# i'm installing 8 operatin system??



## vish786 (May 8, 2007)

hi guys i recently bought 160gb sata disk(i already hav a old sata drive 80gb with winxp installed)...... 

so i'm thinking of installin 

ubuntu
mandriva
opensuse
fedora core
debain
solaris
slackware
knoppix

all this on new hdd disk with 10 gb of space for each OS and a swap file of 1gb(as i hav 512mb ram)... i am using GRUB as my bootloader(hoping tat will work).... after working for few months i will select the OS which is better among others and delete the rest OS.... 
wat do u think guys... is this a good idea... wat is ur suggestion???? plz reply fast


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## gauravakaasid (May 8, 2007)




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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 8, 2007)

me too deca-booted after i got my new 250GB HDD 6 months back


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## vish786 (May 8, 2007)

Zeeshan Quireshi said:
			
		

> me too deca-booted after i got my new 250GB HDD



which all did u install and finally which one u opted.... i would like to know


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## mediator (May 8, 2007)

U guys got a lotta time to fiddle around with distros. Instead of trying all linuxes, try PC-BSD,freebsd etc.


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## kumarmohit (May 8, 2007)

Shocked 8 times 
The last Shock is seperated coz u wanna install Knoppix, a rather rare venture.


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## vish786 (May 8, 2007)

kumarmohit said:
			
		

> Shocked 8 times



comeon guys stop making fun... and tell me wat should i do is it a good idea... i mean will it work or not


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## khattam_ (May 8, 2007)

Would u run each of 'em??

Trust me, you will regret...


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## vish786 (May 8, 2007)

khattam_ said:
			
		

> Would u run each of 'em??
> 
> Trust me, you will regret...


if i am installing obviously i will run them.... will keep for few months and after testin i will delete.. simple


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## amitava82 (May 8, 2007)

why not try one at a time.. keep it simple.


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## kaustav_geek (May 8, 2007)

*vish786* 
I don't think it to be a prudent thing to do... Almost all of them have a live CD/DVD option. So, instead of actual installation, just get the feel of each of them by running them in _Live _ mode.

That will ease the hassle. Trust me, an octa boot ain't a good idea..


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## Anindya (May 8, 2007)

After u test all the os`es plz do let us know what u found out. Atleast i will wait to hear from u.


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## vish786 (May 8, 2007)

Anindya said:
			
		

> After u test all the os`es plz do let us know what u found out. Atleast i will wait to hear from u.



it would take months


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## iMav (May 8, 2007)

use live cd instead of installing ... makes more sense


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## g_goyal2000 (May 8, 2007)

gauravakaasid said:
			
		

>


Yeah,


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## kaustav_geek (May 9, 2007)

> it would take months



Nope. If you are a good learner and observer, getting the hang of 1 distro won't take you more than a week. So, will prolly take you 2 months to _try_ them out completely...

As I said, don't be illogical, go the _LIVE CD/DVD_ way.......


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## eddie (May 9, 2007)

vish786 said:
			
		

> ... and tell me wat should i do is it a good idea


You should not do it, it is not a good idea





> ... i mean will it work or not


 It will work


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## Sukhdeep Singh (May 9, 2007)

Better try each OS in Live CD or Virtual PC using VMWARE rather than messing up your harddrive


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## kalpik (May 9, 2007)

Yes, try on vmware or virtualbox!


