Multiple OS

[OmegaChrono]

I'm new to this sort of thing, but I've heard that you can run more than one OS on the computer. I think you just pick which OS you'd like to use as it boots up or something. Well I was hoping someone could show me how to do that, I plan on running Windows XP and 98 SE and maybe Linux (if I feel like learning it how to use it).

Thanks in advance

[Krell]

Your best best is to google a search for multile boot and READ! Frankly we end up with 10 pages of these threads, and you still end up not understanding what to do.

There's a lot to plan and it depends on what size your hard drive is, if you have multiple drives, which OS must be loaded first, etc etc etc

Start here and spend a week reading - http://www.theeldergeek.com/index.htm


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[OmegaChrono]

I'm starting to wonder if its even worth the effort...
I think I might just stick to one OS for now, but thanks for the input.

Edit: Spelling Error

[DwarfBaby]

Come on. Don't give up that easy.

If you’re thinking of using a Linux distro, Suse, Mandrake, and Red Hat all have very good partition tools. It is extremely straight forward if you don't mind reading a few tutorials. NTFS can get a little tricky but if you’re running a FAT32 partition many tools can even resize your Windows partition without reinstalling or losing any info.

[Auggie2k]

All I can say is Acronis OS Selector. But dude, you definately need to have a certain level of know-how before you even think about doing this. I have lost many files before (thankfully no music) because I didn't know what I was doing. This was how I learned though but as krell said, use google - and read, read, read, read, read!

[OmegaChrono]

I havent read much yet...but based on your posts I'm a lil nervous about doing it. I was just curious about doing it, but now that I think about it I dont think my computer can barely handle having more than one OS. My processor is Pentium 3 500mhz with a 20 GB hardrive.

[Auggie2k]

Unless you plan on running two windows 95's, there is pretty much no point!

[zarquon]

Unless you plan on running two windows 95's, there is pretty much no point!

Not true, i run xp on an old pentium 2 300 with 192mb ram and 10gb drive. I just use it for audio recording. Runs flawlessly.

[ducttapeBigSexy]

You can also always run lighter versions of Linux on it, for example (off the top of my head), Vector Linux.

And, assuming you're installing WIndows and Linux, just make a partition for Windows (I usually do half the hard drive), and install it as normal. Then, install Linux - just install it so it uses the empty space on your hard drive. For most popular distros, it'll then automatically install a boot loader and configure it for you. Pretty straight forward.

But, yeah, if worst comes to worst, there's always Google :)

[Potato]

I pulled it off a few months back, it terrified me and frankly, I had no idea what I was doing. However, it works pretty well, and it's pretty damn cool to be able to choose what OS I want to use when I boot up.

Once you get it, you'll feel great just knowing that you did it. :)

[shawners]

Im still puzzled about wanting windows 98se and windows xp on one machine.

[ferrarimodena360]

Im still puzzled about wanting windows 98se and windows xp on one machine.

ditto


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[zpman]

I havent read much yet...but based on your posts I'm a lil nervous about doing it. I was just curious about doing it, but now that I think about it I dont think my computer can barely handle having more than one OS. My processor is Pentium 3 500mhz with a 20 GB hardrive.

This won't have a thing to do with it.

do you aready have Windows installed? If not you can make partitons using fdisk.

W9x is FAT 32 while W2K and XP (among others) are NTFS. its true mandrake has a good patitioner. its called diskrake. I use it all the time, rather than doing the math. i dont even usually install mandrake, i just use the partition tool. try it and youll see how easy it is.

For a low end system like yours, I would reccomend a Debian based distro such as Ubuntu (gnome) or Kubuntu (KDE). I've installed these on countless low end computers like compaq deskpro 400-700 mhz; and they work like a charm. When installing a dual or multiboot, I must warn you to install windows first to avoid problems with your boot manager. In most cases it will be either Grub or Lilo if you install Linux.

If you are only dualbooting W32, it is a breeze. make two partitions with fdisk, the larger one for XP probably, then install one then the other on the other partition. XP install will pretty much walk you through it. If you leave some unpartitioned space on your disk, you can easily install Linux on that.

Remember google is your friend. One thing I can reccomend about Linux: get a book or have an idea what to do ahead of time or you will be screwed. Trust me.