Install AROS as dual boot on Windows 7

[crawff]

Hi,

I would like to install AROS onto my Windows 7 32bit machine.

I would like the option to choose the OS when booting.

I don't know which version of AROS i need or how to go about creating a dual boot.

Any help would be most welcome.

PS: I have never used AROS before and don't know much about it.

[Kesa]

Damn i tried that a few months ago and i screwed it up. I had to format my entire hard drive from scratch. Personally i wouldn't recommend anyone use partioning as it is a very bad way of doing things. All partitions will fail at some point (partitions will begin to fail) so in my opinion you are just asking for trouble in the long run. Best to have a dedicated harddrive for each os if you can. An external harddrive is ideal.

One of the mistakes i made was not using a fresh install of windows7. Mine was on there for about a year so maybe that was too long for me to use so i would definitely recommend a fresh install of windows7 befoe you do anything.

Probably the best thing you can do is try using AROS on a memory stick instead of using a partition. This will keep things clean on your harddrive and give you time to decide if you like it or not for a more permanent solution (you said you have never used it before). Good luck and try not to screw it up like i did.

[Kesa]

Sorry for being condescending. You probably know that stuff about partitioning. I was just having a rant  :rant:

[crawff]

Thanks Kesa :-)

Maybe i should use an external HD first...not a bad idea.

Does anyone know where i get he latest download suitable for Windows 7?

Does it come pre installed with lots of goodies? Games, Apps, demos etc...?

[phoenixkonsole]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k2PEmT8I14   a how to install

hmm i can not agree with that running it from USB is "THE BEST"....
try it on Virtualbox. This works on/in Windows,Linux, OS X

well... i have dualbooting winxp and AROS since 2009 and i updated my machine nearly every 7 days... and on another AresOne i run AROS and Ubuntu. and on the Ares mediaCenter too... no problemo so far. BUT ok there was UBUNTU which overwrote my Grub conf.. but was not hard to fix : )
You just need to copy the Linux Entry(make a backup) and include it in the AROS Grub.. than you are save.

I can not tell if Win7 gives any problem because i never used win7...

WinXP is recognized automatically from out installer/grub

[gunni]

I can not tell if Win7 gives any problem because i never used win7...

I set up an AROS partition on my laptop last week, Win 7 was found and added to the AROS Grub fine had a bit of a shock when I thought my Linux partition had disappeared tho! Sorted that out with a bit of cut and paste to the grub config though

[phoenixkonsole]

Thanks for the info about Win7 : )

[crawff]

Hi guys,

Well i tried to run AROS from my external HD but had mixed success.

It loaded to the desktop but it seems slow and not much there to be honest. The folders are mostly empty.

When i was loading AROS it was display errors or warning. I have no idea what they were for. I was reading the readme file and it also was saying things about changing scripts for Windows etc...I don't think AROS is for me.

I was hoping i could just pop the DVD in and run AROS without problems but i guess my expectations where probably too high (unfairly i guess)

Is MorphOS much easier to install? does it just work out the box without all the tinkering and changing settings etc...?

Thanks

[Kesa]

Did you check to see hardware compatibility? Is your pc compatible?

Anyway i agree with you on the AROS thing. It's not for me so i just use Ubuntu instead. But maybe you don't like it because you are not familiar with it?

Yes apparently Morphos is very easy to install. All you do is download it and off you go. But i have never done this. But i will soon buy a Macmini so i can

[crawff]

I only using a Intel Pentium 4 - 3Ghz, nothing out of the ordinary.

[phoenixkonsole]

Hi guys,

Well i tried to run AROS from my external HD but had mixed success.

It loaded to the desktop but it seems slow and not much there to be honest. The folders are mostly empty.

When i was loading AROS it was display errors or warning. I have no idea what they were for. I was reading the readme file and it also was saying things about changing scripts for Windows etc...I don't think AROS is for me.

I was hoping i could just pop the DVD in and run AROS without problems but i guess my expectations where probably too high (unfairly i guess)

Is MorphOS much easier to install? does it just work out the box without all the tinkering and changing settings etc...?

Thanks

Which type of AROS did you use? Try IcAROS, AspireOS, Broadway which come with a full software package.

Eh one note if you have a P4 only don't try VB! It will be slow as hell.

Well another point... there are 3 dedicated/fully supported machines available. iMica, AresOne and some Aspire Netbooks.

[mikeymike]

Slightly OT, but I've been using hard disk partitioning almost as long as I've been using hard disks, and I'm not sure how they can "fail" exactly.

Managing the MBR, boot managers etc always keeps things 'interesting', but that's the only drawback of using partitions that I can think of.  Even with separate disks though, boot managers can still be a PITA.

[fishy_fiz]

Im pretty confused as to what youre doing there. Error msgs? Slow? Also what does Win7 have to do with anything here? Scripting? Huh? Also, how did you install to an external drive without 1st booting from a cd/dvd (which contrary to what youve said is exactly how aros works, in fact it more or less has to,at least at 1st).
Sorry,Im not being condescending here, but nothing much youve said makes sense to me.

Seeing as you mention not having used it before I'll try explaining a few things so you can at least ask for help more clearly.

Firstly, aros comes in many "flavors", and works on multiple cpu architectures. Now being that youve mentioned a P4 Im going to assume you want to use x86 AROS. This alone leaves you with multiple options. There's hosted versions, which run akin to an app inside Windows, Linux and Darwin based systems. This flavor can be practical, and sometimes ueful for developers, but the best way to run AROS is natively, directly on the hardware without another OS involved (although other OSes on other partitions are fine and have no real influence on AROS). To do so you can use nightly builds (probably not recommended for people new to AROS as while they contain the latest AROS core components they can also contain the latest bugs), or one of the 3 AROS distros, ranging in order of lightest to heavyest, AspireOS, Broadway, and Icaros. The latter 2 contain a lot more software, but are also much larger. Despite being targetted at AsusAspire machines it does work on other hardware and might be a good choice for peoplw who like to build from the ground up. it does contain more software than the nightlies though, which are something akin to a bare os3.x install.

[fishy_fiz]

I know its of topic, but using multiple partitions in no way, shape or form is bad, in fact quite the contrary. I *always* use a seperate partition for an OS. This way when it goes bad you can just reinstall the OS, leaving everything else ready to go after a reinstall. My current Windows box has up to an X: drive letter (not all in use though, only 12 partitions).

[crawff]

Thanks Fishy Fiz.