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## kumarmohit (May 9, 2007)

Even I recommend using Virtualisation, so if anything goes wrong you only have to recover 1 OS only


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 9, 2007)

vish786 said:
			
		

> which all did u install and finally which one u opted.... i would like to know


 well actually i tried different versions of same distro to notice how much they had changes , like i installed Fedora from Core 3 upto 6 , then i installed Ubuntu from 5.04 upto 6.10 , also i tried FreeBSD , SCO Openserver , SCO Unixware n many others . if u want i'll type the whole list 



			
				mediator said:
			
		

> U guys got a lotta time to fiddle around with distros. Instead of trying all linuxes, try PC-BSD,freebsd etc.


 actually i meant to say Other Operating Systems except windows

though my HDD is stock full now(200 GB used , thou i'll be backin all that up to dvd's) so i use VMWare now , which is much better n easier . also i mainly learn the command line so even with my pesky 384 MB ram VMWare runs superbly smooth .



			
				kumarmohit said:
			
		

> Even I recommend using Virtualisation, so if anything goes wrong you only have to recover 1 OS only


 nah man even if everything goes wrong inside VMWare nothin will happen to your host OS


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## vish786 (May 9, 2007)

Zeeshan Quireshi said:
			
		

> well actually i tried different versions of same distro to notice how much they had changes , like i installed Fedora from Core 3 upto 6 , then i installed Ubuntu from 5.04 upto 6.10 , also i tried FreeBSD , SCO Openserver , SCO Unixware n many others . if u want i'll type the whole list


buddy plz type the whole list i am damn interested... reply fast i am waiting.... plz plz plz



			
				sukhdeepsinghkohli said:
			
		

> Better try each OS in Live CD or Virtual PC using VMWARE rather than messing up your harddrive





			
				kumarmohit said:
			
		

> Even I recommend using Virtualisation, so if anything goes wrong you only have to recover 1 OS only



can u guys put some light on VMWARE OR Virtual PC... i hav no idea wat it is ???


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## kalpik (May 9, 2007)

^^ You can either download VMWare server from *www.vmware.com or download VirtualBox (recommended over VMWare) from *www.virtualbox.org

Im sure you will figure out everything yourself


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## kumarmohit (May 9, 2007)

Microsift Virtual PC 2007 is freeware and its given with Digit in either the April or may Discs.

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_virtual_PC

If you want a Linux based virtualisation solution, try QEMU.


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## kalpik (May 9, 2007)

No offense, but Virtual PC is just crap.. VMWare and Virtualbox are MUCH better IMHO, and they are free too..


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 9, 2007)

kalpik said:
			
		

> No offense, but Virtual PC is just crap.. VMWare and Virtualbox are MUCH better IMHO, and they are free too..


 same here , while running Virtual PC i get >50% avg usage whereas while running VMware , CPU usage hardly goes over 10% .

@vish786 , mate u can download a copy of vmware from *www.vmware.com , then install it , then u just run it , go to file->new n then create a new virtual pc now u can install ny OS in it 

also this will help *www.virtual-strategy.com/article/view/1624/


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## vish786 (May 9, 2007)

kaustav_geek said:
			
		

> Nope. If you are a good learner and observer, getting the hang of 1 distro won't take you more than a week. So, will prolly take you 2 months to _try_ them out completely...
> 
> As I said, don't be illogical, go the _LIVE CD/DVD_ way.......



first thing is live cds or dvds will not hav all the softwares,

secondly if i install on hdd it will b better becoz i can change settings to watever i want, which is not possible if i run live cd/dvd

thirdly  live cd may sometimes boot without any problems but if i want to install tat OS then their might be some errors... 

fourthly if i use a live cd to run lot of software at a time the system might hang or slow down and applications will take more time to open, but if i install on hdd everything would run faster

fifthly i can install additional softwares and see which OS supports most of the other applications without any problems

sixthly i can learn more things after installing linux on hdd then on live cd/dvd....

seventhly i dont remeber all the things as soon i remember i will post it

tat is why i am installing on hdd rather than using live cd... i am already using live knoppix dvd...



			
				Zeeshan Quireshi said:
			
		

> same here , while running Virtual PC i get >50% avg usage whereas while running VMware , CPU usage hardly goes over 10% .
> 
> @vish786 , mate u can download a copy of vmware from *www.vmware.com , then install it , then u just run it , go to file->new n then create a new virtual pc now u can install ny OS in it
> 
> also this will help *www.virtual-strategy.com/article/view/1624/



u hav told earlier u had installed many OS so which OS did u finally select in the end....


