shadow1515

I'm getting a new PC in a couple of weeks and it will come with Windows Vista preinstalled, and I want to install Linux also as a dual-boot option. I've never done this at all, and the tutorials that Google turned up were written for Windows 2000/XP. Will those work just fine, or is there some Vista-specific tutorial that I could find somewhere? Thanks.

Bartender

This seems like a very complete website
http://apcmag.com/5046/how_to_dual_b...nstalled_first

Done_Fishin

I'm keeping my OS's on separate Hard Disks and I am choosing which Disk will be the one that should boot either from the Boot Menu (at Power On) or from the BIOS settings depending upon just how new the BIOS is.
I haven't used or installed Vista yet, it's planned for later, However using separate HD's ( personally) gives the freedom of making a mess and not destroying the other OS's

justo

I agree with Done Fishing.I have an 80 gig HD setting on the table that went down with XP and Mepis 6.5 together.With Vista you need to consider alternatives to double loading the one hard drive.

Done_Fishin

MY system has the linux partitions on the one drive as Primary Master. I Installed Ubuntu to it then added the second drive and Installed XP. I have an oledr Bios that won't allow me to select the boot drive at power on with F8. So I select using BIOS to boot XP from the Primary Slave or Linux from the primary Master. This keeps the OS's separate.
If you have both OS's on one drive either can mess up the mbr and leave you not being able to boot. Although theer are now some nifty programs coming out on live CD that allow you to force a boot to the OS of your choice. They are ( to my mind) cumbersome and require going through several menus whether you want to fix the mbr or boot your hard drive. Not what I would call user friendly at all!

justo

He does all this kind of stuff and comes here to ask us for help? I just want simple IDE cable switch so I could switch to different hard drives manually .You sure do a lot of unusual things with PCs.You need to work in a research lab.

Done_Fishin

NO such thing as a simple IDE cable switch but you could use replaceable drawers. I have some & they are extremely handy for transporting disk drives around different PC's. I have had mine for some years and it's very helpful to be able do a swap of drives changing the primary master when your BIOS doesn't support the F8 function to go to boot menu like in my old PII & PIII PC's. Since they are usually activated by turning a keyed switch you could put 2 on one IDE have them both jumpered as Master but only switch one on at a time! Of course this would waste an IDE slot but if you are only using one drive ... a second drive could be placed on the second IDE with the same method whhilst using a CD/DVD writer on a usb/adapter....

Research lab ?? NO!! Not for me. I am an electronics tech of many many years, with an interest in faultfinding. Hence I need to ask questions. I was never any good at reading and learn most of my stuff by "getting in there!" HOWEVER I do need a lot of help in finding the starting point. Linux is a completely different ball game to the one I have grown up with.
You've probably been playing with it for years. I've been with it for a couple of weeks. But Windows is something I have been through since it was teething in CP/M (Disk op system prior to DOS)

PureEvilDan

Completely off topic but, its actually easier for someone to learn to use a Linux machine (from years of Microsoft abuse) than it is for someone to learn how to use a Mac.

Done_Fishin

Thanks Dan
I couldn't have lived without that titbit of info

justo

I have been using Linux since Corel came out but I don't want to be a Linux geek.I want Linux to be easy.The developers hear from average people and adapt Linux to be used by ordinary people .That is the right and proper direction or everyone could just stay with UNIX .If I was younger I would get deep into Linux and try to get it more user friendly by creating my own version.But I like hardware and electronics more than OP systems. I think Corel made a big advance in the field of Linux.I had a friend earlier who tried loading an early Redhat version.It was a major operation.But now fools like me can load Linux without any sweat.<> ABOUT THIS >>>> NO such thing as a simple IDE cable switch but you could use replaceable drawers. I have some & they are extremely handy for transporting disk drives around different PC's. I have had mine for some years and it's v<<<<<<<< Yes I know but just because there are no IDE switches does not mean there will never be. If I had the extra money I would see that IDE cable switches are available. People dream up solutions to problems every day.Some have the money to put their dreams into hardware. Bill Gates had a rich father to get his ideas turned into reality.I will just ask China to work on it.

Done_Fishin

Maybe the answer to your simple IDE switch is simpler than you think.

put two drives on one IDE cable as master.
get a Dual pole Dual throw switch and add it in line with the power cable for your HDD's. (Use a splitter and put the power switch on the existing cable) You will decide (before powering on) which Disk you want to provide power to. he disk that gets power wil be the one whose system you want to run. MAke sure that you don't change disks whilst powered on. The cable should be standard 80 pin and not Cable select type. Both disk will be master.
Normally when an HDD is not powered and in parrallel with another one it doesn't affect the way the system works
I am not Chinese.


If you're serious and need any futher info PM me

justo

Well.You may not have really studied this a lot >>>>>>>>> http://www.unixwiz.net/techtips/ide-cable-select.html -- and this homemade one http://www.dvhardware.net/modules.ph...rticle&artid=4

Done_Fishin

I haven't thought about it at all. What I said above were just passing thoughts, put down as possibilities, based upon my experience in the electronics / electrical industry, but I'll take a look at those links anyway. In the meantime I think we are way off topic even though there is a tangible thread linking us with the original question.

I checked out the links and the first is one I have visited before explaining details about making a Cable Select cable. I am sure that I have used the link in one of my early "posts or replies" in another thread.
The second link about making a simple changeover is probably even better than my own lucid thoughts on the subject, plus a lot safer to one's hardware than playing with the voltage cables & connectors

justo

This may seem off topic. But when folks start trying to mix Vista and Linux on the same HD it may become the best answer to the question.You are risking a lot by getting on the same HD as Vista.Adding an extra small HD can save you a lot of grief.

Done_Fishin

Amen to that, which is why I said their is a tangible link between the question and the way this thread has gone. The safest way at the present time would be to remove the OS that you don't want to boot.
My time is coming .. I've had the freeb that MS gave out for sme months now but never got around to installing. Let me get Linux (Ubuntu) under my belt and it may be the next Install I make. That way i can experience first hand how M$ will try to make a mess of my PC. I'll probably nned something faster than my P4 2,66GHz though.