Install Win XP and Linux on 600GB Velociraptor

WD Internal Drives Desktop & Mobile Drives
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I am currently runnning Win XP x32 SP2 which is installed on a 160GB internal HDD.  My motherboard does not have an option for AHCI.  I also have Debian Linux  installed on an external 500GB USB drive.   As I understand it, the WD Acronis software will allow me to clone the XP disc to the WD disc and when doing so I can allocate the partion size for the XP installation at that time.  Lets assume that I can allocate 200GB for the cloned XP.

I have several questions:

1.  Does the WD drive need to have an alignment program run prior to cloning the XP or does the clone process take

care of the alignment automatically?

  1. Assuming that XP has been successfully cloned, and is functioning properly, I should now have 400GB of free space.  Can I then create a new partion in that 400GB space using the Acronis software or I do I need to use some other software such as Gparted (from Linux) or should I use the Windows hardware manager?  The big issue is ensuring that the new partition is properly aligned.

3.  When I create the new partition I believe that Linux has the capability to format that partion with the proper 4k

alignment.  Assuming I can format it correctly I should then be able to install Linux.  It might be possible to format during installation but I am not sure and don’t know if I can set up the proper alignment if I do it that way.

If there is someone in the community that has experience setting up a similar system I would really appreciate a response. 

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Hello,

  1. Once you clone the Windows XP hard drive, follow the steps from the link below to align the partition. 

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5341/session/L3RpbWUvMTM4ODA3NDYzNC9zaWQvcXlDem5PSWw%3D 

  1. Yes, you can use the clone “As is” option and the unused space will become unallocated. You can then format it to install Linux. Check page 92 of the manual. 

http://support.wd.com/download/notes/atiwduserguide/ATIH2013WD_userguide_en-US.pdf 

 3)Linux is not supported, but maybe other community users can share some advice

1 Like
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Thanks for the info.  Not sure why Linux would not be supported.  Maybe not from a “cloning” perspective as Linux would normally have 3 or 4 partitions, and I think the cloning software can deal with only one.  I did read some links to how to set up Linux on an AFD, so we shall see.  Now I just have to find the KUDOS star.  LOL!