Dualbooting Linux w/WinXP (was: One more try)

[Rugbee]

Some time ago, I attempted to duel boot Linux with windows xp and failed the procedure, the entire event was a nightmare. Therefore, I ditched the Idea and stuck with using windows XP professional. Time has passed and I’d like to give Linux one_ more chance, before I go through this nightmare, again. I’d like to know if Linux might have upgraded to newer user-friendly versions as well as ask if Linux is compatible with my computer, the Modem etc.
Here is the link to the DSL modem that is equipped on the computer www.2wire.com (Model number 1000HW)

Further below is a list of detailed information about the computer that will be used to install Linux.

Dimension 8200 Series, Intel Pentium 4,Processor,at 2.53GHz
1024MB PC800 RDRAM
17 in (17.0 in viewable) 1702FP Digital Flat Pane Display
128MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4 TI 4600 Graphics Card with TV-OUT and DVI
Dell Edition 120GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with Data, Burst Cache, Tied
3.5in Floppy Drive
Dell Application Back-up CD, Factory Install
Intel Pro 100 PCI Ethernet Network Card
56K PCI Telephony Modem for Windows
48X Max Variable CD-ROM Drive
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz DSP, Sound Card
Harmon Kardon HK-395 Speakers
50MB Iomega Zip Built-In Drive
DVD+RW/ CD-RW Combination Drive
Digital Content Authoring Software
Cyber link Software Decoding for DVD Drives

Has Linux, come out with any newer to more recent user-friendly versions since the last time I’ve tried to install it, which was on Feb 2 2004?

Will the Modem, posted above as well as this computer that is also listed above equipped to use, install, and get Linux to connect to the internet?

I also lost the Linux Cds, well actually ripped all of them in half... Nevertheless, dose anyone have a link to where I could buy the best edition of Linux, for Noobs. Linux has so many different versions I don’t know witch one to purchase. I’m looking for a version of Linux that is user friendly and up to date with Drivers, DSL Modems and hardware. Any information on witch version to purchase and information about any possible conflicts that may occur with (if there is any) with the equipment that is installed on the computer will be greatly appreciated.

[mrBen]

Start off with Knoppix (http://www.knoppix.com) which will boot from CD and give you a reasonable idea of which of your hardware will work easily (although don't take it as a definitive guide).

Then take a look at some of the hardware lists from the big distributions, and see if your hardware is mentioned.

Then search for your hardware at http://www.google.com/linux

[Jata]

I'd also say that if you are going to progress to an installed version stick with the better known ones like Mandrake (http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en-us/) or Fedora (http://fedora.redhat.com/) (Redhat) as they tend to make hardware detection and configuration simple.

[mmills]

dual booting with windows isnt really that hard, I have done it with redhat, mandrake, suse, and ccux, you must install xp first, there is a program called bootpart. do a google run on bootpart.exe you will find it at a place called winimage.com. I always suggest reading before flying into something, I took a short course in Linux+ certification but i ran out of $$ so.......

suggestion from me. read up, use your xp for ahwile, look around, goto suse.com they make a live eval cd, try mepis.com they have a live cd that will install when you are sure you like it. read a boot that will help you understand what you are getting into, then try a cd, for me it was all about trial and error...

good luck mate

[saikee]

I use Linux's common bootloader Grub, Lilo and Loadlin only to boot 1 DOS, 3 Windows (including a XP) and 26 Linux systems in the same box.

Never had a need to get a driver yet for the 26 installed Linux but yes for every Window. In a few of the Linux I had to switch the generic drivers to get the display working. My Internet connection is by standard wired Ethernet to a router and automatic to DHCP hence no need for any setup.

I think the term "dual boot" is insulting to a Linux bootloader as both Lilo and Grub are born to "multiboot". When I installed my 24th Linux in the box it automatically scanned my computer for kernels and compiled a Grub boot menu with some 60 entries.

[Uranus]

As said you can use knoppix to feel linux without actually installing it - you can use it to do a hard-disk install as well, as soon as you like it. For dual-booting with windows, make sure the bootloader gets installed _after_ windows is installed (so either first install windows, then linux, or reinstall the bootloader after you installed windows).
As a newbie friendly distro I think (never used any) an rpm-based distro like Mandrake, Red Hat, Fedora or SUSE will do. I started off with gentoo and very little knowledge of computers, and absolutely loved it.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&client=firefox&q=2wire+linux&btnG=Search
The topmost link seems to link to drivers, so maybe that's useful (my internet is awfully slow atm, dunno why, so I'm having a hard time testing).
HTH
Sam

[Daedrus]

Dual boots can be EXTREMELY easy depending on which distro you use. Fedora and SuSE will recognize the windows installations and setup the bootloader so you can access both Windows and Linux for you. Other distros take a little configuration of the bootloader, but it isn't that difficult and it is easy to find info on how to do this. www.google.com/linux is a good search place as is the search on this forum.

[mmills]

if you are running lilo this little tool make the gui more dos like

http://www.winimage.com/bootpart.htm

.....it does not work with grub.....

[Optiker]

I just went through this on a new Dell with XP Home. I have tried various times in the past only to get frustrated and give up. This time, tried Libranet at home and had problems, and Mandrake 10.0 on my new Dell with XP Pro at work. Mandrake 10.0 was a breeze, so I replaced Libranet at home with Mandrake 10.0. Also a breeze.

