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I'm looking for a Linux OS to put it in my machine, so I can have a dual OS. Right now I have Vista, and I'm going to install another harddrive in my machine for Linux.
Here are the questions:
What kind of Linux OS is recomended for a beginner who wants to play with the system?
Am I going to be able to install the OS in the slave drive without affecting anything on the Master drive (that's where I have vista)? Finally, What is the best way to install the OS in the slave harddrive without disturbing any files from the master drive?Thanks!!!!!
My suggestion is go to
http://distrowatch.com/Have a look at one you like, then download a live cd. You can run this without doing anything to your hard drives.
When you find one you like, you can install it.
I think, installing Linux, will use a bootloader like grub or lilo these will overwrite your mbr (master boot record) But I don't know a lot about linux.
You could try Wubi, this will install Ubuntu through windows. That means, you will have an extra line to boot to, ie Vista & Ubuntu. This means you can remove Ubuntu through the add/remove programs in Vista.
Before posting try google. Backup. Use anti virus software.
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most distros will automatically setup a dual boot, but BACKUP important files because there is no guarantee things won't go wrong. Take clive's advise, you need to get familiar, with the way linux refers to drives. For instance its not C,D,E... but, hda1, hda2 or a second drive may be hdb1. Personally I prefer a harddrive install, but I have lost access to windows in the past, I can usually get it back but, its not something you want to have happen.
larry
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Hello Clive, Before hand, I want to thank you for your reply about my questions. I already try Fedora and puppy. I had Fedora in my old machine installed in my harddrive, but I didn't like the fact that it doesn't give you a choice to delete the OS. I like puppy, and I can boot up from DVD, but I want to go deeper with linux. What do you think of the idea of intalling the new harddrive as a primary, disabling the Master, intalling Linux OS, and then plug the Master drive, and make the new drive the slave, would it give me dual boot up choice? I hope I didn't confuse you. Thanks again!!!
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You would be much better off with a virtual machine such as virtualpc or virtualbox. They are easy, free, near or at native speed. Easy to delete. Don't mess up your mbr. You can run many at a time.
See also Knoppix and the few hundred other live cd's.
Each distro carries a steep learning curve. Not one of them uses the same way to do things.
If you dual boot, my guess is you will be back asking how to fix it. You can trust me on this because I still make mistakes installing OS's and bork my mbr. Lucky I know how to fix my mistakes by now."Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, antivirus, anti-spyware, Live CD's, backups, are in my top 10
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I agree with Jefro. You should install a
Virtual Machine software, then you can
download live CD images, and run them in the
VM as if they are burned to disk (no wasted
CD's or DVD's).When you find a distribution you want to
investigate further, install it to the VM's
virtual hard drive (a file on your computer).
The OS running in the VM thinks it is running
on a real computer and as far as it is
concerned, your real system does not exist.After you become more familiar with Linux,
you may want to take the plunge, and install
the distribution you chose to your HD. If you
decide to stick exclusively with Windows (or
to remove one Linux installation in favor of
another), the task is as simple as directing
the VM to remove the machine (or
alternatively you can format the virtual hard
drive). Also, if at some point in the future,
you find that you use Linux for your day to
day computing, and seldom use Windows, you
can always install Windows to a VM under
Linux. I do that here (using Virtual Box) so
I can help friends (and a few customers) who
still choose to use Windows.HTH,
Ernie Registered Linux User 247790
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Garmoth, err, you did confuse me. Sorry, I don't know much about Linux.
But I do know, a few times, it has lead me to re-install windows.
I think you should take a look at Wubi, but this ties you to Ubuntu.
Before posting try google. Backup. Use anti virus software.
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First of all, Thank you for all your help guys!!! I'm going to go with answer 4 and 5; I'll get myself a Virtual Machine, but if that is not too much trouble, can I get a link to get VM Software? Also, I would love to know exactly how VM is installed, and the process of installing Puppy, Knoppix, and some other Linux OS as well. Thanks for all your help!!!! PS. Where I can go on the site to answer questions from other people that I might know?
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You could try Virtual Pc from Microsoft.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...
Before posting try google. Backup. Use anti virus software.
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As a second alternative, you can check out VirtualBox provided by Sun Microsystems. It has versions which run on Linux, Solaris and of course Windows
HTH,
Ernie Registered Linux User 247790
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knoppix is not normally installed to the hd & puppy
is a light weight distro for old machines with little
ram. You have 2gb of ram, you can run a more
"complete distro".
this has become my favorite recently:
http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_elyssa...
but you will get alot of opinions on this.larry
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VirtualPC and VirtualBox are windows applications. They simulate a real computer in software version. Both free for personal use. Both work well and are very stable for most people. They are no different than installing something like MS word or a game. It is an application.
