natimage Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 OK...I'd like to at least entertain the idea of jumping into the world of Linux. I've read a little and have my first question. If I go with the option of setting up a dual-boot system, will it use considerable more resources than just having one OS on the computer? In other words, will it slow down my PC or laptop? Quote
borfast Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 (edited) Tracy, since Linux and Windows are independent operating systems, meaning that when you're using one you won't be using the other, your system will not suffer no slowdown at all because of that. Of course that if one of those systems is "heavier" than the other, you will notice the difference - in this case, you may notice that Linux, although it appears to take a bit longer to boot, is faster than windows. There is one other consideration to have in mind: if the free space available to Windows decreases a lot, it may become slow and maybe even crash. Why is this important? Because in order to create free hard disk space to install Linux, you'll have to shrink the Windows partition of your computer's hard drive and if your hard disk capacity is low or if it has little free space, when you resize Windows' partition, you'll leave it with little free disk space. Nowadays this isn't that much of a problem, since hard drives are getting bigger and bigger, so as long as you have above 500 Mb free on your Windows partition, you should be OK. Other than this, go ahead, Tracy. Give the penguin a try, read through these forums, you'll find lots of Linux threads with valuable information and if you need any help, just ask Edited July 9, 2004 by TCH-Raul Quote
natimage Posted July 9, 2004 Author Posted July 9, 2004 Thanks, Raul. I am definitely planning on trying it. I think I'll clean up my laptop a little bit tonight. Shouldn't be a problem though because I've got 25 GB of free space on it. What is the time difference where you are? I'm in Texas, U.S. Maybe I can plan to do this sometime when I know you might be around for quick questions. Quote
borfast Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 I live in Lisboa (Lisbon), Portugal. Timezone: GMT. 5 or 6 hours more than in your timezone, I think. If you want to ask me something, just send me a PM. Lately I don't have IRC/ICQ/whatever connected much time because I'm always on and off the computer but I check the forums frequently, so if I see a PM from you, I can open ICQ or whatever. Quote
natimage Posted July 9, 2004 Author Posted July 9, 2004 Thanks! I don't know when I might be doing this...could be a week or so. Then again, I might dive into it this weekend. Depends on what kind of internet connection I get. I'm away from home, without my trusty cable internet access!!!! I'm sure I'll take you up on your offer, though!! Quote
HCSuperStores Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 I consider Raul the "Linux King" ... trust his advice and follow it! Another option you might consider is a "Live CD" version of Linux. The first one I gave a try is Knoppix. It won't run as quickly as a loaded version, but it's about as simple as falling out of bed, or crashing your Windows operating system. Just download the file (It's a CD image that you burn) and then boot off of it. You don't have to change anything on your computer. Then, if it looks too scarey, take the CD out and reboot. No harm, no foul. It's a great first step IMO! Good luck! Thumbs Up Quote
natimage Posted July 9, 2004 Author Posted July 9, 2004 I think I just might do that. Hmmm...I'll have to get a blank CD first. Being away from home really bites sometimes!!! Quote
HCSuperStores Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 I'd let you use mine, but I'm not sure where it goes in my monitor! I've run the CD on an AMD 400mhz, and it was not too bad ... considering. I tried it out on an AMD 2000+ and it flew! You could barely tell the difference between that and a HD loaded system (512MB ram helps too). Quote
borfast Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 (edited) Linux King? No way! I just spent too much time in front of computers, when I was younger Tracy, HC is right, a LiveCD is also an awsome way to try Linux. If you have the chance, give Knoppix or MandrakeMove a try, they're both pretty good. Edited July 9, 2004 by TCH-Raul Quote
stevevan Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 Tracy: I've got Win2K and Fedora Core2 dual booted on my home system. FC is lightning fast compared to Windoze. There is a bit of a learning curve, but with "The Linux King" on here, it's pretty easy! I think you'll love it. Quote
TCH-Don Posted July 11, 2004 Posted July 11, 2004 LiveCD is very interesting! I haven't figured out how to get it to recognize my NIC card yet, but it is fun to look at. Quote
borfast Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 Don, which distro have you downloaded? Both MandrakeMove and Knoppix should be able to put your NIC working without a problem, unless you have a very old or very strange NIC Quote
TCH-Don Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 I downloaded the latest version of the Knoppix LiveCD Uh the NIC card is a M$ NIC card LOL I found some answers on their forum to try when I get time at home. Quote
borfast Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 An MS NIC?? No wonder it wouldn't work Seriously, though, the important thing is the chip the card uses, not who made the card. If the chip is a known chip, like Realtek, Knoppix should detect it but I have no clue as to which chips an MS card uses Let us know how it goes, Don. Quote
TCH-Don Posted July 12, 2004 Posted July 12, 2004 Ok, I won't get to try it til tomorrow night. Monday is shelter day and my wife is going with me, she wants to start looking for a kitten ( hoorah! at last) But I might look at the MandrakeMove Live Cd too. Thanks to you two for the Ideas. This will let me see if I want to go as far as making a dual boot and a seperate partition for Linux. Quote
TCH-Don Posted August 4, 2004 Posted August 4, 2004 Well I am going to try the dual boot. I have a 4 gig partition that I moved all the files out. I looked at two books at the book store I liked this one Red Hat Linux Fedora All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies it did a better job of explaining the dual boot options. So I may end up with it, 874 pages and the DVD would be nice with all the goodies on it. Quote
borfast Posted August 4, 2004 Posted August 4, 2004 Make sure that it has Fedora Core 2. It wouldn't be nice to spend money on it only to find out it's not up to date. Quote
TCH-Don Posted August 4, 2004 Posted August 4, 2004 Thanks Raul, I did some searching and found the same book for core 2. Quote
vengavenga Posted August 4, 2004 Posted August 4, 2004 Yes, I'll be interested to hear how you get on too Don ... I've tried a few times to switch over to Linux. I know the benefits, but every time I've tried I've hit one problem or another which, although solveable, I've not had time to sort out ... always gone back to Windoze Might be time to try again soon though .... Ali Quote
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