What is Linix,Can I use it as well as XP on my hard drive with no partito?

Answer 1

stick a 2nd drive in ur pc and configure it for ur 2nd operating system

Answer 2

I use Linux in 2 flavours (Suse10 and PCLinux OS). For a Newbie I would really suggest a Live CD and in my opinion PCLinux OS (or PCLos) is the easiest as it makes the transition from Windows to Linux very easy.

I would really suggest a 2nd Hard drive although if you install most Linux Programmes they will try to partition your present drive but this can be a dodgy excercise. Also I would suggest you install Windows on a Fat 32 partition so you can access and alter the Windows files (great for getting rid of those stubborn virus's)

Perhaps the only downside is the Games playing but isn't that what the new generation of consoles is for? But it will play DVDs, surf the net more efficiently and securely, has great office systems and a whole bundle of stuff you would have to pay a fortune for on a Windows machine.

All those flutes and whistles Microsoft have added to Vista are already in Linux and as it is fully customisable you can make it look and act just how you wish.

In conclusion try the Live disk: http://www.pclinuxos.com/page.php?7

It will give you a taster of what it can do without affecting any of your present software, the only thing is I would really suggest an ethernet connection to the net then surfing will work straight "out of the box"

Have Fun

Answer 3

Linux is an alternative Operating System for your computer. It does the same thing Windows does for you. Only better (I think). It has its weak points and strong points.

As far as I know, no, not without a partition.

Most windows programs don't work on linux. But there are a LOT of programs made just for linux that do the same things. Most commercial games don't work. Cedega is a compatibility layer made specifically to make games work.

Some programs can be made to work anyway thanks to WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator), which the earlier mentioned Cedega is based off of. Not all, though, and the ones that do are usually glitchy in some way.

There's a bit of a learning curve involved. It's kind of like re-learning how to use a computer. But once you get the hang of it, you won't want that XP partition on your PC anymore.

Linux gives you complete control over your computer, unlike windows which babies you along.

You can do anything a computer is capable of doing on linux.
It's just plain awesome.

If you do decide to, I recommend Ubuntu or OpenSuse. You can't go wrong with them when starting out.

Answer 4

Linux is an open-source operating system (hence free code, unlike microsft that keeps it's code private), what this means is that many people can develop different versions, or as called in the linux world "distro's".

I would call it a non-user friendly operating system, but it is making many advances, and I definitely encourage you to try it out. Even Mac is using a spin-off of Linux for the Operating System. It is very stable, and designed not to crash.

First, you neeed to pick a distro, Fedora, Suse and Debian top my list. Now, as far as running it on a Windows XP machine, you have several options, the first as suggested would be to add a second drive, however while you are just checking out linux, I would suggest trying a "Live CD", all of the version I mentioned above contail live cd's, and these are bootable Linux CD's, however.. you won't be able to save data.

Next, for a quick and easy version, go with something called "DSL" it stands for Damn Small Linux, and can be installed and booted off a USB key drive.

Your final option, is to get VMware or Paralells, which are virtualization programs that allow you to run operating system on top of operating systems.

Answer 5

Linux, rather than linix and no you need two boot partitions (although the other guy who suggested a separate drive is also right, but you may have to play with your boot-drive sequence.
Anything that lets you boot up in MS and then "switch" to Linux, is just an emulator.

Answer 6

Its LinUx, and its an open source operating system, an alternative to Windows. In all honesty unless you're into your homebrew software its not worth getting, as most mainstream software is made for Windows.

You can't install it on your Windows partition, so the simplest way to install it is to install a second hard drive. Linux installs a bootloader, so you can select which operating system you require when you turn the PC on.

I used to use Mandrake Linux (now Mandriva Linux). You can buy a box set for about £70 that includes the latest version and big thick manuals, or you can go to the website (http://www.mandriva.com) and download CD ROM isos of the discs, burn them to CD and then install from them. Best thing is its free.

