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    Question Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    Hello all,

    I'm looking at some point to move completely away from MS, if only for the hope that it generates some competition and gives better software allround! Unfortunately, as it's not completely possible for me yet, i'm looking to run a dual linux/windows system - windows for games, and hopefully linux for everything else.

    Has anyone had experience of this and any tips they could give? What should be installed first, windows or linux?

    Also has anyone got any linux distribution recommendations? I like the look of Debian, is that ok?

    Cheers

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    install windows first - it will remove the ability to boot any non-windows OSes

    and use whichever distro you want - bearing in mind some distros expect you to do more legwork yourself than others (debian isn't all clicky and automagic by default, but is very powerful if you put in the time)

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    Quote Originally Posted by Wh@l3fish View Post
    Hello all,

    I'm looking at some point to move completely away from MS, if only for the hope that it generates some competition and gives better software allround! Unfortunately, as it's not completely possible for me yet, i'm looking to run a dual linux/windows system - windows for games, and hopefully linux for everything else.

    Has anyone had experience of this and any tips they could give? What should be installed first, windows or linux?

    Also has anyone got any linux distribution recommendations? I like the look of Debian, is that ok?

    Cheers
    Hmm - just what I thought about 4 years ago - and now I rarely run windows at all apart from one or two specilised applications.

    As Directhex says install windows first - the linux installation will take care of the dual boot aspects.

    As for the distro - again Directhex has summarised it faarly well. The current favourite seems to be Ubuntu, which is Debian based. I use Fedora which I found installs pretty easily if you use the defaults. In its current incarnation it does install logical volumes (dynamic volumes in Windows speak) rather than fixed partiotions. Not a problem (and soesn't affect any NTFS partitions that aleady exist). Alternatively download a few live CDs and see which one you like.

    However the issue is raelly which desktop/graphical environment you prefer. The two main ones are Gnome and KDE, and both either ship with or run on any of the mainstream distros. Once yopu are comfortable with the graphical interface, you can then 'graduate' to the command line stuff, which really unleases the power of the system, and in many respects is more verstaile thatn the graphical tools and offers more options fo4r the system tuning and application configuration.

    I would advise that you buy a book for your chosen distribution. Linux differs from Windows in many aspects - not least terminolgy, and a book to guide you through the first tentative steps is well worth it.

    One other option (which is what I did) is to build a dedicated Linux box to learn on. It doesn't need to be particularly high spec - I used one of the low cost Asus barebones systems with LAN, sound and video integrated onto the mobo. Add a gig or two of RAM, a processor (32 or 64 bit) and a 200Gb hard drive and you have got a dedicated machine to learn on with no danger of losing any of your windows stuff. Costs a bit to set up, but good peace of mind.

    If you want any more recommendations for books, post back or PM me (or search for some of the Linux threads on Hexus - I've posted my recommendations several times)
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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    I've recently installed PCLinuxOS2007 over a ubuntu 7.10 (which I don't think is much improvement over 7.04) and is working fine. I read someone describe pclinux2007 for novices and ubuntu for advanced beginners.

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    Wow thanks all, that's really useful.

    Peterb - i'll do a search on these forums for some of your previous posts about books and get back to you if I need any more information. I'm going to build a new pc shortly, so I can use this one to learn on before I get more confident.

    I liked the look of Debian, because they seemed to offer a lot of other programs in one place, from which I could practice ans get more confident on. I think I'll take your advice and have a look at a few, like PCLinuxOS2007 and Ubuntu.

    Thanks

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    ubuntu has the same package selection as debian (perhaps a few more, as some things are missing from debian for legal reasons), which makes about 30,000 packages

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    Quote Originally Posted by Wh@l3fish View Post
    Wow thanks all, that's really useful.

    Peterb - i'll do a search on these forums for some of your previous posts about books and get back to you if I need any more information. I'm going to build a new pc shortly, so I can use this one to learn on before I get more confident.

    I liked the look of Debian, because they seemed to offer a lot of other programs in one place, from which I could practice ans get more confident on. I think I'll take your advice and have a look at a few, like PCLinuxOS2007 and Ubuntu.

    Thanks
    No problem - and an unashamed plug for Fedora, which also has a load of packages available which can be installed with a graphical front end to the package manager. Again, like Debian, some useful ones (like mp3 decoders) are not available from the Fedora repository, but are available from third party ones, notably livna.org

    BTW - you will almost certainly find Linux frustrating at first - particularly when you look at the command line - what ARE all those directories? Where are my applications? Where is my C drive? (There isn't one, Linux is file system centic, not drive centric - as a user you don't need to know what physical device your files are on - they can be anywhere - local, on the network - it is transparent) But persevere - it is very rewarding and loads of help on Hexus - and the reference books (get back to me as and when) and more than ever - Google really is your friend as there is lots of help out there from the open source community.

