Thread: Giving Linux a shot (Ubuntu I think.)

Ilija,

Just found this which looks promising - Bootpart. I might give it a try next time I install Fedora...

So, you've fixed your MBR with fixmbr from the XP rescue CD. And the original Ubuntu install is on another partition of your HDD.

Reads like bootpart will peel off an image of the boot sector of your linux install and whack it in your Windoze boot.ini. So it sounds like it automates the "fiddling" I tend to do each time, minus the need to boot into linux with a rescue cd, mount the system etc... Neat.

Here's an example of how it's done (Fedora example, but can't see why it doesn't apply to Ubuntu too - just change "Fedora" to "Ubuntu" in the bootloader name). Note that you need to know the boot sector of your linux - if you didn't create a separate /boot partition during install this will just be the / partition.

Anyway, the example looks fairly straightforward - I haven't used it so no personal recommendation. But it might just do the trick.

James.

Thanks for the tips gentlemen. I'll try this when I'm a bit more awake

Well...I quite like ubuntu so far. All I need to do now is find out whether I can run all the programs I only have for windows in a WINE enviroment. (I'm expecting not though.) and if they do I'll hardly ever have to use windhose again.

not sure how much memory you've got and if your windows is oem, but give vmware a shot.

ah, and welcome to the real computer users - now all you need are these penguins before the baby's born. (i mean tux wallpaper, beanie-tux, tux mug, you get the idea)

I'm affraid I'm not sure what you mean by OEM? And what exactly would I use VMware for? From what I understand it's no good for games. How about video editing (probably not either since it's heavy graphical)?

I'm having a b#### of a time trying to get Wine to work. Can anyone tell me what to do? It won't install from the package installer (I can't put a v to mark it for installation) and I tried running the commands that the Wine website provides but still no luck.

sorry LX - OEM windows i call the one that comes preloaded with your computer - by DELL, IBM or whatever other large manufacturer who made the computer. The problem with these is that they check the hardware and want to verify the manufacturer before they proceed with the install, i.e. i can't use my IBM T40 install disks for my desktop that I put together myself, or in IBM T30 for that matter. These companies buy the windows licenses in bulk at less than 50/piece but then they have to restrict it to only the hardware they manufacture. On the other hand if you've paid the retail cost of Windows you can install it on any computer (subject to the licensing conditions).
Wmware emulates a X86 hardware, to you it looks like a window that runs some sort of a BIOS similar to the one you see when you turn your computer - you can create disks for this emulator by creating special files, make some of your real hardware available to it etc. So you install Windows in that window and then whatever programs you want on that Windows OS. Windows sees the emulated X86 hardware, your software sees real Windows - everybody's happy. Problem is it takes significant resources because they have to be dedicated to the virtual machine (memory is the bottleneck usually) you normally cannot play games because the emulated videocard is very generic and that's what windows sees. Even if your real graphics is fantastic vmware usually cannot use it's capabilities and what presents to windows as hardware is something just passable.

As far as Wine goes - I was never able to get it to work satisfactory, but I have not made any recent (as of last 4 years) attempts on linux (i did on mac a little over a year ago). Search for Wine on the ubuntu's website - there are usually useful recipes there. Sorry I can't help you very much, just tried to explain what vmware is and how it works.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

I'm having a b#### of a time trying to get Wine to work. Can anyone tell me what to do? It won't install from the package installer (I can't put a v to mark it for installation) and I tried running the commands that the Wine website provides but still no luck.

I've always found Wine a bit hit and miss - certain things work, others hang.... Have you checked out http://frankscorner.org/? The quickstart guide might help.

Personally I find it better just to use linux versions of the software I want. Luckily for me a lot of the main statistical software for windoze started life as Unix apps (SAS, Splus, R) so it's not a big issue (besides money). However, depending on what you want to use... Running windows in a virtual machine might be a good option - never done it, so can't comment

James.

I was trying to get my games and video editing software started...but I think I'll be sticking to dualboot for a while.