Simple Questions About Ubuntu

TechShark

TechShark

Member
Windows Xp 32bit is currently the OS im using, Other than being an OS and using it to play Battlefield : Bad Company 2 i dont think i really have a need to keep using XP for everything else i do.


All the other application i use and need, i run off my external hard drive and for the most part they are all portable apps, Open office, firefox, VLC player etc..

so im wondering.. can i install Ubuntu on my external hard drive, and run it off from there?

If there is a better way of doing this?

i imagine i would have to start my computer with windows xp and then access my external hard drive to get Ubuntu running..

Does this keep windows xp running in the background? (wouldnt want my processor handling both os's at the same time, even though it probably isnt much of a task)
 
The best way I have found to run Ubuntu and Windows is to load them both on separate hard drives. All you have to do is change the boot priority in BIOS. Pick the hard drive in BIOS and the operating system will load that you want.

I would get Linux Ubuntu Version 9.04 or 9.10.
 
What do you want to use Ubuntu for? If you're just using it to try out a different OS have you considered creating a virtual machine w/ Ubuntu? That would be the simplest route.

I do not know if you'd be able to boot Ubuntu from an external drive, you could try installing Ubuntu on that drive and changing the boot order in BIOS to boot that drive first. If that does not work, you may have to go the route that 2048Megabytes suggested, assuming you can purchase another HDD.
 
He seems to want to run Ubuntu with XP in the background, which is not possible. You could install Ubuntu as a virtual machine as danthrax said, or install in Windows so you can uninstall it like a program and then reboot and choose an OS. If you decide to go with a VM, VirtualBox is a great free alternative and is considerably better than Micro$oft's Virtual PC.
 
Thanks guys, I've heard about this Virtual Machine for a while, but im really not familiar with it.

It'd be cool if i can put in on my External HD, and somehow on start up (or whenever i could) choose to boot Ubuntu on my external HD.

I would really consider replacing my windows xp with ubuntu, buuuut, i dont want to worry about not being able to play Bad Company 2 or use Adobe CS5.

know if Ubuntu could run these programs?
 
If you're connected to the Internet with that computer, you can download a program in the Software Center called Wine which emulates Windows, but from what I hear it doesn't work too well. You're better off dual-booting. You can put Ubuntu on a flash drive using this utility and take it with you, just be sure to have the utility create a persistence file to remember all your settings in. You can install Ubuntu on the external HD with the CD installer, but you will have to leave it plugged in all the time and you can't take it places and just boot from it, unless you designate that drive for the GRUB bootloader and then configure your BIOS to to boot from that drive.
Also, I recommend Ubuntu 10.04, the newest version, which has the fastest boot times.
 
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lucasbytegenius said:
If you're connected to the Internet with that computer, you can download a program in the Software Center called Wine which emulates Windows, but from what I hear it doesn't work too well. You're better off dual-booting. You can put Ubuntu on a flash drive using this utility and take it with you, just be sure to have the utility create a persistence file to remember all your settings in. You can install Ubuntu on the external HD with the CD installer, but you will have to leave it plugged in all the time and you can't take it places and just boot from it, unless you designate that drive for the GRUB bootloader and then configure your BIOS to to boot from that drive.
Also, I recommend Ubuntu 10.04, the newest version, which has the fastest boot times.
Click to expand...

WINE= Wine Is Not a Emulator. What wine does is it has some of the windows drivers built in to run programs. It works great but takes some time for them to get all programs to work.

According to Wine HQ CS5 does work under wine for ubuntu. They are currently working on bad company 2, They got it to install so far and run but are working on the Direct X for it. Wine is easy to use for even a person who has never used a Linux distro before. And what is nice about wine is that it is not a emulator, emulator use more system resources.

If you also are interested in a nice app that is the same concepted as photoshop there is "gimp". It doesn't have all the tools as photoshop but it is the same concept and works the same and it is free. I use it and I like it.
 
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TechShark said:
Does this keep windows xp running in the background? (wouldnt want my processor handling both os's at the same time, even though it probably isnt much of a task)
Click to expand...

Either I missed where this was answered, or it hasn't been. But, no, it won't be running the 2 OS's at once.
 
DMGrier said:
WINE= Wine Is Not a Emulator. What wine does is it has some of the windows drivers built in to run programs. It works great but takes some time for them to get all programs to work.

According to Wine HQ CS5 does work under wine for ubuntu. They are currently working on bad company 2, They got it to install so far and run but are working on the Direct X for it. Wine is easy to use for even a person who has never used a Linux distro before. And what is nice about wine is that it is not a emulator, emulator use more system resources.
Click to expand...

I said Wine was a Windows Emulator, being as it is neither a virtual machine nor a true emulator.
 
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