Linux/windows Dual Boot

**Tsen** · 01-02-2007 10:27 AM

Hey guys.
So, I finally got off my butt and did it--backed up my music and some other random junk, then wiped the hard drive, partitioned it and set it up.
I'm now dual booting between Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP Home Edition.
And really, now that I have something to compare Windows to directly...well, I'm kind of disappointed in it.
Linux set up in about an hour, installed all of the drivers automatically (except my wireless card, whose manufacturer didn't make Linux drivers, so I had to install them manually, which wasn't nearly as hard as it sounds). Upgrading to the latest versions of all my software was easy--took two clicks, less than three minutes and no reboots.
In the end, I had to reboot Linux once, after I'd installed the drivers for my wireless card. Not because the system needed the boot, but because I hadn't plugged the card in yet, so I had to turn off the computer to do so.
Installing new programs was similarly easy to the system upgrading process--I just open Synaptic Program Manager, the default program managing app in Ubuntu, scroll to the program I want, sorted by category, click the install button. That's it--Ubuntu automatically downloads, installs and updates my application menu. Plus, the software's all free. I've got a 3D modeling program, an image editor, an office suite, a ton of games, an instant messenger, a web browser, and there's a lot more out there. All free.

Then, to Windows.
Now, I tried to be understanding. I mean, XP's a pretty old OS, relatively. Ubuntu 6.06 is less than a year old, XP is over five.
But still, it took SEVEN HOURS, THIRTEEN REBOOTS and THREE WINDOWS GENUINE ADVANTAGE VALIDATIONS.
It still doesn't have all my drivers fixed--The wireless driver is on the fritz and I get a cruddy connection and the universal media adapter installed by default in my computer doesn't work at all. Linux had no problem with it, but apparently it's too much for Windows--the OS the adapter was designed for.
Ugh. That's really all there is to it.

That's really all it took--Now, the only reason I use Windows is to play with Photoshop (I've got the GIMP on Linux, but it isn't as powerful, and I'm not used to the interface), and to play games, because unfortunately Age of Mythology, Age of Empires II, Morrowind and Dungeon Siege II don't run (well) on Linux.

Anyway, just wanted to put that out there.

**Ynot** · 01-02-2007 10:53 AM

<PFFSH>
Luke....
<PFFSH>
Who's your daddy, Luke?
<PFFSH>

Nice one
best of both worlds
linux can be a lot of fun to play around with, as well
and with Ubuntu, you can be as geeky or not as you like.
but as you highlighted, native game support is pretty poor

anyway,
just don't start quoting uptimes
that's the linux equilivant of the emperor's blue ray of death

**Tsen** · 01-02-2007 11:06 AM

and with Ubuntu, you can be as geeky or not as you like.[/b]

Yeah, that's definitely a plus

Anyway, I forgot to add--
One thing that I appreciate Windows for--mp3s. Linux can play 'em, but you have to install the software separately, it doesn't have native support. This is because Linux is based entirely on open source, and for some reason they couldn't bundle the mp3 software with Linux. It has support for other audio compression codecs--but by default, no software to convert mp3s to those codecs.
So blurgh.
I installed the software to let me play 'em, and it works quite nicely--you can even preview mp3s just by mousing over the file, which you can't do in Windows. But the fact that it's not supported out-of-the-box is kind of a bummer.
And the audio players in general are a little...well, cruddy. Of course, I'm a bit picky when it comes to audio players. Well, Songbird 1.0's should be out soon, and while I'm not a big fan of the program so far, it seems to be one of the better options out there.

**Merlock** · 01-02-2007 11:18 AM

No mp3 support? Ubuntu doesn't sound like much of a home-aimed distribution.
I dual boot Fedora 5 and Windows XP Home and have been for ages.
Linux isn't just "fun to play around with", I personally use it for professional needs (coding, testing, etc.) where as Windows I need mostly for games and partial professional needs including Photoshop, which I would never trade for the GIMP, no matter how open-sourced it is, hahah.

**Tsen** · 01-02-2007 11:30 AM

It's supposed to be a home-aimed distro, but they kind of missed the mark on that point. They tried to make up for it with OGG Vorbis support, which works quite nicely if you don't have an existing music library, but if you're a migrating Windows user with 7,700 songs like me...well, it's not as easy. Not difficult by any means, it's just not native. Bummer, but whatever.
I've got to admit, the rest of the OS is extremely user-friendly, I got used to it in only a few minutes after never using Linux before in my life.