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 9, 2007)

vish786 said:
			
		

> u hav told earlier u had installed many OS so which OS did u finally select in the end....


 currently toh i hv Only XP n Mac OS X installed on my system , though i regularly check out the latest OS releases . well i would suggest u KUbuntu 7.04 if u want a free , good looking n stable linux system .

also , there's no best operating system , it all depends on what u wanna do n that will decide which operating system you would use .


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## vish786 (May 10, 2007)

Zeeshan Quireshi said:
			
		

> same here , while running Virtual PC i get >50% avg usage whereas while running VMware , CPU usage hardly goes over 10% .
> 
> @vish786 , mate u can download a copy of vmware from *www.vmware.com , then install it , then u just run it , go to file->new n then create a new virtual pc now u can install ny OS in it
> 
> also this will help *www.virtual-strategy.com/article/view/1624/


various version of VMWARE r available like vmware player, and vmware server, etc which one should i download dude

,.


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## kalpik (May 10, 2007)

As already suggested, get VMWare Server.. Its free..


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## freebird (May 11, 2007)

if u do try deca boot!,each time u need to get a file system check?


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 11, 2007)

freebird said:
			
		

> if u do try deca boot!,each time u need to get a file system check?


 n what does that mean ? could u elaborate a bit more plz .


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## praka123 (May 11, 2007)

^ the Linux distros may be checking its file systems after a no of boots via tune2fs utillity.so if u boot to any distro also,e2fsck will be starting next time u boot another distro.the frequency will increase if the distros include are many.
this is coz sometimes u'll mount other distro's "/" partn in ur current running GNU/Linux,thus accessing.so...
u can look at /etc/fstab for number "1"  of ur "/" partn at the end which is for fs checking.disable it for skipping check or program checks using tune2fs utility.
Assumes that most distros uses ext3 fs by default.


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 11, 2007)

praka123 said:
			
		

> ^ the Linux distros may be checking its file systems after a no of boots via tune2fs utillity.so if u boot to any distro also,e2fsck will be starting next time u boot another distro.the frequency will increase if the distros include are many.
> this is coz sometimes u'll mount other distro's "/" partn in ur current running GNU/Linux,thus accessing.so...
> u can look at /etc/fstab for number "1"  of ur "/" partn at the end which is for fs checking.disable it for skipping check or program checks using tune2fs utility.
> Assumes that most distros uses ext3 fs by default.


 oh , well i didn't notice nything like this even though i accessd partitions of other distro , must be happening in the background .


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## vish786 (May 11, 2007)

guys which partition should i use, ext2 or ext3???

how to create a logical drive in linux??


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## freebird (May 11, 2007)

ext3 is the way for most distros.


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## saurabh.sauron (May 11, 2007)

the maximum I have used is 5, which included XP, 2000, Vista, Ubuntu, Fedora. Now I have three, Fedora, Ubuntu XP.

10 OS's are OK, if u have the time to customize everything (Customising Fedora requires patience). Ubuntu, Suse are good.

I think us should install Ubuntu last, coz it configures the boot loader automatically for all the OS's, otherwise u would spend a long time in manually adding entries for all other linux distros


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## vish786 (May 11, 2007)

saurabh.sauron said:
			
		

> the maximum I have used is 5, which included XP, 2000, Vista, Ubuntu, Fedora. Now I have three, Fedora, Ubuntu XP.
> 
> 10 OS's are OK, if u have the time to customize everything (Customising Fedora requires patience). Ubuntu, Suse are good.
> 
> I think us should install Ubuntu last, coz it configures the boot loader automatically for all the OS's, otherwise u would spend a long time in manually adding entries for all other linux distros


thanks a lot for that great suggestion of urs dude.... which boot loader does ubuntu use???