    One other thing - as a computer user you have two roles - a User and an Administrator. This is true for all computers, but isn't rigorously enforced in Windows. It is more rigorously enforced in Linux (one of its advantages) so as a user you don't need to know about where your files are physically located - but as an administrator, you do - but initailly - get used to the graphical interfaces and take it a step at a time. Enjoy!
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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    I look forward to the challenge! I've had a look an Hexus, and there seems to be a lot of information here. I think i'll just pick a distro and dive right in!

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    heh, today i dug out an old 40gb harddrive and installed ubuntu 7.10... so far so good, everything is working alright, but realised i only got the 32bit version, so think i'll try the 64bit as that'll be something new...

    if you've got a spare harddrive (10-20gb will be fine!) then you might want to install that, so its *completely* separate to your windows install, and grub might be clever enough to spot windows on your other drive and whack an entry in the boot file (it did for my vista drive! - tested it, and it works... havent used vista since september!)

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    Quote Originally Posted by streetster View Post
    heh, today i dug out an old 40gb hard drive and installed Ubuntu 7.10... so far so good, everything is working alright, but realized i only got the 32bit version, so think i'll try the 64bit as that'll be something new...
    Personally, I would not recommend 64bit Linux to a beginner. Most of the Linux world still assumes that most users are running 32bit x86 Linux, and when you move to another platform there are various incompatibilities to contend with. Some applications, especially multimedia ones are not available for 64bit.

    It is possible to work around these issues using things like chroot environments, and virtualisation, (I have done so) but it is a pain, and an added complexity that a beginner can do without, so unless you have a good reason for installing more than 4Gb of RAM in your box, and running applications that will use it, I would avoid 64 bit linux for now.

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    Quote Originally Posted by streetster View Post
    if you've got a spare harddrive (10-20gb will be fine!) then you might want to install that, so its *completely* separate to your windows install,
    Wouldn't want them to start a fight with each other!

    Sounds like a good idea. I've got a 1Gb drive sitting around somewhere gathering dust, i'll try a small distro on that

    Edit: Found a distro called Damn Small Linux, anyone used it before? I'll give it a try this week (only 50 Mb!)
    Last edited by Wh@l3fish; 20-01-2008 at 10:44 PM.

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    Quote Originally Posted by Wh@l3fish View Post
    Wouldn't want them to start a fight with each other!

    Sounds like a good idea. I've got a 1Gb drive sitting around somewhere gathering dust, i'll try a small distro on that

    Edit: Found a distro called Damn Small Linux, anyone used it before? I'll give it a try this week (only 50 Mb!)
    bear in mind DSL is *really* cut down (my kernel alone is over 100 meg, including all drivers). don't expect, say, a firefox-like browser

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    Quote Originally Posted by chrestomanci View Post
    Personally, I would not recommend 64bit Linux to a beginner. Most of the Linux world still assumes that most users are running 32bit x86 Linux, and when you move to another platform there are various incompatibilities to contend with. Some applications, especially multimedia ones are not available for 64bit.

    It is possible to work around these issues using things like chroot environments, and virtualisation, (I have done so) but it is a pain, and an added complexity that a beginner can do without, so unless you have a good reason for installing more than 4Gb of RAM in your box, and running applications that will use it, I would avoid 64 bit linux for now.
    they've done some decent work with most distros - e.g. using 32-bit apps where appropriate, or using libraries which can handle cleverness (e.g. ubuntu uses 64-bit firefox with nspluginwrapper to load 32-bit flash)

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    Just had a quick try with DSL, it's pretty amazing that it can boot from within windows, although it seems like more of a toy than anything serious. Also, it seemed strangely easy to do...

    Probably have more of a play during the week when I get more time.

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    hmm maybe i'll avoid 64bit then

    i installed DSL on a 256mb pendrive for a tiny mini-itx (or similar) system for a guy who wanted to make a digital photoframe to display his artwork in a gallery... which its perfect for, but not really ideal for a linux beginner who wants to be able to apt-get install everything you want

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    Re: Dual boot Linux/Windows?

    DSL is really pretty specialised, I'd stick to one of the mainstream distros to learn on - and 32 bit will be fine to start with - the 2.6 kernel is pretty memory efficient - 1Gb Ram would be fine - 2Gb more than enough.
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