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The "Not Quite Amiga but still computer related category" => Alternative Operating Systems => Topic started by: swoslover on September 20, 2010, 06:54:52 PM

Title: dual boot windows 7 / linux
Post by: swoslover on September 20, 2010, 06:54:52 PM

I have recently returned to a pc after my macbook broke down out of warranty.

anyway i was wondering if people had any experiences of dual booting windows 7 with linux

also are there any specific advantages to using linux and what is a good distribution to start with (ubuntu??)

i want to keep windows for things like winuae and other emulators

Title: Re: dual boot windows 7 / linux
Post by: persia on September 20, 2010, 07:43:15 PM

Dreamlinux has an out of the box MacOS look.  It's a Debian distro (like Ubuntu) and has the ever popular apt-get....

Title: Re: dual boot windows 7 / linux
Post by: runequester on September 21, 2010, 07:05:54 AM

some advantages to linux:

If you have multiple people using the machine, its nice to have a solid set of permissions that are easy to set for each account

The system does not degrade over time in its performance

apt-get makes downloading apps and updating your entire system a breeze

Secure and safe

Freedom. Its yours to own and do with what you want.

Title: Re: dual boot windows 7 / linux
Post by: ElPolloDiabl on September 21, 2010, 07:37:20 AM

Forget Linux, there no apps that make it worthwhile. Install AROS as your second OS.

Title: Re: dual boot windows 7 / linux
Post by: runequester on September 21, 2010, 07:44:26 AM

Quote from: ElPolloDiabl;580492

Forget Linux, there no apps that make it worthwhile. Install AROS as your second OS.

:lol:

Title: Re: dual boot windows 7 / linux
Post by: ferrellsl on September 21, 2010, 12:09:30 PM

Ubuntu is your best best bet.  I have it installed on my laptop and it dual boots just fine with Windows 7 using GRUB.  First I installed Windows making sure to leave space on my hard drive for Linux.  Then I booted using an Ubuntu live CD and installed Linux from it onto the unused space on my hard drive.

Just use Google to find a variety of tutorials on how to set your system up to dual boot.

Title: Re: dual boot windows 7 / linux
Post by: Merc on September 21, 2010, 02:37:12 PM

The trick is to install Windows first, leave some space on your drive for Linux, and then install Linux.  It's best if you install on a single drive (ie non-RAID) unless you know your RAID is supported in Linux.

I'd suggest Linux Mint (based on Ubuntu) or Ubuntu, although there are lots of other good distros out there now.  Mint comes with a little more goodies by default and has some other niceties over a stock Ubuntu IMHO.

I think both Mint and Ubuntu's installers will automatically pick up your Windows install when you're installing Linux and create a boot menu entry to allow you to select which to boot.

Good luck!

Title: Re: dual boot windows 7 / linux
Post by: curtis on September 23, 2010, 02:20:02 PM

May I toss a question into this thread?

I'm looking at rebuilding my machine and would like to triple boot using Win 7, Ubuntu, and AROS.

I just picked up a WD 1TB SATA at Newegg for $55 so room shouldn't be a problem.

I know Win 7 should be installed first, but which should go next?  Linux or AROS?

Curtis