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## kalpik (May 11, 2007)

It uses grub only, but it detects all other OS's correctly..


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## vish786 (May 11, 2007)

how to create a logical drive in linux???

ext2 or ext3?? which should i use??

i asked earlier no one replied so askin again


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## kalpik (May 11, 2007)

use ext3..


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## freebird (May 12, 2007)

vish786 said:
			
		

> how to create a logical drive in linux???
> 
> ext2 or ext3?? which should i use??
> 
> i asked earlier no one replied so askin again


first of all google is ur friend. *google.com/linux
the normal way is to use command-line.
*tldp.org/HOWTO/LVM-HOWTO/

there are gui-tools available for most distros.
for eg;fedora uses system-config-lvm;check the menus.
I hope u use Ubuntu/Debian too.
In Debian/ubuntu there is lvm2 and u need a patched kernel if u want evms-gui to work.
also check
*ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=216117

I feel safest is using CLI (vgcreate etc).



> This guide shows how to work with LVM (Logical Volume Management) on Linux. It also describes how to use LVM together with RAID1 in an extra chapter. As LVM is a rather abstract topic, this article comes with a Debian Etch VMware image that you can download and start, and on that Debian Etch system you can run all the commands I execute here and compare your results with mine. Through this practical approach you should get used to LVM very fast.


*howtoforge.com/linux_lvm



^this one is a good tutorial for Debian and Ubuntu.


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## kaustav_geek (May 12, 2007)

> first thing is live cds or dvds will not hav all the softwares,
> 
> secondly if i install on hdd it will b better becoz i can change settings to watever i want, which is not possible if i run live cd/dvd
> 
> ...



1.) Who told you that ? Sabayon Live DVD packs all the software you'll ever need and you can use all of them from the DVD itself. I ran the Q4 demo off the DVD and it ran as it would run on a Windows installation.

2.)Yes, thats true, however, to get the exact hang and feel of a system, you don't need to customise each and every option. As pointed out by others, you'll have to spare a lot of time and patience.. Psst..psst, once you customise a system fully, you wouldn't wana use the other OS.. Trust me..

3.)Not the case anymore. All the LIVE CDs/DVDs boot and install equally well.

4.)Why do you at all need to run too many softwares at once ? A system crash while multi-tasking is threatening even on a hdd.

5.)That shouldn't be a problem. Almost all the Distros have an installation/packaging manager, so software compatibility won't be an issue since you'll installing softwares using them , most of the time.

6.)Not necessarily. You will bug this forum no less after you install all the OSes rather than running them off a LIVE CD.. As pointed out, GIYF, but you won't listen...

Ok... I might be sounding thrash and meaningless to you at the moment... 
Anyway, go ahead with the task. Best of luck....


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## vish786 (May 12, 2007)

kaustav_geek said:
			
		

> 1.) Who told you that ? Sabayon Live DVD packs all the software you'll ever need and you can use all of them from the DVD itself. I ran the Q4 demo off the DVD and it ran as it would run on a Windows installation.
> 
> 2.)Yes, thats true, however, to get the exact hang and feel of a system, you don't need to customise each and every option. As pointed out by others, you'll have to spare a lot of time and patience.. Psst..psst, once you customise a system fully, you wouldn't wana use the other OS.. Trust me..
> 
> ...



 i never knew somebody would answer in tat way.... i cant stop laughin at u

k... let get to d pt... i am followin wat u guys said i hav decided to install only some 4 OS now the other 4 i am not installin.. i am usin virtualisation on them....


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## praka123 (May 12, 2007)

Hope U get urself pleased with one distro after "experimentations"
                           -from an earlier 5-6 OS booting guy.
You will later find that one of the given Linux distros U like and will be getting accustomed with it.
No need for doing this 4-5 or 10 linux distros to boot.
better goto *distrowatch.com and research.


