Mini Linux???
 

Hello,

I need my Windows XP environment on my laptop while at client site. But I need a Linux shell to work (development) on a linux environment when I can afford time here and there.

The problem remains that I need to load and stop the Linux environment dynamically (without a reboot).

Is there a shell or min-linux available that can provide this.

Thanks,
Shaffin.

Maybe ZipSlack? I was reading about it and it says it can be placed on a FAT/FAT32 filesystem. And you don't need to repartition your drive. I haven't tried it myself, but maybe it'll work for what you are doing.

Perhasp you should look at cygwin. If that doesn't work then perhaps vmware. Vmware is probably better but you will need to pay.

perhaps slacklive will fit your needs. . .http://www.slackware-live.org/ it runs of a mini cd-r so doesn't that make it a variation of mini linux too? :p

Neither ZipSlack nor Slacklive will do what you want, since each of these requires a reboot.

David is right. CygWin is sort of like the anti-Wine, it allows you to pretend you're running linux within windows. But the best solution IMHO is vmware (if you don't mind paying an arm and a leg for it; or pursuing other, less ethical means of installing it). This will create a virtual machine while you are running XP (ick!) on which you can run a true Linux distro.

http://www.cygwin.com/

http://www.vmware.com/

Enjoy!
--- Cerbere