View Full Version : Dual-boot OS....
Parnassus
2010-02-18, 21:25
I'm looking into buying my first home computer (started using public computers about a year ago). I've considering a dual boot operating system using Windows XP Pro/IE & Linux/Firefox. If anyone here has this setup, I'd like to hear how its treating you, any problems, advice, etc. Thanks!
shelf life
2010-02-19, 03:41
A few years ago I had Windows and Linux as a dual boot. Currently I have XP, Vista and W7 on one drive and Linux on a second drive. Part of the reason is Iam a distro hopper and tend to install/re-install Linux distros. Having a dedicated HD just for Linux simplifies this. On the down side you have to boot into the BIOS to change the HD boot order to get to the other drive, a extra step. Could get tiresome if you do it frequently. I tend to stay in Linux so its not a problem. Having separate drives for each OS is a option.
Dual booting shouldnt present any problems. If your machine is purchased this way there should be no problems. If you plan on adding Linux to a drive that has Windows installed already then I would read some guides/tutorials first before proceeding. Also visit the distro's forum for information. Linux installations have really gotten much more 'user friendly' than they use to be.
I'd like to hear how its treating you, any problems, advice, etc. Thanks!
Just an advice:
Be careful when modifying system settings when on Linux. Check online before you do any changes. If the changes affects the boot loader in a negative way, you'll may have to reinstall both Windows and Linux. I have experienced it before. Just to share it. :santa:
I've had no problems dual booting various OSes in the past. If Windows is one of operating systems in the mix, I find using the 'Boot' tab in msconfig.exe is the easiest way to manage the booting of multiple operating systems. :bigthumb:
Now that there's a thread on dual-booting, I've got a question.
If I'm dual-booting Windows and Fedora, does GRUB always take over the Windows boot loader? If possible, is there any way I can let Windows do the OS selection job?
shelf life
2010-02-25, 00:17
yes I believe you can use Windows boot manager but its beyond whats provided in a typical HD installation. Example: instructions for openSUSE
here (http://support.novell.com/techcenter/sdb/en/2002/10/fhassel_grub_nt.html)
Can you dual boot on a raid hard drive?
Parnassus
2010-02-26, 02:06
A few years ago I had Windows and Linux as a dual boot. Currently I have XP, Vista and W7 on one drive and Linux on a second drive. Part of the reason is Iam a distro hopper and tend to install/re-install Linux distros. Having a dedicated HD just for Linux simplifies this. On the down side you have to boot into the BIOS to change the HD boot order to get to the other drive, a extra step. Could get tiresome if you do it frequently. I tend to stay in Linux so its not a problem. Having separate drives for each OS is a option.
Dual booting shouldnt present any problems. If your machine is purchased this way there should be no problems. If you plan on adding Linux to a drive that has Windows installed already then I would read some guides/tutorials first before proceeding. Also visit the distro's forum for information. Linux installations have really gotten much more 'user friendly' than they use to be.
I'm assuming you mean a console with two HD, and not console with HD plus external HD. I'm not aware of consoles with two HD (thought you had to do something called partitioning for dual boot), but I was planning on adding an external HD. I should mention I'm using the book 'Buying a Computer For Dummies' which advises picking software first, then hardware specifically able to handle the former. Probably will end up getting either computer with XP Pro preinstalled, or failing that, a custom job. Whatever it takes to get XP Pro and avoid the more recent Windows versions. Likely I will have to have Linux installed afterward (looking into Redhat9 or Fedora now). No way I'd try to install anything myself. Will collect all the software I need, get the hardware to match it, then pay technowhiz to put it all together!
Parnassus
2010-02-26, 02:20
Just an advice:
Be careful when modifying system settings when on Linux. Check online before you do any changes. If the changes affects the boot loader in a negative way, you'll may have to reinstall both Windows and Linux. I have experienced it before. Just to share it. :santa:
regret most of what you said was beyond my limited understanding, but I've printed it out, and when its time to have a tech guy join up the software & hardware, I will be certain to have him explain it. I don't forsee any reason for me to mess with "system settings" but I know nothing about such stuff.