Installing new Operating system in Acer Netbook

[MJA]

I think the OS will run faster from HD than CD/thumbdrive

[jman98]

It is possible to dual boot Linux and XP, but doing so AFTER one of them has already been installed is pretty complex. It's always easier to partition a disk drive at the beginning and do separate installs than to try to force a dual boot into a previous install. It may require you to buy a new and larger boot drive and move the original boot drive installation (XP) into a partition on the new drive and then install Linux on the other partition. Yes, you can select at startup which one you want.

On existing systems if you have a lot of free disk space, it may be easier to just set up a virtual machine and install the new OS, in this case Linux, into that and run that under the original OS as needed.

I'm a little surprised that you're booting Linux from a thumbdrive. Yeah, you can do that, but most people who run those "live" Linux versions as they call them boot from DVD. I would think that would be quicker than going over USB 2.0 or lower via thumbdrive.

[betwixt]

If you install linux through the 'install' icon it will ask you if you want to replace the existing operating system or install along side it. If you opt to install along side it will then give you choices about how much disk space to reserve for each OS (or accept it's default setting) and it will then add a bootloader automatically. When you start the computer it will ask you which OS to use. Note that Linux will be able to read and write to your Windows files/folders but it will not work the other way around, apart from thinking the hard disk is smaller, Windows will have no idea the Linux is there at all.

FYI, I run Ubuntu from a 64GB USB3 thumb drive and it is MUCH faster than my XP install on a SATA 2 hard disk!

Brian.

[dfisher052]

Betwixt...I did load the Linux as a dual boot and it went in without any problems (much to my surprise). Linux booted up right away as it was the first choice. When I selected XP it did a checkdisk, but turned out ok so now both work good. Thanks for the info.

[ahhaa]

I mentioned dual-booting in my earlier post- when you click on the Install option, it will ask you what you want to do: install beside windows or replace windows.
Selecting the dual boot option will allow linux to automatically repartition your internal drive; best thing is that in future linux can read any files still on your windows side, so you don't have to copy all photos, music, etc from one OS to the other.
You do need to decide how much of the internal drive to dedicate to linux, but it isn't such a hog as ms. Read the simple online install guide first.
A distro's Software Center is like an app store; anything you get from there is safe, pretested, and autoupdates (a much less trying process than windows).

There are many flavors of linux: some like Studio as intended to be cutting edge Audio/Video toolboxes, others labeled with LTS guarantee Long Term Support of 5 years on that version.

The best place to get a good overview of most everything is distrowatch: http://distrowatch.com/

[ahhaa]

It is possible to dual boot Linux and XP, but doing so AFTER one of them has already been installed is pretty complex. It's always easier to partition a disk drive at the beginning and do separate installs than to try to force a dual boot into a previous install.

jman- most all the linux distros today have done intensive work on making testing/installation on 'windows-infested' machines simple, and as foolproof as possible.

These days, you are merely presented with a simple slider to indicate how much of the drive you want to dedicate to the linux install.
The machine thinks for a few minutes and then re-partitions the drive while installing the new OS. It's all GUI now.

Remember, Mint only requires a few gigabytes for itself and a veritable host of programs; 25-30 gigs should be plenty of headroom on an internal drive.

You might want to check out Parted Magic, a venerable & reliable autobooting distro that is intended to repair and repartition hard drives.
It launches from a flash drive too; but the main USB use is so linux users can carry their entire system in their pocket.

[Markwinstanley]

You can install windows 7 lite version. I have installed it on old machine p4 2.8ghz, 512mb ram.

[dfisher052]

Where do you get a copy of Windows 7 Lite. I've never seen it listed for availability.

[nic2k4]

You don't get a Win 7 Lite disc, you make it with Vlite or Wintoolkit. Unless he's talking about WinTPC, which is only available to enterprise customers.

[Markwinstanley]

I am not talking about official genuine windows. It's pirated. If you need i can send you link if not forbidden here.

[redwudz]

I am not talking about official genuine windows. It's pirated. If you need i can send you link if not forbidden here.

That is definitely forbidden here and can get you banned. Fair warning.

Moderator redwudz

[Cornucopia]

I got my daughter an Acer EEE netbook a few years ago. First thing I did (before even presenting it to her) was remove the stupid Win7-32starterEdition. What a load of crap! Downgraded to XP32sp3 and it has been running well, but is now long in the tooth (she's used it hard!). It's in need of newer, larger, better HDD (original crapped out a year ago), but I've already maxed out the RAM and it has gone through 2 batteries, so it's one of those things where you don't want to throw bad money after good by doing a (or another) refurb. If I thought it would last hardware-wise, I'd attempt to convince her to go with LinuxMint or Ubuntu (even though she's already leaning toward Macs to go along with her other iOS stuff). But hardware really is the achille's heel here, not the OS. Granted those linux distros always run faster than XP by being lean & code-optimized. But isn't it trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?

Full or "lite" 7 is right out. Hell, XP overhead is nothing compared to 7, even a lean 7.

Scott

[dfisher052]

As the one who started this post I did say that if I found a solution I would say what I finally did.
I finally settled on keeping XP because of some of the things I still wanted to do with it, but I have installed Linux Mint, so it is now a dual boot system. I am learning Linux and really like it. I use Linux when I want to go on line. At some point I will probably completely replace XP with Linux. This computer gets pretty limited use as I only use it as a travel computer and just need to do banking and email.
Thanks all for your great advice.

[nic2k4]

I am not talking about official genuine windows. It's pirated. If you need i can send you link if not forbidden here.

Thanks, I'll pass. Never used pirated OS, when there are so many great free ones out there why bother with built-in backdoors and what not. Don't take it the wrong way, I'm not being judgmental, to each his own, but I've had to fix so many PC's that had stability issues that only went away with a "genuine" OS.

[Nelson37]

I strongly advise avoiding BOTH dual-boot on a single hard drive, and any kind of editing of an existing partition. These very significantly increase the risk of partition failure resulting in catastrophic data loss.

The odds are still quite low, but only you can decide what you have at risk. Doing this on a very old system is just not something I would ever recommend.

I have Mint on an old laptop, works fine for what it is. Installing the drivers for the wireless interface was an adventure the average user would never have completed. That is Linux in a nutshell.

I have a little old lady that bought a WOW-branded linux pc, brand-new. If you wanted a printer, it had to be an HP deskjet model. Nothing else would work. She could not connect to her banking/investment company online. A windows box would have been a simple fix. With the linux OS, it is still not working, and may not ever. She is likely one of very few Linux users the company has ever worked with, apparently the ONLY one with the WOW company's particular flavor of Linux (there are Hundreds), and this would be an issue wherein using the Linux "support community" would be an absolutely unacceptable security risk.

Linux, or more accurately whatever "flavor" of Linux you happen to be using, is limited. If your needs lie within those limits, it does have some significant advantages.

[nic2k4]

I finally settled on keeping XP because of some of the things I still wanted to do with it, but I have installed Linux Mint, so it is now a dual boot system. I am learning Linux and really like it.

Have you tried Mint Xfce Edition, it's a good fit for low spec machines. I also like Peppermint, it uses the LXDE environment, another good fit for netbooks.