Forum Moderators: bakedjake
you can just download any new linux distro and install it. it will install its own boot manager which will recognise win2k and adjust the primary boot partition accordingly - so you can choose which system you want to boot to...
however, without the win2k cd to roll back, i (personally) wouldn't attempt it
It's an entirely other OS and it will get installed on a separate part of the hard drive (partition). Of course, if you delete Windows system files from within Linux (**) then you'll have problems, but if you don't do that when running Windows, why would you do it when running Linux?
If you're in doubt you can even set permissions for your standard user profile so that it is not possible for you to change anything on the windows partition (ie. read only or something). Unlike Windows, in Linux, if your root profile tells your user profile something is not possible, then it is not, so make sure you will never forget that root password and that others will never get to it.
Disclaimer: You should never assume that installing any OS is completely hassle-free, not for a Windows OS and not for a *nix based one. It's basically the same, only different
..still, a Linux installation is very far from being as risky as a certain OS firm might like it to be. Dual installs have been happening for as long as Linux have existed and i'm perfectly sure that most distros will handle this well (***) although i haven't tried all.
As for running both, the Linux OS is a fair bit safer and definitely more stable and customizable than that other product, but of course you can mess up big time with Linux just like with any other OS.
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(*) With NTFS there are some issues. Still, you will not have problems with that if you don't run it.
(**) from Linux you will be able to read/write your Windows filesystem also
(***) some might be more complicated to install than others, but that's something else
1) Either I use it for Linux and do development work.
or
2) Just add it to the existing Win2k and Have extra space/ use it as a Backup drive.
This is just to be on the safer side...If I STILL want to take that risk and go on with a drive partition for *nix which distros will you recommend?
my hesitant answer was because i did need the windows 2000 cd to restore the master boot record, after i had overwritten it incorrectly with redhat; i panicked, quickly put in the win2k cd and restored the MBR ;-)
i suppose one way of being protected in the event of a mistake would be to use a program like norton ghost to make a complete image of your windows partition. you could then install linux with impunity, and rollback easily if there were problems :-)
i have only ever installed redhat, which was easy. if you do try redhat then sign up to the redhat network for the latest security fixes - free for non-comercial purposes.
if it is for development purposes, mightn't it be best if you installed the same distro as your production server?
good luck
You should of course consider how much free space you have left on your existing HDD before you install Linux. Putting it on a separate physical disk will instantly remove any problems relating to this, so it's definitely a nice thing although it's not really necessary.
My full Linux installation including all files, programs and documents, takes up around 1Gb at the moment. This is not the smallest installation you can get, but it's not the largest either. To compare, my WinXP is around 7Gb (including programs but without documents). I have a lot more available programs on my Linux installation than on WinXP.
>> drive partition
I recall, that before i tried it the concept of "disk partitioning" was a great mystery to me, and i couldn't really find any good sources that explained it in laymans terms. It is quite simple, though: It's just a program that takes the un-used space on your HDD and allows you to decide how much should be used for windows, how much for linux, and if you want a separate space for documents it does that as well.
Anyway, if only you defragment your windows first, it is my experience that the disk partitioning tools that comes with linux distributions are safe - they will allow you to make space available for linux if you have it, and as long as you use FAT32 there should be no problems at all.
If you use NTFS, otoh, you will have to buy "Partition Magic" or other similar software packages to do the partitioning. These will still be able to do it safely.
If you have limited disk space and still want to take Linux for a trial run, there are distributions that can boot and run from a CD-ROM so you don't have to install anything - they do require some RAM though. One you hear a lot about is Knoppix (http://www.knoppix.com) - i have tried it as well, it's good (*).
>> which distros will you recommend?
Now, this question is akin to, "PC or Mac?" or perhaps more like "what is your preferred car?" as there are so many models (distros) to choose from, and they're all "cars" - you might not like the one i like, and you might need other features, colours, measurements, for a car than i need, and so on.
In fact (and this is serious) i will recommend them all. That is; I will recommend you to try out a few different ones and find your own favorite. Perhaps you should try a few of those "Live-CD" distros like knoppix etc before you install, just to see if it will detect your hardware properly and to get a feeling for how you customize stuff.
Here's a good recent thread: [webmasterworld.com...]
And here's a valuable link (distrowatch): [distrowatch.com...]
The latter page gives a short description of the ten most widely used distributions. If you go to the front page of that site you will see no less than 100 different distibutions listed along the right hand side, and this is just the top 100, so there will be a distibution for your needs whatever they are.
Also, each distribution has forums, faqs, homepages, etc. - be sure to visit these.
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(*) If you like knoppix, it even has a built in installer for the Debian distribution, so you can switch from knoppix to debian if you like, and avoid the debian installer that people tend to think is complicated.
I think I can get someone (who has done this before) to install Red Hat on my machine...or as you suggested will visit forums etc. to get proper guidance.
Thanks a ton.
Additional HDD
Is there a problem installing on a HDD that is not the master? I had a dual boot and screwed up the install when I got a bigger HDD (ran up against the 1024 cylinder limit).
Can I get around this by installing Linux to the slave drive?
Tom
Tom
I told Linux to install itself on my last drive hdb6 in my case..created /ext3 /home ext3 and /swap (2.5 X RAM) and it was done :)
I could even access Internet from my Mozilla browser, I mapped my C: & D: drives of Win2k on my Linux. Only heck now I cannot play any music on my Linux...
It has detected my soundcard
The drived is loaded - it plays test sound..
It shows me paying a song but I can hear anything :(