However, it really doesn't end there. I haven't tried using it online since I suspect my Dell comes with an integrated Winmodem that's probably not supported, so stick with XP for e-mail and web browsing.

Also, I found that I was having rouble with some 3D games and found that it is probably that the Linux nVidia driver just isn't adequate for that, so was advised to DL the nVidia Linux driver and install it. DLed but not installed yet, but have high hopes.

Also have problems installing RPMs, due to missing packages, and haven't resolved that yet either.

On the plus side, for the first time after several Linux installations, this is the first time my sound (integrated) works. Also, both of my printers (older HP inkjet and laserjet) work. Haven't tried my Epson scanner yet though.

So, while I'm still not ready to switch the bulk of my work to Linux, I am making progress. Until I get enough problems resolved so that I can use Linux for most work as a default, and XP just as a fallback for relatively few needs, I continue to use XP as a default, so am not making much progress. Too time consuming to switch back and forth, so I use XP predominantly, and "play" with Linux when I have time. Not the way to migrate, but Linux is still not a transparent enough migration. Still, I know it will get there, so I tend to stick with it.

[Dancen]

Dual-booting is really not too bad. I agree with some of the other posts though, try out a LiveCD first if you really want a good feel for how your hardware is going to be detected.

There's just a couple pretty basic things to watch out for so you don't have a repeat of the nightmare. The part that I'd consider "dangerous" is partitioning your drive. If you're willing to reformat your Windows, then the simplest way to do things is to repartition the drive into 3 sections (1 big one for Windows, 1 smaller one for swap space and 1 medium one for Linux root/boot - look for relative sizes in the documentation for the distro you choose) in the Windows XP installer. Just leave the Linux space unformatted for the time being, you'll be able to set it up with the Linux installer anyway. If Windows is already installed on the entirety of your hard drive, and you don't want to reformat it, then you'll have to use a tool like Partition Magic.

From there, it's a simple matter of just installing Linux. Every distro I've tried (Slackware, Ubuntu, SuSE, MEPIS, a couple others) has been able to recognize the Windows partition and add it to the bootloader automatically. Just one thing to make absolutely sure of during the install is that your Windows partition (probably /dev/hda1) is not being formatted in the Linux install. I seriously doubt it would happen given that all the distros I tried saw the partition and left it untouched as is, but it's worth mentioning and keep and eye out for it. The only other way to completely mess up your Windows drive (or rather, access to it) is by corrupting the MBR (master boot record). You can install Grub or LILO to the MBR without too much fear, though. I believe the Windows XP cd itself has a recovery utility that will restore your MBR if you somehow blow it to pieces. This is another extremely unlikely occurance, but also worth mentioning :) I've written to the MBR at least a dozen times and it's never gone wacky on me.

So, really those are the only ways I can think of that would make Windows unusable, and one is recoverable. Don't worry too much, just follow the manual and you should be fine.

[Optiker]

Originally posted by Dancen
The part that I'd consider "dangerous" is partitioning your drive.

While it's not the route I chose - I probably should have - it was suggested to me that hard drives being as cheap as they are anymore (you could probably pick up a used drive big enough for Linux and its swap space for next to nothing at a local computer shop) why not just add a drive and install Linux on it?

[saikee]

One of the consequence of piling as many Linux distros into a box is one or two of them will do something funny to the partition table. Mine was messed up 3 times so far.

However, as I standardised my partitions in 5Gb each so every time I saw a realignment in the geometry I went to the BIOS to reset them back to LBA mode.

I then delete all the known bad partitions and re-create them the same format as before (5Gb each).

I got all of my distros back. Sounds scary but all my distro boot successfully. I think I did have to intervene one or two to reload it a few times to get back to normal.

When the going is good I have the disk cloned so the backup is always available.

I found life is alot easier if I have written down (or printed out) the partition table.

[mrBen]

So - rugbee - does that help? You've been quiet ;)

[Dancen]

Originally posted by Optiker
While it's not the route I chose - I probably should have - it was suggested to me that hard drives being as cheap as they are anymore (you could probably pick up a used drive big enough for Linux and its swap space for next to nothing at a local computer shop) why not just add a drive and install Linux on it?

Ahh, excellent suggestion. That would be a good route to go, too. It would be a lot better than partitioning at all if s/he doesn't want to even touch Windows.

[robk40]

I have a Dell dimention 8400 also, with a serial ata hard drive and have tried installing Slack 10and 9.1 and various other distros. i partitioned the hard drive and set up a swap partition but none of the attempted installations saw the partition, even changed it to free space,nothing. and i have RTFB. and still reading. tried all the boot images also. good luck and post what you find,so will I.

[saikee]

I have found a Linux with 2.6 kernel doesn't seem to have any difficulty in seeing a SATA disk but most of the distros with a 2.4 kernel do, unless a SATA is added.

I did avoid a direct confrontation by installing my distros in IDE disks, in the presence of 2 SATA disks. However I have "dd" a Suse 9.1 from an IDE disk into a SATA and it work normally, after altering the partition reference. Unless I am mistaken I expect a distro to be installable in a SATA if it can recognises it.

It may not be a bad idea to check the kernel version first before forcing the Linux into a SATA. From memory I believe Slackware 10 is still on 2.4 kernel but I can confirm it later if needed.