Questions about Ubuntu

[bull2118]

My tale of whoa! As in whoa, I cant find my XP disk.

I have an old IDE hdd and my no mobo is only sata, which is fine i needed a new hdd anyways. Anyhow, I lost my XP disk but have the code so mu buddy says hey, just boot your new hdd with ubuntu. Sound easy enough but my questions are

1. Is it really as easy as downloading ubuntu to my desk top, saving it to a disk and then putting the disk in my new build and voila! Everything will be gravy?

2. Suppose it works out that easy, does ubuntu allow one to partition their hdd before install like Windows?

3. Having never used a linux system before, once I sail through the install with no complications, can I just throw any of my games in the tray and load and play like normal?

Thanks!

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: bull2118
My tale of whoa! As in whoa, I cant find my XP disk.

I have an old IDE hdd and my no mobo is only sata, which is fine i needed a new hdd anyways. Anyhow, I lost my XP disk but have the code so mu buddy says hey, just boot your new hdd with ubuntu. Sound easy enough but my questions are

1. Is it really as easy as downloading ubuntu to my desk top, saving it to a disk and then putting the disk in my new build and voila! Everything will be gravy?

2. Suppose it works out that easy, does ubuntu allow one to partition their hdd before install like Windows?

3. Having never used a linux system before, once I sail through the install with no complications, can I just throw any of my games in the tray and load and play like normal?

Thanks!

1: What you will be downloading is a .iso image, it will have to be specially burned to a disk. You cannot just copy the file over, that will not work. You will have to use a separate program to burn it as an image. (Don't feel bad, it took my friend months to get me to understand what an iso was. Admittedly, he wasn't explaining it very well.)

2: Yes it does allow you to partition the drive. My past experiences with Ubuntu however have led me to the conclusion that it might be best for you to give it its own drive.

3: No. The games are all written for Windows, which mean that they call Windows APIs in order to work. There might be a way to get them to work in Linux, but it will require Wine/Crossover.

If you have your Serial number for Windows XP, just get your hands on a disk and it should install just fine. I would make sure that you get the right version of XP, so if your Serial is for XP Home, you won't be able to install XP Pro.

Finally, depending on your hardware, you might just want to either wait/install Windows 7 (You can try the beta for free) or install Vista.

 

[bull2118]

Thanks for the reply. Using the tool that will eventually save all humanity (Google) I was able to figure out how to burn the .iso file as an image. I think now finish bu new build, insert the iso disk, do the lucky ubuntu dance, and hope for the best. Assuming that works and my computer actually turns on, I guess I'll go from there,

Thanks for the response.

 

[lxskllr]

The easiest way is to let Ubuntu pick the defaults. It shouldn't require any thinking on your part. Just answer the easy questions, and hit ok :^)

 

[bull2118]

Thanks for the help, now Im reading on whether all this will be worth it (i.e. whether my games will run on Wine or some other emulator).

 

[lxskllr]

It won't hurt to try it. I think you're going to be screwed on the gaming, but since this is a fresh install, you won't lose anything by trying Ubuntu. You'll be able to see what's up in the Linux world without any danger to a running, lived in setup.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Originally posted by: bull2118
Thanks for the help, now Im reading on whether all this will be worth it (i.e. whether my games will run on Wine or some other emulator).

If i remember correctly there is some kind of database on the net where you can find ratings for running games with wine.

There are other ways too, or at least there used to be, i have a memory of something called Cedega, might as well take a look at that too if you are interested.

 

[VinDSL]

Not much left to say, that hasn't already be said, except some casual observations...

I don't play games, thus I have no use for Windows - with is the antithesis of your situation. Just something to think about... kinda sad actually... like losing an old friend.

I h-a-t-e Ubuntu, but l-o-v-e Linux Mint! And, it's all about the GUI, not the core files...

Ubuntu is a refinement of Debian.

Mint is Ubuntu done right.

Put another way, Linux Mint is a refinement of Debian done right - doesn't get any better than that!

So, my suggestion is to save yourself some time - forget Ubuntu - and go directly to Linux Mint... preferably x64, if your machine supports it.

 

[Sylvanas]

If you are planning on playing games on your PC, it would be best to stay with windows (unfortunately ) or at least have windows on a different partition- it will save you alot of time and confusion. Apart from gaming, IMO Ubuntu is a better OS for everything else. Ubuntu comes on a Live-CD which you can burn to an ISO and then it acts as a try before you buy disk. Simply insert the disk, it boots up Ubuntu from the disk and you can see what it's like before actually installing it to your HDD. Also Ubuntu 9.04 comes out on the 20th of this month so maybe wait until thats out then download and use that- nothing wrong with 8.10, just might aswell use the latest. As for which distro, everyone has their favorite- but I personally prefer Ubuntu having tried, Opensuse, Fedora, Mint etc. It should also be noted that some of the mainstream games actually do have native Linux clients, like many of id's games (the makers of the Doom series) which makes things alot eaisier and also is good to see a developer supporting Linux and OpenGL.