# Installing FreeBSD on a logical partition



## nikhilbhardwaj (May 24, 2011)

Hello everyone,

I've been using Linux for a couple of years and now I wish to move onto BSD. I have an Acer laptop. My hard drive structure is described below:
	
	



```
<primary partition 1> : Recovery Partition
<primary partition 2> : Windows 100MB boot partition
<primary partition 3> : Windows installation
<extended partition>
```

I can easily create the required partitions in the extended partition but can't modify the existing primary partitions.

Is it possible to install FreeBSD onto the extended partition and then dual boot from it? For Linux GRUB supports this but I'm not aware of the bootloader in BSD.

I've searched online and not found any definitive answer with most people suggesting that this is not possible. If it is possible, could someone point me to an appropriate guide/resource. If not then I'll have to be content by playing with it in a virtual machine.

Thanks in advance,
regards.

nikhil bhardwaj


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## jb_fvwm2 (May 24, 2011)

If you are aware that you can arrange the freebsd install to be seperate filesystems (root (/), /var, /tmp etc) then you may be able to install all except root in an extended partition.  I would not do it for stability concerns, having done it back in v5.x... In your case maybe put root (/) in a usb stick and have it's fstab load the others. OTOH how large is your hard disk in the laptop?  With care you can defrag, backup, and image it to a lesser-partitioned one, installing BSD in a greater part... I have also in the past removed the hard drive, installing BSD to a larger one.  So it is all possible but you are limiting your choices by that one particular install scenario at least for the moment...


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## nikhilbhardwaj (May 25, 2011)

*Thanks*

Thanks for clearing this up. I'll try FreeBSD at a later stage hopefully.


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## SirDice (May 25, 2011)

You don't need to use an extended partition. There's still one slot left for a primary.


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## nikhilbhardwaj (May 25, 2011)

But if I make that a primary partition then I'll loose all the sub partitions that I've created in that extended partition. I would've been able to make a primary partition had it not been for my Recovery Partition, at times I think that I should nuke it but then decide against it.


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## SirDice (May 25, 2011)

nikhilbhardwaj said:
			
		

> But if i make that a primary partition then I'll loose all the sub partitions that I've created in that extended partition.


Ah, yes. That wasn't clear from the information you provided.

In that case, you can't install FreeBSD.

You can however, install VMWare or Virtualbox on Windows and install FreeBSD in there.


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## aragon (May 26, 2011)

nikhilbhardwaj said:
			
		

> at times I think that I should nuke it


You should.  Not only is it consuming disk space, it's consuming disk space in the fastest part of your disk (the outer diameter of your platters).


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## SirDice (May 26, 2011)

aragon said:
			
		

> it's consuming disk space in the fastest part of your disk (the outer diameter of your platters).


You are correct it's the fastest part but the it's the inner part, not the outer. The heads move from inside to outside.


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## aragon (May 26, 2011)

SirDice said:
			
		

> You are correct it's the fastest part but the it's the inner part, not the outer. The heads move from inside to outside.


Your typo is making your statement unclear, but if you're saying that sector numbering starts from the inside of a platter and grows outward, you are wrong:

http://www.storagereview.com/guide/tracksZBR.html

Hard disks fill their platters from the outside in.


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## SirDice (May 26, 2011)

aragon said:
			
		

> Hard disks fill their platters from the outside in.


I'll be darned. You _can_ teach an old dog new tricks


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