Dual boot
 

I am running a 450 mhz pIII with win98se I want to create a dual boot system with linux. I am looking at debian or redhat. My question is two fold. Which is better to work with and how do I split my 40g harddrive into two without affecting the win98 os? I am very very new at all this and know enough to be dangerous. :)

Step by step
 

Hi there,

Congrats for trying Linux. Once you learn the basics and see all the possibilities, I'm sure you won't be going back to Windows.

First of all, to start, I'd recommend Red Hat. It is a good distro, easily installed and managed, with good hardware support and many people using it to ask questions. Debian is really good, but its install process is more "painful" for the beginner, and its configuration is not so easy for a Windows newcomer. The "natural way" is to start with a friendly distro and then install a more advanced one (like Debian) when you have get a grasp of what linux is and can do.

First of all: MAKE A FULL BACKUP OF YOUR DATA. If anything goes wrong, you can go back to your previous state and not blame linux for it...

I suggest that you try to get Partition Magic and make two partitions on your hard disk from Windows: one for linux itself (it can be ext2 or ext3) and one for swap (required for linux to work). Another option is to try Mandrake and to leave the installation process in its hands. This distro has a very good reputation between beginners. It can take charge of the install process without destroying anything on your hard disk and putting linux in the free space available on your hard disk.

Cheers.

I think I am correct in saying that if you get yourself a Mandrake distro, and run the first cd under window$, you get a little info and tutorial etc.

Personally, I run xp and mandrake. fortunately, the xp (preinstalled) was set up in 3 partitions, the main one or c drive was formatted as NTFS, the second one ? letter (probably D) was formatted fat32 and so was the third.

So I put the first cd in, and booted up, I decided to use the 3rd "drive" as there was nothing important on that partition ( I just remembered the size of the partition), and mandrake did the rest for me. The only strange thing being that my hard disk now has the main windows partition of about 22gig, the secondary partition that window$ calls the recovery section (about 3 gig formatted as fat32) and my mandrake occupies about 4 gig's (that is what it decided to do without much help from me), the rest of the hard disk show as formatted as 2 sections for fat32, but doesn't really do anything.

I suppose that I should get a copy of partition magic to tidy it up, but it doesn't bother me so !!!!!

When I was investigating which distro to try, I was advised against going straight for redhat as it is aimed more at the corporate sector. and that mandrake or SuSE would be a better "desktop distro". But the downside of SuSE is that they don't have the most up to date version available for down load, and also that there seems to be more help and assistance around/available for mandrake (debateable!)

so it's really a case of "close your eyes, put your hand into the barrel and rummage around and see what comes out!"

I would also point out, that there appear to be some mega knowledgable types at my LUG, and it seems that they all use debian! but I have heard that debian can be quite hard to set up for the newbie - again that's only hearsay!

regards

John

I've also heard good things about Debian, but I've never tried it myself and its reputation does lend itself against newbie use. I'd go with the Mandrake suggestion, as it has several levels of installation available, and you can use the easiest selection to completely automate the installation options.
As always, the suggestion to back up your data before inflicting any trauma on your machine (like installing a new OS) is a good one!

Debian confused me. It wasn't so much the linux part of it, but rather the Debian specific parts. Once you learn linux, pretty much any distro can go well, it's trying to use the specific tools that make each distro different that is the challenge, or the reason to use it.

Anyway, I'd agree, Mandy. Mandy is fine for a newbie just grabbin a glimpse at linux, and what it can offer. From there, I'd say step into a more advanced distro, maybe Debian or Slack. And once those are on your "done" list, go for an LFS, it really helps you figure out what makes the clock tick, literally.

Cool

So it's possible?, on my PC?, like i can't even watch the videos i make cause it's jerky on my system already. The only reason i want to try Lycoris is because i've tried Win 95,98,98se,Me, and everything looks bad compared to XP, now i have come across a free CD in a magazine the has the full Lycoris on it, i was just wanting to know if it is possible to do on my system without slowing it down anymore, plus i only have a 20gig HDD, and also, and guides????????

i'm only interested on the desktop look, tried www.wincustomize.com takes up too much memory :(, i'm not intrested in how 'wonderful' linux is or what amazing possiblities there are (cough) just trying to get as much out of my 200MMX, till next year when i get a 2.66gig, i'll use XP (cause it's better than anything) on the new setup, and i may try Lycoris, i just want some help on Dual Booting, any guides at all???

btw, stop calling me a newbie!!!! i know nothing about dual booting but thats it!!!!!!!!


