The first question is, how many Linux partitions do you have on the system? Also remember that there is also probably a swap space or two as well.
 
Do you have PartitionMagic? If so, you can view how many Linux partitions are on the system an dif you choose, reclaim the space.
 
Don't forget that hidden partition that I spoke of. You DO NOT want to delete this.
 
If you choose to install Linux again, use one of the already existing Linux partiions for the install. Also, I found that Asus motherboards (which you have) have trouble with acpi being set.
 
From the following link;
 
http://www.mithunc.net/NVIDIA/#graphics
 
 

Quote:Important: 
A lot of people, especially those using Asus motherboards, have reported problems with Linux locking up randomly with nForce2 chipsets. If you're experiencing this problem, or just to be safe, add the following line to your lilo configuration file (/etc/lilo.conf on most systems):
 
append="noapic nolapic"
 
This will disable the APIC and local APIC function on your CPU. It looks like they are getting close to fixing this problem, but as of 2.6.0 I am still experiencing this problem when the local APIC is enabled. Asus users will also want to disable ACPI with
 
append="noapic nolapic acpi=off"
 
As it too has been causing the random lockups. Please correct me if the the ACPI problem has already been fixed.

Hello, SoulNothing
 
I found that later model HP hardware seems to be designed to run
a certain OS instead of tweaking the OS to the hardware.All is not lost
,though.
I found when sharing a drive with XPon HP,it helps to create a partition
set up as logical drive so it will have it's own drive designation.
That helped on my pav.551w because XP doesn't like sharing a drive
with another OS.However,XP did me a favor and overwrote it's "protected"
recovery partition so I just wiped the drive and gave it all to Ark.I don't
think ark will mind sharing a little space with other distros later on.
Ark has a default resolution of 1400x1050.If your monitor doesn't
support that high a resolution,it will come up,flash the screen and
go blank (black on mine).When Arks install starts hit f2 for install
options and set the resolution to one you know your monitor supports.
I set mine at 1024x768.(f1,f2,f3 and f4 give helpful info. You only
have a few seconds to hit fx or start typing linux but once done, install
won't start until you go back and type "linux (options)" or just linux if you just
want a default install.
If, like me,you happen to have an old hd laying around,you can set the
jumper to slave and install linux on that to avoid battling XP for
hd space.(Xp is very greedy.)
Also Ark creates 4 partitions on my 551..
1.A small boot partition. (Should be hidden, so you won't see it.)
2.A primary2 partition.
3 A primary3 partition.
4.A swap partition.
Since,on mine,it only seems to use primary3 ,I'm not sure why the
primary2.Probably for future storage and files that don't need primary3.
Or maybe just because it has 40gb to play with.
Hp seems to like the onboard sis video chips.If so,some versions of linux
seem to have a problem dectecting it.I'll leave that kind of help to someone
who knows what he's talking about.
Hope something in here helps.

alright when i put on the partition i used either boot it ng
or cfdisk
i allocated 500 mb to the swap drive and the rest to linux
now i dont have any linux on it just xp

alright got you on the resolution still lost on the issue as why 9GB! disapearred i have an old dell 15 inch hooked to a modern hp so um and im afraid if i try to put on linux again itll eat more of my hard + whenever i tried to choose the paralell option it wiped my hardrive clean bye bye and reset my bios and i had to go in and mess around with things

Winders sometimes does't recognize linux partitions and will show drive size
only for win partitions.The missing space is probably Linux partitions if I understand correctly, you're checking your drive with windows so if you have a live cd (linux) try starting up with that and check your hd with linux.Linux will recognize all partitions .

Mel is correct. Windows will not see the Linux partitions, so this space will not be reported. It sees only the vfat or NTFS partitions that you have.
 
I would be careful about using cfdisk. If you are trying to wipe the whole hard drive and mess with the hidden partition, then this is probably why the bios settings need to be reset.
 
I am not 100% sure about your particular system, but in some HP and Compaq systems, the hidden partition holds some bios settings.
 
I suggest using PartitionMagic to set your Linux partitions, or to delete them.
 
