Dualboot Debian and Windows7

[phillen]

I'd like to install debian on my fujitsu laptop, already have windws 7 on it.
Thats why i want to try dualbooting but i am unsure if there any harder, irreversible(for me as quite a newbie) errors can arouse. So you may help me out with your knowledge.
I plan to boot from the debian cd and install it. I read through a few articles and now believe that this approach should work without problems. But i am a bit uncertain because that would be damn easy, too easy probably.. So can i go for it or better some more information first?
Would be grateful for a answer..

[Vulpine]

You'll need a separate partition beside your Windows installation, or a separate HDD. I've never used Debian, so I don't know if it's installer will allow your to partition a used space beside Windows. However, you can use an application like Partition Magic to resize your Windows partition into something that will allow room for another OS. Just be sure to defrag Windows before resizing it's space.

Once you have some room beside your existing OS, just boot to the Debian disk and install to the new partition.

[106627bg]

I haven't used Debian before but the Ubuntu (which is based on Debian) installer came with a very simple partitioning tool; I assume Debian would be similar. Back up everything important before you go for it and you should be fine. If you're unsure about doing a full dualboot and just want to try out Linux you can use Wubi which runs Ubuntu like any other program in windows.

[mShred]

Everything should work good. As long as you have a good tutorial. I'd say backup your windows 7 data before trying just to be sure. And make sure the tutorial tells you how to shrink your windows partition and you should be good.

[cen]

I haven't tried this yet - I just reinstalled my Windows and am about to put Linux on it also. As of Vista, the bootup process for Windows has changed drastically and you could certainly end up with a non bootable system. I would seriously do your homework before you start this. Definitely backup your data first.

If you're willing to wait until tomorrow, I should be able to post any problems I run into tonight when I do it myself. I'm not using Debian though, I'm planning on installing Backtrack, UbuntuSUSE as well as UbuntuStudio.

Anyways if you decide to not wait, then I would at least get to know this page first: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933168. If I run into any problems, I'm expecting it to be from this. Also, you may need to get to understand the Diskpart program as well.

You can modify the size of your hard drive partitions using the Computer Management tool in Windows, no need for Partition Magic. Just defrag your hard drive first before you modify the parititions, that will allow you to get the most out of your drive when parting it, otherwise you could be seriously limited in the size of the new partition...

Good luck...