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On a new PC, would I be able able to install XP, Linux and Unix, and be able to access all of these from DOS? And if so, which version of Linux should I buy or download? I was thinking of either SuSe Linux or Red Hat, but I dont know anything about Linux.
There's no reason I can think of, given enough disk space, that would prevent you from triple booting your system.
I think you might be a little unclear on a few issues though (or maybe I am...hey, it's been known to happen :P )
In order to boot up into each individual system, you will need a boot loader. Part of the linux installaton includes picking a boot loader. When you fire up your system, the boot loader allows you to select which operating system you want to use.
You can't access linux or unix (for booting purposes) from dos. Different file system. Let me clarify, you can access ext2 file systems if you have the correct application. There is software that will allow you to create virtual drives on which you could run Linux or Unix...but that's an entirely other topic.
Versions of Linux...where to start? Depending on what you want to do, there are different versions of Linux that are more "tailored" to what ever it is you may need. Some are geared towards programming, some are geared towards forensics. Using the AO search feature will give you enough reading material to make your eyes bleed. There is no "best", just that which is most suitable to your purpose.
A triple boot is quite ambitious. Good luck with that. Although never directly experiencing it myself, my first installation of Linux gave me a greater appreciation of childbirth.. :) Work on getting any version of Linux installed...a spare hard drive is useful. That way if you mess up, you still have your XP environment to work with. Once you can get it installed, then go for the dual boot.
Take baby steps, and small bites, and read everything you can.
Thanks for your reply, because I now understand how to triple-boot my system. I was just very unclear about XP and Linux, because I remember reading in a post (I forget which one) that XP should be installed first. And if installed first, than how would I install Linux and UNIX?
You have to have enough space on your hard drive, which these days usually isn't a problem.
When you install Linux, you will need to make partitions for the OS and swap drive. It's all part of the installation process.If you are not careful, you can corrupt your XP partition, then you are kinda screwed. But then again, maybe it's time for a fresh install...
You will need to download an ISO image of whatever *nix version you decide to install, then you need to burn it as an image so it will boot....
Again, use the search feature on AO, do a search for "Linux installation"... you really will have more than enough to read. Then if you need further clarification, come back and ask.
these guys can help you much better than I.. in terms of multi-booting..
but you should note, you won't access them all from dos, that's for sure.
I think you meant from a boot loader of sorts.. right ?
on a related and humourous slant to this discussion check out this guy..
http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/p...399433,00.html
now, who here wants to try and beat this guy's record.. ? <grin>Quote:
How many operating systems?
There are many points of view on exactly what an operating system is. I have concluded that I have approximately 39 separate, fully functional operating systems on my machine (as well as two that are sick at the moment). If you count my 18 DOS window managers, I have a total of 57 operating systems on my PC.
You can download the program XOSL from this site the link on the screensavers web site doesn't work
http://www.freedownloads.be/html/dow...hp?down_ID=308
That guy also has the number of HDs that allow him to have that many on there. If you have one HD in your machine, I'm fairly curtain that you are limited to 4 primary partitions. So, think about that when you have your install fest. If you have 2 HDs I'm sure it is not the same. But last I checked when I used to dual boot, you could only have 4 on one HD.
And as for beating that guy, I could if I had the HDs. No way in hell I'm going to sit and play with making a logical partition booth though. I have the software to boot over 100 OSs (System Commander 2000). I used to be big on partitioning and multi-booting.
That is some sick ****; sounds like fun though! I'm like gore on this one; if I had time, another system, many hard drives, and a reason to have 10 different versions of linux on my computer then yeah, I would do it! But on that, I don't believe that I would only use a system like that to:
a) test crap that I developed (which isn't a whole lot)
b) show it off to the 10 people in Alabama that care
c) play all those old Win games that won't play on XP because of the Damn memory leaks
*cough*Kings Quest*cough*