Thx ^_^

If you're not very Linux savvy, try Mandrake or RedHat 8. If you like Lycoris, stick with it. It's pretty much the easiest Linux there is, although RedHat 8 is also definitely worth checking out.

Actually, on a 200MHz machine, it doesn't matter much what desktop OS you select, and they're all gonna be slow as ____ . Linux X will probably prove the least taxing when compared to Windows (ESPECIALLY XP), but with that CPU speed and prolly not a whole lot of RAM to go along with it, you're not going to notice much improvement in speed no matter what OS you choose. Graphics (Windows, X Windows, GUIs, etc.) are memory-intensive, and generally the later the OS, the more memory you need to run it. There's a reason that you "tried Win 95,98,98se,Me, and everything looks bad compared to XP": more clock speed and more memory equals more flash and pretty graphics that your system can handle.
That said, give it a try. You may be happy with an X setup on your machine; just don't expect a miracle! ;)

I know the reason why i tried everything ME didn't like my modem that was it, and i know i can't run XP on a crappy 200mmx, bought the PC in 97, i have 128Mb RAM, Win95 and Win98 and Win98se are all the same speed, not slow, with my ram i can only upgrade to a 233, and i haven't "tried XP" i have seen it working and had a play around alot and researched.
Thx for your help, at least i get a clear anwser kind of, that i CAN run a dual boot with Lycoris ^_^, but still no guides on how to do it :(

Try backing up your system, updating your BIOS (if it doesn't already support booting via CD), stick the Lycoris CD in the drive, and reboot. If your system is CD-boot-capable, the installation will start automatically. I've never installed Lycoris, but if it's anything like Mandrake, it will help you repartition your drive for you.
I still say Partition Magic is the best way to repartition your Windows drive to add partitions for future Linux installations, especially for newbies.

Yo moonraver,

I would suggest that you try one of the more "mainstream" linux distro's because if you are in the dark about linux etc then you will find help/assistance/advice/idea's etc easier to find.

You've found LQ, and there are quite a lot more other forums and stuff out there. And presuming that many of the main distro's will have "unofficial" distro specific forums you should have little trouble finding stuff.

for example

mandrakeusers board
and
mandrakeuser board

Yes, you've spotted it, I use mandrake (biased maybe, but what I know about linux you could write on the back of a postage stamp).

My previous PC was about the same spec as the one you've mentioned, And I held back from installing mandrake (well any linux) because it only had a 2.5 gig HDD, and due to my partners need to have access to M$ window$ and word, I didn't want to chance screwing the installation. But If you don't actually need the m$ software, then load a linux distro over the top and bin the window$. I'm sure that you will be suprised. I was.

And if you find a few annoying things - the fonts where blocky and generally hideous - you can get round that. There is plenty of assistance for installing the M$ fonts, as for desktop themes, background images, etc etc, then there's loads out there. Your only stopping point could be your modem - just surf around for stuff about "winmodems" and although some can be configured, a lot of them are a total pain. Try and get yourself an external one, much much easier to set up/configure.

and go for it!!


I am only a recently migrated former windows drone, and yes when I got the money together, I got a cheap PC that (by virtue of age) dumps on the old one by a huge margin - it still isn't top of the range but it's running the XP/mandrake dual boot brilliantly. The only thing that frustrates me is lack of knowledge and not having tried linux earlier.

You have nothing to lose but your chains (micro$oft ones that is)!

regards

John

Just wanted to touch base with every one who offered me help with my dual boot question and to express my gratitude. I went and downloaded Mandrake and also checked out their web site. I think it will do the trick for me. I did have some trouble getting the last disk to burn properly; went through six disks before one would take. Now I just have to screw up the courage to actually start putting it in. I have been a windows slave for so long that the idea of switching is giving me a cold sweat. Ha ha ha

ha ha ha, that's cool. Don't get discouraged if things don't go right. There are enough guru's around here to help you in a snag that you should be fine.

Cool