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## kaustav_geek (May 12, 2007)

> i never knew somebody would answer in tat way.... i cant stop laughin at u
> 
> k... let get to d pt... i am followin wat u guys said i hav decided to install only some 4 OS now the other 4 i am not installin.. i am usin virtualisation on them....



I myself laughed at the post you made looking at the ignorance in the contents.. And a clarification was necessary. Hence ,I tore apart all the _arguments_ made by you in you earlier _post_. So, there isn't much in it now...If you are what I see you are,then be careful. You have been pissing me off in various threads with no-brainers .... Please, this is a tech community in which every argument must be based on very sound arguments... And people like me and many many more post here just to help others and share knowledge... Not to flame... Your previous post , which I eventually replied to, has been a sort of a n00bish attempt at flaming and arguing.. No offense meant, but its not a good sign brother.....

And one more thing... laughing _at_ others isn't a very nice thing. It does no more than just piss someone off... Tch..tch.... not at all healthy..
Adios~ 
Have fun....


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## vish786 (May 12, 2007)

kaustav_geek said:
			
		

> I myself laughed at the post you made looking at the ignorance in the contents.. And a clarification was necessary. Hence ,I tore apart all the _arguments_ made by you in you earlier _post_. So, there isn't much in it now...If you are what I see you are,then be careful. You have been pissing me off in various threads with no-brainers ....



can u tell me in which thread did i do tat.... i just told u tat ur avatar does not look real to me.... tats it.... so dont get pissed off with sillly things re... 



			
				kaustav_geek said:
			
		

> Please, this is a tech community in which every argument must be based on very sound arguments... And people like me and many many more post here just to help others and share knowledge... Not to flame... Your previous post , which I eventually replied to, has been a sort of a n00bish attempt at flaming and arguing.. No offense meant, but its not a good sign brother.....



i joined this forum so i can also help others and share knowledge and inturn get help if i get stuck with my computing knowledge... i am not here for time pass...



			
				kaustav_geek said:
			
		

> And one more thing... laughing _at_ others isn't a very nice thing. It does no more than just piss someone off... Tch..tch.... not at all healthy..



ok i am sorry abt the laugh!!!


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 12, 2007)

vish786 said:
			
		

> ned this forum so i can also help others and share knowledge and inturn get help if i get stuck with my computing knowledge... i am not here for time pass...(


 mate , Frankly you seem to be more of a nuisance , you haven't ever installed a single distro n you're trying to install 10 distros at the first try .

do this , instal onlu ubuntu n get some experience with linux , after that you can test other distros .


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## vish786 (May 12, 2007)

Zeeshan Quireshi said:
			
		

> mate , Frankly you seem to be more of a nuisance , you haven't ever installed a single distro n you're trying to install 10 distros at the first try .
> 
> do this , instal onlu ubuntu n get some experience with linux , after that you can test other distros .


hey... i hav been using linux right from puc(2003).... knoppix, Elx(i am sure u dont know which linux is this), red hat... i hav already used all these OS from past few years for ur kind info.... so mind ur words


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 12, 2007)

vish786 said:
			
		

> hey... i hav been using linux right from puc(2003).... knoppix, Elx(i am sure u dont know which linux is this), red hat... i hav already used all these OS from past few years for ur kind info.... so mind ur words


 oh yeah i forgot i'm talking to a linux guru here  



			
				vish786 said:
			
		

> guys which partition should i use, ext2 or ext3???
> 
> how to create a logical drive in linux??


 but the guru doesn't know whether to choose Ext3 over Ext2 or not , or better still how to create partitions in Linux 



			
				vish786 said:
			
		

> thanks a lot for that great suggestion of urs dude.... which boot loader does ubuntu use???


 the guru doesn't also know that LILO has been abandoned my almost all distros n that GRUB is used by all new distros . heck Ubutun was launched in 2004 , so guru must be knowing which boot loader Ubuntu uses , how come he's askin us mortals 



			
				vish786 said:
			
		