**RetepNamenots** · 01-02-2007 11:40 AM

Do you need windows? I just use SuSE 10.1 because it does have so many advantages over windows. If I want to use windows (ie. for gaming etc) I just use a windows emulator (such as Wine)

**Ynot** · 01-02-2007 11:59 AM

mp3 is a proprietary audio codec, with associated patents and royalty issues
so can't be bundled with GNU software
however, you can get the software seperately, to fill the hole

this is the very reason why open source codecs are around
(ogg vorbis, flac, etc.)
to get around this legal issue

**Tsen** · 01-02-2007 12:02 PM

No, I don't need it, but it's more than a convenience for me. I'd like to switch to just linux, but for now I'll just stick to using both.
Reasons:
-Photoshop and my games run better in Windows than they do in emulators, and with fewer problems
-I'm not always the only user on my compy. Since I'm one of two people in my dorm with a compy, the other four need to use it sometimes. They don't even know what Linux IS, let alone how to use it

**Ynot** · 01-02-2007 12:30 PM

btw, on the games front

you may be interested in this
http://www.linux-gamers.net

You probably know this already, but I'll say it anyway
there's a linux program called Wine
that lets you run win32 programs under linux
(it's a windows emulator, in a nutshell)

works well most of the time
with no problems
some programs (games in particular) may need tinkering with

link above has a good forum for all things gamey on linux

and, just thought I'd mention
no-one is on a mission to convert people, here
contrary to popular belief, most linux people really don't care if you use / like / bad-mouth / whatever linux or windows

use whatever you like
just be aware there are alternatives
each has pro's & con's

infact, I find it quite funny on this forum
mentioning no names
but there are 2 windows fan-boys that like to chirp in every now and then with useless comments
you know who you are

**Merlock** · 01-02-2007 01:24 PM

Wine, or better yet WineX, aka Cedega - all can make gaming under Linux well and stable. Though nonetheless, when there's a possibility to have two partitions, one with Windows and one with Linux, there's nothing bad about it.

**Tsen** · 01-02-2007 01:37 PM

Just curious, can Wine work with disc emulators? 'Cuz I wouldn't mind using it if it was stable...but, well, some of my sources for games are only semi-legal at best. Basically, are there programs like Daemon Tools that would work with a windows emulator?

**Ynot** · 01-02-2007 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by Tsen

Just curious, can Wine work with disc emulators? 'Cuz I wouldn't mind using it if it was stable...but, well, some of my sources for games are only semi-legal at best. Basically, are there programs like Daemon Tools that would work with a windows emulator?
[/b]

don't see any reason why not
never tried it tho

just mount the image
and Cedega / Wine should see it as a CD

**Merlock** · 01-02-2007 01:58 PM

Exactly, Linux doesn't need an emulator, you simply mount the image file and you're ready to go. Hmm, another plus for Linux comfort, heh.

**Tsen** · 01-02-2007 02:24 PM

Including .bin/.cue's or .mdf/.mds's, or just .iso's and the like?

**Merlock** · 01-02-2007 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by Tsen

Including .bin/.cue's or .mdf/.mds's, or just .iso's and the like? [/b]

In a .cue/.bin pair, the .bin is the image file, a binary image of the disk, in a .mds/.mdf pair, the .mdf is the image file, the large binary file that is the image. The ISO is the same, the image file but without a paired info file with it. They're just formats for disk images, the binary image file is the one that should be mounted in each case.

**Tsen** · 01-02-2007 02:49 PM

So it will work?
Wow.
I think linux is my new lover.

**Pyrofan1** · 01-03-2007 05:52 AM

I'm also dual-booting with Windows XP and ubuntu linux and i noticed that when i use windows it boots faster then it did before i installed linux.

**Tsen** · 01-03-2007 06:20 AM

Huh...maybe mine does too. Not sure, I haven't booted Windows again since I made the switch.

**Kaniaz** · 01-03-2007 07:40 AM

took SEVEN HOURS[/b]

Er, are you sure you weren't trying to install XP onto a cheese cart or something? Seven hours? SEVEN HOURS? Something was clearly broke there.

**Tsen** · 01-03-2007 08:25 AM

The actual installation was only about an hour, probably a little under. It was the updates that kept dragging it out....

**MSG** · 01-03-2007 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by Tsen

The actual installation was only about an hour, probably a little under. It was the updates that kept dragging it out....
[/b]

Well, you're installing 5 years of updates, it's gonna take some time.

**Tsen** · 01-03-2007 10:50 AM

Exactly

**TweaK** · 01-03-2007 03:55 PM

I've tried installing both Fedora and Slackware yesterday, and I must say..
I'm not impressed. Fedora was a bitch to install, and it didn't work well. Slackware was a lot better, but the moment I wanted to boot back into Vista, it went bitching. The Vista DVD couldn't fix the boot sector, etc. I googled, but only a format would help me.

Thanks, Linux!

**Ynot** · 01-03-2007 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by TweaK

I've tried installing both Fedora and Slackware yesterday, and I must say..
I'm not impressed. Fedora was a bitch to install, and it didn't work well. Slackware was a lot better, but the moment I wanted to boot back into Vista, it went bitching. The Vista DVD couldn't fix the boot sector, etc. I googled, but only a format would help me.

Thanks, Linux!
[/b]

Vista decimates the MBR on installation, commandeering it completely and rendering any other OS previously installed inoperable
(even happens if you dual boot vista with XP)

Google "dual boot vista linux" for workarounds

**Ne-yo** · 01-03-2007 04:49 PM

You know it's amazing how every Linux distribution detects the presence of another OS and configures the system accordingly, even being nice enough to add Windows to your boot loader automatically, should you choose to keep it. So why the hell can't Vista simply include a decent boot loader, thus removing the onus from the user, or the installer, to determine what boot loader is installed and configure it accordingly? This is definately a pet peeve of mine.

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