Question on experimenting with linux

I am going to be buying a laptop soon and am interested in trying linux. The laptop I will buy will be pre-loaded with windows vista home premium. My only incentive to keep it is windows media center seeing as how I have a couple of 360s and it is great for tv tuners. If I was interested in trying linux, could I back up my computer on dvds when I receive it and then format and install linux, then if I am not satisfied re-install windows from the back-ups? Thanks for any input.

 

you can always "try out" linux using live cds. it won't alter anything on your computer and if you don't like it, just reboot, toss the cd, and boot back into windows. just look and see if the distro of linux that you've chosen has a live cd version.

 

Take j0hn00's advise. Try the Linux distributions with the live cds(ex: Ubuntu). Live CD distributions allow you to try Linux on your machine without changing anything on your harddrive. They do this by running Linux from the CD and storing into your memory temporarily. If you decide you like it, then you can permanently install it to your drive. This will save you from the trouble of having to reinstall Windows, if you feel Linux doesn't fit your needs. I use Linux and Windows Vista both on my laptop with a dual boot option. This allows me to use Linux when I want to and Windows when I need to.

 

Can you guide me to a place that explains how to do the dual boot option? Also I am still curious if my method would work? I don't plan on doing it I would just like to know.

 

ubuntu lets you install in windows

you just run the install choose how big you want the install to be then it installs if you dont like it boot into windows and add or remove programs then click uninstall

 

Yep to MR. Moo -

If you really want to take the easy way with Ubuntu installing in windows,

you can use a "Windows Installer" such as Wubi: Wubi website.

Doesn't get much easier than that to let you try it, I'd say.

 

Thank you guys for the info. I have another question. If I set it up to dual boot xp and linux or vista and linux, will I still receive the speed advantages of having a solo linux os?

 

Why not run them in virtual machine and get a hang of it first before you actually install as your secondary OS.

There are free virtual machine software such as virtual box and mS's own MS virtual PC.

 

That may work, but I have another question. Will I enjoy the speed benefits of a regular install if running off a live cd? Will I get the same speed if I install the live cd to a thumbdrive? Also is it hard to uninstall if I install a dual boot? Finally can someone answer my question about dual boot speed in my previous post?

 

1.) No, running of the live CD will be slower than if installed to a harddrive. Live Cds are usually used temporarily.

2.) The Thumbdrive install will still be slower than a regular harddrive install but faster than the Live CD install. The USB transfer speed will be the limiting factor.

3.) If you dual boot it isn't hard to uninstall but you will most likely have to fix your MBR since Linux will have been removed and the bootloader will error when looking for it. I think Microsoft has a utility for this that is free to download on their site.

4.) Dual booting isn't going to affect your speed of your Linux install directly. What I mean by this is that when you install Linux on the hardrive, Linux installs a bootloader(ex: GRUB) in the MBR of your drive. Then when you turn on your machine, the bootloader will show you a screen of the OSs you have installed and presents you with a choice of which one to boot. Then you choose one, and off the OS goes. So the only slow down you get with a dual boot is the step in choosing which OS to boot, but it doesn't slow down your Linux install.


As you can see there are many different ways to use/try linux ..

- Running off the Live CD
- Running off a bootable thumb drive
- Installing Ubuntu in Windows using Wubi
- Running Linux in a VM
- The traditional dual boot with a harddrive install in a separate harddrive partition(what I am doing)

 

No, LIve cd will not give you the same speed. In fact it's couple times slower than if it were to be run inside a VM.

Also.. it's pretty hard to "uninstall* if you dual boot with ubuntu. You'll have to reconfigure Vista's bootloader and get rid of Grub, unless you want grub.

 

Ok cool thanks guys you are so helpful. Just one final question can I change the hard drive space allotted for ubuntu after the install? Also running ubuntu off an external hard drive would be slower than internal right? How much of a difference would it be if connected through firewire, and how much of a difference through usb?

 

Firewire and USB are about the same. If you're using eSATA, it'll be the same as internal drive.

Yes, you can resize the partition. There's a tool called "gparted" that's on the ubuntu live CD and you can use that to resize the partitions if you want.

 

I dual boot on a number of my machines. I suggest starting with a dual boot at least until you figure out what is going on.

My suggestion for a first-time linux user is to try ubuntu or an ubuntu-based distro like linux mint.

I'm not a big fan of wubi, but if it works for you, great!

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Jaunty