Multiboot System under Windows XP – Ubuntu – Windows 7 Qiong LIN - 28 April 2012

Multiboot Mutlibooting means to host multiple Operating Systems (OS) on one single computer

Why Multibooting ? Some softwares run only under one specific operating system (ex: Windows or Linux) Tests running on different environments within one machine Efficiency and cost savings on hardware Migration to a new operating system

Step into … Multibooting Process  Preparation beforehand: partitioning  Installing new operating systems  Select and launch one of those operating systems

Step 1 - Partitioning Partitioning is the process of dividing an entire storage device into smaller chunks Rules to keep in mind: Size & structure File system specific to OS’s in use

Partitioning – Size and Structure Size  Allocate sufficient space depending on new OS and future uses Structure of the partition:  Primary partition ( max 4 units)  Extended partition (> 4 units), which leads to:  Logical volume

How to partition ? Issue: computer hard drive mounted -> not modifiable Solution: use a Live CD (System Rescue CD)

Partitioning – File systems Assign the right file system to each partition: NTFS -> Windows file system ext4 -> Linux file system

Step 2 – Installation ongoing … Three OS’s are installed in this order: Windows XP Ubuntu Windows 7 …. Installations done!

Step 3 – Multibooting process BIOS -> sends INT 13h -> 1st sector (MBR) Customised GRUB multiboot start menu Load the booting code Launch the operating system on the selected partition 1st

Data Protection Achieve data security => data encryption

No separation between different OS’s – free access to data

Data Encryption – two scenarios OS built-in password protected encryption Linux – pre-installing protection (option on the whole partition/individual files) Windows XP/7 – individual files Third-party encryption (TrueCrypt) Virtual mounted disk

Example: File locally encrypted on Linux

Conclusions Multibooting -> gain flexibility on number of OS’s available To better explore the computer capacities Skills gained: booting, partitioning, OS’s features, different file systems Becoming conscious about data safeguarding