Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

I'm wanting to set up a quad-boot system. ATM, I have both the 32 & 64 bit versions of XP, but I also want to try both 32 & 64 bit versions of Kubuntu. I know Grub ought to handle 1 lot of Linux along with both XPs, but I've heard it won't handle 2 lots of Linux for some reason. :confused: It was suggested to me that I try EasyBCD, which would supposedly do all I want & more, but unfortunately it appears to require Vista, which I'm not in any hurry to try.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Well I installed kubuntu twice and it picked both of those up and XP... only problem is when you get a new kernel one of the ubuntu installs may not update the menu correctly...

You could always install grub to the individual partitions then use some other boot manager to call the partition which would then load grub which would then load linux

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

If Grub doesn't detect all the OSes properly, you can update the boot-up list manually. You can just copy the other Ubuntu boot option and change the partition to be the one with the second copy of linux.

Make sure you backup the currently boot list (menu.lst I think) before installing the second Linux OS in case it overwrites it with somethign odd.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Ah, right. Cheers for the info guys. :tu: I'm going to try 32bit Kubuntu first. I'll leave putting the 64bit 1 on until I've [hopefully] got the 32bit 1 all working & gotten a bit of a better grasp of Linux.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Not sure where you heard that one??:)
I`ve had 3 linux plus XP & Vista on one machine before.

It was just a passing phase i was going through:)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

I might have to put vista back on if I get one of those 8800GT's to use the DX10 :(

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

I've had an XP, Mac OS X (x86 Beta :p:) and Linux machine before, that was kinda amusing :)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Well, in the interests of accuracy, what I heard was closer to what Punky said. The info I received wasn't that grub couldn't do it as such, it was more that it might not handle more than 1 instance of Linux automatically & that I might have to go delving into config files or whatever to sort it out. It's been quite a while since I did anything more indepth with Linux than the brief fiddle I had with the Ubuntu Live CD last week, & I remember finding things like the directory structure/filing system/whatever rather confusing. That's why I was hoping for something that could do what I wanted automatically without me having to "get my hands dirty", as it were, until I'm more familiar with Linux in general.

I don't plan [ATM] on running Ubuntu & Kubuntu, I'm planning on having 2 versions [32 & 64bit] of Kubuntu. As for the difference between Ubuntu & Kubuntu, I probably know the least about Linux out of everyone in this thread, so it's very possible that I'm wrong with this, but from what I've read/heard the main [only?] difference between Ubuntu & Kubuntu is that Ubuntu uses Gnome & Kubuntu uses KDE. :shrug:

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Hi alien
I deleted my post when I realized that I hadn't read the question properly.:dunce:

You're probably OK to run both those 32 and 64 bit versions because they will have different kernels and so will have different entries on GRUB.(imho).
:cool:

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

It will still get listed differently ;) the kernel can be prefixed with a build tag.

I had Debian one with dragondtop appended to the end once the kernel name is et when its compiled ;)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

That was before i realised what a virtual machine was of course:)

I have had one or two distro`s in the past that required a little bit of work on the menu.lst but Ubuntu & Co`s Grub should pick em up all day long hopefully.Same one or not.:)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

I've had a bunch of probs trying to get Kubuntu to install, so much that I'm now trying Ubuntu. The problem I've got at the moment is different ways of referring to HDDs. In the partitioning bit of the installer, & in GParted, it refers to drives as hda, sda, & sdb, but in the advanced options to choose which drive to put the bootloader on, it has hd0 as the default option, so would sdb be hd2?

On a different note - why is it that GParted & the installer's partitioning section take an eternity to get the partition info from the drives, when it takes less than 10 seconds in XP, either in XP's own applet or Partition Manager?

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

If you do (as root) cat /boot/grub/device.map it will tell you exactly what is what.

e.g. mine is:

It is likely that sdb is hd2

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Ugh, terminal window! :( how do I do something as root again? Bearing in mind I haven't installed yet, & am still running from a Live CD. The only thing I could remember, from previous dalliances with Linux was the SU command, for which it wants a password, but it hasn't asked me to set 1 at any point! :confused: I vaguely remembered the sudo command, & thought that might be worth a try, but with or without it, it just says
:(

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

If you're on a liveCD setup then:

including quotes, that will prompt you for whatever the root password for the liveCD is set as...

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/99222

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/72253

an inexpensive way of doing away with the hassle of dual booting. I have fancier ali ones
(http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124169) that cost me a bit more but I just swap now :)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

No idea what it's set as; tried both root & ubuntu.

