Linux VS. Windows

Vwfix said:
all this talk about linux made want to try it out tonight what edition would you guys suggest to a complete linux nube, I want to see if I like it.
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Fedora and Ubuntu are great linux distros. If you want, you can try out linux before isntalling it. There called live cds. Basicly your computer boots off a live cd without making any changes to your hard drive. Some good live cds are Slax and Knoppix. Just download the ISO and burn it using an ISO burner; i personaly use deepburner free edition.



Anyways, what i like about linux is how flexible it is. Currently i have linux on my xbox, dreamcast, gamecube and my computer. I also like the fact you can boot inux from a live cd, or usb device. Cant say that about windows:rolleyes: I also like the fact that it is open source. Now that wine has made some improvements, i can now run oblivion from any linux distro.
 
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When I ran Fedora here I had some fun getting it installed. More then one set of 4-5cds was made from the iso images downloaded. But despite the duplicate downloads and writes to disk one or two files refused to copy or load when the Grub methed was used. Finally it ran after several reinstalls of Core 4. Others have commented on the improvements seen in Core 5. Ubuntu wouldn't install readily. I still never got that one running but hear better reviews on that as well as Mandrake.

The Live versions especially Knoppix for some reason are excellect for data recovery off of inaccessible drives despite the version of Windows upto XP and backward to Dos 4.0 as well as the various Linux distros if not newer. The Knoppix is far easier for the beginner while still needing a little time to get familiar with. The gui is easier than seen on other Live versions as well.
 
Heh, i had fedora core 5 isntalled with grub bootloader, and i formated the partition that it was on with fat. Anyways, i popped the hdd in, booted the freshly formated drive and guess what came up? Grub boot loader, lol. Everything else was gone, but somehow grub booted, lol/
 
do I also have to install some sort of boot loader does that come included with linux so I can chose which operating system I want to run at start up
 
A Grub or Lilo loader is usually downloaded separately after the iso images are saved to the drive for burn to disk. Some isos on the other hand include a Grub where you have to edit a new loader.
 
how easy is this loader to set up, sorry for so many questions it is just i am doing this for the first time and don't want to mess things up
 
I like to use Linux distros but right now I'm using Win XP Pro mostly because of those darn games. Like the addicting Hitman Blood Money, BF2, CSS, DODS etc.
 
i'm looking into trying out linux, but i'm worried about not being able to run games. i check the system requirements for cs and it requires windows 2000/xp, so its a nono for linux right? what other kind of gaming issues does linux have? what kind of games is linux compatible with?
 
a123 said:
i'm looking into trying out linux, but i'm worried about not being able to run games. i check the system requirements for cs and it requires windows 2000/xp, so its a nono for linux right? what other kind of gaming issues does linux have? what kind of games is linux compatible with?
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You'll need games specifically compiled for linux. There is an API implimentation known as WINE, and also one for games with an implimentation of the DirectX API known as Cedega as well. These aim at running apps and games respectively. One problem with API implimenations is they lack the kernel, which means there will always be performance issues and errors. Lets not forget Cedega may never be able to impliment the vastly more complex API of the upcoming Direct X 10. However, I do know many people who do just fine in Cedega as of right now with their current games.
 
well I fill dumb:( somehow as careful as I was I still erased windows when i installed linux, any clues where I can get a copy of windows xp legit and quick I already have the cd key that came with the pc
 
It often helps big time to have a spare drive onhand when trying out a new OS especially when you are unfamiliar with it. If you make any goofs you simply wipe the drive there. You do this by temporarily unplugging the host drive to avoid goofs especially if you don't have a recovery or full installation disk available. Fortunately the price on XP disks with SP2 included have dropped down to around $80- with the anticipation of Vista.
 
yeah I did it on a seperate drive but still somehow something got messed up, oh well i will get it running with windows soon, hey atleast i got linux for now:D
 
What was done here to allow for Vista(someday) or another Linux distro was to create the primary on a second for backing data up from the host drive and leave space on the back half for toying around with different distros. Since I won't be running a second OS there or even if I was the ubuntu boot manager on floppy will give the option to load the OS installed on whatever partition has a working OS on it. That can also load XP on the primary drive as well. That was one little trick learned to keep from having to go into the bios to change boot settings constantly. :)
 
Some things on the last few posts to note about.

A CD key that came with a computer will NOT work on any CD you get and try to install. You need a CD key from a past copy of Windows, or just a new key. Retail and even OEM CDs will not accept the volume OEM licensing versions which your PC manufacturer gets from Microsoft.

A lot of games do now run on linux, just that most of the ones I seemed to get ran on kernel 2.4. :( Wasn't really too bad, just keep a small partition of Redhat 6.1, fire it up, and play them. Of course, if I felt the need, I could play them in Windows, but, well, I don't know, lol.

Vista. Well, Vista, unfortunately, installs itself, and completely ignores the use of the same bootmanager we've known forever. This also takes away the use of the boot.ini file. There is no where to edit the boot loader to chain boot either. On my last attempt to dual boot the two, I resulted in an error after GRUB loaded, and I selected the Windows partition. It was just hd(0,0), followed by a bunch of nonsensical symbols.

The best way I see to dual boot the two, until (to my knowledge it does not yet exist), a new bootloader comes out, is to install your operating systems on two physical disks, with two separate MBRs. Then unfortunately, from here, you'll probably have to toggle the two seperately via the BIOS, unless you have any special hotkeys enabled for this at boot time.

--sc7--
 
Have you seen the root directory of a system running the Vista beta version? In time someone would find a way to edit the loader on the new version in order to multi-OS a system. But for the average user the new version is apparently geared to make that version of Windows the master over the system. The elimination of the boot.ini would certainly see that.
 
Exactly, it will eventually be hacked, but it may be harder to make a user friendly way to do it.
 
The one way of dual OSing with XP being put on the primary drive was to allow Windows to detect the existing installation on a second drive if not on a primary partition with the drive split into two. XP will then offer to load either due to the boot.ini having the entry to load both OSs. With Vista you may see it claim one drive and still an older version detected on a second. That remains to be seen however. To prevent any goofups you would somply disconnect the drive with a different OS on it to have Vista claim the other drive and reconnect the second drive later in order to dual OS there. One thought was to see if a ubuntu boot manager prepared on a 3 1/2" floppy would load Vista as well as others when booting with that. You would probably need a newer version of that to work however.
 
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