I am currently running Windows Me on a 4 GB FAT 16 partition, and now that I have purchased a 40 GB USB 2.0 external hard drive, I can (finally!) install my copy of Red Hat Linux 7.0. I was hoping someone could please verify if the plan I have to install the Linux partition will work. *Please note that it is my intention to have the two partitions co-exist, so that I can use both OSs.
Please allow me to start with some background information about my existing partitions–as I mentioned, my (single) internal hard drive has a 4 GB capacity. However, because I upgraded to Windows Me from Windows 95, Windows 95 had already divided the single physical 4.0 GB disk into two separate 2 GB partitions when I obtained my computer. These two pre-existing partitions show up as my C: drive (2 GB) and D: drive (2 GB) in Windows Me. Anyway, my plan is to keep the C: drive partition as my Windows Me partition, but move all existing Windows Me material on D: drive to G: drive (G: is my 40 GB external hard drive)–and then set up D: drive as my Linux partition. I believe that this will work since without messing up my Windows Me partition, since it has been my experience in the past that formatting C: drive (e.g., when reinstalling Windows) will not affect the data on D: drive, but I am not sure if the reverse is true. (In other words, will formatting D: drive to set up a Linux partition adversely affect the data on C: drive’s Windows Me partition?) Finally, 3 additional closing questions. (1) Will the planned 2 GB FAT 16 partition be enough/adequate space for a Linux partition? (2) Does the Red Hat installation wizard interface allow you to set up the partition while installing Red Hat, or do you have to create the partitionbefore running the install program? (3) Do I need to buy Partition Magic in order to avoid potential loss of data on my Windows Me partition?