How to test drive linux while keeping my windows os?
Friday, June 18th, 2010 at
21:12
I have been curious about linux for a while and would love to try it. However I’d like a chance to use it and see how I get on with it before getting rid of windows xp. How do I set up linux so that I can test it out safely with out causing problems for my windows os?
Tagged with: Linux • windows os • windows xp
Filed under: Linux
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http://www.linuxmint.com < download the main edition linuxmint 8. burn it on a cd as a CD image. use http://www.imgburn.com to do so. and boot off of it. and it should take u to the live CD. it wont get installed unless u click on install on the desktop.
I thoroughly recommend Linux Mint 7 Main Edition which is built upon Ubuntu 9.04 Its easy to install and easy to use plus it comes with much of the software you are likely to need preinstalled
Linux Mint 7 Download
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=38
Linux Mint 7 User Guide
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15884753/Linux-Mint-7-Gloria-User-Guide
The Perfect Desktop – Linux Mint 7 (Gloria)
http://www.howtoforge.com/the-perfect-desktop-linux-mint-7-gloria
You download the ISO. image of Linux Mint 7 then you need to create a Bootable LiveCD for installation
Linux Mint 7 can also be run direct from the LiveCD from Booting up without touching your Hard Drive
INSTALL LINUX MINT WITHIN WINDOWS
Linux Mint has a feature called mint4win based on the Wubi installer (Ubuntu) which enables you to install Linux Mint within windows (Windows 7 run Wubi/mint4win in vista compatability mode)
Mint4Win – A Wubi based Installer for Linux Mint
http://duncsweb.com/2009/09/27/mint4win-a-wubi-based-installer-of-linux-mint/
Installing Ubuntu as a dual-boot with Windows without partitioning
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/wubi
You keep Windows as it is, mint4win only adds an extra option to boot into Linux Mint. mint4win does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application.
mint4win like Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.
Boot in to windows insert the LiveCD you have just created and you will offered the option of installing inside windows which is where mint4win comes in, you will be asked how many gigabytes you wish to allocate to Linux Mint (I recommend 8gb) then you set a password for your installation then click install and thats it.
Once Linux Mint is fully installed upon starting your PC you will be given a choice of which operating system you want to use Windows or Linux Mint
CURRENT SESSION
Linux Mint 7 ext3 with switchable Beryl 0.2.1* and Compiz 0.8.3**
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=38
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15884753/Linux-Mint-7-Gloria-User-Guide
http://www.howtoforge.com/the-perfect-desktop-linux-mint-7-gloria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl_(window_manager)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiz
*Beryl 0.2.1 sourced from Ubuntu 7.04 repositories
**Compiz 0.8.3 sourced from Ubuntu 9.10 (Alpha 6) repositories
LUg.
There are two ways:
1. You can install virtual pc and install linux. ( I preferred this approach)
2. You can burn live cd. Live CD/DVD will allow you to boot in Linux, you play with it and once you shutdown and take out the CD it’s done. This was very slow to me.
For option 1:
Install http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/
then pick any Linux distribution Ubuntu, Fadora etc. and install in it.
For option 2:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_live_CDs
thedealguru
http://www.thedealguru.com
Use a LiveCD
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Recommendation: Damn Small Linux == http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/cd.html
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http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/index.html
If you want to try Linux, I’d recommend Ubuntu
http://www.ubuntu.com/
You need to download the iso file(approx: 700 MB) onto a CD(instructions available at the website)
or register at shipit.com to order free CDs(may take up to a month to get the CDs though).
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/
Once you have the CD, you have three options:
1) Use a virtual machine to install and try Linux
http://www.virtualbox.org/
This method can be used for just about any Linux version.
2) Try installing Ubuntu to dualboot with Windows
Use the Wubi tool in the Ubuntu CD to install Ubuntu inside the Windows partition. Just pop the CD into the CD drive while running Windows(logged in as an admin user), and you will see the option to install Wubi.
If you want to remove Ubuntu later on just use the Add/remove applet in the Windows Control Panel to uninstall Ubuntu. Your system will be back to windows only.
3) Just boot from the CD to start a Live CD session. This will be MUCH slower than an installed version though since the entire OS is running only from the RAM.
I think the Wubi install with Ubuntu would be the best option for you. The only caveat is that certain functions like System suspend/resume or hibernate won’t work in Ubuntu installed with wubi.
There’s an excellent illustrated guide here
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/virtualbox
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/wubi
I totally agree with Beryl
Linux Mint is COOOL!
That is the point of a test drive, no commitment but you can check it out. Use a live CD. I recommend trying either Ubuntu or Linux Mint.
LIVE CD /DVD, OR LIVE USB(with a flash drive of a the men of 1 gb or more )
to make the live usb drive you can use unetbootin
http://download.cnet.com/UNetbootin/3000-2094_4-10790500.html?tag=mncol
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
hare is some more info on livecd/dvd and live usbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiveUSB
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_CD
First you need to find which distribution of Linux is best for you. For that I recommend the following quiz ( http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php?firsttime=true ). It will give you a link to the different distributions’ websites where you can download the LiveCDs. From here you have a couple of options:
* Install a virtual machine program (I recommend VMWare Server ( http://www.vmware.com/products/server/ )) and use the LiveCD’s iso file as a CD/DVD drive. This will tell you if you like the distribution or not, but it won’t tell you if the distribution will work perfectly on your computer.
* Burn off the LiveCD iso file to a CD/DVD using whatever burner program you have on your computer. Put the LiveCD in the CD drive and reboot. A LiveCD is the entire operating system on one CD that will load without having to install the operating system on your computer. This is great for telling you if you will like the distribution, and if it will work perfectly on your system. You do have to burn off a CD/DVD so it is a bit more time and money then using a virtual machine.
I recommend checking out all the suggested distributions in a virtual machine first (to get a list of all the distributions that you may like) and then burning off those LiveCDs to see which will work best on your computer. You can always just keep using a LiveCD without ever installing Linux on your computer if you like. Many computer technicians do this as a way to check if your computer’s hardware is working correctly.