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Newb Help

post #1 of 16
7/18/05 at 5:48pm
Thread Starter 
I'm new to linux, so please help me out w/out bashing me.

I have a 40gig hdd. My first partition is about 9gig w/ winxp on it. I wanted to add ubuntu, freeBSD, and Gentoo on seperate 9gig partitions. When I tried I ended up deleting everything. Is this possible to have these four different OS's on one hdd? If so, any suggestions on how to do this?
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post #2 of 16
7/18/05 at 5:54pm
It is quite possible to do this, and in fact, you're in luck. Normally, HDs will only allow you to create four primary partitions, so with the four operating systems you want to install, you're all set. What you need to do is install windows XP first, but when it asks to format, select only 9 gigs, that way the rest is left blank. Once you have XP set up and installed, proceed to installing your first linux distro. When it asks to partition, use the manual partition manager, set up a single primary partition, with several extended partitions for each linux partition, (you need at least two, a / and a /swap).

Do that for each linux distro and you should be able to have four running OSes. The only issue, however, would be the boot manager. You may have to manually add each additional linux install after the first one to the boot manager's config list (usually GRUB), though the Linux installs should detect the XP partition without any trouble.
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post #3 of 16
7/18/05 at 6:22pm
I would NOT allocate the 4th primary partition, but instead allow it to be an extended partition. That's simply a best practice. Just my opinion of course.
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post #4 of 16
7/18/05 at 8:23pm
Of course you may want a swap partition in there somewhere.

Use Slackware... real men use Slack.
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post #5 of 16
7/18/05 at 8:51pm
these are my suggestions. you should be able to do all 4 OSes...realy question is why though? linux is linux, doesn't matter if you use ubuntu or gentoo (i highly recommend ubuntu). also since freebsd is free bsd, i highly suggest pc-bsd. if i were you this is what i'd do:

1) create 4 partitions
- ntfs for winxp
-raiserfs for ubuntu linux
-whatever file format freebsd uses

2) install xp
3) install bsd
4) install ubuntu
5) OPTIONAL: if ubuntu's grub config recognized both bsd and xp (which it should) you should be alright, if it doesn't you'll have to edit your grub config, usually easy.

alright so you still want to do gentoo:
6) install gentoo last because you'll be editing grub/lilo by hand during the install process anyway, so it will let you get everything out of the way.


you dont sound much like a linux newb doing all this stuff...and i hope you know what you're getting yourself into with the Gentoo install (if you still want portage but no crap of gentoo try VLOS)
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post #6 of 16
7/18/05 at 10:14pm
I agree with abf linux is linux. Really if you want to go with multiple OS,s I would just go Winxp, Freebsd, Linux.

Personally, I dont even see why you need bsd and linux becuase really UNIX is UNIX. I mean sure there are some differences but for a user they are pretty much the same thing. I like to make all of my notebooks dual booting Linux/Windows machines but I dont think I would ever bother with multiple versions of Unix.

If its an experiement then just forget everything I have said.
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post #7 of 16
7/18/05 at 11:11pm
i dual boot my laptop, right now its

WinXP 64 / Ubuntu Hoary (32bit)

i think that its enough.....why have 4 oses installed?
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post #8 of 16
7/19/05 at 12:22am
Because you can, basically. Its fun to play with and see the different things. I once heard of a guy who had something like 30 OSes installed at one time, saw it on the screen savers a few years back, probably has more by now. Had his own graphical booter, it was nifty.

Here's a suggestion though: I've heard of a way, but not sure how to do it, to use the same kernal for mutliple Distros... That could be an idea. That way he'd get the functionality of having the multiple OSes, but they should all work from that single kernel isntall, making it far less to configure for each one. You may have to google a bit for something about that, but I know i've read about it before.
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post #9 of 16
7/19/05 at 1:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Because you can, basically. Its fun to play with and see the different things
Yeah, I want to do this to have fun and learn about a few different distros at the same time. Please don't bash me just because it doesnt seem practical to you.
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post #10 of 16
7/19/05 at 1:58am
I wasnt Bashing you I just thought your plan was a bit over kill.

If you are new to Unix then I would recommend learning one distro rather then trying to learn them all at once.

But hey if you want to put alot of OSes on one machine, then go for it.

Like others have said the thing is to plan your partitions well remembering to have a swap and to make sure your boot manager is setup to recognize all the OS's you want to run.
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post #11 of 16
7/21/05 at 2:20pm
Other people have tackled various aspects...

There IS a difference between Linux and BSD. Personally I prefer linux in a heartbeat but I can see why you might wanna try both, understand you will need to learn your way around either before you understand its true strengths and weaknesses.

Seablade
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post #12 of 16
7/21/05 at 3:38pm
i dont think anyone claimed linux and bsd is the same, they are similar, but clearly not *the same*. I've tried both BSD and Linux, prefer linux, but bsd isn't too bad at this point.

My biggest point is LINUX IS LINUX (not *nix is *nix). In other words, in the end Mepis = Ubuntu = Debian and Suse = RedHat = Mandrake and Gentoo = VLOS = navynos (notice the logical breakup by page management, first group is .deb, 2nd group is .rpm and 3rd group is portage). But to take it a step further Debian = Red Hat = Gentoo = Slackware (almost!) There are noticable differances between all of the OSes, there really are plenty of differances, its just that the kernel is basically a kernel no mater what else you tack on to it.


Speaking of which, if you want to do multiple linux installs, make sure you have 1 represent each group (Debian, RedHat, Slackware, Gentoo) so you know what you're working with (trust me, apt is different from yum, is different from .tgz is different from portage)
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post #13 of 16
7/22/05 at 3:41am
ABF I was actually posting in reference to mwillman's post where he said he didnt think there was a difference for the user between BSD and Linux, there definitly is, and I hands down prefer Linux myself

Seablade
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post #14 of 16
7/22/05 at 4:44pm
I agree that there are differences between BSD and Linux, I just think that from a user perspective its not really all that different. I just mean if you know how to use things Like GREP, SED , and AWK then BSD and Linux basicly work the same way.

They are both forms of Unix and as such they have more in common then not. That doesnt mean a user in the know wont see differences it just means they are the same family of OS.
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post #15 of 16
7/23/05 at 3:17am
Understood, I tend to disagree, they are more similar than say Windows and Linux true, but I still think they are different enough that they should be treated as such, even from a user perspective.

Seablade
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post #16 of 16
7/23/05 at 3:03pm
Im a bit jaded,

I have been a Unix Admin for years and they all start to mesh together after a while Solaris, Aix, BSD, Linux, SCO, I have used them all. Yes, there are differences but Bash is Bash and Sendmail is Sendmail so even thought they have alot of difference's as far as the kernel and the drivers are concerned the basics of file layout, of shells, of applications are pretty much the same. system V or BSD in the old days had totally different arguements and options for things like LS but the more modern systems allow you to pick and choose the style you want. Even things like RC files vs Directories is becomeing a matter of choice rather then OS.

The old rivalry between System V and BSD is a thing of the past.
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