Hi guys,
I'm sticking with Windows XP for a while yet as it has several applications I really like and it supports some older hardware (graphics tablet, pro music card) I need to keep running.
However, I'm considering my upgrade path for when I am finally forced to leave Windows XP in the future. I'd prefer to not have to use Windows 7 or 8.
So for the first time I am very seriously considering Linux. I would like to start by dipping my toe into Linux with the aim of eventually make it my day-to-day OS in a few years. In order to ease myself into it, I'd like to set up a dual boot Windows XP / Linux system and slowly migrate as much of my work as possible over to Linux as I get used to it. My computer is an older Windows XP era box: Intel Pentium4 running at 2.8Ghz, hyperthreading CPU with 3GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive.
I know very little about Linux, so am grateful for all recommendations and answers to the following questions:
1. What type of Linux would be the most widely compatible and still good on a system from about 8 years ago (specs above)?
2. For my purposes (gradual immersion), should I create a partition on the 160GB hard drive for Linux, or buy a 32GB or 64GB USB stick and install on that?
3. Any tips or good guides on creating a dual boot system?
5. Any tips on creating a Linux partition on a hard drive WITHOUT having to destroy and re-install the XP partition that already exists there (i.e. Swissknife?)?
6. Any complications or pitfalls I need to watch out for on a dual boot system?
7. Are all Linux strains compatible? I don't want to be stuck with a Linux branch that can't run common binaries.
8. In future, will I always need a Windows XP partition to run my legacy Windows XP applications, or is Wine under Linux good enough now?
The things I am going to miss most are the EXCELLENT (truly outstanding) quality of WinVICE and WinUAE emulators on Windows. These are 99.8% perfect emulators. I've heard the quality of Commodore emulation is not quite as good under Linux (emulators not as well developed). For instance, I push WinUAE quite hard, running intensive Amiga graphics and 3d rendering packages and timing-critical MIDI software. It performs like a champ.
I also have a semi-pro PCI audio card (M-Audio Delta 192) which I use for music composing. It's a high quality, low latency card and I hope there have been Linux drivers for it.
I'm also really going to miss Sony Vegas non-linear video editing software, for which I paid $100. It's superb. Is there something equivalent on Linux?
Thanks for any input you have...
Hi, I am also new to Linux since a half year when the XP on my IBM R40 laptop (1,7 Ghz 512 RAM only) collapsed.
I dicided to use Mint because it looks similar to XP. It has a common base with Ubuntu which is the most mainstream Linux nowadays, after it in the ranking is Mint.
I use the XCFE desktop beacause it is more lightweight - I looked also at all the other desktops of Mint but there is not a big difference in how they look - at least for me.
For some things I still have to use XP - e.g. for updating my TomTom (crappy thing btw. not only because Linux support is missing). When You install Mint next to an existing XP there is no hassle (nothing is destroyed) to make the partition before the installation because You are guided inbetween the installation process.
All hardware I use (onboard wlan, sound and gfx) quickly worked without any additional hassle for installation. Printers are installed faster than you can put a paper into the tray - automatically with no interaction needed.
You need no antivirus. Using midi files wasn´t easy for me - I wondered that they did not worked out of the box - because most things do so.
The standard XP was at first a little faster than Mint but after a half year now it is slow again. Mint runs the same speed as in the beginning.
Sometimes Libre Office crashes. Overall I am quite impressed of Linux and it is better then I expected even that I use it on an quite weak HW, especially regarding the RAM.
