FreePBX + Windows 7 / Dual Boot - Howto

FreePBX Installation / Upgrade
1

Hi, I have a 500gb HD with 3 partitions as follows:

1st partition - 150GB - installed windows 7
2nd partition - 50GB - free
3rd partition - 300GB - my document repository (music, films, …)

I’d like to install FreePBX on the 2nd partition. How can I do that since it seems that FreePBX distro image does not allow me to select which logical drive it will be installed too.

This systems should be used as a dual boot. Can somebody help me with a step/step instructions on how to do that?

kind regards
GWRosenbaum

2

As a newbie, I suggest you use VirtualBox to host your efforts, it is much easier than the alternatives.

3

Use the raw spare partition (google for how to do that) for the VM, then when more comfortable install a real boot loader on your windows box.

4

But this will degradate performance, right?

My setup is:
Intel NUC DC53427HYE
i5-3427U
16GB RAM
500GB mSATA HD

running Windows 7 Home Pro

thanks for the help!

5

You can use the the “Advanced” option but this requires some at leat basic linux knowledge to know what to partition. Then there is some bootloader stuff generally involved with dual booting because Windows is a crybaby. Your best bet is as Dicko said. Use a virtual machine. Perk of this is you can do “Snapshots” and if you completely hose something while learning you can roll back.

6

Only until you have it working with grub or some such bootloader , then you can boot it natively.

7

Thanks jfinstrom.

  As this is a new computer and it has no important files on that I am open to a completely format and reinstall both Win and FreePBX from scratch if this is necessary. I could install win7 before or after FreePBX but I really want it to work as a dual boot. Isn't there a way to do it on a step by step basis? Hope you guys can help me...

kind regards

8

Hummm, this is an option if I fail in getting this work on dual boot. Thanks !! :slight_smile:

9

When you say dual boot, are you planning on running Windows, and your PBX at the same time?

10

not at the same time.

11

Any ideas, pls?

12

I thought we did, but given your hardware (which I like and use myself, four cores and 64G of memory) At least two possible scenarios

A)

Install your FreePBX of choice.
install your Desktop of choice on top a nice light-weight one is lxde
install qemu and virt-manager and spice within the Desktop Environment
create a windoze (of your choice) vm
get another monitor with hdmi on it and a mini displayport to hdmi adapter

There you go, both running at the same time on the same hardware, the NUC has more than enough balls to do both systems with cpu cycles to spare.

B )
Install a linux distro of your choice
Install qemu and virt-manager and spice-client within the Desktop Environment
Create a windoze (of your choice) vm
Create another vm for FreePBX using the FreePBX distro of your choice
get another monitor with hdmi on it and mini displayport to hdmi adapter

There you go, all three running at the same time on the same hardware, the NUC has more than enough balls to do all systems with cpu cycles to spare.

Third option is to install Windows and then a VirtualBox or whatever Virtualization you choose, but I would advise against that option as has been stated “Windows is a hog” and making anything other than the same old software will cause loss of hair and general pain in the your butt.

Forth option and probably the least satisfactory, install windows, saving a good part of the hardrive for another OS, THEN install a FreePBX distribution that can handle custom partitioning and depending on your window choice EFI booting (or turn of EFI boot options in the NUC bios), you can then choose one or the other just like the good old days of dual-booting.