On Saturday 27 December 2003 05:31 am, Dean Kiley wrote:
> My question is this. Can WXP and Linux effectively be run on the same box
>
> in a dual boot configuration? Is it feasible and are there any advantages/
>
> disadvantages in doing so?
>
> Sys:
> ECS K7SOM+ mobo
> AMD Duron 1200 processor
> 512 DDR RAM
> 30 GB Seagate Master hdd
> 20 GB WD slave hdd
> AOpen Just Link 32x12x48 CD RW
> WXP SP1
>
> Any advice would be appreciated, and TIA
>
> Dean Kiley

Dean:
Yes, it is a common configuration. Most Linux distributions will automagically
recognize your Windows installation and handle the ugly details of
partitioning, formatting and setting up the dual boot. Before starting the
installation, you'll need to clear some HD space for Linux -- 10 gb is more
than enough. One thing to consider is that while Linux can read any windows
filesystem, it can only reliably write to FAT partitions. My advice would be
to use Partition Magic (or equivalent) to modify your existing Microsoft
partitions and formatting, but let Linux handle the Linux side. You should
also consider creating a separate FAT32 partition for data that you may wish
to access from either OS. (This will also make it easier to do backups.)

You should also verify that your other hardware is compatible with Linux.
While hardware compatibility is much less of a problem than it was a few
years ago, there are still some devices that are designed to only run under
Windows. The biggest single problem seems to be with modems. The Linux
community has succeeded in developing drivers for many of them, there are
still some modems for which there is no known cure. The best source of
information is http://linmodems.org; another useful source is
http://www.idir.net/~gromitkc/winmodem.html.

You should also verify that your video and sound cards are supported by going
to the home page of the distribution that you are considering and checking
their hardware compatibility list.

Regards,
Carroll Grigsby

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