Dual OS?

[skitz]

Hi guys,

 

With my new PC I am building, I was wondering if it is possible to have both windows 8 and Unix (or other Linux based OS) as I will predominantly game, but with some of the coding I will be doing in C++, my lecturer suggested using a Linux based OS or getting a windows addon (he mentioned one but I can't remember the name) that works like linux. Not really sure why, but it was in the first lecture, and I thought as I am building a PC anyway, is there anyway I can install both, and just switch from one to the other when needed, or should I just stick with Windows 8 and get the addon.

 

Thanks

[Samdb]

Yes, you can install both of the same drive.

[JordanMac]

yes, partion sections off for the 2 os's and install them as you boot up it will ask you which one you want.

[looney]

Yes, Install windows first then install linux though (windows does not like linux and can mess it up)

 

I know ubuntu has a build in boot-loader so all you have to do is tell it to install next to windows during the ubuntu install. And I believe fedora has the same option, not sure about CentOS...

[rustikles]

Either partition them separately or just run a virtual machine.

[Haggis_]

Either partition them separately or just run a virtual machine.

yes, get a virtual machine and run your Linux in that

[smjpl]

yes, get a virtual machine and run your Linux in that

 

I don't think he can run a virtual machine. He has a Toshiba Satellite A300 in his signature which uses a Centrino T555 which doesn't support VT-x.

 

http://www.toshiba.eu/discontinued-products/satellite-a300-149/

http://ark.intel.com/products/32427/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-T5550-2M-Cache-1_83-GHz-667-MHz-FSB

[Dodge]

 Try a virtual machine (use vmware player or something similar), it's a little bit more convenient. You can still install Linux on a "real" partition if you run into problems.

 

 

 

Yes, Install windows first then install linux though (windows does not like linux and can mess it up)

 

I know ubuntu has a build in boot-loader so all you have to do is tell it to install next to windows during the ubuntu install. And I believe fedora has the same option, not sure about CentOS...

Basically every distribution has that.

 

 

I don't think he can run a virtual machine. He has a Toshiba Satellite A300 in his signature which uses a Centrino T555 which doesn't support VT-x.

 

http://www.toshiba.eu/discontinued-products/satellite-a300-149/

http://ark.intel.com/products/32427/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-T5550-2M-Cache-1_83-GHz-667-MHz-FSB

He is building a new pc and afaik you don't really need VT-x anyway.

[Haggis_]

I don't think he can run a virtual machine. He has a Toshiba Satellite A300 in his signature which uses a Centrino T555 which doesn't support VT-x.

 

http://www.toshiba.eu/discontinued-products/satellite-a300-149/

http://ark.intel.com/products/32427/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-T5550-2M-Cache-1_83-GHz-667-MHz-FSB

I think he is building a new one

[smjpl]

I think he is building a new one

 

Ah yes. Silly me.  :unsure:

 

If you don't plan on doing massive amounts of work then this would be the simplest way to go. In saying that if you like the idea of getting more used to Linux then there is no harm in running a full OS on the hdd. It will run slightly better than a virtual system anyway but isn't necessary either. 

[MG2R]

It has been said multiple times before, but for the sake of reassuring: a virtual machine would be the best option in your particular situation.

I suggest Virtualbox. It's free, works well and is very customisable.

[Gob]

I agree with the majority of posters, that using a VM is less work than dual booting (I would suggest virtual box as well). If you feel like doing even less work, you could install Cygwin (simply put, a Linux bash shell on windows), which includes the gcc compiler (the GNU compiler suite for c, c++,etc), which is probably what your professor was hinting at.

 

That being said, I like dual booting, as I enjoy using Linux without being hindered by a slow VM. Also, the setup itself will help you start to learn how the Linux operating system works and some of its features if you have no experience with it. I usually only use VMs for testing purposes, or if I just need to do something quick on a Linux box and I am already booted into windows.