skalam

Hi
i am istafa alam from kolkata,India.


My question is ...

1. How to use dual booting system os(Xp and Linux)?



My computer system is p4 (3..Ghz)

Ram DDR 1 512,



please slove this problem.

qbawl

Do you need to know how to install a second OS, or do you really want to know how to use Linux? If you actually just need to know how to install Linux, it depends on which distro you have in mind. If you want to know how to use it, I suggest using a LiveCD for the distro(s) you prefer and check them out.

Installation for most is pretty easy; just following onscreen instructions is all you need to do. Others, like Slackware, Arch and Gentoo will probably require you to do some real research, a lot of reading, and probably going to the sites for those distros to get really good installation instructions.

In my experience, installing Windows first is best, and having a partitioning tool available such as GParted is also helpful.

Pauldo

Not sure what you need to do with a dual boot system but I have an option for you.

I just got into virtualization and I have to say it is really, really amazing. I would even go as far as saying it is the best thing since sliced bread .

I'm running VirtualBox, there are others out there, with Ubuntu 8.04 on it and I'm using it as a test machine (virtual, of course) for running a web server with shopping cart software on it. It works great. To switch between OS's is as simple as moving the mouse between windows. I have access to all my peripherals (usb devices, printer, etc.), network, you name it. The big bonus is that installation was a breeze and you can revert back to just a windows machine with a click of a button. Also, with 1.5 GB of ram you should have no problem running two OS's at the same time.

Pauldo

K-B

Virtualization is nice and definitely the easiest way to go, but you can't fully experience Linux computing like that, in my experience. Installing to the hard drive is the best way to go. I'd start with a distro like Ubuntu, the guided installer makes it very easy to dual boot with Windows XP. I don't know how large your hard drive is though.

Pauldo

What are the cons for running Linux on a virtual machine?

My only frame of reference comes from running Linux on a virtual machine and the only downside that I have seen so far is that it is hard to run a webserver to the outside world on a it.

It would be nice to know what else there is that I am missing.

Pauldo

K-B

I use Linux as my main OS, I used it virtually for a while, but when I installed to hard drive, the performance increase was incredible.

Pauldo

Holy Cow! I just realized that skalam said 1 512, not 1.5. What was I looking at?

No, you are right K-B, with a system like that performance will be an issue.

If I could ask one more question, what was the performance increase that you saw? I mean was it just general system performance or was there a particular app you were using that didn't like the virtual machine.

Thanks

Pauldo

K-B

General system performance. Apps open faster, smoother graphics.
Granted, my system was not top-of-the-line, 1GB RAM, 2.9GHz CPU.

Pauldo

Thanks for the reply.

Pauldo