Dual Boot OS Set Up

[AnotherMuggle]

Hi,

I am looking to make my machine a dual boot so I can switch between XP and a version of linx at system startup. This is something I have not ever tried and therefore know very little with regard to going about it.

I already have XP installed on my machine and do not want to have to reinstall any of it.

Can anyone recommend a good release of Linux that is freely distributed and point me in the right direction to set up a dual boot machine (XP being the default OS)

Any help would be much appreciated,
Tom

[faulkner132]

I would recommend Ubuntu. Here is my guide to set up a dual boot:
http://132solutions.com/ubuntu.php

[AnotherMuggle]

Thanks very much faulkner132 I will look at the details you have provided in the link.

Is there a possibility of messing up my current Windows installation by doing this?

Cheers,
Tom

[AnotherMuggle]

I am running an AMD X2 4400+...should I go for the 64bit version or the regular one?

[faulkner132]

Stick with the 32-bit version.

[AnotherMuggle]

Really?

What's the reasoning behind that?

Only reason I ask is because I've just sat and downloaded the 64Bit one

[kilgoretrout]

Dual booting is no problem for most linux distros. During installation, most linux distros automatically detect the existence a prior windows installation and install their own bootloader which has a boot selection screen when you first start up that allows you to boot either windows or linux.
One issue you might have is hardware compatiblilty since you are running an AMD X2 chip. I've seen some reports of problems with that chip on asus motherboards and the most recent 2.6.17 linux kernel. I'd check your system out with some live cds first. Ubuntu comes as a live cd that you can install from if you like what you see. Nothing is written to your hard drive until you choose to install and you can run a complete linux system directly off the cd. Performance suffers because you have to read from the cdrom but it will give you a good idea of how the distro will run on your system and may reveal if there are any hardware compatibility issues.
Other live cds I would try are PCLinuxOS:

http://www.pclinuxos.com/news.php

and kanotix:

http://kanotix.com/index.php?&newlang=eng

Live cds are the best way to test drive several distros on your system without installing if you don't have much experience with linux IMHO. Then you can decide for yourself what suits you best.

The reason for going with 32bit instead of 64bit - less problems for someone new. For expamle, if you want to install the flash plugin for your browser, there is a 32bit version availble for linux but no 64bit version so no flash if you are using a 64bit OS. 64bit OSes tend to be less stable than 32bit and, for the most part, the software really isn't there yet that can take advantage of the 64bit architecture. But if you already downloaded the ubuntu 64bit iso, give it a try as a livecd and see how it runs. Kanotix also has a 64bit version you can try as well.

[AnotherMuggle]

Thanks a lot for that information

I'm hearing a lot about Ubuntu so it's looking like a strong possibility for me at the moment.

When you choose to install Linux from the Live CD, does this allow you to resize the current Windows partion to say half the size to use the drive 50/50 Windows and Linux?

[faulkner132]

Originally Posted by tomkear2006 Really? What's the reasoning behind that? Only reason I ask is because I've just sat and downloaded the 64Bit one

Read this post, it is directly below yours.
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=162576

[kilgoretrout]

When you choose to install Linux from the Live CD, does this allow you to resize the current Windows partion to say half the size to use the drive 50/50 Windows and Linux?

It depends on the livecd. I know pclos has some very nice partitioning tools included that can do what you want, not sure about ubuntu as it's been a while since I've installed that distro. Faulkner can probably tell you more about ubuntu's install routine. If you have any windows partitioning tools like Partition Magic(PM), I'd use that to shrink the windows partition and leave the rest of the space unallocated. Either ubuntu or pclos is capable of partitioning the unallocated space with linux partitions for the linux install. I'd get that pclos livecd just for the partitioning tools. If you don't have PM, you can also get the Gparted livecd as it's a much smaller download(30 MB):

http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php

This is a bootable linux livecd that boots into Gparted, which is essentially a PM clone. Another nice free partitioning tool to have around. It can resize NTFS partitions.

[faulkner132]

Kilgore is right-on with his reply.

The Ubuntu live CD does have gparted on it, but just to be safe, I would backup any important files before using it.

[GraemeM]

Originally Posted by tomkear2006 Thanks very much faulkner132 I will look at the details you have provided in the link. Is there a possibility of messing up my current Windows installation by doing this?

It shouldn't, but computers tend to do things you wouldn't expect. Make sure you have all your files backed up just in case (it's a good idea to backup your files anyways)

Also, you may want to look at Kubuntu, I believe (and someone more knowledgable may correct me) it is just Ubuntu but using the KDE envirnoment, which I found (after only a quick look) to be nicer.

As for the boot loader, it should install automatically and is easy enough (at least it was with Suse) Just be careful if you delete the Linux partition, the computer may still want to load the bootloader (which no longer exists), so it won't load Windows. I probably could have fixed this with a little effort, but by that point I was ready to format anyways.

[old dog 2]

I have come upon this post a little late. But I used PClinuxOS live c-d to make a dual boot with XP. It was not a problem at all. The nice thing is the new user guide and the install guide that is on the c-d.

[Xyphus]

A little late for me as well... I am dual-booting with Windows2K and SuSE Linux 10.1. It was quite simple to set up. If you have free space on your drive SuSE will adjust partitions for you on the fly when installing and then also allow you to mount your current Windows Partitions at boot.

I usually will preform a custom partition setup just because I prefer to tweak my installs, but the defualt install options are usually pretty straightforward. It gives you a set of options on how you want to install and you just check the box for the one that suits you the best.