BleepingComputer.com: Separate Partitions

I'm going to dual boot my new computer with Windows and Linux. I would create 1 partition for the Linux OS, 1 partition for the Windows OS, and then 1 or 2 other partitions for my files.

Could I be able to put both Windows and Linux files on the same partition; as long as I made a separate folder for each in the root of the drive (one called linux and another called windows)?

http://wubi-installer.org/

That's the only way I know.

I'm just curious why you would want to risk losing both installs...at the same time...by putting them on the same partition.

Louis

What I wonder is why you can't just install them on separate partitions.

The best setup is:
NTFS primary partition for Windows.
EXt3 primary partition for Linux
Extended partition consisting of swap space on a logical partition and the other part partitioned for windows- ntfs or fat.

Wubi isn't the only way. Using a liveCD to check, move, resize and recreate partitions is a better way.

No, you cannot share operating systems on the same space.
Different types of filing systems. Windows is not compatible with any ext2,3,4 reiser/4 , XFS or any other unix fs.
If you want to do such, best to setup a virtual machine. Linux as the host and windows as the guest will use less resources and be more stable.
The partitioning by windows is more similar to the BSD slice layout. Editing fstab after installing Linux and allowing users read/write access would be a better solution.

no no no no. I know that OS's have to be on separate partitions. I'm saying I just want to store my files on one partition. My personal files, like my documents, not the system files. So I would store My Docs (of Windows) and My Docs (Of Linux) on the same partition. That's what I'm saying.

Then of course, have the system files from Ubuntu on a partition
and have Windows on a partition

That's 3 partitions

I have to agree with bisquit maker.
What you want works better with two hard drives,
but can work fine with one. Here's one option with one drive. (100G)
First, use a partitioning program like GParted from a live cd.
Create an NTFS partition for Windows with 20G. (this will be C)
Next create a FAT partition around 40G. (this will be D and will be accessible to Win or Lin)
Install Windows.
Now when you install Linux you can instruct the installer to use the free space
and it will create the partitions and format them properly.
In the end you will have 5 partitions and store/share files from the FAT space.
This will keep clutter off the C drive, and keep your data on D in the event you have to
reinstall Windows at some point. Remember the sizes i used are just suggestions.
You can always decide what partition sizes will suit your needs.

You're going to need swap space when building the system, installing packages, graphics, or just basic makefiles.
At the least, you will need the swap to be 512M in size. You can remove this later and create a dynamic swapfile on the drive,
freeing the space for use on other partitions.

In that case...you can put all data files for any O/S on one partition and each O/S can freely access them.

You mention My Docs...there is no reason to move My Documents, just empty the contents (if you download items to it) to the data partition you create. I don't use the My Music/My Documents/My Videos folders...I just store all those files on a different partition.

My Documents is technically a Windows file and I'm not sure it would allow equal access to a different O/S...it won't allow access by a different version of Windows without the user taking ownership of the files/folder. i suggest just not using it or any of the other files under Documents & Settings which you want available to other O/Ses.

Louis

That isn't a good idea. Certain directories for linux must reside in the same partition as the root file system. Placing any file from /etc or /usr/local/etc or /compat/etc in another partition outside of the root Linux partition will break the system. The directory structure is there for a reason. Nor are you thinking about which program will do read write to the information and at what time. You're going to have the OP with a system that won't run. Linux isn't Windows and in more ways than one. Use smb or CIFS. Documentation for these exists in the man pages. Tutorials come from the forum of the distribution of your choice. Help comes from the mailing lists.
You will need to set individual file permissions on your Windows partition. Try to remember that any Windows security basically gets shot when using Linux or any Unix type OS to mount the directory. It's an external not an internal mounting process. Couple the last statement with the fact that Windows only has support- third party- to mount ext2 and none other. You'll need mingw and other emulation tools to use such.

Uuuhhh...did I say anything about linux (something I know nothing about at all)?

The original question...was about data files, I believe. Not programs, not O/S directories, etc. See Post #6.

But...I could be wrong .

Louis

There is an easier method to run Linux and Windows on the same computer and it is free. Try Virtual Box. It's a free version of VMware. You don't have to mess with the hard drive either.

www.virtualbox.org

VirtualBox and VMWare are two completely different applications. While VMWare keeps its base virtualization a secret, VirtualBox uses both the mozilla build system- xpcom, xulrunner, and parts of the qemu virtual machine. This may seems easy but causes more stress on the machine and cpu than simply dual booting. You also have to create the same file permissions, setup tftp, ad som linux emulation and create virtual devices and links to real devices on the windows host machine.
As far as data files go. Apply the rules to accessing data and file systems as mentioned before.
Messing with the hard drive is a misunderstanding, all programs do this when they read and write data.