Dual boot Linux

[docwebster]

So what I'm looking for here is two things - a Linux distro good for we poor schlubs whose acquaintance with Linux is nodding at best, and a kind of Dual Booting For The Compleat Idiot so I can dual boot with XP.

Comments

[foxsynergy.livejournal.com]

Ubuntu and Kubuntu are both pretty friendly and compatible. Choose the first if you want slightly easier use, the second if you want slightly more options. You can switch one to the other later on, so I'd probably say Ubuntu to start with.

*Don't* just smack it on as a dual-boot first thing. If you're already running Windows, odds are your filesystem is NTFS, which Linux cannot reliably write to. I'd suggest making a bigass chunk of your drive FAT32 and moving your non-OS files onto that area so both operating systems can read and write there. Before and after doing any kind of repartitioning, be absolutely sure to defrag to avoid permanent performance loss.

The rest will attend to itself. If you want to dual-boot and need someone to step ya through it, lemme know.

[foxsynergy.livejournal.com]

...though Ubuntu's setup using GRUB will more or less take care of the bootsector on its own. If you need to reinstall Windows in the future, however, please keep in mind that Windows will eat your bootsector and replace it with its own, so bye-bye Linux. Just a note of caution.

[docwebster.livejournal.com]

Hey, what's your email addy to add you on MSN messenger again?

[foxsynergy.livejournal.com]

foxsynergy @ gmail.com minus the spaces. :)