Who dual boots windows?

[jpr13]

Who here dual boots windows?

And, do you do it because you have too or do you still like windows at all? Or do you hate windows?

Just curious.

Jason

[jedijf]

i have a tri boot and a dual boot laptop.

on the tri boot is windows (haven't used), backtrack (use for security class) and ubu 6.06.

on the dual boot is osX (haven't used in 6 mos) and ubu 7.04 use daily for irc, email, etc.

So, I guess the answer is I don't really hate any os, I just currently enjoy using ubuntu for my personal computing.

At work I still utilize a windows server and dos (foxpro) database.

[lamalex]

no dual boots here.

[jeremy1138]

I dual boot windows and ubuntu because there are some programs in windows that i just can't live without and I can't find a good alternative in Linux. Also I can't get anything that requires 3d acceleration to work in Ubuntu because of my machines hardware. Dual booting has worked out well for me but I wouldn't do it if I didn't need Windows.

[andrewPCT]

My old laptop (about 3 2/3 years old) dual boots windows and Gutsy. It runs Gutsy 99% of the time right now.

My desktop (homemade, 2/3 years old) has only seen Ubuntu, currently running 7.04.

My new MacBook (currently in the hands of FedEx) will eventually dual boot OSX and Ubuntu. (That's the plan.)

The only time I've used Windows on my personal computers in the past 8 months is when I've needed it for class (or to test something out). Most of the time for that, I've run it within a virtual environment.

[Sayers]

My computer is windows free, and has been for atleast a year.

[kejava]

I don't dual boot anymore. The two main clients for my business require that I use WinXP as a development environment for the applications I write for them. I have to run WinXP but instead of dual booting, I use a virtual machine. Started with VMWare Server to create the VM. Then moved to VMWare Player to run the VM with USB 2.0 support. I was surprised at how easy it was to do. And all free, except for the WinXP license ;-)

[HermanAB]

I used to dual boot Linux/Windows, but I invariably found myself wishing I booted the other system instead and rebooting all the time quickly became a pain in the derrier.

As mentioned above, the solution is to install the free VMware Server (from the VMware web site) and VMware Player (which is in Synaptic) and install ******* XP in that. This way, you can run Windows in a window without having to reboot all the time. This is far more convenient.

[camtech]

I triple boot ubuntu/vista/xp. I use ubuntu for everything except gaming on xp. The only reason I have vista is for Halo 2. :D

[Warren Watts]

I still have my primary PC set up as dual-boot (Feisty/W2K) but I haven't booted into Windows for weeks.

My other PC runs Ubuntu exclusively.

[jpr13]

I am going to set up for dual boot, win2k and feisty. I need windows for school mostly at this point, I am scared of not being compatible. Also I need to play Halo :P
I am going to look into running xp in a virtual window like you guys were saying, but I need to get feisty rock solid and learn my way around it a bit.

I am really tired of windows nonsense for the most part. I dont mind my own machine, since I have it tweaked and I run GeoShell and stuff, but every machine I sit at at school or at other peoples homes are SOOOO slow and buggy.

Thanks for the tips.

Jason

PS - You guys know you can put Ubuntu on your PS3 right!??!?!

[ccw]

I dual boot my work laptop, mainly because I do use some random windows apps and I occasionally have to troubleshoot user issues. Lately I've been booting to XP about once a month.

I think I'm going to dive into virtualization gutsy+1 when xen goes kernel native 2.6.23

http://git.kernel.org/gitweb.cgi?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commitdiff;h=5ead97c84fa7d63a6a7a2f4e9f1 8f452bd109045

[elizabeth]

I have to admit to dual booting with Windows XP, but not because I actually use it :) I haven't "needed" Windows for any of my applications for a couple years now.

But we have several computers in our house and a variety of weird and old hardware, sometimes when hardware isn't working or isn't working properly in Linux we have to have a Windows machine around to help with debugging. My husband also needs Windows for work from time to time (troubleshooting client issues) and since he uses a laptop tossing an extra hard drive in my desktop was the logical option.

Windows hasn't been updated in quite some time though, it's too much of a pain for the 2 times per year I log into it and I'm behind a paranoid firewall anyway.

[onetb]

I'm dual booting because of work. Only because of work.

[weasel7711]

I dual boot mainly because of games. Also just in case I run into incompatibility with something on Linux, I can fall back to windows.

[elizabeth]

Also just in case I run into incompatibility with something on Linux, I can fall back to windows.