Answer 7

Linux is an alternative operating system. Your current PC uses the Windows operating system. Think of it as the program that makes the computer hardware run all the other programs you use on the PC. When you use linux it does the same thing (allows the PC to run software - but not the same software on the Windows side). Linux will not run from the same partition as windows as the file system is not compatible but there is a fix for that included with most linux distros.

The best way to experience Linux is to try a live CD distro. You will go and download an ISO file from the source. You will use your CD burning software to image the ISO onto a CD. Then you will boot your PC from this CD and you will be running Linux. This is a very limited copy of the OS and it runs from just the CD and operates in your PC's memory so there is no change to your Windows OS. If you like it, then you can install it and have it dual boot with Windows so you can have the choice of either OS. Most Linux distros come with a partition manager that lets you re-size the windows partition and make a new partition for Linux. It will also allow you to make a swap partition that the OS uses (like a windows paging file). Once you do all that, it installs and puts a loader on your HD. This loads before the OS and will give you the choice of windows or linux.

I highly recommend you back up all your data from windows before you do an install. Running a live CD is safe but if you mess up an install, you will end up losing everything from the windows side.

I usually recommend people starting with ubuntu linux. Thier live CD is simple and loads easily on most PC's. It is free and has a good support base. There are literally hundered os different linux distros out there and most of them are also free. Some are very specialized and some are very complete and friendly (like ubuntu). If you have an old PC that is in decent shape, you can try it out on that before you put it on your main PC. Distros like ubuntu are made for modern hardware but they have other versions that are less hardware intensive.

One thing to remember the support base is not as wide for linux as it is for windows. Things you take for granted in windows like flash player and game support may not be available for linux yet. I tried ubuntu on my GF's PC at home and it worked great until we realized that there was no linux flash 9 support for firefox so she couldn't use myspace. Eventually there will be the necessary support but it lags behind the windows support.

Good luck and be careful.

G

Answer 8

GNU/Linux is the Unix environment Open kernel, wrapped with services from GNU, and bundled with thousands of applications to serve your exact needs.

That is why there are 811 different GNU/Linux distros.

310 distros are LiveCDroms, that boot in the CDrom, run in RAMdisc. Saved songs, movies, files go into folders on the hard drive. Most also can install.

So, the answer is YES, you can save in a FOLDER on the hard drive. and play in the virus magnet.

BUT, if you want to run upto 50X faster and have all the thousands of games, applications, suites, you really should:
1. clean-up and defrag in windows.
2. boot http://pclinuxos.com - Read all the install help files, and notes.
3.run http://pclinuxos.com and click on the INSTALL icon
4. create a 10 Gb partition and let it install there.

Hey, Microsoft runs all 45,000 web sites behind or on, Linux servers, for Microsoft.com, MSN.com, Hotmail.com, MSNBC.com, MSNews.com, and all firewalls, routers!

Join the smart folks!

Answer 9

Linux is an operating system (OS), the software which make your computer work. It is completely different than the OS producted by micro soft.

You may install Linux on a PC either as a stand alone OS or inconjunction with Microsoft Windows in a ddual boot system.

In a dual boot system , bootloader program ( one of which is called GRUB) is started first. It allows you to make a selection as to which OS you would like to start.

Answer 10

Linux is an Operating System like Windows XP. You can use it for the desktop usage however for most users who are not so familiar with unices it is not so convinient. Programs developed for Windows XP will not work on Linux generally speaking. However Linux is an excellent OS for the server, and Internet server environment.

Answer 11

You can partition your drive but would strongly recommend using a second drive.

My mate partitioned his drive, removed linux and lost some of his xp drivers. As a result his machine wouldnt boot up.

I usb'd his hard drive to my laptop to try and copy his work from it so e could reformat his drive and reinstall xp. Access was denied to his folders!

He is an IT graduate and we spent hours trying to resolve it through DOS.

The moral here, if using partitions be very careful!