use the 64 bit version of suse. and pick kde over gnome, because it resembles windows a lot.
and, if you are new, i'd recommend ubuntu or linux mint, they are far better than suse at working straight out of the box, and i can walk you through the install procedure step by step.
are you using suse for a specific purpose?
this is an excellent guide, refer to it at all times
Install openSUSE alongside Win7/Vista - A Guide
download :
parted magic *dl.dropbox.com/u/10573557/pmagic-4.5.iso
Using Parted Magic an Introduction
how to use it.
ok lets finish this today, i need some more details(if in doubt, refer to the site above, it has pic links)
1. burn and boot from parted magic live disk (i assume it is live)
2. go to Roxterm terminal (alt-f2, or ctrl-t)
3. type fdisk -l (smallcaps, that one is "L")
4. grab screenie
5. run gparted
6. grab screenie
7. post screenies here
i suspect you have a extended windows partition, so if you can show me a screenshot of a partition manager (no, the windows my computer wont do, sorry), it'll be a big help, coz i dont want you to be after my blood if something goes wrong and you lose your data.
**************OK, 'ERE WE GO!!!***************
depending upon the number of primary partitions you have, you might have to delete one, because you can have a maximum of 4 primary partitions or 3 primary and 1 extended.
you will have to make
3 primary partitions and 1 extendend partition
the reason is, you cannot have more than 4 partitions at a given time. so, use a utility like
easeus partition manager (in windows) to make 3 partitions , and free up the desired amount of space, say 40 gb.
ok, now im going to
assume you have the following .............
320 gb hdd with ~300 gb available.
so, you want to keep 40 gb for linux/opensuse,
and assuming you have windows 7, the partiton breakdown is :
- 50 gb, c drive windows stuff ntfs
- 100 gb, games
ntfs
- 110 gb other stuff ntfs
----------
----------
-100 mb /boot ext4
-size of your ram or 2 gb, whichever is smaller,) swap linux-swap
-10 gb / "root" ext4
-30 gb /home ext4
note : you
MUST boot from /boot, you
MUST NOT boot from mbr
the extend partition is essentially a large container for the rest of the partitions. the partitions inside it are called logical partitions
now, we go about the business of doing this stuff
(oh yeah, i forgot to tell ya, easeus partion manager does not support ext4 , so use gparted to do it)
download
parted magic from here :
*dl.dropbox.com/u/10573557/pmagic-4.5.iso
how to :
Using Parted Magic an Introduction
slideshows (very helpful, better than my words
)
how to properly partition *picasaweb.google.com/caf4926/ExtendedToLogicalPartitioning#
installing 11.4 :
*picasaweb.google.com/caf4926/114_Install#
*picasaweb.google.com/caf4926/114_DVD_Install#
^ in the last one, on page 30, see its booting from /boot, not mbr.
and one more step :
while partitioning, use these steps :
1. make 100 MB /boot <--- DO THIS FIRST
2. make swap
3. make /
4. make /home
if you have done this properly, then including the other partitions, it will show as :
/boot : sda5
swap : sda6
/ : sda7
/home : sda8
on step 30 in "dvd_install", the grub location must be "/boot" or "dev/sdax" where x is the /boot partition
*www.tweakhound.com/linux/suse/113/dualboot/1.html
^on the screenshot that says "boot loader options", select custom boot partition, and give it the dev/sdax of the /boot partition