Just out of curiosity, what sorts of things do you have "incompatibility" problems with? Hardware is still a possibility, but over the past 2 years the problems with my old CD-RW burning CDs, printing labels in OpenOffice, sound recording, and printing to my old network printer have all been resolved. I no longer have a need to boot into Windows for any regular tasks.

[ptn107]

Desktop -> Windows XP / Ubuntu 7.04
Laptop -> Ubuntu 7.04 / Ubuntu 7.10 [tribe 5, testing only]
Home Server \ Media Center -> Ubuntu 6.06.1

[n3gbz]

I give away TheOpenCD and now also OpenEducationCD (in addition to various Ubuntus!). I like to test/demo the CD when I give it out.

That way I can show the recipient what to expect, how to navigate and how to install the various programs.

Several times I gave away the CDs and the recipient didn't know what to do when he/she took it home.

By "testing" the CD in this way I am not insulting anyone and have had much better feedback.

As long as I give away software that runs on windows, I guess I will need to dual boot.

[glupee]

I have dual boot in place for games, but since installing the dual boot i haven't left feisty. It's a pain to have to reboot just to play a game. I'm sure i will eventually tho.

[unisol]

i dualboot with windows because my wife and daughter prefer to use winxp. i use it once in a while for gaming.

[carusoswi]

I used to dual boot Linux/Windows, but I invariably found myself wishing I booted the other system instead and rebooting all the time quickly became a pain in the derrier.

As mentioned above, the solution is to install the free VMware Server (from the VMware web site) and VMware Player (which is in Synaptic) and install ******* XP in that. This way, you can run Windows in a window without having to reboot all the time. This is far more convenient.

Can you print to your printer and burn CD's from your virtual installation of XP?

I would happily give up XP as the second component of my dual boot if I could really use a virtual copy to get my XP tasks to completion. I find that my multimedia aps will simply not run on anything but XP, and, while I can get them to run on a virtual copy of xp, they lose touch with my CD/DVD burner. I'm guessing those are application specific problems. If I am doing a live recording of an artist who is paying me for the work, I don't have time nor can I take a chance on using anything that I don't know for certain just works (which XP does and Ubuntu doesn't).

Ubuntu is a great OS, runs very efficiently on my machine . . . but there are just too many things that don't work for me to be able to toss out XPPro. BTW, some of the non-working things are Linux applications, also. Open Office database does not work properly. If it did, I could use it instead of MS Access at my office. But know issues with that ap render it useless to me.

I don't hate XP (although I have grown tired of it), but I do loathe microsoft and would say goodbye to that OS in a second if I could get my work finished without it.

Caruso

[carusoswi]

Just out of curiosity, what sorts of things do you have "incompatibility" problems with? Hardware is still a possibility, but over the past 2 years the problems with my old CD-RW burning CDs, printing labels in OpenOffice, sound recording, and printing to my old network printer have all been resolved. I no longer have a need to boot into Windows for any regular tasks.

I know you weren't writing to me, but, for the record:

Steinberg Wavelab audio editor/CD/DVD mastering software won't work in Ubuntu. Will run in Crossover, but won't record or write to CD's. Will run in virtual XP, but, again, won't record or write CD/DVD.

Photoshop 7 is supported by Crossover (which I have), but all features don't work properly.

Photoshop CS2 (PS9) will not install in any manner on Ubuntu.

Sony Vegas (formerly Sonic Foundry Vegas) will not load or run in Ubuntu - that ap is similar in capability to Wavelab but also has advanced video editing/rendering capabilities. I need to have unlimited video/audio tracks when I edit multi-cam video and bring in other media sources. Vegas under XP is just awesome. There is nothing close to Vegas or Wavelab in the Linux world.

My Canon printer will not work properly in Ubuntu. I purchased some special driver so that it can do text, etc. But functionality is not complete, so I cannot take advantage of its advanced photo printing capabilities.

I don't know what printers would be 100% compatible with Ubuntu, but, am guessing that they would not do as good a job as my printer.

MS Office works under Crossover for the most part, but, there are some issues with Access. I need a very powerful relational database application. Tried Open Office, but that database application is broken - know issues that haven't been addressed in over a year.

I love Ubuntu, but, for now, it is relegated mostly to very safe web browsing and cannot replace my XP install for now.

I am looking forward to that day, however.

Caruso

[lisati]

I dual boot windows and ubuntu because there are some programs in windows that i just can't live without and I can't find a good alternative in Linux. Also I can't get anything that requires 3d acceleration to work in Ubuntu because of my machines hardware. Dual booting has worked out well for me but I wouldn't do it if I didn't need Windows.