> how to create a logical drive in linux???
> 
> ext2 or ext3?? which should i use??
> 
> i asked earlier no one replied so askin again


 guru also doesn't understand simple english , n even after freebird told him to use ext3 he has to ask the same question 



			
				vish786 said:
			
		

> i never knew somebody would answer in tat way.... *i cant stop laughin at u*


 guru also doesn't seem to have ny manners


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## vish786 (May 12, 2007)

Zeeshan Quireshi said:
			
		

> oh yeah i forgot i'm talking to a linux guru here


i just told i hav been usin linux... u started pullin my leg tellin tat i am guru


			
				Zeeshan Quireshi said:
			
		

> but the guru doesn't know whether to choose Ext3 over Ext2 or not ,


till now i hav been usin only ext2 so i asked which is better....


			
				Zeeshan Quireshi said:
			
		

> or better still how to create partitions in Linux



i had a little idea of creatin logical drive... but  never  created  linux logical drive...  becoz i  directly mounted windows  drive 


if u wanna help me... ur suggestions r always welcome... if u dont want to help then stop bein pain in the ass.... yup one more info dude i already installed mandriva, ubuntu and fedora.   now installin slackware.


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 12, 2007)

vish786 said:
			
		

> i just told i hav been usin linux... u started pullin my leg tellin tat i am guru
> 
> till now i hav been usin only ext2 so i asked which is better....
> 
> ...


 lolz , no problem mate , was havin just some fun  

btw try KUbuntu too , i think it's good .


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## kaustav_geek (May 12, 2007)

> mate , Frankly you seem to be more of a nuisance , you haven't ever installed a single distro n you're trying to install 10 distros at the first try .
> 
> do this , instal onlu ubuntu n get some experience with linux , after that you can test other distros .



Couldn't agree more...


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## vish786 (May 12, 2007)

@zeehan quireshi...   can u come online as soon as u read this msg... i hav some problem with vmware


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## cynosure (May 12, 2007)

vish786 said:
			
		

> if u wanna help me... ur suggestions r always welcome... if u dont want to help then stop bein pain in the *ass*.... yup one more info dude i already installed mandriva, ubuntu and fedora.   now installin slackware.



How come this word was not censored
It always hides when I write this!!


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## vish786 (May 14, 2007)

kalpik said:
			
		

> ^^ You can either download VMWare server from *www.vmware.com or download VirtualBox (recommended over VMWare) from *www.virtualbox.org
> 
> Im sure you will figure out everything yourself


which r u usin virtual box or vmware???  which is better according to u???


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## kalpik (May 14, 2007)

I use both, but i find Virtualbox a bit faster and better..


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## cooldip10 (May 14, 2007)

That's  a big list


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## vish786 (May 14, 2007)

Zeeshan Quireshi said:
			
		

> though my HDD is stock full now(200 GB used , thou i'll be backin all that up to dvd's) so i use VMWare now , which is much better n easier . also i mainly learn the command line so even with my pesky 384 MB ram VMWare runs superbly smooth .



which linux OS hav u installed currently in ur system... and tell me whether ur using VMWare or directly booting to the Linux OS????


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## vish786 (May 20, 2007)




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## vish786 (May 23, 2007)

no replies


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## eddie (May 23, 2007)

If you are looking for a reply from kalpik, you can always PM him


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## kalpik (May 23, 2007)

What reply are you looking forward to from me? :-S


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## vish786 (May 23, 2007)

kalpik said:
			
		

> What reply are you looking forward to from me? :-S



i wanted Zeeshan Quireshi reply... thx for ur concern 



			
				kaustav_geek said:
			
		

> @vish
> 
> Don't spam. Always remember what eddie has said... If you want help from a particular member, just PM him. He'll most probably get to you.



u dope... i'm not a newbie to spam here. i just wanted my query solved. instead of starting a new thread for the same.


