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Thread ID: 57424	2005-05-02 07:03:00	installing multiple OS's	imarubberducky (7230)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
351414	2005-05-02 07:03:00	im about to buy a 120 gig hard drive, and i want to install some different OS's and have a play round with them. i know about partioning and that but i want some info on what order i should install them and how i should go about it all The OS's i want to install are Windows 2000, Windows XP Pro, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Mandrake(Mandrivia) Linux 10.1 and Ubuntu 5.04. Right now i'd quite like XP Pro to be my default OS (if you have default OS's) Not totally sure about MCE, supposebly its not great with hardware variations (technically its only meant to be released with new PC's) :xmouth: basically any info you can give me, espically if you've installed these two linux versions urself, would be great.	imarubberducky (7230)
351415	2005-05-02 07:54:00	Install ther Windows OS's first, sarting with the oldest to newest. I'm not sure about XP MC, it should be fine to install before XP (as XP is ok to install before win2k, just wanted to keep it simple. Next install your number one Linux distro of choice, ie; the one you are most likely to use the most and keep. It will be it's bootloader (Grub or Lilo) that will load All the other OS's you install. Choosing one with an easily configrurable boot laoder would be a priority for me, because you will have to add each successive (Linux) OS to it's Grub or Lilo config file. Another option would be to use a 3rd (or is that 4th) party boot loader like XOL. In fact, from the quantity of OS's you wish to boot, that's probably the only way to go unless you're fairly adept at configuring Linux. Booting a couple of Windows OS's plus a Linus isn't so hard, it's when you want to boot two or more Linux distro's on top of that that things can go a bit queer, especially if you're going to changing those OS's. A completely separate hard drive would be handy too, particularly if you're going to have important data you don't want to lose.	Murray P (44)
351416	2005-05-02 08:42:00	thanks a lot for that info, lets hope i dont have to much trouble :) there were some other questions i had: Are you able to access files made/downloaded etc in windows from linux (assuming im using a fat32 drive) and/or vice versa? And is it possible to set up a wireless network from a linux computer to a Windows XP (SP2) computer, and share an internet connection over that (either from or to the Windows comp) Thirdly, am i able to run games installed on Windows XP in Windows 2000 (or vice versa) (im kinda assuming no, but i thought i'd ask anyway). I would like to use windows 2000 as my gaming OS because u dnt hav the "whizz bang" of XP in the background hogging ur resources. Hope that all makes sense	imarubberducky (7230)
351417	2005-05-02 09:08:00	thanks a lot for that info, lets hope i dont have to much trouble :) there were some other questions i had: Are you able to access files made/downloaded etc in windows from linux (assuming im using a fat32 drive) and/or vice versa? Yes and no. Linux can read and write to Windows files, sadly, Windows will not even recognise a Linux drive or partition as containing a valid file system unless you use FAT32 or similar (I wouldn't recommend that except perhats for /home or a specific data storage partition). And is it possible to set up a wireless network from a linux computer to a Windows XP (SP2) computer, and share an internet connection over that (either from or to the Windows comp) Yes, Linux does networking very well. Samba will allow you to browse and work in a Windows network too. Thirdly, am i able to run games installed on Windows XP in Windows 2000 (or vice versa) (im kinda assuming no, but i thought i'd ask anyway). I would like to use windows 2000 as my gaming OS because u dnt hav the "whizz bang" of XP in the background hogging ur resources. Hope that all makes sense Well you won't be able to run games installed on XP in win2k or visa versa, and I doubt the EULA's would allow it either. I tell a small lie, something like VMware would probably work by emulating the installed environment, but I know little about it. BTW, if I was doing what you are going to do, I'd start off by install a couple of Windows OS's then install Linux and sit at that for a time while you have a play around. Be perpared for a learning curve and for things to break.	Murray P (44)
351418	2005-05-02 09:25:00	cool, not much of a problem just installing games in Win 2000. thanx for all your help	imarubberducky (7230)
351419	2005-05-02 10:10:00	You can use win2k's or XP's boot laoder to boot the Linux's. I personally don't like the idea that much, I think the Linux boot loader are more powerfull and configurable although, thing can get a bit complex with multiple OS's and kernels for dim wits like me. Some links for you: Distro Watch boot recovery Mini How To (distrowatch.com) Using Windows to boot Suse (portal.suse.com) should be pretty universal to all Linuxes, see first link for exception(s) Have another one of these How To's somewhere, will post if I find it soonish. GAG (http://gag.sourceforge.net/) XOSL (www2.arnes.si) OSL2000 (http://www.osloader.com/) Ranish Partitioning & Booting Tools (sourceforge.net) Partitoning (partition.radified.com). I tend to use a disk's manufaturer utility or QTparted to partition. You can boot a live Linux CD like Mepis ( Remember, your primary disk will be called various thinks depending on what you view it in (disk 0, hda(0), hd0, but hardly ever C: and CD/DVD" target="_blank">www.mepis.org/) to use QTparted (a Partition Magic clone). Remember, your primary disk will be called various thinks depending on what you view it in (disk 0, hda(0), hd0, but hardly ever C: and CD drives ID tend to be diff from your expectations) Linux Learners Guide (www.thejemreport.com) & Linux Newbie (http://linux-newbie.sunsite.dk/) And last but not least, get something like EBCD (http://ebcd.pcministry.com/), if you don't already have one.	Murray P (44)
351420	2005-05-02 10:38:00	YOu will need to do what is called chain loading: -Linux distro1 GRUB - Linux distro2 -NTLDR - Windows 2k\XP #1 - Windows 2k\XP #2 etc. So GRUB boots Linux directly. When you choose a Windows OS, the booting is passed from GRUB onto the NT loader belonging to the first Windows OS you installed. The NTLDR gives the options of the Windows OSs to be booted.	johnd (85)
351421	2005-05-02 13:41:00	Do you know how easy it is to strip out XP to perform much faster? Then you could drop 2000.	Rob99 (151)
351422	2005-05-03 01:47:00	Yeah, but what fun would that be... Besides, its bragging rights... ive had a total of 9 OS's IIRc on my PC at once :D Obsessive, but fun nonetheless ;)	Chilling_Silence (9)
351423	2005-05-03 03:27:00	If you're just wanting to have a play around with the operating systems I would strongly recommend having a look at the 30 day trial of VMware Workstation 5 ( http://www.vmware.com ). I haven't tried the latest version, but I use version 4 at polytech, it's fantastic for trying out different operating systems.	Jeremy (1197)
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