Ditto: On my desktop I have some Windows software that I paid good money for can't be bothered trying to use with Wine. On my laptop I keep a copy of Windows as backup and compatibility with the skills of the people I sometimes work with.

[kejava]

Will run in virtual XP, but, again, won't record or write CD/DVD.
Is that a USB 2.0 external drive? If so it's most likely because VMWare Server/Player doesn't support USB 2.0. The newest version of Player, version 2.0, claims to support USB 2.0 devices but that still fails with some of my hardware. I still have to plug them into a USB 1.1 hub to get them working. If you're using an internal drive, then I have no idea what's up.
EDIT: I should add that I'm using some fairly exotic USB hardware so that could be part of my issue. I just discovered that a simple edit of my vmx file may have solved my problem :-)


Tried Open Office, but that database application is broken - know issues that haven't been addressed in over a year.I used OO Base about a year ago with a demo of a MySQL database on a WinXP box. I didn't do anything fancy so maybe that's why I didn't see any issues. From what I saw, OO Base was very clean and user friendly.

What kind of issues are you seeing? Were you trying to use its internal DB engine, hsqldb? If so, that's a relatively new feature to OO Base. I'm sure it will have issues.

-kevin

[carusoswi]

Is that a USB 2.0 external drive? If so it's most likely because VMWare Server/Player doesn't support USB 2.0. The newest version of Player, version 2.0, claims to support USB 2.0 devices but that still fails with some of my hardware. I still have to plug them into a USB 1.1 hub to get them working. If you're using an internal drive, then I have no idea what's up.
EDIT: I should add that I'm using some fairly exotic USB hardware so that could be part of my issue. I just discovered that a simple edit of my vmx file may have solved my problem :-)

I used OO Base about a year ago with a demo of a MySQL database on a WinXP box. I didn't do anything fancy so maybe that's why I didn't see any issues. From what I saw, OO Base was very clean and user friendly.

What kind of issues are you seeing? Were you trying to use its internal DB engine, hsqldb? If so, that's a relatively new feature to OO Base. I'm sure it will have issues.

-kevin

Kevin:
The CD/DVD RW drive is internal. It works fine with Ubuntu, but, virtual XP and Wine/Crossover aps will not address it. In open office, I am not really trying to do anything fancy (although I will say that I get some pretty slick results from my use of MS Access). If you can wade through the following, here is what I need to do on a regular basis using a relational database (whether MS Access or some other ap like OO).

I set up two tables, each contains a common ID field. The ID field in table one is a counter (in Access, a counter increments automatically and the value must be unique, duplicate values not allowed). The ID field in table two is a number, but data integrity rules allow for duplications and it is not a counter or auto-incremented field. I establish relationships between the two tables, and, one relationship is the ID field.

In Access, I then use these two tables to create a form and a subform using tables one and two respectively. When completed, I can enter data into the main form, an id is automatically assigned. That ID is also picked up by the ID field in the subform where I will enter any number of records that all tie back to the ID assigned in the main form.

For example, I might use the main form (table 1) to assign a customer ID automatically. The ID is unique to that customer. The main form would typically contain the customer's address, purchasing parameters that apply to all his purchases, credit limits, terms, etc.

The subform's ID field would take its value from the main form (again from table 1), and this ID would recur in table 2 (and the subform) for each record that would track a purchase for that customer.

In a nutshell, I'm trying to build the same type of basic relational database in OO. All the tools seem to be there, and the process seems to be very similar to the way things are done in Access. However, the form creation process hangs at the final step where you would click to finish the form design.

It just hangs and will not complete.

So, I never get to a point where I can start using the form/subform to start entering data.

. . . and, so, I cannot even play with the database module in OO to see if I would like using it. I've posted elsewhere on the forum about this problem and have received replies that I am not alone in experiencing this problem . . . so, until it gets fixed, I have to rely on Access because it just works for me.

I use Access to make my living, not because I love playing with relational database applications, so, because Access is the application I started with, it is the one I learned and the one with which I am familiar. I have no experience with other relational database applications on Windows or other platforms, so, I won't comment on whether Access is the best or not . . . I know it, am familiar with it, and it works.

Some of the features I like about Access include: easily defined integrity rules (you can specify whether or not it's ok for a field to be left blank, or you can limit and define what values are acceptable (if the only valid entries for a color field are "red" or "green", you can set rules to disallow "blue" or an inadvertent typo "grean" for instance). I like the way its query design works, I am used to its report generator, and I love the way I can export query results to Excel where I can easily manipulate large sets of data.

