TWO HARD DRIVES, TWO OS?

Flatlander · Joined: 11 Nov 2008 Posts: 135

I am going to get a new super duper computer. If I get 2 hard drives, can I have one with a windows OS and the other with Ubantu or linux or whatever?
Thanks

David Traver · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:55 am Post subject:

You don't need to have two hard drives but you can if you wish. You can buy one 500 gig hard drive (or larger) for well under $100 and partition it for several operating systems. See e.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073 (Get a drive that spins at least 7200 rpm and be sure to get a SATA drive).

Both Microsoft and Linux provide for partitioning the hard drive during installation, to leave room for other systems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_partitioning Two operating systems on one computer is called a dual boot system. This can be done with one or more drives. See http://tinyurl.com/yz3begu for some Google searches on point.

The trick for doing this is to be able to easily chose between the operating systems when you boot the computer. The Ubuntu solution to this is called GRUB, which is "grand unified boot loader" It gives a startup option to pick operating systems. When installing the operating systems, you will pick one of the operating systems to start by default. However, by pushing the ESC key during loading, you would be able to select your boot options from GRUB and pick another system.

Since almost all Windows programs will run in Linux using the WINE program as a base, it is often not necessary to have a dual boot system. http://www.winehq.org/ WINE comes for free with Ubuntu. So, before you blow $120 or more on Windows 7, you may wish to install Linux first, leave room for the Windows system, and see if you old Windows software is really needed, or if needed, if it will run on WINE. http://www.google.com/search?q=site:newegg.com%20Windows+7 Often, usually, Windows programs run faster on WINE than they do on Windows because there is no time lag for reading and writing to the hard drive which is caused by the bloat of anti-virus software (which you won't need for Linux). My experience is that iTunes for sure will not run on WINE. Also, an old flight simulator I had would not run. Everything else I have tried, including a very old copy of Paradox Ver. 7 (database) runs perfectly.

See also. http://www.playonlinux.com/en/ (a free program for handy installation of your original program disks for many Windows programs unto WINE).

You can also dual boot Apple software and hardware. I've never done it, so I have not much to say on that topic.

If you wish to get really fancy, you could have a dual boot operating setup on one drive, and then use a raid set of two or more drives for your data. That way, you could swap out a data drive from time to time and have offsite storage for the swapped drive. This is likely too complex for a new user to set up. You would need a nice systems person to get that going for you. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID for information on RAID (keep in mind that raid 0 will not do this for you).

EdJohnson · Joined: 14 May 2004 Posts: 156

If you don't feel comfortable with trying to use WINE yourself, a company called CodeWeavers sells commercial products based upon WINE that facilitate running Windows software on Linux or Macs.

http://www.codeweavers.com/products/

David Traver · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 02:10 pm Post subject: Re: TWO HARD DRIVES, TWO OS?

Flatlander · Joined: 11 Nov 2008 Posts: 135

You were right, Dave. It cost just about double from Dell. $1300 to be exact, but with a Intel Core i7-920 processor and 8GB Ram expandable to 24GB it should last me years and years. I got the dreaded windows 7 with a 750GB hard drive. I think I would like to try formatting the HD for two systems, at some point in the future. That way I will have some time to learn and get the programs for Linux.

One program I really like from Microsoft is the fax program that lets the computer pick up the call or fax a document directly from the computer. That has saved me so much paper and ink it is unbelievable.

My only other (in this particular case) idiosyncratic downfall is that I love WordPerfect. I don't particularly want their "office" set of programs, but I haven't seen a stand alone application of the word processor. The "reveal codes" makes it super easy to discover formatting goofs, it has an excellent "find and replace" function, and I have made a bunch of my own macros for formatting documents.

David Traver · Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 01:27 am Post subject:

You may wish to buy a duplicate hard drive (an exact match at least for size) and use Clonzilla to make a complete duplicate image of your drive, including the boot area. Then take out the original drive, set it aside, and play with the duplicate. That way if you kill anything, you can just say "whatever" and put the original back in. You can use the spare for Clonzilla backups.

http://clonezilla.org/

That sounds like a very festive and fast computer you purchased. The processor is nifty for sure. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Be sure to use 64-bit operating systems or that extra memory will never be used!

David Traver · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 08:40 pm Post subject:

I saw this build list on http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/sys/1636200005.html

Just for fun, I priced it all out at Newegg. Here is the build list: http://bit.ly/blCs2I

Is such a computer necessary? Not for anything I can think of, other than silly, expensive fun.

Flatlander · Joined: 11 Nov 2008 Posts: 135

Just for fun?? lol

When I am not using the computer, if I want to build something, I work with wood. Diddling with a puter, for me, is done out of sheer necessity. That being said, I have an old Dell laptop that I have been taking to hearings. 10GB hard drive. When loaded with Windows XP, half the memory is gone already. I am thinking of wiping that one and starting over in Linux.

David Traver · Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 01:30 am Post subject:

It looks like you picked a good processor for longevity and speed.

Flatlander · Joined: 11 Nov 2008 Posts: 135

I got lucky when I was searching for what to buy. Searching for processor speed and ram, I came upon this website that stressed 5 things to consider.

http://www.switched.com/2008/10/01/five-things-to-consider-before-buying-a-computer/

Since my basic use for the puter is for office work, I am hoping it will get me to retirement in 10 years.

David Traver · Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 03:39 am Post subject:

That's a little out of date, but 'you done good.'.

What is the coolest thing you can do using Linux that you can’t do with Windows or on a Mac?, http://matthewhelmke.net/2008/02/02/what-is-the-coolest-thing-you-can-do-using-linux-that-you-can-t-do-with-windows-or-on-a-mac/ (last visited Mar. 12, 2010). It has an updated link at the bottom that you might find interesting too.

Flatlander · Joined: 11 Nov 2008 Posts: 135

I linked to the wrong "5 thing to consider."

This link
http://www.switched.com/2010/02/17/five-things-to-consider-when-buying-a-computer/
gives some details on CPU processor speed and RAM that seemed to make sense to me.

David Traver · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 03:42 am Post subject:

If we want to go completely nuts and spend over $4,000 for a computer, here we go:

I suppose one could write the mother of all District Court briefs on this, in 3.2 seconds (depending upon brain speed and typing proficiency!)

(I'm not going to buy one, btw)