Re: Linux and Windows

On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 08:01:08 -0700, Malke <invalid@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Jeff Needle wrote:

There are a number of Linux "live distro's" that are complete
operating systems on CD. These can be run without making any
alteration to your hard disk. This would probably be a better
solution for yourself if you really don't want to dabble with
altering partitions.

Personally I would convert your partitions to NTFS. This is a better
file system than FAT, and usually the default method used for
installing Windows XP.



Hmmm, to tell the truth, my statement about FAT was based on an
article I
read.  I really don't know what the configuration of my system is.  Is
there a way to find out?  It may already be NTFS.


OK, based on your posts you definitely need to read up on using both
Windows and Linux. Your success in using *any* operating system well
depends on your willingness to learn. I'm not saying this to be
hurtful; just giving you a little friendly advice. You need to know
things like what are different file systems and how to tell what
hardware you've got.



Sigh, yes you're right.

A little background, perhaps. My computing days began in back when folks were carrying decks of punchcards across college campuses. I taught Basic, Fortran, Cobol, etc., for years, and actually programmed an accounting system in a hybrid of Business Basic.

Now I'm an old fart, and I've survived without having to learn all the new stuff. I've had so many other things to occupy me. In 1999 I became disabled and had to stop work. During this time, I've tried to pick up on all the new technologies, but can't get a handle on it.

My biggest problem is trying to link current ideas with the old ones. Heck, I used to program on old Apple II computers with CP/M cards in them. Yeah, I'M OLD!!! <grin>



The best place to start learning is by using 
Google. Newsgroups are also great, but be aware that the Linux groups
are far less forgiving of people who post without doing some research
first. See what Linux newsgroups are on your ISP's news server and
subscribe to a few. Lurk for a long time before posting.

I would suggest you get one of the live distros like Knoppix - and
either have them send you a cd or have a friend with broadband and the
proper burning program get it for you - and just play. Don't worry
about saving documents, etc. Then if you decide you want to dual-boot
with some Linux distro, do some research about the different ones and
pick something you think will work for you. A good disk partitioning
strategy for a dual-boot system with XP is something like this (I'm
leaving off the cd drives for simplicity):

C:\ - XP formatted NTFS (Linux hda1)
D:\ - small FAT32 partition for shared data between the two OS's (Linux
hda2)
hdb1 - second hard drive for Linux formatted in Reiser or ext3 with /
files on it
hdb2 - separate partition on second drive for /home

Have a lot of fun,

Malke


Thanks for all the good advice. I agree, I have a lot to learn. I've just recently upgraded from Win98 to XP. Sheesh.



--
--------------------------------------
Jeffrey Needle
jeff.needle@xxxxxxxxx
.

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