Linux and Windows

**manatarms1775** · 04-13-2004, 05:32 PM

Is there any advantage to having both linux and windows on one computer with a dual boot system? I have two compuers side by side - one runs winxp and the other I plan to run linux. That computer already has win98 installed. Are there linux programs that look for windows present to run? Other than that I do not need win98 to run. Should I wipe out that computer and start with a linux only install?

**rickenbacherus** · 04-13-2004, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by manatarms1775

Is there any advantage to having both linux and windows on one computer with a dual boot system? I have two compuers side by side - one runs winxp and the other I plan to run linux. That computer already has win98 installed. Are there linux programs that look for windows present to run? Other than that I do not need win98 to run. Should I wipe out that computer and start with a linux only install?

Well there is WINE that can run some windows executables under Linux. Maybe you'd want to keep some of those around- I don't know. They could just be saved on a spare partition. There is no tool that I am aware of for 'scanning for winapps' The purpose of a dual-boot system is usually to provide something that the other OS does not. Personally I would save anything from win98 that I wanted/needed and then zero the entire drive and install Linux.

Oh and BTW. I have 2 boxes at work- 1 win and 1 Linux. I run a vnc server on the win box and x2vnc on the Linux box and I use only 1 keyboard and mouse for both machines. No KVM switch required. The cursor just jumps from one monitor to the next and the keyboard input folows.

**manatarms1775** · 04-13-2004, 06:25 PM

I have both computers connected via a KVM switch and use one monitor, keyboard, and mouse - all of this installed and the second "old" computer running with the idea of experimenting with Linux on a hdd install.
So, from your post I gather that all that is really necessary is a Fat 32 partition on one of the drives to put win programs if I want to try to run them. WINE, etc, doed not rely upon finding the win kernal or whatever somewhere on the computer?