You do have a point, however that would require setting aside an entire HDD for Linux, rather than just 24GB [10GB /, 4GB swap, 10GB /home] on my 500GB drive, which is what I'm trying to do.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Maybe it doesn't have one, just try

cat /union/boot/grub/device.map

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

I've returned to XP for the moment, partly because I needed to do some stuff in Windows, & partly because I was getting a bit frustrated with Linux. I'll give it another go later.

On the subject of root & passwords with Ubuntu, I just found this:
Linkage

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

It can be a little confusing at first,especially after plain old C`s & D`s eh.
The grub bootloader will always offer to install the grub to the mbr of the first drive(hd0?) unless you tell it otherwise.
If you have Windows on the drive then you would obviously need to repair the MBR if you ever decided to remove *buntu again.
It`s easy enough to do with your recovery console or a 98 bootdisk even.
Just going with those defaults for Grub to the MBR is fine though imho.

This confusion(i`m getting confused myself here just thinking about drives) is one of the reasons why i always suggest a nice unallocated partition and letting the installer use the "largest continuous free space".Especially when it`s possibly the first time/s installing.
Manual partitioning & creating the extra partitions is all well & good.... once you get your head round the various terms etc.
Gparted can be slow & even problemtic from the Ubuntu cd at times but i always use the Gparted live cd for any manual partitioning jobs.
I`ve never had problems with Gparted on it`s own cd although i have with the one on the Ubuntu cd itself.

You could get a few *buntus on that thing eh,all of them in fact,plus the other top 99 distros over on distrowatch probably:D

:confused:

The only thing that will result in from a live Ubuntu cd is...
Not too sure about the "union part"??
Even without the union part though there is no "/boot/grub/device.map" in the live cd environments file system.It wont exist until after grub is actually installed it seems.

Normal sudo commands will not ask for a password in the live environment but trying to be root will of course.
Not sure why you would want to become root in a live cd though...unless you mabey doing some rescue work of some sort;)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Well it appears in my Mandriva 2008 liveCD file system? :confused: I would have thought it would have to work out the relationship between the hardware & the device names allocated before installation? Unless 'buntu doesn't bother doing that until you actually choose to install?

/union/ is an overarching directory created by unionfs that allows the normal / directory to be combined with the memory resident tmpfs file system.

Maybe 'buntu uses aufs instead of unionfs?

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Does the one on the gparted cd resize ext3 ok?
The ubuntu cd didn't offer me the ablity to do that.

At the moment I have 2 x250gb drives
first is 85gb (k)ubuntu 7.10 x64
150gb vista x64
and a small dell utility partition

2nd is completely formatted to ext3 but I might want to resize that and drop in another NTFS partition for my games :)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

I know both the auf-tools & unionfs-tools packages are available in the repos but thats all i know about them it seems.
I`ve had to throw an Ubuntu cd in just to be sure but theres definetely no device.map...or even a grub directory itself come to that.

It`s got me wondering how the Ubuntu live cd does this now too though.
I always use alternate cd`s for installing so i`ve never really spent toooo much time in the Ubuntu live environment thinking about this...none in fact.
Not worrying about device.mapping anyway.:)
I use Puppy if i need a live environment for most other reasons, besides installing our own setups.

All this kinda stuff can be soooo off-putting for the potential new user though eh, which is why i always suggest the more straightforward methods for the first time installers.
Once people(not meaning you in particular alien) start getting bogged down in the potential complexities of manual partitioning for the very first time it`s so easy to end up losing the plot.......especially if they lose Windows along the way.Worse when they aint backed up too of course:)

"Ubuntu ate my XP" is an all too familiar thread title in some places.
Let Ubuntu take control i say.....it`s not as stupid us as newbs can be.

Not as often anyway:)

---------- Post added at 13:13 ---------- Previous post was at 13:11 ----------

http://gparted.sourceforge.net/features.php

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

As it happens, I've just downloaded Marauding Marmoset 7.3333 & had a play with the liveCD... ;)

No sign of a device.map file anywhere, although grub has to generate one when installing.

Anyway, the liveCD nearly gave me a dicky fit, as the disk manager thingy told me it was using my PC-BSD partition for tmpfs! Luckily it wasn't actually.

I may try installing the KDE version to see how everything works... :)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

:)
To hell with the device.map......whats the best way to clean Tetley off a keyboard??