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## Vivek788 (May 27, 2007)

Oh god,I too have 3 distros with Windows seperate,maybe I should reduce to 2 distros maximum and learn and optimize them properly.
Wont ubuntu and debian etch be the best choice?


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## vish786 (May 27, 2007)

Vivek788 said:
			
		

> Oh god,I too have 3 distros with Windows seperate,maybe I should reduce to 2 distros maximum and learn and optimize them properly.
> Wont ubuntu and debian etch be the best choice?



dont, ubuntu has a base of debian... so ubuntu and debian are almost similar... use ubuntu and something else


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## praka123 (May 27, 2007)

Debian Etch is stable,means it is rock-solid good for servers and corporate uses.U too can use unless u care to check the versions of packages included a little old(but security fixed)
Debian -if u know what differentiates Debian apart from Ubuntu and other distros.U can get Debian running latest softwares if u choose Debian Lenny(testing) apt-pinned with Sid(unstable repo).
I personally run Debian Sid+experimental(apt-pinned)
APT-PINNING how to:
*wiki.debian.org/AptPinning
*jaqque.sbih.org/kplug/apt-pinning.html 
^^ ask me,i can help u regarding apt-pinning.
*Debian Social Contract*


> Debian Social Contract
> 
> Version 1.1 ratified on April 26, 2004. Supersedes Version 1.0 ratified on July 5, 1997.
> 
> Debian, the producers of the Debian GNU/Linux system, have created the Debian Social Contract. The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG) part of the contract, initially designed as a set of commitments that we agree to abide by, has been adopted by the free software community as the basis of the Open Source Definition.


*www.us.debian.org/social_contract
*www.us.debian.org/intro/about


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## vish786 (May 27, 2007)

praka123 said:
			
		

> Debian Etch is stable,means it is rock-solid good for servers and corporate uses.U too can use unless u care to check the versions of packages included a little old(but security fixed)
> Debian -if u know what differentiates Debian apart from Ubuntu and other distros.U can get Debian running latest softwares if u choose Debian Lenny(testing) apt-pinned with Sid(unstable repo).
> I personally run Debian Sid+experimental(apt-pinned)
> APT-PINNING how to:
> ...



wat is apt-pinning dude..??


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## praka123 (May 27, 2007)

_APT pinning_ is a feature which allows administrators to force APT to choose particular versions of packages which may be available in different versions from different repositories. This allows administrators to ensure that packages are not upgraded to versions which may conflict with other packages on the system, or that have not been sufficiently tested for unwelcome changes.
In order to do this, the _pins_ in APT's _preferences_ file must be modified,[2] although graphical front-ends often allow this more simply.
*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apt-pinning#APT_pinning



*Note*: Before you consider 'pinning', you might want to check *wiki.debian.org/htdocs/modern/img/moin-www.png apt-get.org*wiki.debian.org/htdocs/modern/img/moin-www.png backports.org to see if the package you want has been backported to your release.  and 
_Pinning_ allows you to run certain packages from one version (stable, testing, unstable) without the necessity of upgrading your entire system. However, pulling in packages from "later" distributions are prone to pull in libraries as well, which might have you end up with a system that has the disadvantages of stable (old software), the disadvantages of unstable/testing (security support not as good as stable, bugs) without the advantages of either. 
At its most basic level, _pinning_ involves two files, /etc/apt/sources.list and /etc/apt/preferences.
src:

*wiki.debian.org/AptPinning
^^ read the hw2 fully


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (May 28, 2007)

a very handy feature indeed


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## mehulved (May 28, 2007)

Debian package management has many nifty features that aren't so well known to many of us here. I came across quite a few while reading 'The Debian Book' (am still to finish it though).


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## vignesh (Jun 1, 2007)

which one Debian cookbook ? Thats a nice book..


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## mehulved (Jun 1, 2007)

vignesh 'The Debian Book' by Open Source press. We had discussed about it in another thread, I started that one thinking about buying the ubuntu book.


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