is there any way for me to beable to have two OS like a Window XP pro and a Lunix on the same computer running at the same time? i am a newbie so i don't really know to much Notice from m^e: Topic edited to reflect content more suitably.

Reply

Yup it's quite possible, but you'll need a system with huge amounts of RAM - preferrably at least 512MB for smooth operation.

There is this utility called VMWare found at: http://www.vmware.com - you've to download the right client for your system. This software (if you're running on windows) - starts a Virtual PC inside your OS, which acts like a Computer within a Computer. You can specify the Hard Drive space and amount of RAM to be alloted to this Virtual Computer. These get deducted from your real RAM and HDD Space..

You can then install Linux into this Virtual Computer, or vice-versa, i.e. run it on Linux and install Windows inside it. This virtual machine also sets up some virtual ethernet cards/interfaces, which means you can have windows and linux interact with each other over an imaginary network, even if you don't have any network cards... This is a totally cool thing - and not difficult at all to set up... It's a must try

 

 

 

Reply

I have seen a Virtual Machine running! It is pretty cool. I was drag and dropping text between Mac OS and Windows! The speed wasn't bad either, but I do have 1 gig of ram. I have also seen another program that allows two different computers, one running Linux and the other running windows, to be able to be controlled by one keyboard and mouse. When ever you brought the mouse off the edge of the screen it would jump to the other computer! I can't remember what it was called!

Reply

I will have to agree with the above two, VM ware is most likely the best way to go but if you don't want to fool with the registration you can also use Microsoft's Virtual PC http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/default.mspx I have run Microsoft's alternative for some time and it works suprisingly well. I also run VM ware at work and think it has a slight edge over the compentition but for home use I use Virtual PC.

I run both WinXP and Fedora Core 3 on an AMD 1.1 GHz and ~900MB of RAM with acceptable results.

Reply

BTW how's the performance of Virtual PC?? I'm thinking of installing it on my mac...

Reply

Like I said earlier I use both VMware and Virtual PC and in general I believe they are both about the same. When you are splitting hairs VMware wins though. A good analysis of this can be see at http://usuarios.lycos.es/hernandp/articles/vpcvs.html

As it turns out, Microsoft actually bought this technology from Connectix which means there is still some settling to be done. VMware has been the long time industry leader. I believe good things are to come from Virtual PC though. If Microsoft puts a little effort into this project, since they know the host OS the best and all the various obscure API calls, it will be on par with VMware.

Reply

BTW, I forgot to post the other like I have been using for Virtual PC vs. VMware

http://www.adtmag.com/article.asp?id=8606

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/apps/vm.ars/1?23466

Reply

yeah...as other people have been saying...use emulation software such as virtual pc - only one i have used and i havent had too many problems with it it does work pretty good for linux

just instal an os on your system, instal vpc, then instal other os with vpc and away you go

vpc is great for testing os's or getting used to a new os that you havent used before

Reply

Yes, dual booting's a good idea but you can't do it on a old computer. Some kinds of Linux take up more space than others, you should choose carefully.

Reply

VPC on Macs is pretty pathetic. While I initially loved the idea of running Windows on my Mac, after being disappointed time and time again by emulators I have since given up any hope of this pipe dream. Before Microsoft bought it from Connectix, VPC actually could do what it was intended to do: run simple business-oriented applications in dire need situations. However, it was always a processor hog and didn't deliver the results people expected. When VPC was bought out, Microsoft promised improved performance because they, after all, knew how to "optimize" Windows. Sure, right, whatever. What they shipped was garbage, and for quite a while completely incompatible with G5 processors. Now that there's a patch, people are still getting mixed performance results.

In all, if you absolutely have to run a particular Windows-only application, you're better off buying a cheap PC than buying VPC. However, if you just want to toy around, and you have access to VPC, then by all means try it out. Just be prepared to only run Word, Pinball, and perhaps Solitare.

Reply