I am thinking about moving to Ubuntu

N

newjacksm

New Member
I am scared to move to a different operating system from using Windows XP for almost 6 years now. I am a college student that needs Office 07 for power point. I know Ubuntu has a processor. I am thinking about installing it on one of the hard dries I have laying around and trying it out on my PC.

These are my computer specs and I dont think I am getting the full use out of it with XP 32bit

AMD Phenom 9600
Dual Channel 4Gig DDR2 Corsair
320G WD Sata
200G Seagate IDE
150G Fujitsu Sata
Asus M3N78-NM Mobo

is a 64 bit operating system really gonna help? Is Ubuntu really that much faster and more importantly will a notice difference with the extra ram that Ubuntu will notice that XP doesnt???
 
Ubuntu doesn't need as much RAM as xp so it doesn't need 4 gigs but you will most likely notice a speed difference.

You won't be able to get Office 07 on Ubuntu, it comes with OpenOffice which as far as I know isn't compatable with Office 07 formats (docx etc).
 
To clear this up for everyone, OpenOffice can open, edit and save common Office 2007 files. I'm not sure about templates and other "special" files, but normal 2007 word, excel, PowerPoint files will work fine most of the time. Sometimes formatting may appear wrong or something, usually because of missing fonts etc.
 
Try Linux as a virtual machine first, then see if you like it or not, then go ahead and install it for real.
 
Can I install Linux on my wiped out slave hard drives and test it out first to see if I like it? will it ruin any settings?

I dont know how to dual boot, the only close thing to a dual boot I can do is install Linux on a different hard drive and manually boot to a different hard drive, but I dont know how safe that is.

Thanks
 
the only close thing to a dual boot I can do is install Linux on a different hard drive and manually boot to a different hard drive, but I dont know how safe that is.
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Very safe. This is exactly what I did; this way you can install Ubuntu (or any other OS for that matter) without even touching your other installation(s)/HDDs.
 
There are a number of Linux Distributions that use something called 'Wubi'. What it is, is a piece of software that you install inside of Windows. So basically, you install Ubuntu just like any other Windows piece of software. When you restart your computer you're asked with the option to boot to either Windows or Ubuntu. If you decide you like Ubuntu you can either use it like you've been doing or install it to a separate hard drive or dual boot permanently. If you decide you don't like it, just go into the 'Add/Remove Programs' section in the Control Panel and it uninstalls just like any other Windows program.

Keep in mind that running Ubuntu through Wubi has slightly degraded performance than if you were to install it natively on a Hard Drive. But hardly enough to see a noticeable difference. Give it a try. If you need any help, shoot me a PM.
 
brycematheson712 said:
There are a number of Linux Distributions that use something called 'Wubi'. What it is, is a piece of software that you install inside of Windows. So basically, you install Ubuntu just like any other Windows piece of software. When you restart your computer you're asked with the option to boot to either Windows or Ubuntu. If you decide you like Ubuntu you can either use it like you've been doing or install it to a separate hard drive or dual boot permanently. If you decide you don't like it, just go into the 'Add/Remove Programs' section in the Control Panel and it uninstalls just like any other Windows program.

Keep in mind that running Ubuntu through Wubi has slightly degraded performance than if you were to install it natively on a Hard Drive. But hardly enough to see a noticeable difference. Give it a try. If you need any help, shoot me a PM.
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Thanks for the offer bryce I was gonna send you a PM but it seems as if my PM Privalages are disabled ATM.

I think I am going to install Ubuntu on a different Hard drive see how I like it before I do any major changes. If I like it then Ill transfer all the data too Ubuntu if I dont all just wipe it out with Acronis Drive Cleanser.

Then just switch back to my main HDD with windows on it(If this be the case)
 
In my personal opinion, Wubi would be a lot easier and safer. Easier, because you don't have to keep switching drives back and forth whenever you want to do something. I guess if you don't mind, then whatever. And safer, because you don't ever have to touch the hard drive. The smallest little things can damage a hard drive. Accidentally dropping it, or shocking it will wipe all your data instantly. If you're frequently handling the hard drives, it's bound to happen sometime.

Just my two cents. You can do whatever you want, but that's my suggestion.
 
brycematheson712 said:
In my personal opinion, Wubi would be a lot easier and safer. Easier, because you don't have to keep switching drives back and forth whenever you want to do something. I guess if you don't mind, then whatever. And safer, because you don't ever have to touch the hard drive. The smallest little things can damage a hard drive. Accidentally dropping it, or shocking it will wipe all your data instantly. If you're frequently handling the hard drives, it's bound to happen sometime.

Just my two cents. You can do whatever you want, but that's my suggestion.
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I have the drives installed in my case already. I have 3 HDD 2 of which are wiped clean and one is with XP that I am using currently.
 
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