Getting started

Dual booting XP and Linux

[cyclic]

I have decided to take the plunge and have a look at Linux. Having looked through the archives it appears that there are some problems dual booting linux with XP. As far as I can see, if I partition with partition magic and then install Linux onto the new partition all should be ok? Which version of Linux should I install? Would I be better doing a fresh install on an old pentium I have laying around?

Your thoughts would be appreciated as I don't fancy losing anything on this machine!

[mack]

From what Im aware windows 9x/ME/2000 use fat32 and most Linux installers are able to work with this to create the Linux partion and swap partion. I recently bought Linux with the intention of doing a duel boot with my new computer that is running XP. The installer just does nothing. When reading through the installation instructions it says the only knows method for installing xp and Linux is to install Linux then install XP on another partion. The biggest problem is that most XP users are using the version that was installed on their new box and are not able to format and re-install.

Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. Just thought I would give your post a push up to see if anyone else had any ideas.

[dingman]

[google.com ]

It's a bit complicated as I understand it, but it's certainly been done.

[john316]

For $199.00, you can save the aggravation/learning curve.

Linux box from walmart [walmart.com]

[digitalghost]

>>Would I be better doing a fresh install on an old pentium I have laying around?

Save the 200 bucks and slap Linux on the old box. Learn how to configure it, learn user management, (the $200 box from Wally World insists that you are root)and spend some time playing with it.

I'm not even going to begin to start the which Linux is better arguments. :) If you want to get familiar with Linux then slap it on a new P4 box I suggest either Red Hat 7.0 or Turbolinux 6. The other versions have issues with P4 chips, getting used to say MandrakeSoft then finding out it won't recognize P4 chips can make people cranky.

If you've already got the old box just sitting there then Linux is a natural choice for it. ;)

<edit>Pre-caffeine thinkos</edit>

[edited by: digitalghost at 9:46 pm (utc) on Oct. 3, 2002]

[john316]

I agree with digitalghost, use the old box. If you spend the 199.00 you'd be better off with a standard linux installation...around 40 to 80 bucks.

[dingman]

Me three. I missed the fact that you had another box around to try it on. That's deffinitely the way to go rather than starting with the advanced topics involved in dual-booting.

[littleman]

Yeah, going with the older computer sounds like a good idea to me too, but what size is the processor?

You may consider buying a few unofficial CDs and try out different distros to see which flavor you like the best. linuxcentral.com and cheapbytes.com both have unofficial CDs at very reasonable prices -- for example linuxcentral has Mandrake 8.2 for $6.

Most people agree that Redhat and Mandrake are two good places for a newcomer to start. Mandrake is very easy to setup -- most say that it is an easier install than MS.

[SmallTime]

I bought a new sony laptop recently, with XP preinstalled. I upgraded it to XP Pro, and using Administrative tools, computer management, disk management, resized the primary ntfs partition, added a fat partition, and left about 10mb free for linux. Then, using Linux-Mandrake installer, installed linux partitions and linux on the free space. I use the grub boot loader, which on startup gives me the choice of linux or XP (you can set a default). Works great.

[4eyes]

I used to have Linux and XP working together.

I forget how I did it, but I was a complete newbie and it worked first time.

The dual-boot option wasn't right for me, too many reboots.

I agre with the otheres, use the old machine if you need XP.

I have a Laptop with XP and a desktop running Mandrake with Windows 98 running under Win4Lin.

Got the best of all worlds:)

[cyclic]

Thanks for all the advice. My old machine is a P133 with 128k RAM. Will this be sufficient? Can I get these cheap distributions in the UK? No broadband connection here so no chance of a download!

[dingman]

My old machine is a P133 with 128k RAM. Will this be sufficient?

Assuming you really mean 128mb of RAM, it's at least possible. It depends a bit on what you want to do.

I've got an old P166 with 128mb RAM running Apache (with mod_php4 and mod_ssl (patched, script kidiots can leave me alone)), Bind9, Exim, OpenSSH, CUPS, pop3s and imaps servers, and PostgreSQL serving 7 low-load domains (three unique ones, really, as I have .com, .net, and .org of two, and just .org of my name because someone else beat me to .com and .net). It works fine, not even a high load average. (0.0 right now, though analog says this is my slow time.)

Before it was placed in this role, the same machine was my desktop system though much of college. My desktop envornment, though, was nothing like what I run now. fvwm2 and Xfree86 3.x worked great. You try to load KDE or Gnome, though, and it will bog right down. Mozilla literally takes several minutes to start. I remember running Netscape 4.x and StarOffice 5 on it happily, though. (In fact, as long as I wasn't trying to run inside Gome or KDE, StarOffice 5 started in the same ammount of time as it did on my Athlon 750.)(For values of 'happily' appropriate to NN4, of course - frustrating, but not as bad as IE4 imnsho)

As for cheap cds, if you can't find anything better, I'll burn you a copy of any distro that makes ISO images available for download and mail it for the cost of postage and media. There's probably something better out there, though, since that involves sending a package across the Atlantic.

[littleman]

That is a pretty light system. :)

You also might want to look at this thread [webmasterworld.com]

[mack]

Well i have an old old old system that has a 2gig hardfile and 96 meg or ram and it runs linux ok... Didn't instal much in the way of extras but the basics seam to work just fine.

[cyclic]

Thanks to one and all - I think I will give it a go on my old machine (with 128MB - It was a long day!).