I don't really see that OO even has the data integrity that I like so much in Access, but, OTOH, since I can't get beyond the basic design of a form/subform, I can't really play with OO enough to give it a fair evaluation.

I can run Access just fine from within Crossover, but there are some .dll issues that crop up when I need to open an Access database created in Crossover on a machine running XP. In other words, if I use Crossover on my home Ubuntu machine to create a database, then, copy that database or email it to my office, I will have problems opening it in XP. Although I haven't tried it, I doubt I could transfer such a file to another Ubuntu machine running Crossover and open it successfully, either. Besides, my workstation at the office serves the rest of the XP machines on a peer to peer LAN, and, our main accounting/business software is on my workstation computer, so, I can't be booting into Ubuntu from the office.

So, while most of the above cannot be regarded as some sort of Linux shortcoming, the computability issues and current lack of functionality as described above to extend my need to keep dual booting. If and when applications for linux can provide that sort of functionality, I will be one of the first to dump XP.

Thanks for your reply.

Caruso

[kejava]

Kevin:In a nutshell, I'm trying to build the same type of basic relational database in OO. All the tools seem to be there, and the process seems to be very similar to the way things are done in Access. However, the form creation process hangs at the final step where you would click to finish the form design.

Ah, so it sounds like you're using OO's internal DB engine. I've only linked to external DBs like MySQL for form creation. It would be interesting to see what happens if you created a DB in an external DB and then tried to create a form for that in OO Base. I'm betting the problem you're seeing will go away. The only issue is the additional complexity of creating the external DB.

I find your problem interesting because I'm in a very similar situation. I use a programming language called LabVIEW under Windows for my small business. There's a Linux version but it doesn't have the same level of data acquisition hardware support. This is the ONLY reason I still need to run Windows as a virtual machine. Since about January 07, I've slowly been learning a different multiplatform programming language, Python, with the hopes of using it as a substitute. I've learned a lot but I still can't make a full switch yet.

Anyway, I suppose we should get back to the original topic of dual booting. I almost forgot that is what this thread was initially about ;-)

[iansane]

I set up dual boot a few days ago and if I keep finding solutions here, I'll get rid of XP soon. Right now it is not safe to do away with windows because my school and online courses use widows and MS office programs but as soon as I can figure out how to so everything in Ubuntu, I'll prob never boot to my XP. I don't hate the OS, I hate the company (M$)

[frychiko]

Only things preventing me from having Ubuntu only and I expect a several years before I can narrow it down to just "games":


Photoshop (Gimp is good, use it, but it's missing a few things I need for my work workflow)
Games (this means I can never have Ubuntu only heh)
Windows Japanese software (sharetrading software, filesharing etc that won't even come close to working on Linux)
Various video processing tools (again missing or very subpar on Linux)
Video subtitling tool (again very subpar on Linux)
Blogging tool (subpar would be an overstatement)

[elizabeth]

Games (this means I can never have Ubuntu only heh)


What makes you so convinced game manufacturers will never develop for Linux? Some already do, it's becoming more common, and with the rise of Ubuntu (and what's looking to be the failure of Vista) I imagine it'll continue to become a popular route for them to take.

If your caveat is old games you still want to play, you should check out the development of the wine branches (crossover office, cedega) their progress in the past year has been phenomenal and I expect it'll continue to improve, maybe in a couple years you'll be able to play just about any of todays games in an emulated environment.

[rolnics]

I currently dual boot. At present I only keep XP for games and for the girl friend to use, but she has been using ubuntu, cos I screwed up and couldn't get XP to boot. She actually commented to me the other day that Ubuntu boots faster and she seems to be finding here way, with stuff. So she is seeing the light!!

[merlyn]

I do, Win 2K, for games principally. :rolleyes:

Guess I should get my act together and experiment with Wine more.

Cheers.

[frychiko]

What makes you so convinced game manufacturers will never develop for Linux? Some already do, it's becoming more common, and with the rise of Ubuntu (and what's looking to be the failure of Vista) I imagine it'll continue to become a popular route for them to take.

If your caveat is old games you still want to play, you should check out the development of the wine branches (crossover office, cedega) their progress in the past year has been phenomenal and I expect it'll continue to improve, maybe in a couple years you'll be able to play just about any of todays games in an emulated environment.

I forgot the smiley at the end of my sentence to indicate sarcasm. I barely play games anyway so gaming is the least of my issues with why Windows is still essential for me.
Heh, If I ever get wine working I'll give games on Linux a try.

[jflaker]

Dual boot Vista/Feisty.

