I start to not like xp -.- + compatability.

my xp has "currupted" about 4 times in the last 4 months .. and i'm starting to get tired of it

i dont remember the errors, but pretty much i'd get one error - then restart and i get bsod'd every time.
so i have to put the hd into a different computer, delete xp, and reinstall back on the other one.
gets very grueling.

if i was so switch to linux - it'd be more stable?
what kind of features would i lose, by switching to linux?
what type of linux should i download?
i've got about 450gb of music/videos that are avi/mp3 format - does linux play these or is that a problem

i'd guess that there will be some gaming compatability issues.
hardware issues..?

im unsure. i may just install xp again ... see if i can diagnose the problem.

 

It sounds like you may have hardware issues. If your RAM is faulty or you have a failing hard drive, no OS is going to work properly. I recommend MemTest to check your RAM, and for your hard drive, download diagnostics from the drive maker.

Alternately, you can boot off of a LiveCD with most of the Linux OS's This will let you play around in linux on your computer withougt messing with your XP OS. As far as flavor of Linux, I tend to like the Ubuntu, but there are many options, Linux is free, so I would try several.

 

okay i installed linux.

i can't tell if its in a new partition or what

since i did not want to burn the cd, i used daemon tools to mount+ install it
i'm running in it right now.

how do i make this my primary os? right now i have to select from a list at boot, i dont like that...
also how do i access my other files .. that i had on windows.. i'll try to figure it out ..

 

Fallen Angel,

What distribution of Linux did you attempt to install?

 

very speedy response, i installed ubuntu 8.04.1

 

Fallen Angel, if you are running an install you will need to click at the top -

Places > Home Folder

You should then be able to browse to your windows partition.

If you overwrote Windows, you may have lost your files.

It is easier to run Ubuntu live and then install using Wubi.

 

To change how Grub (the ubuntu bootloader) behaves, you need to change /boot/grub/menu.lst. You should use these commands in console.

sudo cp /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/menu.lst-backup
* this will make a backup of your menu.lst file.
sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
* this will allow you to edit menu.lst with psuedo root permissions neccessary. (gedit only works if you are still using the UI that came with Ubuntu, Gnome)

a little bit down, you will see an option called "timeout" probably set to 10. This should be how many seconds grub waits before booting your default OS. You can set that lower so it will boot your default faster.

As to changing what is your default OS, it should be Ubuntu already. I'm not sure how to change that option.

 

well im pretty sure ubuntu made itself a partition while installing . im fine with that my current problems are that i have to select it from..

gah nvm - i'm getting a new hd in a couple days i'll make that my primary and install ubuntu first thing on it .