Can anyone tell me about it? My son wants to download and install it, but I don't know anything about it.

By Laurazee on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 07:51 pm:

It's an operating system, like Windows. You can run both on a "dual boot" machine (you choose which operating system you run when the machine turns on) but I'm not sure what the problems or benefits might be on your machine.

I would be careful choosing Linux INSTEAD of Windows, because I'm not sure how well your Windows applications - e-mail, word processing, web, printer drivers, etc. - are configured and what they are. They may not run under Linux, but it's unlikely that your son wants to do that. He probably wants to experiment since it's an alternative to Microsoft Windows and is supposed to be faster and more streamlined.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 08:25 pm:

My hubby has Linux installed on one of our computers. It works the same as windows and except for different looking icons for things, you may as well be in Windows.

I think you should let him download it and have fun with it. My hubby is using the Lindows version of Linux. He has been having a ball with it. It is a dual-boot computer, so if you reboot the computer, at a certain point you have to indicate whether you want Windows or Linux.

If he has any questions, my hubby would be glad to help -- linux @ lakebreeze.org or gcklein @ charter.net

By Sunny on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 09:12 pm:

Yes, he wants to run it with the dual boot. I think he's curious after some of his online buddies have mentioned they use it. I'm just not as knowledgeable about computers and operating systems as he is and, only having one computer here that has internet access, I'm a little hesitant to let him do whatever he wants.

Thanks for the info and offer of help. He asked me earlier, but I told him I wanted time to think about it.

By Ginny~moderator on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 06:24 am:

Before your son downloads a new operating system (which is what Linux is), have your son back up all of your programs and data (since he is the one who wants to do it, he should do the work). You probably have most of your programs on CDs already, but all of your data, all of the stuff you and your family have accumulated, should be backed up, including your email address book, your bookmarks, and any emails that contain things like access codes and ID numbers for programs you downloaded from the Net (like the last time you renewed your anti-virus program subscription).

One of my sons uses Linux and loves it, but he is a techie type.

By John on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 07:49 am:

I personally wouldn't recommend a dual boot setup on a single hard drive.
Get a second hard drive (<$50) and install Linux on that drive (without the windows drive in the computer).

Assuming you bought your computer, the hard drive was probably allocated completely to Windows.

To install another OS you'll need to mess with (shrink) the existing partitions to make room.

It's not worth risking your existing Windows set to do this when you can get a small HD for about $50.

I have a machine set up at home like this with no problems and manage Linux servers for THIS web site.

Do you have a second OLD computer laying around? Even a 486 is fine. If so, have him install it on that machine.

Linux will run just fine on older computers and you're not risking your primary machine.

Good luck

By Sunny on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 09:23 am:

I'm going to ask him about that. We do have an old computer that needs a new modem. I wouldn't have any qualms with him using that one. Actually, I didn't have this one I'm using now for more than 3 hours when he removed the old hard drive and installed it in this one to copy his files. I believe he knows a lot about what he's doing - I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to make computers his career - I just want to make sure this computer stays as problem free as possible. He has many ideas about what he wants to do, so I better educate myself on this stuff!

By Dawnk777 on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 10:34 am:

My hubby is having no problems with his dual-boot machine.

By Dawnk777 on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 11:04 am:

First off this is Dawnk777's hubby. I have installed different installations of linux on different vintage machines and overall its pretty painless. The distributions I have tried is Libranet (which has a free download version) and I currently run Lindows.

I dual boot on a partitioned hard drive. I prepped the hard drive using Partition magic by shrinking the partition that windows. I then installed Linux on that 20 gig portion. I use the boot loader that Lindows provided and it is very easy. I would suggest that the young man read up as much as he can before he starts on this project. AT the very least, back up ALL your important data and make sure you have all your windows disks, drivers and applications should the worst happen. IF you buy your son Lindows (or he buys it) that will give him license to install it on the machines in your household, but not every friend on the block. If you are unsure about lindows, you can get product called Lindows CD, which will boot linux off a a CD rom drive so you can see what all the fuss is about before you touch your current machine. It also can help you determine if your machine is up to par.

gck

By Ginny~moderator on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 07:20 pm:

Sunny, I would take what Dawnk777's husband (gck) says very seriously. He sounds like he really knows what he is talking about. And definitely back up all your data and make sure you have all the disks for all your applications.

The Lindows CD sounds like a really good idea for a trial run.

By John on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 09:47 pm:

Having worked as a Director of IT for a major corporation, as a Systems Engineer, and with computers in general for over 30 years, I've found that the following has held true for many years (apologies to Murphy):

Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, and it will go wrong at the worst possible when you're least prepared to deal with it.

So...
If there is a way for your son to use your old computer without touching yours I'd recommend you take that path.

Yes, dual boot works fine once you get it working properly. However, I've had a friend "accidently" destroy Windows in the process because of minor disk errors during the re-partitioning.

If you can tolerate having your primary computer potentially inoperable for a day or two while your son "restores everything" back to normal because of an "oopsie" then turn him loose

If you really want to use your primary computer...
Partition Magic will cost $70($50 after rebate) at Compusa:
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=297445&pfp=SEARCH

Instead, for $56 you can buy a new 20GB hard drive and avoid mucking with your primary Windows hard drive altogether:

http://www.compusa.com/products/products.asp?N=200112+9&Ne=500000&Ns=retail%5fprice%7c0&CusaNe=200454

Set the 20GB to be the master drive to boot to Linux and leave your untouched Windows drive ON A SHELF while you set up Linux on this drive.
Once it's working, re-install the Windows drive as a slave and modify the Linux Grub bootloader to boot to the Windows partition on the slave.

I have my son's P3 to boot this way to Redhat Linux...works great.

By Sunny on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 10:15 pm:

Thank you both for your input. I "let him loose" so to speak and let him install it. I am trusting that he knows what he's doing and he has assured me that everything will be okay. I asked him to read your posts and his response was that he "already knows all that". *sigh* I'll let you know if my decision was a good one!