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

"... and the winner of this year's Understatement of the Year award goes to... XPOD!" ;)

I was thinking it would be better to put it on the same drive as I have the OS, as that's the newest & biggest 1, & the least likely to be removed for any reason any time soon.

Or a Partition Manager bootable CD. :)

I think I'll try telling it to put it on hd2, as like I said, I'd prefer it on the same drive as the OS.

What can I say? :) I guess I'm just used to having my computer setup the way I want it, rather than some arbitrary decision made by the software I'm installing, that's why I always choose the custom install option when it's available with Windows software.

The version on the Kubuntu CD wouldn't even complete loading, just started scanning for devices then crashed, every time.

If it were empty to begin with, perhaps. ;)

Blame Cobby, he's the 1 that told me I needed to do that command as root. :D

Well, as I said above, I'll try telling it to put it on hd2 next time I try, which won't be until at least tonight, or maybe tomorrow.

True. The problem is, there's no need for it to be this awkward, it's not like GUI design is difficult [as in actually figuring out how to lay things out, etc; not including the coding of the GUI in that statement]. Sometimes I wonder if some linux programmers feel that their software has to be awkward to use & unintuitive, or else they'd be "selling out" or something. :rolleyes:

I think [hope] I understand partitioning enough, even under Linux, not to risk FUBARing my XP installs, but I do take your point. The Kubuntu installer told me it failed when trying to format the first partition of the 3 [/] as ext3, so I rebooted into XP, created & formatted 3 partitions [ext3, swap, & ext3] in Partition Manager, then rebooted with the Kubuntu CD. This time when I get to the parititoning bit I simply assigned the partitions to what I want them to be & carry on. Then it tells me that the partition designated as / isn't set to be formatted [even though it's a cleanly formatted partition], & that I must set it to be formatted, except it wouldn't let me. I tried clicking in the formatting checkbox to set it to be formatted but it wouldn't change state. At that point I gave up with Kubuntu & decided to try Ubuntu [well, it was that & the fact that I'd had Kubuntu's KDE toolbar crash on me for no apparent reason!].

:LOL:

See my experiences with Kubuntu above. It may behave differently for you, but it made me less inclined to go with KDE, which is a shame, as I much prefer the look of KDE to Gnome.

Bounty kitchen roll is fairly good. Slide it edge-wise down between the keys to get any liquid that's gone beyond the key tops. :)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

I should have started earlier with a "dont quote me on this":p:

I said "a little confusing" now;)

Sounds good.Keeping everything seperate is great but i just dont like seeing people trying linux & possibly getting peeved off just becuse of any needless complexity(unfamiliarity)...not on first outings anyway.
I know there are people who actually take their Windows drives out(disconnect) when installing Linux on second drives.Then they just use their f12(or similar?) at start up for choosing which drive to actually boot.

Quite right too,The whole point of Linux is the freedom to do what you want. All i meant though was that if someone is finding it a bit difficult to get the head round all the manual partitioning terms etc then there are much simpler ways to go about it.
If people installing for the first times are going to go down the more complicated roads to start out then good luck to them.It`s all good education....as long as they know there are easier ways usually...EDIT:And as long as they dont let it put them off;)

It`s only awkward when it`s not familiar m8.(more understatements eh)
Your just used of doing things a certain way,with certain terms.
If you ever find yourself having "used" linux for anywhere near as long as you`ve used Windows(?) then i`m sure those hd0`s & sda`s will be just as easy to understand as those familair ole C`s & `Ds.

You could always install KDE once your up & running if you want but either way never be put off by looks.Any Linux can be made to look any way you want really.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

from how I understand it.

hda1 IDE harddrive 1 (partition 1)
hda2 IDE drive 1 (partition2)
hdb1 IDE drive 2 (parition1)

or

sda1 scsi/sata drive 1 (partiton 1)
sda2 Scsi/sata drive 1 (partition2)
sdb1 Scsi/sata drive2 (partiton1)

and so forth.

although some sata drives show up as IDE depending on the controller making them hd(x) enteries rather than sd(x) entries

Hd(0,1) is drive 0 partition 2 (system counts from 0), so the first drive on the first controller.

hd(1,5) would be harddrive 2 partition 6 .

I may be wrong with the hd(0,1) etc since i've only had to deal with them in grub a couple times and am still learning ;)

Its actually very logical when I think about it, makes the windows way of doing things seem silly.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

You've gt it spot on there... :)

I've just installed Kubuntu & ended up downloading the alternative CD. The graphical install one wanted GRUB to take over my MBR, with no other option...

