbook explains how to do that. If you decide not to use it and do a graphical install, gook luck. I have no idea about that. The old 2006.1 graphical livecds were broken, and the new ones came out yesterday, and I haven't tested them.

Before starting, I would first look into the handbook anyway:
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/2007.0/index.xml

While not impossible to deal with, maybe a source distro is not the best if you are really short in disk space.

[defenderBG]

writing on an ntfs partition is currently as good as imposible, u need at least fat32, but if u are to make a new partition, make it a linux one... if u are a amd64 or x86_86 user than ext3 otherwise u have a big choice.

[i92guboj]

[drwook]

[madisonicus]

[drwook]

[madisonicus]