Or, Mandrake's partitoning tool is also OK for this.

all right only one partition now its a ntfs can someone please give me a link to this partition magic realize broke cant pay for software but i only have one partition and no live cd i have will start i think i need to mess around with ark some more

If you have Mepis or you or a friend can DL Mepis iso and burn
it to a cd I think that would be the best way to go. (Mepis does require Pentium or AMD processor. I believe you have a pentium.)
Reasons;
1.Mepis is a live cd which can easily be installed on HD and Mepis
gives the clearist instructions of any distro I've seen.
2.Before Mepis does anything it gives instructions that are easily
understood even by us noobees.
3.Mepis installation requires very little input from user.
4.Mepis auto detects most hardware.
As soon as the first screen comes up,hit f2 (this is just to stop
the default startup).Then hit f1 and read everything then f2,read everything
,f3...f4.
Once you read that you will know how to start Mepis with the proper
resolution for your monitor.Log on as root.
As soon as Mepis is loaded click on Mepis Installation center.
Click on Install Mepis on Harddrive
!!!!Caution!!!! Look over everything at each step now because root
has very powerful privileges.
Click on QTParted
Click on your HD (something like "/dev/hda"
.
You should now have a window that gives all info about your HD.
Info will include drive make,model,size and all partition info.
Now you can close the two windows and click "Next" whereupon installation
will begin.You will be given choices including "Install in existing
Linux partitions" which will probably be the safest option.
(Make your own decisions here because the only way I could be sure
would be by sitting at your computer,which isn't likely to happen.)
Hope this helps.

BTW, I need to take a look at ARK discs because some of the info I gave you for
Ark may have actually been Mepis info. I've been experimenting with so many distros,I
may get a couple confused with each other.
.
.
(I know I'm not perfect.So close you can't tell the difference but not quite perfect.)

im going to get mepis tonight

got mepis any more advice before i try to install
 
oh yeah i dont like pentium me dislike pentium
 
me have amd 2600

My HP is running a pentium so I don't know how it will work with AMD in HP.
It ran really well on eMachine wit AMD Athlon.
Mepis is supposed to be optimized for AMD and pentium.
Make sure you read everything is the best advice I can give.
If you get Mepis installed OK, I think you will like it.

I run Athlons exclusively, no problem! The only issue should be legagcy hardware that may be in the system, such as a sound card. But nothing ventured...
 
If it runs from the cd, then it should be fine with a hard drive install.

tried mepis left it on overnight nothing again ;(
 
so tonight i finally got cable isp
 
so im getting every distro i can find
 
tonight im trying redhat 9.0
 
backing up hard drive
partitioning does this seem right to do
in school now so i wont be trying it to later
heres my plan
 
pre installed xp first
 
going to partition
60gb to xp ntfs
50gb to linux
1gb to swap
 
losing x) so much sleep
 
im going nuts ive learned more in this short period about computers then i have in my entire 16 years of life
 
keep all hammers and guns away from me or ill kill my hp

XP is a HD hog,It wants the whole drive to itself. HP and XP ,in my little bit
of experience has been a tricky combo for dual boots on same drive.
I found that on mine ,it's better to install Mepis first to make sure have your
Linux partitions on drive.
Make sure when you install Linux,you install a boot loader.I use Lilo but that is a
matter of choice.
After Linux is installed then install XP and maybe it won't eat your linux partitions. After you install XP reboot from your Linux CD and install the boot loader again or all you will be able to load will be XP.
BTW , did you install the boot loader when you installed Linux? If not, the only thing
you will find on your drive will be XP. A Linux boot loader will find and give a choice of every OS on drive. XP loader will only recognize XP.
I think you should check with Danleff, Maillon or Dapper Dan for glitches and workarounds for your Athlon. I may be wrong but I believe Danleff ,especially, has a lot
of experience with Athlon processors.They're all good people and you can bank on any
advice they give you. But remember ,they have to rely on machine specific information you give them
.BIOS settings may also be causing a problem but I am hesitant to give advice on that subject.

If Mepis won't install , try Ark. It seems to work better, at least with Pentium on HP.
(Not sure about Athlon.)
I think RedHat 9.0 is a good choice but you won't have the XP controll panel clone.
I'm running it on eMachine with Athlon and love it.

mepis nor ark work just going to try red hat

I hope Red Hat works for you.
Red installer (Anaconda) wouldn't run on my HP551 but I have a pentium in that machine.
Maybe it will work on yours,though.

im going to try tommorow got state testing tommorow and just got back from court but if that dont work im trying fedora i got 7.3 for my laptop and that works real well.
 
btw mel i like your sig and thanks for all the help

May I suggest you go to ibiblio .org or linuxiso.org and go through thier list
of distros. Each distro listed will have a link to that distros home page.
Go to each home page and check thier compatiblility list for your computer. That
may save you a lot of frustration since distros that work on one machine may not
work on another. A little research may make the difference in finding a good OS
or just being frustrated with distros that won't work on your machine. Each distro has
its own installer and different distros have problems with different machines.
Good luck on your tests.