The difference is these applications are just like real computer. As above you don't even have to burn a cd to boot and install OS's. They run quite a number of OS's without any trouble. Everything from Linux, Solaris, Qnx, Beos, DOS, OS/2 and the list goes on.
If you have a newer computer they work really well with the latest processors.See also VMware's virtual market place. There are hundreds of premade virtual machines to download if you have VMware's VMplayer or other applications.
"Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, antivirus, anti-spyware, Live CD's, backups, are in my top 10
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If you want to have a dual boot of a linux distro which is easy to start with try ubuntu intrepid ibex 8.10
you can download the iso from www.ubuntu.com
burn it on a cd (or mount it virtual with deamon tools) you can install it from inside windows, and it will create its own partition, and then you can dual boot vista/ubuntu
ubuntu is the most flexible and most compatible distro..
it is debian based, it has an amazing package control.. aptitude, there is a text file with all webside sources from which the OS picks out its upgrades, updates..new programs..etc... you can get it as a gnome based desktop manager (easier to use) or KDE .. (graphically amusig but less user friendly).. both are extremely easy to personalize.. and you can move around your desktop as you wish.. you can virtually do anything you want with your desktop
www.gnome-look.org
www.kde-look.orgfor themes, widgets, icons...etc..
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Once again, thank you for responding to my questions. I just barely read 8-12 answers, and I'm think that I will give VM a try. Also, I would check the other OS that answer 10 and 12 are recomending. I haven't receive my new harddrive yet, but as soon as I get it; I will do the implement, and give a feedback. You all have a great weekend!!!!
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First step: Download the .iso of some free live-CD's. Knoppix is a good one to start with, as it's made for just this purpose. It's got a great interface, and the KDE desktop environment is very similar to Windows, so the initial learning curve is far less steep.
As for installing Linux, what I've done is a "frugal install" of a distro called Puppy Linux. To the best of my knowledge, it's the only distro you can do this with; it saves a file to your hard drive, and all your Linux programs reside inside that file. The best part? You DO NOT NEED TO PARTITION YOUR HARD DRIVE!
I have Win98SE, so I'm able to use Puppy to download files to my hard drive, because both OS's are on the same partition. I can access files from both Puppy and Win98SE...that includes files from the HDD, any CD (or DVD if you have the optical drive for it), thumb drive, Zip drive, even a floppy!
And Puppy's probably the most user-friendly Linux distro, as well.
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If you're new to Linux, just run directly off the Live CD. That way, you'll get a feel for it & you won't risk screwing up your current configuration.
I agree with larryf215...have a look at Linux Mint.
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Hello guys,
I got my new harddrive installed. I downloaded the Virtual PC from Microsoft, but apparently; the software doesn't work well with my system. I was going to download Virtual Box, but I don't see the appropiate software for my system. Any suggestions about another VW software? I got ubuntu, puppy, and Suse already in my storage device.
Thanks for all your help; it is well appreciated.
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http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Down...
"I got my new harddrive installed."
what OS is installed?
I'm posting from XP, IE8, running in virtual box on ubuntu 8.10larry
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Resolution:
Hello again friends,
I installed ubuntu on my new harddrive, and it works fine. I don't have the dual boot option, but I don't might choosing Ubuntu by going into boot up options. Right now, I think I'll mess with Ubuntu, and will look into installing virtualbox Larry. I want to thank you all for you help. Keep spreading the knowledge, and Merry Christmas!!!
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Couple of more question,
To Response Number 17...Larry which version of virtualbox do you think fits my computer? I have 32 bit Vista installed. Also, I have Ubuntu in my other harddrive which I believe is the latest version. Is it possible to install flash in Ubuntu? If so, which download? and how can I execute the file?
Thanks!!!
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when you browse to a site like computing.net, firefox should give a messgage about missing pluggins. click the install button and choose one. if flash won't install, try one of the others, like gnash
larry
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Thank you very much for all your help. I'm writing this message using Firefox on Ubuntu, so you'll know that I'm already messing with Linux. I would love to know more about VirtualBox since on my system; I can only load older versions of certain Linux OS.
Anyway, thanks and Merry Christmas!!!
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I agree with the virtualbox solution - download and give it a try. It's easy to start a virtual machine if you have the downloaded .iso file ready to install into it.
One other way is to get a CDRW/DVDRW disc and burn the live images to that. This way you can set your PC to boot from CD and try out various linux distributions from the CD/DVD. If you don't like what you see, it's easy enough to burn a different image onto the re-writable disc and boot from that. This will leave your Vista image completely untouched.
I'd personally recommend the virtualbox. I've been very impressed with the ease of use and flexibility, but thought I'd offer the live CD/DVD option as an alternative.
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Guys,
Thanks for all your help. I'm using Ubuntu in my other hard drive, so far so good. I was using VB, but I don't think I know how to use it. For now, I will mess with Ubuntu.
Happy New Year!
This is my last comment on this issue.
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