# Help me - Dual boot windows 7 and FreeBSD



## TrollX (Mar 31, 2012)

Hey guys, *I*'ve been reading a lot, and now *I* want to ask you here how to dual boot freebsd FreeBSD with windows 7? I have both Windows 7 and FreeBSD CDs, my PC is completely backed up, so no worries, just tell me what to do.

Thank you!


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## Beeblebrox (Mar 31, 2012)

Several things to decide re "how you want it" before advising what to do.
1. What do you want to use for boot menu: This is the menu allowing you to choose which OS you want to boot. There's grub, wubi, and some others. Wubi is windows based so setup might be easier for you. FreeBSD's boot loader  is difficult on dual-booting.
2. HDD layout: GPT is what you should go for, but DK about how well W7 works with that. That's for you to find out. If you decide on GPT, read gpart(8)(). Also, decide on your "primary OS" as you should install that on the partitions nearer to the HDD spindle.
3. ZFS: do you want to use it? I assume not with W7 involved, but you should be aware of the options.
4. READ THE HANDBOOK, as you will get that answer a lot.
5. Which windows manager and desktop would you like? Some examples here, but probably something like  x11/gnomeor x11-wm/enlightenment

PS: since you have backed-up all of your data, you should take this opportunity to run a complete diagnostic on your system, clean the hardware if needed and run mhdd for a surface scan of your HDD. No point in trying to fix things AFTER you have done many hours of install work!


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## jrd1 (Apr 9, 2012)

[Note: I claim no responsibility for any loss of data over what is suggested.]

This is a quick outline of what you will have to do:

1. If you have one hard drive, shrink the current Windows partition: *Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management. *Click on *Storage -> Disk Management*. Right click the boot partition (usually the largest), i.e. - the C drive - and select "*Shrink Volume*". It will query how much the partition can be shrunk down. Select how much free space you want from the partition and it will shrink it. Then, create a partition from the free space. *Make a note of its size.* This is the partition you will chose when you are installing FreeBSD.

Now why would you want to do this instead of using a tool like _GParted_ or the like? Because the _ntfs3g_ driver that _GParted_ uses is sometimes problematic. Of course you can use it, but you may end up corrupting your hard drive in the process (which nobody wants). The simplest and safest way is through using Windows itself. 

2. At this point you can follow along pretty much what the Handbook says in terms of what to do and so on. Prepare your installation media and boot from it. Since you want both Windows and FreeBSD to coexist peacefully with each other, your installation will have to be a *custom* one. In this case, it is very important that you *delete only the partition you created earlier in Windows*, from the available free space. Then, you can select the auto default slice sizes and proceed as normal as outlined in the Handbook.

And, lastly, regarding the bootloader option, *select the FreeBSD version*. Why? Previously, you had a Windows boot-loader - which can load Windows partitions. By installing FreeBSD, you have added a new partition system - but it is one that Windows does not recognize by default. What that means is that if you hadn't selected the FreeBSD bootloader, you will have installed FreeBSD, but would have no way of accessing it after installing it. So, for all intents and purposes, it doesn't exist - since you can't use it. However, by selecting the FreeBSD bootloader, it recognizes both FreeBSD and Windows - allowing you the option of choosing between the two (*which is what you want*).

If ever in doubt, _anywhere_ - *consult the Handbook*. If that doesn't work, then Google your issue.

However, if you are unwilling to risk the integrity of a working Windows system against the possibility of a non-working system (which can happen), the easiest alternative is to use a virtualized version of FreeBSD - which is always safe, but slower (but not by too much though, if you have a multi-core system).


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