Linux on a partition

Linux on a partition

Just debating the merits of dling and getting to know Linux. More out of curiosity than anything else. But a couple of questions...

My laptop's HDD is partitioned, both NTFS. One has WinXP. The other, where I would install Linux, is a store for my photos, videos, music etc.

1. Will Linux change the file system of that partition when I install it?
2. Will I still be able to access that partition to play vids, music once Linux is installed?
3. Any dangers I should be aware of?

Lastly, the best Linux distro for a newb? Not a newb to PC's, Im reasonably geekish, can work most things out, but a newb to Linux..

1) Yes it will. Linux will format that partition most likely ext2 or ext3 or reiser. It should give you a choice those. I recommend ext3 because it's a journaled file system and reiser has a bad tendnecy to corrupt
2) No. Windows can't read any Linux partitions. I'm not sure if ther's a 3rd party application that will allow you to
3)Well there this the danger of losing all your data, so make backups before you do anything!

For a distro I recommend Ubunto. It's a good debian based distro. By default, however, it tried to format your entire drive as Linux. At least it did on mine, which didn't bother me. So you'll need to learn as much about partitions as you can because you'll need to change the options if you still want to keep Windows.

Originally posted by garydenness:

Lastly, the best Linux distro for a newb?
Not a newb to PC's, Im reasonably geekish...

Read and RESEARCH things for yourself above all else.
Also, try a Linux LiveCD to get a feel for the environment.

Originally posted by Sanguinemoon:

I'm not sure if ther's a 3rd party application that will allow you to

There are several programs and drivers for it. I'm using a file system driver myself, works quite well.

You shouldnt have too much trouble.

Here is a great tutorial if you decide to have a go.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/

You will have to decide which tutorial is applicable.
Most likely if you have a Windows XP installation, then this will be the most relavent tutorial for you.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/p3.htm

That is an older version of the Ubuntu installer, so it looks a little different these days, but nothing daunting.

My best advice is read up as much as possible, look at forums & get a feel of common issues people have. That way you have realistic expectations, and you know where to look when you hit a snag.

Issues surrounding nonfree codecs and compiling drivers for NVIDIA cards are easily solved, but you just have to know where to go looking.

Nvidia at least is easy enough. You go to their website. Some other hardware (especially modems or wi-fi cards) may be another matter.

Originally posted by nzMM:

You shouldnt have too much trouble.

Here is a great tutorial if you decide to have a go.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/

You will have to decide which tutorial is applicable.
Most likely if you have a Windows XP installation, then this will be the most relavent tutorial for you.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/p3.htm

That is an older version of the Ubuntu installer, so it looks a little different these days, but nothing daunting.

My best advice is read up as much as possible, look at forums & get a feel of common issues people have. That way you have realistic expectations, and you know where to look when you hit a snag.

Issues surrounding nonfree codecs and compiling drivers for NVIDIA cards are easily solved, but you just have to know where to go looking.

That tutorial was incredibly helpful, exactly what I was hoping I might find out - Ubuntu will be downloading tonight! My sincere thanks.

Ubuntu wasn't as hoped, but Mepis is now installed with little trouble so far. Even better, I didn't waste any of my HDD....discovered a 7gig hidden data recovery partition, which did very nicely!

Only trouble Im having is getting the resolution set for a widescreen display, so if anyone happens to know off by heart the solution, feel free to post!

Otherwise I'm back off researching myself..!

Thanks all.

I use Mepis on several computers and love it. For your display settings, you can try forum searches at linuxquestions.org, mepis.org and mepislovers.com.

Originally posted by garydenness:

Ubuntu wasn't as hoped, but Mepis is now installed with little trouble so far. Even better, I didn't waste any of my HDD....discovered a 7gig hidden data recovery partition, which did very nicely!

Only trouble Im having is getting the resolution set for a widescreen display, so if anyone happens to know off by heart the solution, feel free to post!

Otherwise I'm back off researching myself..!

Thanks all.

What it sounds like is you'll need to edit your xorg.conf file. I'm not at home, so I can't verify this but it /should/ be located in /etc/xorg.conf Before you do that, I recommend getting the refresh rates and such from the manual though

I g*t the res*luti*n fixed, and have been playing. i d*wnladed *pera, and f*r s*me reas*n I th*ught it w*uld be a g**d idea t* set the keyb*ard sh*rtcut as ...... well y*u can guess which letter. I bl**dy well can't type it n*w anyway, it just *pens up a new wind*w! It's driving me *tta my tiny mind!!!!

*k, s* wh*'s g*nna let me kn*w when the t**l f*r changing keyb*ard sh*rtcuts is?!

Pretty please!!!

PS St*p yer sniggering!

hehe he hehehehehe woops.

What desktop? KDE? Go to KDE Control Center, Accessibility, Keyboard Shortcuts. Sorry, I don't do Gnome if that's what it is.

Originally posted by sgunhouse:

What desktop? KDE? Go to KDE Control Center, Accessibility, Keyboard Shortcuts. Sorry, I don't do Gnome if that's what it is.

Bless you amigo! That put me on the right track and I have 'O's once more!

Now if I can just get the damn RealTek sound card to work, I'm at 100%

Although there is one other thing....I get a near instantaneous headache when I use Linux....the resolution is fine, nothing looks out of place, but it's just hard on my eyes!!

Any thoughts?

You need to reset the default from 76 DPI to 100 DPI. You can do that in Mepis OS Center under mouse and display, relative text size. The link is in the K Menu and on the tool bar.

And here I figured it was either antialiasing or the refresh rate. Though it is a bit vague, could be anything.

I made an assumption that it was what it is for most people.

I loaded xp on a 50% partition with suse 9.2 on the remaining 50% on a 120 gig hard drive.
suse 9.2 installed automatically asking me which formatting and partitiion options I wanted to keep.
Very simple, no problems at all...
well I did change my internal pci modem to a smart link brand, but suse 9.2 detected everything
else flawlessly.
That being said, the best of luck:D