I have been given the task to change OS of a HP Proliant ML350 G4 server, and I decided to use Ubuntu server edition for that matter.
The thing is that the server has already installed Windows server 2000 on the only Hard drive it has (SCSI).
My question is, could I install an IDE HD on the IDE connection it has and install ubuntu without overwritting the boot configuration, so if I wanted to go back to the windows 2000 server installation with no problems?
It also has a tape drive which is used for backups. Do you guys know how buntu deals with such devices?
Thanks for your time
Best Answer
Grub (the bootloader Ubuntu and most Linux distributions use) is a lot more capable at detecting (and loading) Windows than Windows' bootloader is at detecting Linux. I would personally overwrite the Windows bootloader with Grub.
Otherwise the safest way would be to stick a new disk in there, unplug the Windows dive and install Ubuntu on the new disk. After that's done, plug the old drive back in and use BIOS to determine which one boots. That would guarantee the Windows partitions aren't touched at all during installation.
Ubuntu's hardware support is pretty awesome (infinitely better than Win2k's out-the-box hardware support) but I can't guarantee your tape drive will work as you haven't specified its make or model. Put them in google prefixed with "Ubuntu" and you'll find out if people have been having problems.