Compatibility keeps me from moving completely over to Linux

Future plans are:
Linux server and managed desktops. Only if I can play "windows" games and have the same functionality as I do while paying the Microsoft tax.

[jerrylamos]

Quad boot *******, Edgy, Feisty, Gutsy.

Linux doesn't support all my hardware yet - scanner, Epson printer head clean & cartridge change.

Linux doesn't do ABC News videos which are Microsoft specific.

BBC News videos sort of work, launch in standalone player.

NY Times videos are pretty reasonable.

[bfledderjohn]

I dual boot for some proprietary software for work... Gutsy and XP...

I hate it, but actually it saved my butt with the upgrade to Gutsy messed up some power management settings which turned off my backlight for my screen. It wouldn't work at all until I rebooted into XP... Then it came back up. Took me a while to figure out how to fix the problem, so XP saved my bacon... Although, I could have resorted to booting from a LiveCD, I suppose that should have worked (the screen was fading out as soon as Grub started up!)

[jlpedlar]

I still do the dual boot just because i am still learning all the wonderful little things that i can do in linux. I have only been using linux for about one month and i think in that time i have only booted up windows xp was 4 times. The rest of my household is having a hard time letting go of windows.

[jacekbuntu]

I have to, because my printers (Brother MFC-420CN and Canon Pixma MX700) do not work with ubuntu 7.10. otherwise i will switch to ubuntu for good:confused:

[jedijf]

Don't know if this will help, but it is worth a try.

My Canon MP780 works with the S-800 driver (Canon).

Give it a shot and let us know if it works.

[rcracer923]

i dual boot 7.10 and XP. i'm liking linux more and more everyday. i would go to linux completely if i had compatibility for more in 64bit. (flash doesn't work with sound for some reason). i also like to game, so thats where windows comes in....for now. i need to do more experimenting with wine, and see how well that works

[IV_Warrior]

Gutsy and XP. Trying not to use XP, and I'm getting closer to not needing it. Mostly, I just need time to figure out some stuff, just did the install about a week ago.

[lamalex]

i dual boot 7.10 and XP. i'm liking linux more and more everyday. i would go to linux completely if i had compatibility for more in 64bit. (flash doesn't work with sound for some reason). i also like to game, so thats where windows comes in....for now. i need to do more experimenting with wine, and see how well that works

have you tried gnash?

[santiagoward2000]

I do have XP and Gusty, but it's been some months without booting to Windows. I'm not quite sure why I keep it...

[arashiko28]

I have windows on a different HHD, 6 months unused, I connect it via usb to get files from it, like a huge memory stick. But I helped a friend via web cam to install a vista / 7.04 dual boot, so that she can try it and learn to use it. (She lives on Mexico, i'm in Dominican Republic).:lolflag:

[iansane]

I have two seperate hd's Vista and Gutsy (Ubuntu Studio Gutsy).

On top of Ubuntu just did a dual boot VM of Win Server 2003 and Fiesty so I could video capture the installation. Also have XP Pro and Cent os on vm's. LOL don't ask about where I got all the MS OS's. The joy of being a bored student with access to student software. How many dual boot OS VM's can you stack before you crash? Just Curious

[bricar2]

Vista (came with laptop) and Ubuntu Studio 7.10 on the other partition. I really only need one program in ******* and that is my J Station guitar amp modeler/effects program. Once I tinker with WINE and get that running I'll probably get rid of ******* completely.

The more I use Ubuntu the less need I have for *******.

[tlages]

I dual boot windows and Gusty7.10.
Im hoping to use my current computer as dedicated Gusty7.10 when I get my new computer.

I have an old computer that I plan to use as a damsmalllinux computer mainly.

[staticvoid]

I dual boot windows and Gusty7.10.
Im hoping to use my current computer as dedicated Gusty7.10 when I get my new computer.

ditto :)

sv

[lamalex]

Vista (came with laptop) and Ubuntu Studio 7.10 on the other partition. I really only need one program in ******* and that is my J Station guitar amp modeler/effects program. Once I tinker with WINE and get that running I'll probably get rid of ******* completely.

The more I use Ubuntu the less need I have for *******.
http://www.johnson-amp.com/forum/view_thread.asp?forum=jstation&threadid=1087922923
looks like it might work under wine.

[victorgreen]

I had fiesty/visturd ultimate on laptop. When gutsy finally came out, wiped whole thing now a gutsy/xp. I havnt booted into xp since I got the drivers on it [but the sound driver refuses to install so its kinda useless for the few games I would want to run].