Going to try & configure the wireless now... :erm:

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

its easier than it used to be...
and theres a lot of friendly folks over to talk you though it.

I would update the kernel on my kubuntu but last time I tried that with the 32bit version (running 64bit thesedays) the damn Nvidia GLX module wouldn't load


strange since I had it working on debian with that version of the kernel... might have been something i did wrong when setting the config.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Well, posting from there now, so it was OK. Not really liked network manager in the past but this implementation seems fine...

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Perhaps, but I have dabbled [briefly] with it in the past, usually when I'd got a new HDD, so was free to just fiddle around with it for a while, before wiping it & using it for Windows &/or general storage. To me, the whole idea of seperate root, swap, & home partitions makes more sense, as I've been doing the same sort of thing with Windows for ages.

If I had a spare drive I might consider it I suppose, but in this instance it's not really practical.

So I've got to wait 10 years before Linux makes sense? :p:

I know I could put KDE on afterwards, it's just that whilst messing about with the Kubuntu Live CD, it seemed somewhat unstable, compared to Gnome & XP. :(

I do see your point, & agree, to an extent, it's just that they use 2 different systems [*da1, & hd0] & don't bother to explain the difference. Based on logic & experience I guessed what it probably meant, but that's my whole point: I shouldn't have to guess. Would it kill them to add tooltips, a "help on this view/window" button, or just some text at the bottom of the window? I know there's a bunch of things that are less than perfect in Windows/Windows software, but that doesn't mean designers of Linux GUIs should automatically dismiss some of the ways of doing things that are well established in Windows GUIs.

I know there are still some "hardcore" Linux users who prefer to do as much as possible with the command line interface, but for distros that are aiming for mass appeal [*buntu], especially if they want to win over more Windows users, they need to do a lot more work on the user-friendliness side of things.

What other options are there, besides GRUB taking over the MBR? & how non-graphical is the alternative CD anyway? Does it require knowing a whole bunch of linux terminal commands?

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

If you're not already booting another distro with XP then you don't have to use this way; but you can use your existing bootloader & install the Kubuntu GRUB to the partition where Kubuntu itself is installed. All you have to do then is edit your existing GRUB menu.lst by copying the main Kubuntu menu.lst entry into it.

For example, my menu.lst at the moment looks like this:

The ubuntu entry was just copied from its own menu.lst, which is why it's in a slightly different format.

If you're just installing Ubuntu alongside XP there's no advantage as it's not that easy to edit the XP bootloader.

The alternative CD is still graphical, but more like the the old DOS chunky graphics, no command line stuff, just arrow & tab keys to navigate, no point & click...

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

*buntu [especially] is actually quite possible to use without ever going near the command line.It`s there and if you want to learn about it great but the reality is that you dont need to go near a terminal if you dont want to..
Not in Ubuntu.Normal usage can easily do without it.
It would be mad not to at least learn the basics though imho.;)
ALT-F2(in Ubuntu) is comparable to the Run dialogue in Windows though and just as easy to use for gk/sudo commands and suchllike

I`m also not so sure it`s Ubuntu that needs to do anything to win over Windows users......if anything i think it`s the Windows users that need to do more to win themselves over,if their at least trying Linux of course.:)

Not quite that long hopefully...:)
Most Windows users(owners) i know though have generally had pc`s for years & years but...... many still could`nt tell you the difference between Windows and the pc itself so i dont think time has much to do with it.

At least you already know what a partition is... if you had asked me what a partition was at the time i`d have told you all about the horrid Japanesse room devider upstairs.
i was still struggling with the differences between DLL`s and LOL`s when i found Ubuntu.;)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Personally I can't imagine using linux without going into the cmd line at somepoint

even in windows I sometimes venture into the command-line although more so in linux simply becuase sometimes the quickest way to manipulate the filesystem is via CLI

Nothing beats an rm -rf * from root
Or if you want to see whats going on rm -rfv *
Proceed it with sudo if your on ubuntu

Just make sure your in the right dir before running that command...
(and to any novices out there. DON'T RUN THIS COMMAND unless you actually wanted to delete every file in the current dir and any directory's under it)

Also rm -rf / is a good one, but you only ever do it the once (no really don't try it it Deletes pretty much everything!)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

I'll bear that in mind if I ever get to that stage, thanks. :tu: ATM, I still don't have any distro installed as yet.

