FreeBSD, Ubuntu and Win XP on one system

[Jason W. Morgan]

On 2008.08.11 18:05:10, Jack Raats wrote:
> I would like to put FreeBSD, Ubuntu and WInXP on one system using a boot manager.
> 
> Which version do I have to put first on the harddisk, which second and which last?
> 
> I also want to know which bootmanager to use?
> 
> 
> Thanks for your time
> 
> Greeting
> Jack

Hello Jack,

I had this same setup for quite some time. You will want to start with
XP, since it seems to require being the first slice on the disk. Just
make sure you don't let the XP install use the whole disk. You can
then choose either FreeBSD or Ubuntu to be the second slice, it's
really a matter of preference. Personally, I installed FreeBSD second,
then added Ubuntu to the end as an afterthought.

Note: when using this install sequence, Ubuntu will install GRUB as a
boot loader, which will recognize XP just fine, but will ignore
FreeBSD (at least it did pre-Hardy Heron). You will have to edit the
GRUB config manually to make your FreeBSD install available in the
GRUB menu. It's not difficult, but it does add an extra step. Also, be
sure to keep a backup of your modified GRUB config---it seems that
each time Ubuntu decides it needs to perform a significant update, it
replaces the GRUB config with the default, making FreeBSD once again
inaccessible. There is probably a way to prevent this, but I never got
around to investigating it.

HTH,
~Jason