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Thread ID: 77547 2007-03-13 10:38:00 Dual Boot WinXP Pro X64 and Linux Sweep (90) Press F1
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532662 2007-03-13 10:38:00 Hi there,

I am thinking about stepping back into a distro of Linux but for the moment I want to dual boot......... :-)

Most of my system specs are listed below for those that can be bothered reading through as I just know that people will ask.

At the moment I have 2x200 Gig Seagate sataII hard drives. The first hard drive is one partition. HD0=200 Gigs. This is my boot drive and contains WinXP Pro X64, Programs and associated data.

The second hard drive has two partitions currently as I thought about this before. I have heaps of room left on the C:\ boot drive and can copy all info from D:\ and E:\ then lose all info on HD1.

I have all software application CDs. I have also removable media with all data that I need to save. This has been copied and verified. I'm a belt and braces sort of guy.

Now for the Linux people out there. I used to run Redhat Linux 7.3 and actually have a Redhat Linux for Dummies book in my hot little hand.

Which version of Linux should I download that would take advantage of an AMD X2 dual core processor? I don't mind a learning curve.

System specs below:

Computer Profile Summary
Computer Name: Custompc (in WORKGROUP)
Profile Date: Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:37:47 p.m.
Advisor Version: 7.2k
Windows Logon: Administrator


Operating System System Model
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 1 (build 3790) No
details available
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
2.20 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core No details available
Drives Memory Modules c,d
400.02 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
340.25 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-110D [CD-ROM drive]
HP photosmart 7200 USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 2
ST3200827AS [Hard drive] (200.05 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 4ND2Y15T, rev
3.AAE, SMART Status: Healthy
ST3200827AS [Hard drive] (200.05 GB) -- drive 1 2048 Megabytes
Installed Memory
Local Drive Volumes

c: (NTFS on drive 0)200.04 GB191.85 GB free
d: (FAT32 on drive 1)20.96 GB19.79 GB free
e: (NTFS on drive 1)179.02 GB128.62 GB free
Network Drives
None detected
hp photosmart 7200 serieson USB001
Controllers Display
NVIDIA nForce4 Parallel ATA Controller
NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller (2x) NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT
[Display adapter]
Philips 190B [Monitor] (19.1"vis, s/n BZ 323065, March 2006)
Bus Adapters Multimedia
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller Creative SB X-Fi
MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device
Unsupported Standard Game Port
Communications Other Devices
Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller
NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
primary Auto IP Address: 10.1.1.11 / 8
Gateway: 10.1.1.1
Dhcp Server: 10.1.1.1
Physical Address: 00:15:F2:C9:6E:98

Networking Dns Servers: 202.27.158.40
202.27.156.72
Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
PS/2 Compatible Mouse
hp photosmart 7200 series
NVIDIA Network Bus Enumerator
USB Composite Device
USB Mass Storage Device
USB Printing Support
USB Root Hub (2x)
Virus Protection [Back to Top]
avast! antivirus 4.7.942 [VPS 000723-1] Version 4.7.942
Realtime File Scanning On

Missing Microsoft Security Hotfixes [Back to Top]
All required security hotfixes (using the 02/13/2007 Microsoft
Security Bulletin Summary) have been installed.
Sweep (90)
532663 2007-03-13 10:43:00 Something like Mepis would be good, or OpenSuSE 10.2 is what Ive been running for the last few months on my desktop x64 PC.

Mepis is debian based IIRC = better package management.

Have a look around, there's been a recent post or two about people saying how awesome x64 Mepis is, so why not give it a shot :) Just ask Murray, he's a big advocate of it ;)
Chilling_Silence (9)
532664 2007-03-13 11:00:00 Something like Mepis would be good, or OpenSuSE 10.2 is what Ive been running for the last few months on my desktop x64 PC.

Mepis is debian based IIRC = better package management.

Have a look around, there's been a recent post or two about people saying how awesome x64 Mepis is, so why not give it a shot :) Just ask Murray, he's a big advocate of it ;)

Thanks for the very fast post. Quicker than Speedy Gonzales. :-)

I might also get into GNU C and compiling kernels. I used to program in COBOL and Fortran. Trying to get into open source again.
Sweep (90)
532665 2007-03-13 11:14:00 Oh. And I get a T shirt as well?

www.mepis.org

Goes off to have a look at OpenSuSE 10.2.
Sweep (90)
532666 2007-03-13 12:20:00 A friend of mine was a programmer in C, C++, Assembly & Java.. he said it was such a 'releasing' experience going to linux because he was able to view the source code for things and see how they work.. then make modifications and supply the patches upstream :)

He started with tightvnc and then started with kernel patches n things... Let me know how you find it :)
Chilling_Silence (9)
532667 2007-03-14 03:09:00 I'm dual booting Ubuntu and Windows XP on an old computer - took me a while to figure out how to open all the drives in Linux! pcuser42 (130)
532668 2007-03-14 03:22:00 Thanks for the very fast post. Quicker than Speedy Gonzales. :-)

Most probably coz I've never bothered or tried dual booting. Or used Linux or X64 :D

I never answered.

Why would I use x64 when I havent got a 64 bit mobo
Speedy Gonzales (78)
532669 2007-03-14 08:11:00 Well have got as far as downloading and burning 5 CD isos and booting off the first CD. Going to install OpenSuse 10.2

Do OK until I get asked about partitions.

I have two SATAII Seagate 200 Gig drives. The first drive is one partition and contains WinXP Pro x64 plus all data at the moment. Formatted as NTFS. Drive C:\ in windows

The second drive I formatted one partition as FAT32 100 megabytes Drive D:\ in Windows. Drive E:\ in Windows has backup of data and formatted as NTFS.

My intention was to let linux install on the FAT32 first partition on the second hard drive but Suse wants to create RAID arrays and will not tell me where these are going to be created.

Next plan is to pull the second hard drive and let Suse do what it likes. Won't take me long to reinstall WinXP Pro x64 if things go pear shaped. Have data on C: and E: at the moment.
Sweep (90)
532670 2007-03-14 09:34:00 OK. Back again using Linux. The dual boot works.
I can't see the peel me thingy in linux with Firefox.
Possibly that is where SurferJoe loses it.

I unplugged the second hard drive after saving the data to it.

Will soon boot back to Win x64 to check where things are..

Downloaded the Adobe Flash plug in for Firefox and can see the peel me.

Wave mouse over and get purple box briefly but does behave as using IE7 on WinXP.

HTH.
Sweep (90)
532671 2007-03-14 11:48:00 Glad to hear you're in with a grin :) Hope its speedier for you being 64-bit than a 32-bit OS ;) Chilling_Silence (9)
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