Is there any way to install linux and win xp together on just one computer?

Indeed there is!

You have two options here, one is to use two hard drives, you can use an external drive so long as your BIOS supports botting from a USB drive (you can check this in you BIOS boot device setting, there should be an option to enable/disable USB booting) Simply buy a USB drive and install linux on it (use the linux disc and remember to select the right drive!). Every time you bootup you will be presented with a screen asking which OS to boot, windows or linux.

Option two is to partition your current drive. a little more difficult. Google "Dual boot windows linux partitioning" or something similar for an in depth guide.

I did this with Mandriva and the install disk has the tools to partition your current drive and install, so its not difficult but if you get this wrong you will destroy your windows installation and have to format your drive. So again google what i said and read it properly, then make your choice.



(Both options are more detailed than what i have written, so please use google and read it properly before doing anything. If it goes wrong you are in trouble!)

One note, though. You can only have four primary partitions on a hard disk. An extended partition is a special type of primary partition that can store multiple virtual partitions inside of it, but these partitions cannot have operating systems in them. So you can't dual-boot more than four operating systems, unless you want to use another hard drive, or a VM program.

There's one option yet to be mentioned, and it's a feature that comes with Ubuntu 8.04 known as "umenu:" the Wubi installer is now available in the Ubuntu 8.04 CD by default. If you pop the CD into the drive when running Windows, a dialog box will pop up and ask you if you want to restart the computer and use the LiveCD environment, or if you would like to install Ubuntu on your Windows installation (it won't erase your Windows installation).

That is why I am getting another hard drive, and that way I can partition that for linux as I am going to get both Unbuntu 7.10, and the 8.04 and see how they work out and stuff, but odds are that I might drop 7.10 depending on how much of the current llinux base software that works with ubuntun 7.10 can work for 8.04. Also you can triple boot XP, Vista and Linux together if you wanted to as these two guides (#1 and #2, as for the second guide it will tell you how to dual boot XP and vista, XP and linux, Linux and Vista so check those guides out.

Linux And Win Xp - Together
Linux And Win Xp

Replying to shadowx
Also, you can use VirtualBox on Linux &/or Windows and install one or another to use at the same time...

All you need to do is search Google for "dual boot partitioning" or just get the Ubuntu 8.04 Live CD which has Wubi in it which will allow installing Ubuntu inside Windows so when/if you get tired of linux you can just remove Ubuntu from Add/Remove. Keep in mind that hibernate and some other features won't work and you'll need more Ram for Ubuntu to work smoothly inside Windows.

If you want them to have separate parttions then you could just hop the Live CD in the pc, reboot and choose install. When you get to the step with the 3 points: Install on the whole drive, a slider option, and specify your own partitions - which you should have made by yourselve before booting from the cd. I suggest choosing the 2nd option with the slider which will make 3 partitions from the space you specify there.

Backup important data 'cause if there is a system failure in the process of partion you'll lose it!

Hope this helps!

hey!!! i made a post here today and it was deleted after sometime....why???
it wasn't any spam...it was about dual booting windows XP and linux...
I have installed dual boot XP-linux before...i have tried the method i told here..and even if there was something wrong in it...please let me know...i don't understand why it was deleted......

First Install XP, second, Linux, and use LILO for example or where ever.