That's good to know, I've dealt with something like that before with... Mandrake, I think it was. I wasn't sure which alternate CD to try, & then I thought "sod it, I've got broadband & enough HDD space", so queued up all 4 [32 & 64bit versions of Kubuntu & Ubuntu, incase the alternate version of Kubuntu is better behaved than the Live version]. The 1 downside to this idea is that I finally saw the dreaded traffic shaping in action. :(
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alien42...fic-shaped.png

Well that's good to hear. It's 1 thing to be able to learn it as & when I have the inclination & time to do so, but it would be a pain to have to be forced to learn it, just to do basic stuff or get stuff to work.

Speaking of getting stuff to work [& going off on a bit of a tangent], please tell me that someone's come up with some proper drivers for the Logitech MX1000, or at least a tool to map the commands/functions I want to specific buttons on mice with more than 3 buttons. It was rather annoying using the Back button in Firefox only to have it do paste-from-clipboard instead of making Firefox go back a page.

I have to disagree quite strongly on this 1. A lot of Linux users want more Windows users to make the switch to Linux, but the majority of Windows users tend to be fairly content with Windows. I'd also say that the majority of Windows users that do decide to give Linux a try only do so out of curiosity, rather than need. If they needed to switch to Linux, then perhaps I could see your point about them being the ones to put in a bit of extra effort, but if you're only trying something out of curiosity you don't want to spend hours tearing your hair out in frustration, or googling & trawling endless forums & mailing lists just to get it to work; something that Windows tends to do most of the time without much effort at all. To me, it's kind of like the difference between staying in a hotel, & roughing it in a tent. Whilst there are some who would choose the tent [especially if it was given to them for free], most people would rather the comfort of the hotel. ;)

Well, my first exposure to proper PCs was with the 386s we had at school, but we weren't really allowed to experiment much with them, just use them in the manner dictated. [Although that didn't stop us using the head of the computer department's login details to play Lemmings when he wasn't around, so that he wouldn't be able to prove who'd been running what. :D] I believe they were running Windows 3.1 [or was it 3.11? maybe Dilli remembers :shrug:].

I didn't really have much of a chance to freely experiment with x86-based computers until I got my first [a 286 laptop with 640KB RAM & DOS, second hand for £20] in 1997. A few months later I fished the case & motherboard of a 486 out of a skip, & bought the rest of the parts, & worked my way up from there. :)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

How about Star wars via the terminal....;)
Could`nt agree with you more.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MX1000Mouse

I really dont think those "Linux users" are too interested one way or another and if anything i think those "hardcore users" you previously mentined in partucular would rather we all stopped coming and left them to their terminals probably......us and our bloody GUI`s;)

I`m with you 100% on things being as simple as they can possibly be m8.I myself spent countless posts arguing that point with some of the gurus out there during my first weeks & months.
Automatix anyone???:sleep:

Being a complete newb to pC`s it`s hard for me to relate to some of the arguments i hear when for me...Windows & Linux have been the same either way.Both new,both strange,both different.......both confusing,both fun....both frustrating.Both absolutely hilarious at times.

No matter what browser i use;)


I never sat down at a pc really until last March although i did have the obligatory commodore64 as a teen.I was much more interested in my snooker table back then i think.....amongst other things.
Still blame that track & field game for the Carpals Tunnel Syndrome all these years later though..:erm:

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

(-O-) "I know what you're getting for christmas, I have felt your presents."

:nworthy: Bookmarked, cheers for that. :tu:
<types something into the searchbox on that page>
[img]Download Failed (1)[/img] They've done the G15 keyboard as well! :shocked: And it's for the older [& better, IMHO] version, not the newer crappy version. :cool:

LOL, there may be some truth to that. :)

I suppose it's different for me, as I've been with Windows not just for longer, but through several versions as well [still avoiding Vista though].

Get a Powerball. I haven't been diagnosed with anything with my hands/wrists/arms, but they do give me pain sometimes, especially when I've been doing a lot of typing/mousing, but I find my Powerball definitely helps.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

My presents are felt by all those before me:)

Good stuff.:)

I`ve been through a few versions myself strangely enough....just not over the same time scale of course.Me,XP Home & Pro as well as Vista.Along with some dodgy live versions just recently.:)

Bar Vista though,all came installed on the pc`s in question when i got them.
They`ve all long been wiped or at least backed up to bootable cd`s where possible.
Gparted fodder;)

I`ll certainly look into them,cheers

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Powerball?

I've got an iffy wrist as well it clicks sometimes, that can't be good!

