linux ?
my computer runs windows xp and i was wondering if i could buy a second hard drive and put Linux on it and switch hard drives to which os i wanted
i only have a 20 gig hard drive is that to small to run both
i only have a 20 gig hard drive is that to small to run both
By: juggalochar94
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Filed under Laptops & Notebooks by on May 2nd, 2010. 
Comments on linux ?
Coupon Binder
You dont hqve to have a second harddrive for this – you can
have both system on the same disc.
Coupon Binder
I would get a 200gig drive, partition it, install the XP on one partition and then Linux will provide you with a dual-boot menu. Download a LiveCD distro, such as Ubuntu, burn the CD and see if you like Linux running from the CD. The problem with 2 drives is: how are you going to transfer data files between the 2 OSs?
Mental Illness News
yes or you can even have a list of whick OS you want to load when the computer turns on but the problem you will have is some of your devices may not work right with linux especially your modem because its what is called a WinModem which is a modem made only for windows it is missing a crucial chip that windows replicates and linux is not allowed to replicate with their software and linux is an internet based OS which means that basically your screwed if you cant access the internet I would recomend buying a machine built for linux.
Coupon Binder
Yes. you can do exactly that. There a many ways to make Linux work on the same box as Windows. One nice and easy way is to just stick a “Live CD” in the disk drive, and boot the machine. This is very handy for trying out different distributions of Linux to see which you like, but it does not give you an accurate idea of the speed of things. Once you’ve decided you can either partition your existing hard drive in to sections, or do as you said and add another drive to the mix. Either way you do it, you will end up using a bootloader. Probably either Lilo, or Grub. That will also provide you with the selection function on boot.
Another neat trick of course is Virtual machines. VMware and the like. Open up Linux in a window. (Or vice versa) Heck, why stop there. Mac OSX will run just fine on a PC, at least for now…