Hi Steven,
(note: I am also new to this list so I hope nobody minds if I butt in
and answer :-)
Yes it is possible to have a dual-boot machine with win98 and linux. The
main difficulty in getting there lies in repartitioning the harddisk(at
least it was for me). Standard Linux distributions cannot share a
partition with Windows but need their own.
If you already have your disk in several partitions (read: not just
drive C: but also D: or/and E: etc.) and are willing to allocate one of
these entirely to Linux then you do not have a problem and you can just
install any distribution on this partition.
If you do not and need to carve up your existing partition I'd suggest
you use <a href="http://www.mandrake.com"";>Mandrake Linux </a> since it
seems to be the only distribution which allows you to repartition your
harddisk using a graphical menu. Proceed as follows:
1.) Back up all your data. This procedure can render your Windows
installation completely unusable. Make sure you have the CDs to
reinstall Windows if it should be necessary.(It worked fine for me and
others but messups have been known to occur).
2.) Boot Windows. Turn off all programs running in the background (for
example taskplanner).
3.) Defragment your harddisk (this can take several hours). Immediately
afterwards shut down your computer.
4.) Repeat steps 2 and 3.
5.) Boot Mandrake Linux from the Installation CD. Choose Manual
repartitioning using DiskDrake and allocate space as you need it.
Before installation, read the documentation carefully so you know what
you are doing. As a beginner, I would recommend installing both KDE and
Gnome (if you have the space on your disk) and using the KDE desktop as
your default.
There are tons of resources on the web, such as:
<a href="http://www.linuxnewbie.org";>www.linuxnewbie.org</a>
<a href="http://www.linuxnewbieguide.com";>www.lilnuxnewbieguide.com</a>
Hope that helps,
Marc
On Die, 2001-08-28 at 23:46, Steven McStravick wrote:
> hi list,
>
> i apologise if this is off topic, or aimed at the wrong list.
>
> i am looking for information regarding how i would go about setting up my PC with
>linux on it.
> i am not very technically minded when it comes to setting up operating systems, so i
>was looking for a website or something that could give me all the necessary info that
>i need to get up and running.
>
> currently i have win98 installed on my pc, and ideally i would like to have both
>operating systems installed at the same time, and be able to choose which one i use
>when booting up the computer. is this possible?
>
> i also realise there are many versions of linux out there, how would i choose which
>one is best suited to me?
> i would be mainly using it just for experimentation with websites with flash and
>shockwave content in them.
>
> thank you for any info or pointers that you can give me.
>
> steven.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.lug.org.uk http://www.linuxportal.co.uk
http://www.linuxjob.co.uk http://www.linuxshop.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------
