my windows os in is fat32...is there anyway i could install linux as fat32 and share mp3's etc..?plus what exactly is gnome?

i don't thin that linux could be installed on fat32

there r some dist but i don't think that they wil give u the linux touch

u can anyway install linux after repartitioning and enjoy mp3 as well after u mount ur fat32 partition on linux

it is easy don't be afraid to try the change

Unlike Windo$e, Linux can read from a FAT32 partition, so provided you have the correct read.write permissions, you should be able to get hold of the mp3's whilst in Linux. Best have a look at your distro manual about accessing the Windows partition.

As far as Gnome goes, unlike Windows you can dictate which 'look' is shown on the desktop - Gnome is one, KDE is another. Your distro should provide a number of GUI's (graphical user interfaces) that you can experiment with. With Windows, you only get the Redmond one


HTH

Dutch

You can install Linux on fat32. It will work, but it's not Linux-native filesystem, so it won't be natural (read: good) for it. Instead, install it into it's own partition. Then you can share files (Linux can read fat32 by default), for Windows you need utility like explore2fs.
GNOME is one of Linux GUIs. Desktop Environment. Draws windows etc + includes utilities like file manager, web browser,...

I installed RedHat like this one time (I think it was 6.2). I think you must have a special boot floppy that mounts that fat32 partition and then finds the Linux root filesystem image and mounts it as a "loopback" filesystem.

Yes, it is possible to install Linux on a FAT32 filesystem, but that's not what you need to do. Install it on it's own filesystem in its own partition(s). Most Linux distro installers will detect that you have a FAT partition and will try to/allow you to mount that partition so you can access the Windoze data. You can get the Windoze data, but the Windoze programs are another matter for another question on another day !!

you dont need any special boot disk or anything (on red hat 7.2).
you must mount the drive yourself by typing "mount /dev/(windows partition here) /c ("/c" will be the directory that you will see windows under, it can be any name)
so if your windows is your 3 partition on your second drive and you want to be able to get into use "cd /c", then type:
# mount /dev/hda3 /c

I'm not totally sure about this (i installed red hat 7.2 for the first time about a month ago and have used linux once or twice before that)

Why FAT anything is so dated. Just install then compile FAT32 fs support into kernel and mount it a n read write to it...

you can mount almost a hundred (definitely over fifty) different filesystems with linux, compared with two (fat16 and fat32) in windows. oh, three if you include NTFS.

Druaga has some good info above (hello, Druaga!)

It is quite easy to do, once you get the hang of it, but i can't be buggered trying to explain it here, as it involves a lot of variables specific to your system. instead, I'll give you this web page address, it is the document that explained it all to me when i was confused about this, now i am so clued up about mounting other filesystems that it makes me sad that more modern distributions do it automatically for you! I haven't had to edit /etc/fstab manually since i got mandrake!

ps, once you get mounting filesystems straight in your head, you will want to know about file permissions (lookup references to chmod for this). Careful as permissions are not supported properly in the Fat32 filesystem, and you may have a couple of trials and errors before you can successfully read, write and execute files from your fat32 side. It's all fairly easy though, once you get it....

we can install linux on Fat32, and to use Windows partition its best to use mtools.conf which comes with Red hat
This is a great tool for using windows partition

Linux on Fat32 sucks.Make a free DOS partition.Delete it while installing linux.Make linux native partition out of the free space..Select mount points.Click Next.Its all over.