How do I run 2 OSes?

Question

I want to have Ubuntu Linux, but I want the option of Windows for Photoshop etc. Do I have to have another hard drive, and if I do, how much do they cost and how would I go about choosing which OS to run at system startup?

Answer 1

you do not need to buy another hard disk. you just need to create a partition in your present hard drive. you can do it by using softwares, using windows xp cd or you can find other ways on net... but the xp cd is easiest, provided you know the way.

you can work just fine without partitions as well.. but it is advisable to use 2 hard drives since 2 oss' might hamper each other's files... just enter the linux cd, setup it and when you boot, you will be asked to which os you would like to log on to.... there you go!

Answer 2

All non-consumer OSes like Win 2000, Linux, OS/2, all of them will recognize the other OS including Windows home editions; and Linux usually need two dedicated hard drive space called partitions. One for Linux and the other for page file; this need for partitions don't necessary mean a 2nd hard drive.

What you should do with out 2nd drive is clean up to about a sizable portion of drive space and run Disk Management's defragment, then let Ubuntu non-destructively (this is important) resize the partition dedicated to Windows to free up about 4 GB to have Ubuntu installs itself there.

If you want to go with 2nd drive all for Linux it is very simple; anything above 4 GB is very spacy because Ubuntu is such a small streamlined setup in 1 CD. The HDs usually cost about 2/5 of their advertised price in these days, eg. an 240 GB drive cost about $100, specify Linux to be installed in that drive that is all.

Either way, choosing which OS to run at system startup is handled automatically for you, after proper Ubuntu setup you'll see a bootup program call Grub that let you choose to run Linux or Windows, the default timeout is to choose Linux but you can change it later. Did I mention Windows had to be already installed or install first?