Hello everyone!! I've been using the ubuntu live cd for a few days now and i'm loving it. Made a decision to turn my win xp desktop to a linux box. I was wondering how I could save all my files: mp3, movies, files, etc... and move them to linux. Does linux and win xp use the same file structure (fat32)? My hard drive is not partitioned and was wondering if I could partition it and setup a dual boot with linux and windows? Or say if I transfered all the files I needed to another hd and format my main hard drive, would I be able to move those files to the linux box (If say I decided to only use ubuntu) and use them? I've been browsing these forums off and on for a couple years and you guys all rock!! I admit I'll be a noob with linux but I'm very excited to learn it. Any suggestions, such as books or websites would be helpful as well. Thanks for all your help!! PEACE!!
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win xp to ubuntu
- Thread starter SunnyK
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- Jul 3, 2003
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- 414
Both OSs can read and write fat32, linux has limited ability to read, and no ability to write (safely) to NTFS. If you have a spare drive I highly recommend formatting it fat32 and backing your goodies to it and then making a clean linux install to your main drive.
If you want a dual boot, I'd back goodies off to spare drive, and then first do a clean windows install to your main HD (windows needs to be in first partition to work properly I think). If you want linux to access this partition, make it fat32 also. Then install linux to yoru remaining drive space.
Windows XP will only partiton fat32 if the partition size is <32GB I think, otherwise it has to format NTFS. Keep this limitation in mind when planning your setup.
My tip for learning linux, as I still am myself, is pick a distro and stick to it for awhile. It's real tempting to float about trying all the different flavors, but in the end you can learn to make any distro end up like the others and how you like it. Pick one, and work with it till it does what you like. Your in command of your environment. Stick it out, dig into it and learn as you go. Decide you don't like GNOME, then don't just grab a new distro, learn how to make your current one into something else. I'm sure there will be writups and tips from others on your forums on how to do it. That's how you learn more than just bouncing around IMO.
If you want a dual boot, I'd back goodies off to spare drive, and then first do a clean windows install to your main HD (windows needs to be in first partition to work properly I think). If you want linux to access this partition, make it fat32 also. Then install linux to yoru remaining drive space.
Windows XP will only partiton fat32 if the partition size is <32GB I think, otherwise it has to format NTFS. Keep this limitation in mind when planning your setup.
My tip for learning linux, as I still am myself, is pick a distro and stick to it for awhile. It's real tempting to float about trying all the different flavors, but in the end you can learn to make any distro end up like the others and how you like it. Pick one, and work with it till it does what you like. Your in command of your environment. Stick it out, dig into it and learn as you go. Decide you don't like GNOME, then don't just grab a new distro, learn how to make your current one into something else. I'm sure there will be writups and tips from others on your forums on how to do it. That's how you learn more than just bouncing around IMO.
Not exactly. You can't install linux on fat32 [1]. What you can do is to back up the things you want to keep to a fat32 partition/disk, because linux has no problem reading and writing fat32. (Fat32 is fine for storing data, just don't use it for anything else.)
[1] And if there's a way, you don't want to try.
[1] And if there's a way, you don't want to try.