[dba-Tech] XP Pro + Linux Dual Boot

On Jan 3, 2008 2:20 PM, Arthur Fuller <fuller.artful at gmail.com> wrote:
> My hardware is a duo-core HP box with 2 hard disks and 2 GB RAM. I would
> like to set this up as a dual-boot XP/Linux machine. The drives are labeled
> c: and h:. The current boot drive is h:. I have plenty of space on c:,
> certainly enough to carve off 20 GB for Linux using Partition Magic. But I'm
> wondering whether to do this or instead go the VMWare route. I use Linux
> relatively rarely, but would love to have a Linux VM available anytime I
> need it. If I install VMWare, then how do I create a virtual Linux? I've a
> couple of Linuxes that boot from the CD and leave your machine untouched,
> but I think that I'd rather create a VM for it instead, so I could install
> various packages on it and keep them.

Well, it depends...

My desktop is setup with dual boot. My laptop XP with VMWare and Linux VMs.

If I had better hardware, I'd prefer the VM route, because of the
constant availability of it.

I can't speak to a Linux GUI in a VM because I only use command line
Linux boxes to simulate web hosting environments that I administer, so
I haven't needed to use a GUI in a VM.

Given hardware that was good enough to run a Linux VM with a Gui
(which I don't have), I'd go that way over dual booting.

-- 
Bryan Carbonnell - carbonnb at gmail.com
Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well
preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out,
shouting "What a great ride!"