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

With me it was 3.11, 95B [aka 95 OSR2, which would probably be called SP2 nowadays], 98SE, XP Pro, & now just starting with XP Pro x64 edition.

Ah, you mean BartPE? You can make 1 of them up with the BartPE prog & a genuine Windows CD [or a non genuine 1, if you like ;)]. Making 1 of those is another of the many things on my to-do list that I haven't gotten around to yet.

They can also fix Carpal Tunnel with surgery now I think.

---------- Post added at 22:40 ---------- Previous post was at 22:14 ----------

Yes, Powerball. These things:
linkage

I've got 1 of the Signature series.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Oh those things, ive seen those before and never really given them a second look, maybe I'll have to now. :)

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

I never did these particular ones myself with BartPE but yes,i think they are a result of that(XPE?).They were just iso`s when i got them though.:angel:
I just thought a live windows cd would be a potentially handy addition to the little bag of tricks.
Nlites a good utility for making your own normal stripped out,unattended XP cd`s.
I wish i had known about it last year when i was struggling with various other methods of making bootable XP cd`s, from the copies that were on the pc`s in question of course.

I`ve actually not had any real trouble since the last steroid injections but i am being booked for the op if it returns this time ...again.
The wife reckons i`ll always have my w*****s cramp as she affectionately calls it.Her grandmother had it all her days,even after jags & ops.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Could it have been WinPE? That's the official MS 1, intended for large companies & OEMs to use in-house for setting up systems.

Definitely, which is why it's on my to-do [eventually] list. ;)

Yeah, I know - another item on my list. :o: Mostly to get rid of some stuff that I uninstall as soon as Windows is setup anyway, & also to automate the install of a few things.

LOL. :)

I'm not sure if my mum had that done or something else, as she had several ops on her hand, though I know that was partly fixing an injury. :confused:

...:erm: :D

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

You may be right.......some XP Pro(2003) version.Cant recall exactly where i got it though.I`d need to retrace my steps mabey.:)
It is called XPE though.

Those "lists" do seem to get quite get long eh:D
Nlites great for the job at hand though.

Which brings me to her grandmother:shocked:
lmao.....Bounty Kitchenroll you reckon huh??

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

If you are dual booting Linux and Windows and you use Firefox or Thunderbird on both you can keep both in sync by following the notes in this blog:
http://blog.nikolaidis.com/index.php?paged=2

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Personally speaking google browser sync does it for me :p:
then for thunderbird I use an IMAP server and the sync kolab extension to handle the address book, calender.etc

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Cheers for that. :tu: Only had a brief look at it, but will get round to having a proper look at it later. It did inspire me to look into how & where the Windows versions of Firefox & Thunderbird reference their profiles. As a result, I think I now know how to do the same thing between 32 & 64bit XP as well [or other versions of Windows, if anyone else wants to try it].

Note: I haven't actually tried it yet, so make a backup copy of your profile before you try it. ;)

In your alternate version of Windows [XP x64 in my case, though I would expect it would work for Vista as well, unless MS has changed where Application Data is put], open the relevant files listed below [just paste the whole line into either the Run window or the filename box in the Open File dialogue of your favourite text editor].

%userprofile%\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\profiles.ini
%userprofile%\Application Data\Thunderbird\profiles.ini

You'll need to have run whichever prog you're dealing with already on your alternate install of Windows, so that it will have created a profile, then edit the .ini file. Example:
The profile name for Profile0 is randomly generated by Firefox. Speaking of profiles & Firefox, whatever happened to the Profile Manager? I seem to remember there being 1 in earlier versions, but can't seem to find it now. :confused:

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

You just need to start FF with the -ProfileManager switch...

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

-ProfileManager

add that to the firefox.exe shortcut if you want it to load profile manager.

Personally Google browser sync is far easier since it syncs your bookmarks, history, cookies.etc automatically

It can do saved passwords as well if you set it to :)

Edit: seems Cobbydaler beat me to it.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Cheers dude. :tu:

The installer used to put 1 in the program group for it on the Start menu, I wonder why they don't do that anymore?

I suppose that might be of use between multiple computers [though if I were doing that I'd probably get a USB key & use the portable version of Firefox], but when it's on the same computer, just different Operating Systems, I would have thought that the different installs all using the same profile stored in the same place would be simpler.

Re: Multi-booting Linux & XP
 

Maybe But its also handy if you wipe the OS and forget to copy the profile first..

Also less chance if one of them storing something the other doesn't like such as some extensions which are platform specific E.g Ietab