Hi Scott, Thanks for the suggestions, they'll help. I'll have to think about whether I want to try Wine or the virtual machine method you indicated. Most of the Windows programs that I don't want to loose are dictionaries and encyclopedias, which shouldn't be too difficult to accommodate, but I also want to be able to continue using the music recorder/converter that comes with MS Plus, as I haven't finished transferring my album collection to MP3 format yet.
By the way, you were right to be suspect of my complaint about not being able to install a 62 bit version of PCLinuxOS on my laptop. My memory was faulty. It was the 62 bit version of Ubuntu that I tried to install but couldn't. I was able to boot PCLinuxOS from the disk but couldn't get anything to work (i.e. Internet, email, etc), and I don't know enough yet to make toying with it practical. ~Sean --- In [email protected], Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Tue, Feb 12, 2008 at 11:39:38PM +0000, kazman1914 wrote: > > Hi folks, > > > > So far my experience with Linux has been a misadventure, but I'm > > stubborn and I'm not giving up. I have to remind myself that in the > > early days of Windows I became frustrated often enough enough then, too. > > Heh, happens to all of us at some point. > > > > > My first question: For those who want to eventually throw their > > Windows programs in the dumpster, is there some way to run Windows > > programs in Linux? I have a number of software programs that I really > > don't want to loose, and their aren't Linux versions available, yet. > > Yes. There is Wine, and its commercial variety (about $60 and you do > get a free trial), crossover office. These allow *some* programs to > run. > However, my usual recommendation to people is to run VirtualBox. It's > an emulator that runs at pretty decent speed. It's easy to install and > you can install Windows on it--it's what's known as a virtual machine. > There are other products and programs that do the same thing, but I've > found it to be superior (for my needs) to the also free VMWare server. > (Also, VMWare server's new 2.0 beta has a number of features that I > dislike). You'll probably get other recommendations to use qemu, VMWare > or KVM, but I prefer VirtualBox. It's just been bought by Sun. I have > no idea whether that will lead to it becoming even better or becoming > worse, but at present, it suits my needs. > > > > > > My second question: Is there an easy way to format a hard drive to > > dual boot without having nightmares? > > Again yes. This was simply due to your inexperience and soon you'll > probably be an old hand at it, believe it or not. > The canonical (as in standard, not the company making Ubuntu) :) way is > to first install Windows. As you were told, Windows will overwrite the > boot sector, so if you install Linux first, then install Windows, you'll > have to reinstall your boot loader. (It's actually usually not necessary > to reinstall the whole system.) There's an overview of it in the list > faq at http://home.nyc.rr.com/computertaijutsu/linfaq.html though that > is a bit dated--it covers RedHat if I remember. I fear that I no longer > maintain the faq because it seems no one reads it. <shrug>. > > The Ubuntu book I have is for the previous > > version, and the screens have completely changed. > > Most distros, and I'm sure that Ubuntu does as well, have step by step > installation instructions somewhere on their website. It's always good > to check that, though your decision to use the book was certainly > reasonable. > > If you install Windows first, almost all distros will now see it and > give you an option to include it in your boot menu--they will then > install their boot program (usually grub) and you should be able to > continue to boot Windows. > > However, if you install Windows after installing Linux, because Windows > overwrites the boot sector, you'll no longer be able to boot Linux. > There are ways around this--as I said, the FAQ mentions some, but it's > much simpler, if you have the option, to install Windows first. > > > So that's where I am now. I'm going to reformat again and start from > > scratch, but I am no pro at formatting hard drives. I want to > > partition one for Windows and one for Linux (or is it three for Linux, > > one for the kernal, one for the swap section, and one for something > > else?) > > Install Windows. Create a partition that will leave you room for Linux. > Linux really just needs two partitions, / and swap, though you can do > more--for example, many prefer having a very small /boot partition and > another separate one for /home. Most distros will make intelligent > partitioning suggestions for you, I think Ubuntu is one of them. > > > > > Oh, one more question: I want to dual boot my laptop as well, but I > > want to install PCLinuxOS on that computer (I'm experimenting with > > distros). I downloaded the only version I found and it won't work on > > my laptop because, even though I just bought the laptop 8 months ago, > > it's 32 bit (no wonder it was on sale), and the latest version of > > PCLinuxOS is apparently 64 bit. > > Ok, that doesn't sound quite right. PCLinuxOS would definitely have a > 32 bit version. You probably just overlooked it or misclicked. (We've > all been there, done that and gotten the T-shirt.) If you can't find > it on their site, post again, and one of us will find it for you. > > Nothing wrong with buying a 32 bit--amazing as it is, even now, 64 bit > is way behind the times in a lot of ways--flash still has trouble on 64 > bit machines, etc. etc. 32bit is, by no means, over. (I just bought a > 32 bit laptop myself, quite deliberately. For example, my laptop has a > wireless card that, at present, is only supported in Linux in 32 bit, > not 64.) > > > > > Any help ya'll can provide would be appreciated. > > Well, hopefully, my answers have helped a bit. It sounds like you have > the right attitude, so I suspect you'll be successful soon--it might not > be this time (though there's a good chance it will be) and sometimes we > have to try two or three times. I remember messing up when partitioning, > years ago, and managing to delete 5 different operating systems in one > shot. It was depressing. > > Sooo, to simplify, I'd say start by reinstalling Windows and making sure > you leave some space for Linux. (Also, although Linux does need more > than one partition, it can actually work completely within what are > called logical partitions, so you don't need 2 extra primary partitions. > The FAQ has a link to a partitioning guide that might be of some help.) > > > > > -- > Scott Robbins > PGP keyID EB3467D6 > ( 1B48 077D 66F6 9DB0 FDC2 A409 FA54 EB34 67D6 ) > gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys EB3467D6 > > Giles: Since Angel lost his soul, he's regained his sense of > whimsy. > To unsubscribe from this list, please email [EMAIL PROTECTED] & you will be removed. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
